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Holly turned her head to the doorway where Evelyn was standing. She strode towards them, a smile fixed on her face, although Holly couldn’t help but feel that it looked a little unnatural. Like she was struggling to keep it there.

‘So, I’ve got a couple of pieces of news,’ she said.

‘Great. You’ve found a mechanic, I take it,’ Giles said.

‘We have… but I’m afraid it’s not great news. I’ve rung around all the local places, and unfortunately there is no one who can look at the car until morning.’

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For a second, silence surrounded them. Several couples were talking quietly as they sipped on their drinks while a soft tinkling sound came from behind the bar, as the barman tidied and polished the wineglasses. But around the three of them – Evelyn, Holly and Giles – it was utterly silent.

Holly wasn’t good at silence, and her instinct was to start filling it, but she couldn’t be the first one to speak in this situation. After all, Evelyn hadn’t spoken to her. And so, the pair of women looked at Giles and waited.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said eventually. ‘You’re saying you can’t get a mechanic to come out until tomorrow?’

‘It’s five-fifteen,’ she said. ‘They’ve all closed up shop.’

‘What about an emergency out-of-hours one?’

‘I tried to find one, but they all said the same thing.’

‘Which was?’

‘As the car is currently in place where it is not a risk to anybody, it would be better just to leave it until the morning.’

Giles’s jaw was rolling from side to side. Holly could see the anger burning within him. Leaning forward, she placed a hand on his arm.

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘We can’t get anyone to look at the car tonight, so what options do we have? Taxis? Can we get a taxi back to a train station?’

‘There is a train station, but it’s about a fifteen-mile drive away. Of course, if that’s what you decide, we will sort a taxi there immediately. And we would refund all costs to get you home.’

Giles shook his head. ‘That’s a ridiculous idea. It’s probably a five-hour train journey at least. We wouldn’t get home until after midnight, at which point, I’d have to turn around again and spend the entire day coming back here so I could drive the car back again.’

Worded like that, it did sound like a ridiculous idea.

Evelyn coughed slightly, clearing her throat. Holly felt incredibly sorry for the woman. After all, none of this was her fault.

‘Of course, I am aware of that, which is why I would like to offer you a room here. Everything complimentary, obviously. We have one mechanic who assured me they will be able to get here by 9a.m. at the very latest.’ She paused a moment before she continued. ‘And obviously, the bar would be complimentary all night.’

Holly didn’t reply. She couldn’t. It wasn’t up to her. An open bar and a stay in a luxury hotel felt ideal. After all, Hope was already spending the night at Ben’s, so it wasn’t like she’d have to rearrange anything there. It would also give her the chance she needed to finally tell Giles about Sienna. Not to mention have an actual discussion about the email she’d sent him. But it wasn’t her decision to make. She looked at Giles.

‘Whatever you want to do,’ she said. ‘It’s up to you. Do you want to stay?’

Finally, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘But we’re having the best rooms in the house.’

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‘I’ll have a glass of whatever she’s got,’ Giles said before changing his mind. ‘Scrap that. We’re here all night. We’ll have the bottle. And we’ll probably need another one later, so make sure they’re chilled.’

He muttered a quiet thank you as the barman placed the bottle in front of him, then he topped up Holly’s glass and filled his own to the brim without another word.

‘You know, some days, you think things can’t get any worse, and then something likethishappens,’ he said after a long gulp.

The words stung.

‘Today hasn’t been all bad,’ she said. ‘Looking at the flowers was great. And lunch was lovely, after you kicked out Craig.’