Noel made up a gorgeous double-sided chalkboard sign, with ‘Peppermint Branches’ written in big, swirling letters with holly leaf swashes, directing people to the tree stall on one side and advertising the opening next weekend on the other side, and I’ve been reassured by the fact that the tree has elicited a gasp of admiration from everyone who’s seen it so far.

Noel knocks his knee into mine. ‘Doesn’t it look amazing?’

‘Mmm.’ My knuckles have turned white where they’re gripping the door as Noel skirts the truck around yet another van parked on a diagonal outside the post office.

‘I’m not that bad a driver, am I?’ he asks, thankfully without taking his eyes off the road.

‘No. I just think this truck is so old that if you knock it even slightly, it will disintegrate around us.’

There’s no way he should be laughing that hard while trying to navigate this crowded street.

‘They came!’ I forget all about road safety when my eyes fall on a group of vans and cars parked near the entrance of the market, and one of the vans has the local news channel logo emblazoned across the side of it.

‘Local news?’ Noel asks.

‘Hopefully more than just them. Chelsea’s boss is in media law so I asked her to get in touch with some of their contacts, but I didn’t expect it to lead anywhere, and I’ve been emailing and tweeting every news site I could think of to tell them about trying to save the market and asking if they’d cover the competition. I didn’t get any confirmation, I was just hoping they’d turn up.’ My hand suddenly flies to my head in horror, where my hair is tied in a loose knot on top. ‘Why didn’t I at least use a mirror to put my hair up this morning?’

He laughs. ‘You could use a porcupine to brush it, it would still look gorgeous.’

It makes me laugh and blush at the same time. He never takes compliments but there’s something about the way he gives them that seems so genuine. I’ve always thought people only flatter you because they want something, but there’s something about the way he speaks that makes him impossible not to believe. I just wish I could get him to take a compliment once in a while too.