Cosy Nights & Snowball Fights (Little Duck Pond Cafe #36)

CHAPTER THIRTY

It was an emotional phone call and by the time we said goodbye, all I was fit for was to run a bath and have an early night with my book. I’d arranged to drive down for the weekend and I was looking forward to spending time with both of them.

I was about to get in the bath when the doorbell rang. I ran downstairs to the front door, checking my reflection in the hall mirror on the way. I had a crazy idea it might be Josh. But of course it wasn’t.

It was Maddy and she looked surprised to see me in my dressing gown. She seemed to be holding something with a long wooden handle behind her back.

‘Hi, sorry if I’ve disturbed something,’ she said with a twinkle in her eye, looking around, I supposed for any sign of Josh’s car.

I laughed a little too loudly. ‘Nothing at all. I was just about to have a bath.’

‘Oh, right. Well, I brought you something – just to say a proper thank you for driving us to A&E.’ She whisked it out and held it up, and I stared perplexed at the object. It was a long stick with what looked like a small basket on one end.

‘It’s an apple picker,’ she explained. ‘You said how you wasted so many apples because you couldn’t reach them, so I thought it might come in handy next apple harvest time!’

I laughed. ‘That’s amazing. Thank you!’ I took the tool, examined it and leaned it against the wall. ‘Do you want to come in?’

She peered closer. ‘Have you been crying? Your eyes are all puffy.’

‘No. Well, yes. It’s been an emotional day.’

‘Do you want to talk about it over a drink? Oh, you don’t drink, do you? Some food?’

‘Er, yes. I mean, no, I don’t drink alcohol, although I do like a lime and soda. And actually, I am quite hungry.’

‘What about your bath?’

I glanced up the stairs. ‘It can wait,’ I said decisively. ‘Why don’t you come in while I fling on some clothes?’

She chuckled. ‘Good idea. You might cause a bit of a scandal in the village if you arrive at the Swan bar modelling only a skimpy leopard print dressing gown with fetching hood.’

On the short drive into Sunnybrook, I told her the story of finding my fiancé in bed with my biological mother, and she was shocked into silence. ‘I can’t believe they would do that to you,’ she murmured at last. ‘What pigs! Actually, that’s an insult to pigs. But honestly, Laurel, that would have really screwed with my head.’

I laughed harshly. ‘It did. It really did. But I’m finally able to talk about it because I’m over it.’

‘Are you?’ She shot me a look as if she couldn’t quite believe this.

So I told her about seeing Gavin in the village store and being surprisingly unaffected. ‘I’d been really dreading seeing him again. But when I did, all the fear seemed to vanish because I realised I’d had a lucky escape. And I was actually fine.’

She nodded. ‘That’s good. That’s really good.’

She parked on the high street and we slithered over to the bar in the slushy remnants of the snow. The weather had grown milder overnight, although more snow was forecast for the weekend.

‘Have you seen Josh recently?’ she asked with a knowing look. ‘After your cosy evening in front of the log-burner?’

I laughed awkwardly. ‘Why would I?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s obvious the two of you fancy the pants off each other?’

‘No, we don’t!’

She pursed her lips in disbelief. ‘Whatever you say, Laurel.’

We started talking about her wedding plans and she mentioned that she’d been offered the use of an apartment for her hen do.

‘Ooh, lovely. Whereabouts?’ I asked, expecting her to say somewhere picturesque in the UK or maybe abroad... the Canary Islands, perhaps, which were toasty-warm in December.

She grinned. ‘Lapland.’

‘What?’ I stared at her. ‘You mean Lapland as in genuine Santa Claus country?’

Maddy nodded. ‘The very same. I’ve always wanted to go. Imagine it! Taking a sleigh ride through the forest and seeing the Northern Lights and going cross-country ski-ing! Not sure about that last one, mind you. A bit too energetic. I’d probably just watch everyone else from the balcony of my chalet-style apartment, sipping on a hot chocolate or a mulled wine!’

‘Sounds fabulous. Do you think you’ll go?’

‘Maybe.’ She shrugged. ‘Flights could be a problem. We’ll just have to see.’

It was so lovely, sitting there chatting with Maddy. I’d missed this kind of girl talk, which could be so uplifting. Back in Compton Meadows, I’d had a group of close friends, including Jo, who I was used to seeing regularly and I’d taken them granted. But after I’d started seeing Gavin, I’d made the classic mistake of neglecting my friendships, so we’d drifted apart. Jo was still firmly in my life, of course. That had been a bond I’d thought would never break – until it did.

Luckily, we seemed to be right back on track, Jo and I, and if I stayed in Sunnybrook, it looked as if friendships might grow here, too.

‘Oh! Speak of the devil,’ said Maddy, giving me a discreet nudge.

‘What?’

‘Over there. Sitting at the bar.’

I looked behind me and my heart gave a giant leap. The guy on the stool at the bar had his back to us, but I knew instantly that it was Josh. As I watched, he turned and smiled at the girl who was sitting next to him, and passed her a drink, and she laughed and flicked her long dark hair behind her shoulder. I felt suddenly icy cold inside. I wanted to look away but it seemed I couldn’t. So instead, I kept flicking little glances at them as they chatted together. It looked like a lively sort of conversation, as if they had quite a bit to talk about.

From chatting happily with Maddy over spicy chicken wraps, I now seemed to have lost my appetite. I hadn’t realised just how much I’d grown to like Josh – really like him – until I saw him laughing and clearly enjoying the company of the girl he was with. I was now seeing it with the clarity of a magnifying glass.

‘You don’t know who she is,’ pointed out Maddy, picking up on why I’d gone silent. ‘It could be his sister.’

‘He hasn’t got a sister.’

‘Well, maybe she’s just a friend.’

‘Maybe. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. The last thing I need is another relationship.’ I forced a smile. ‘I’ve just got over the last one, remember?’

‘Yes, but Josh isn’t that class one scumbag Gavin. Is he?’

I laughed shortly. ‘Er, no.’

‘So you really do like him? Josh?’

I turned to her. ‘Okay. Yes. I admit it. I like Josh. A lot. But by the looks of things, I’m a bit too late.’ I nodded with a weary smile in the direction of my glamorous competition at the bar.

We got up to go soon after that. The girl had hopped off her stool and headed to the Ladies, and as we passed Josh, he turned and smiled at us and said hello. I smiled brightly in return and walked on – and it was only when I got to the hotel reception area that I realised I was missing a Maddy.

Was she still chatting to Josh? I wished she would hurry up because I just wanted to get home now and I was relying on a lift!

She appeared, grinning broadly. ‘See. I told you.’

‘What?’ My foolish heart lifted a little.

‘She’s actually the girlfriend of a guy who’s a member of Josh’s running club. She’s studying the same uni course that Josh did and she wanted to pick his brains about the best way to get into the entertainment industry.’

‘Right. Okay.’ I grinned at her. ‘You are so nosy!’

‘Can’t help it. Bet you’re glad I asked, though.’

I chuckled and nodded. And we headed out to Maddy’s car.

I supposed I should have felt better, hearing it. But I didn’t. Not really. They were looking far too cosy for my liking – and cute! – sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at that bar like that.

If I’d ever had a chance with Josh, I could probably forget it now.

The likelihood was, he’d moved on . . .