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‘Look, it’s not my fault that he has a habit of picking women who are completely wrong for him. If he actually dated the right sort of person for once, then I’d like them. I know I would.’

‘The right sort of person? So what would they be like?’ Jamie asked.

Holly pondered the question for a moment. She’d never really considered what Giles’s ideal partner should be like, only that it definitely hadn’t been any of the women he’d dated so far.

‘Someone mature to start with,’ she said. ‘Perhaps someone who is closer to thirty than twenty-one. Someone who is ready to settle down. That’s what he needs.’

‘Sienna fits that bill,’ Fin said. ‘She’s twenty-seven, has a steady job… and while we’re talking about jobs?—’

‘We weren’t talking about jobs,’ Jamie cut in. ‘We were talking about Sienna.’

‘Okay, fine, yes we were, but I want to talk about jobs now,’ Fin said. ‘I was talking to an old colleague of mine over in the States, about you, Holly.’

‘You were?’ If anyone else had mentioned a colleague, Holly could have bet the sweet shop that the conversation would continue on to the suggestion of a blind date. But Fin never did that. Maybe because of his closeness to Evan or maybe because he knew how Holly would respond.

‘Yeah, he’s opening up a chain of old-fashioned English sweet shops. They’re all the rage at the minute in certain parts of the States. Apparently, he’s been wanting to do it for a few years now, but they’ve finally found the first couple of locations they want to use. He wondered if you’d be interested in doing a bit of work for him?’

‘A bit of work?’ Holly asked, curious. ‘Sorry, what does that mean? What kind of work?’

‘Well, it depends on what you’d be available for. He asked if you’d be interested in going over there for six months, to help them set everything up. You know, make sure they’ve got a really authentic feel to their places. I said I didn’t know if that would be possible, what with Hope and Ben and everything, so he suggested you could have a couple of short trips over there. Troubleshooting-type stuff.’

‘Troubleshooting?’ Holly repeated. ‘I could have written an entire novel over the issues I had when I first took the place over from Maud, but I doubt he’ll have any of those issues.’

‘Well, he’d definitely like it if we could go out for a bit. Really help cement the whole traditional English thing.’

A job that involved travelling abroad? It had been something she’d dreamed of, but also thought was something reserved for people far more high-flying than her.

‘I wonder if I could fit it in with a holiday,’ Holly thought aloud.

‘I can’t see why not. Why don’t I give you his number? He’s a great guy, not going to mess you around or anything. And if you’re not interested, just tell him that. What’s the worst that can happen?’

What was the worst, indeed? The truth was, Holly had thought about spreading her wings. She had seen several shops recently coming up for sale or lease in nearby villages – Moreton-in-Marsh, Cirencester, even the picturesque Lechlade had a little shop that had once been the post office, currently for sale. She couldn’t help but daydream about making something there too. After all, she was sure she’d get a business loan, but did she want that work? It wasn’t just a case of having a second location and having to work extra hours; it would mean finding more staff to run the place, dealing with more sicknesses, more holidays. This, however, wouldn’t involve any of that. And it would mean getting to go to America.

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Why not? Pass on my number to him.’

A flutter of excitement filled her. It was good to have something positive to think of after the day she’d had.

Although Jamie was determined not to drop her issue.

‘That all sounds incredible and everything, but we still haven’t addressed the fact that you refuse to speak to Sienna.’

‘I have spent time talking to her,’ Holly said. ‘Did you not listen to me at all? I spoke to her today, and I didn’t like anything that I heard at all. No, we don’t have anything in common.’

‘That wasn’t a proper conversation. You can’t blame her for being a bit off. She was obviously stressed about Giles. Look, it’s our anniversary party on Friday. You can sit next to her then, get to know her better that way.’

‘That’s this Friday?’ Holly asked, her eyebrows leaping up with surprise. ‘That’s come around fast.’

‘You’re telling us,’ Jamie said.

Fin and Jamie’s wedding was the night when she and Evan had taken the plunge and decided to buy a house together. He had been so nervous. Worried about pushing their relationship too fast and ruining things. But she knew by then that when you were meant to be with one another, it didn’t matter how fast or slow you took it. With a pang of nostalgia spreading through her, Holly looked out across the garden to where the children were currently arguing over who got the tyre swing. It could comfortably fit two people, but there were four children who always wanted it at the same time, which is why they had erected an identical one in Holly’s half of the garden. Though, as they could have predicted, the children weren’t anywhere near as interested in that one.

‘I guess I need to sort out a babysitter, then,’ Holly said, bringing herself back to the moment.

‘It’s all sorted. Tim and Izzy are going to do it,’ Jamie said. ‘Caroline sorted it with them weeks ago.’

‘I still find it crazy that Tim and Izzy are old enough to babysit,’ Holly said, though no matter how strange it felt for her, she suspected it was even odder for Caroline. Holly couldn’t imagine Hope being almost old enough to fly the coop. Then again, a couple of years ago, she couldn’t have imagined being mum to a seven-year-old. ‘I guess it means we’re really old too.’

‘It does,’ Jamie said. ‘Which is how I know you’ll be incredibly mature, sit next to Sienna and actually get to know her, like the rest of us have done. Because that’s what being a friend means.’