‘What’s going on here then?’ asked Harry, striding into the dining room where the girls were sitting. He pulled up a chair, grabbed some scissors, and began cutting out a snowflake.
Nell didn’t know how much he’d seen or heard, but strangely she didn’t care. She didn’t care what he knew or thought because as handsome as he was, he wasn’t the one for her. She knew that now. All her made-up scenarios were just that – made up. They weren’t real and her feelings for him had been entirely imagined. It was as if a winter wind had blown through Holly Lodge, taking her flights of fancy with it. Nell realised that her previous relationships hadn’t lasted not because the romance had died away but because they just weren’t meant to be. They weren’t anything compared to what she felt for Tom. It was time to gain control of her imagination.
Nell turned to him and said, ‘We’re setting up for the mayor’s party and needed to finish off some more snowflakes. They’re going to hang from the ceiling at different heights, so we create a winter wonderland.’
‘Sounds amazing.’ His eyes flickered but Nell’s heart failed to flutter.
‘Oh, and anyone from the hotel is welcome to come. So, if you’re at a loose end tonight, feel free to come down and join us.’
‘I might just do that,’ he said with a glance that before would have caused a wobble in her kneecaps. This time she admired the rugged set of his features, but it was nothing more than an aesthetic evaluation. ‘So, listen, Nell, it turns out I’m flying back on Monday.’
‘Oh, okay,’ Nell replied and again, found that her heart didn’t stir even once. No feeling of longing had gripped her, no sense of loss inspired by an imagined teary goodbye. Her heart didn’t belong to Harry or anyone else. The only concern she had was that the hotel would then be empty. It would be full next weekend with Cat’s wedding, but she really needed some midweek bookings to get enough money to pay the month’s wages. ‘I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay. I’ll get your bill all prepared. It’s been lovely having you here.’
‘And you are the best hostess in the world,’ he replied, standing up and giving her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Have fun tonight.’ Harry left, leaving his star half-cut.
Once he’d gone, Nell resumed her cutting and Cat said, ‘That settles it, you know.’
‘What does?’
‘Harry might as well have been a tiny old fat man for all the dreamy eyes you gave him. It shows that you are well and truly in love with Tom. And that soppy grin tells me so too.’
Her heart fluttered uncontrollably at the thought of him. ‘But what do I do now?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Do I tell him or not?’ Nell peered over the top of her scissors and Cat stared back, distinctly unimpressed.
‘Of course you tell him. Why wouldn’t you? Especially as you already know he feels the same way. You’re not going to get rejected. It’s a hundred per cent guaranteed love.’
‘I don’t know.’ While she had the assurance that he had feelings for her, she didn’t know if she was brave enough to make the first move and tell him so. Could she? It was the twenty-first century, she reminded herself. All she had to say was one or two short sentences, she could manage that. They’d be out and over within a few seconds.
‘You could do it tonight,’ Cat suggested. ‘At the party.’
Tom had arranged for the party to be here, and something felt right about doing it tonight in the middle of the winter wonderland they were creating together. Their very own winter wonderland here at Holly Lodge. Nell glanced at Cat. ‘I will. I’m going to. I’m going to say it. I’m going to say, “Tom, Kieran told me you have feelings for me, and I love you too.”’
With a squeal Cat jumped up from her seat, Nell jumped up from hers and they hugged each other until she could barely breathe. Then Cat’s expression became deadly serious. ‘But do me a favour?’
‘What?’ Nell asked, slightly worried by her gaze.
‘Change out of that horrendous shapeless jumper?’
Nell rolled her eyes. ‘I was going to wear something slightly more glitzy to the party.’
‘Good. Because seriously, that jumper makes you look like a bright red sack of potatoes.’
‘Remind me again why you’re my best friend?’
Tapping her chin with her index finger, Cat pretended to think of a reason. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I helped you realise you’re in love with Tom?’
‘Okay I’ll give you that one.’ A huge smile filled Nell’s face and her heart throbbed in her chest.
As the fire roared in the grate and the smell of Christmas surrounded her, Nell thought of all the great romcom endings she loved. For all the ones where the guy finally confesses his love, she always loved the ones where the woman said it first. There was no way the night couldn’t be magical because tonight, she was going to leave the daydreams behind and embrace a real life with the wonderful man who loved her.
Chapter 20
The rest of the day passed incredibly quickly. Cat and Nell had left only a few chairs in the lounge and a few tables at the side of the dining room to be used for
