Speechless, Belinda could only clink her glass with theirs. Nigel and Molly might have every faith in her, but there was no way she wanted to go and live in Finistère. Whenever the possibility of going to Brittany had come up in the past, she’d vehemently vetoed it. As for spending two or three months there, well, she couldn’t do it, however much Nigel and Molly insisted. She’d have to resign. Find another job with another hotel chain. Either that or find a way of persuading Nigel and Molly to send someone else. Someone who didn’t get heart palpitations at the thought of returning to Brittany.

For the next ten days, Belinda pushed all thoughts of Brittany to the back of her mind, which was surprisingly easy during the day as the hotels filled with customers getting into the festive mood, leaving little time for her to think about Nigel and Molly’s bombshell, let alone make any contingency plans.

All the hotels had some regular ‘Christmas’ clients returning and there was lots of laughter and fun everywhere. Some of the regular holidaymakers even brought presents for Belinda and other staff members, thanking them for always making their holidays so happy.

The Christmas decorations Belinda had organised for all three hotels had included several real fir trees hung with bands of simple silver lights. A large tree was placed in each foyer and small ones in every available space throughout the hotels. The effect, with every window and polished surface reflecting a myriad of twinkling lights, was magical. The oohs and ahhs from guests as they arrived made Belinda smile.

The busy days took her mind off things, but the nights were something else. Night after sleepless night, Belinda wrestled with her conscience. There was no way she wanted to let Nigel and Molly down after they’d given her this second chance in the hotel industry.

Four years ago, when her life had fallen apart and she’d been in desperate need of a job, every other hotel she’d approached had turned her away, saying her college diplomas obtained in her twenties were way out of date and she had no recent hotel industry experience. Milton Hotels Ltd had been the only business willing to take a chance on her. Not only had they thrown her a lifeline with a job but also a new home after the house she’d shared with Peter, her husband of twenty years, had been sold. She’d suspected in the beginning that it was because Molly had been good friends with her mum, Joan, and felt sorry for her. But she’d quickly proved herself more than capable of doing the job and the three of them had soon settled down into a good working relationship.