Page 7

7

Unsurprisingly, the first people to arrive were those local to Northleach, all on foot, and all with a bottle of wine and cans of beer to fill up the fridge and the cool box outside by the barbecue. Given how her parents hadn’t moved to the village until after Holly had left home, she spent the majority of the time introducing herself and Hope and trying to remember the stream of names she was confronted with.

Shortly after, people from further afield began to arrive, including some of her parents’ oldest friends whom Holly knew from her time growing up in Bourton. There was Lyn and Ernie, who lived two doors down and had babysat Holly frequently when she was a child. Not to mention old Mrs Forester, who everyone had referred to as old Mrs Forester even when Holly was in school. Holly couldn’t fathom exactly how old the grey-haired ex-doctor was, but she was still walking happily with the aid of a stick, and her red lipstick was applied with far better precision than Holly could manage.

Most of the Bourton residents had seen Holly since she moved back from London. Either they had deliberately come to see her in the shop, because they’d heard she’d taken it over, orelse had stumbled in for their bag of Liquorice Allsorts, only to find her behind the counter.

But now, it was nice to chat to them without the pressure of a queue forming, although people seemed far less interested in Holly and how she was doing than they were in Hope.

‘She’s such a good girl, isn’t she?’ One woman squeezed Hope’s legs, while another pulled faces at her.

‘Beautiful eyes.’

‘Very focused, isn’t she?’

Holly smiled and lapped up the compliments. She knew that for some babies, the attention could get too much, and what started as a lovely, innocuous cuddle could end up in a screaming fit which only her favourite snuggling teddy and a cuddle with Mummy or Daddy could solve. But Hope wasn’t like that. Hope would giggle away, delighted with all the fuss. No doubt at some point in the evening, every person who wanted a cuddle would get one. Still, it didn’t matter how many people arrived. Holly couldn’t hide the fact that there was only one person she wanted to see that night, and every minute waiting for him made her more and more anxious.

Wendy had just taken Hope from Holly yet again – this time carrying her through the gap in June and Lenny’s fence to introduce her to some people having a drink over there – when Holly’s phone buzzed. As quick as she could, she snatched it out of her pocket and read the message on the screen. Her stomach triple somersaulted.

I think I’m outside x

Holly’s heart leapt, only to sink again as, for a split second, she worried about what her mother had said. Should she have put on something a bit nicer to wear? The thought formed onlyfor her to dismiss it again. Evan had fallen for her while she was travel sick on a plane, and later with a swollen ankle, not to mention wearing less-than-fashionable water shoes on the boat. He would just be happy to see her, the same way she was with him. Slipping her phone into her pocket, she raced into the next garden and tapped her mother on the shoulder.

‘You’re all right with Hope, aren’t you?’ she said. ‘I just need to go inside. I’ll be two minutes. Maybe a bit longer.’

Normally, her mother would never miss out on a chance to show off Hope to her friends, but rather than immediately agreeing, her eyes lit up.

‘Is he here?’ she said, near breathless with excitement. ‘Shall I come with you? Invite him in? I should probably come with you. After all, it is our house.’

‘I think you’ve got plenty of people here to host, don’t you?’ Holly said with just a hint of firmness. ‘Besides, you’re looking after Hope. Don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere. I hope.’

Before her mother could say anything more, Holly pecked her on the cheek and headed into the house.

It felt impossible that her cheeks could smile as much as they were. Her jaw was already aching, and it felt as though all the skin had been stretched so tightly, she couldn’t have frowned had she wanted to. She was going to see Evan again. She was going to see her boyfriend, in real life, away from the luxury of a holiday.

With one last look in the mirror, and a quick adjustment to her hair, she swung open the front door.

8

Holly couldn’t move and nor did she want to. For a second, she just wanted to stand there and stare. Evan looked better than she remembered. Just as handsome, just as sun-kissed, and yet even better, because now he was hers. He was hers, and he was standing in the Cotswolds.

‘Hey there.’

His American drawl was all it took to melt her insides. Without even bothering to reciprocate the greeting, Holly stepped forwards, reached up on her tiptoes, interlocked her fingers around the back of his neck and kissed him.

It was, without doubt, the most she had ever needed a kiss in her life. Three weeks? How had she managed without him for three weeks? Only as she held him did Holly realise that part of her hadn’t believed this was real. Even with all the phone calls and messages and all the goddamn flowers, part of her had still found it impossible to believe that what had happened between them was really as magical and romantic as she’d let herself believe. But the moment their lips touched, all that worry and anxiety washed away, and instead, the memories of their time in France flooded back. It was impossible to believe it had onlybeen four days they had spent together or that he could feel as intensely for her as she did for him after such a short time. But when she broke away, a grin matching hers was plastered on his face.

‘Well, it seems like I’ve picked an awkward time to show up,’ another voice said.

Holly pushed herself onto tiptoes to glance past Evan. There, standing on her parents’ path, was Caroline, with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow arched.

‘Oh, no, please don’t let me interrupt. I could stand here all day.’

‘Caroline.’ Evan twisted around and pulled her in for a tight squeeze. ‘How have you been?’

‘Good, but we can catch up later. You’ve got far more important people to talk to than me.’

With a wink and a quick peck on the cheek for Holly, Caroline squeezed through the doorway and into the house. Given that Caroline was a guest, Holly suspected she probably should have shown her the way through the house and into the garden where the party was happening. But that would mean leaving Evan or taking him with her and sharing him. And that simply wasn’t something she was ready to do just yet.