The temperature dropped incrementally day by day and by the first week of December, Willow Bay had plunged headlong into winter. Sometimes Annie had to force herself out for her walk in the mornings, knowing that if she left it until after work, she wouldn’t go out at all. But the swimmers kept swimming—their joy seeming to increase as the weather grew colder—and the walkers and runners still made their daily commute to the coast, and against all the odds, business at the Saltwater Café remained steady.

Alfred had agreed to give the shelter a try, and even though she knew it was the right thing, Annie couldn’t shake the feeling that Willow Bay was losing someone special. Annie found herself making two dinners each night and leaving one for Alfred in the café. She made herself get up extra early to give him a hot drink before he left in the mornings; once on a night when the tide was out, she even tramped a thermos all the way down to the cove. He shook his head at her, chuckling his low grumbly chuckle as he took it, as though she were the eccentric. It was silly, she knew, but she wanted to feed Alfred up before he left. She had inherited the need to feed people from her mum, who couldn’t bear it if someone came into their home and didn’t leave feeling replete; this had been known to extend to the vicar, the boiler engineer, and the woman who came to check the electric meter. Watching her mum feed others was one of the reasons Annie had been so sure she wanted to be a chef.

As well as reading the books for the book club, Annie was working her way through Christmas novels with John at bedtime. It had become Annie’s favorite time of the day. They were currently reading Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. She would curl up in bed at an agreed time, with her book and her fully charged phone, and read in tandem with John. It was intimate, just for them, and she often fell asleep wishing that the night hours were longer.

It drives me crazy to think of that dastardly Mr. Knightley in your bedroom! John messaged when they’d finished discussing the abominable Simeon Lee.

Annie was suddenly wide awake and tingling in all the right places.

He is indeed dastardly! Annie replied. Particularly between the sheets!

Gaaaarrghhh! What’s wrong with me, I’m jealous of a dildo!

Annie laughed out loud.