‘That does make sense,’ Dolly pondered, ‘Christmas can be tricky. Everyone has such high expectations and with everything else you’ve had going on between you.’

‘Exactly.’ I enthusiastically agreed. ‘So, I’m more than happy to keep our first few visits brief. I’m sure everything will be fine but I don’t want to force the situation and rush things.’

‘That’s fair enough. Very sensible actually.’

‘I think so,’ I said. ‘And of course, that means I can spend Christmas with you Dolly, and we’ll be able to add even more things to the Wish List, won’t we?’

Dolly smiled again and I knew she believed that I was staying because I wanted to, not because I felt sorry for her, which was totally true.

‘That’s settled then,’ she said, sounding as pleased as I was about the arrangements. ‘And Angus will be over the moon about this weather,’ she added, looking out of the window again as the snow began to fall faster. ‘This is just what the Winter Wonderland needs.’

‘I was so disappointed to miss my visit,’ I told her.

‘Well, we’ll just have to see if you can get there this weekend,’ said Dolly. ‘I’m sure Beamish will be happy to take you.’

Given the funny mood he’d fallen into all of a sudden, I wasn’t so sure.

‘I’m certain he’d do anything for you, Hattie,’ she said lightly.

My heart hammered at the thought.

*

I’d forgotten how long it took to make a gingerbread house, but spending the rest of the day shaping, constructing and decorating was a pleasurable luxury. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was how my mind kept flitting back to Jonathan and how I was going to break the news of our break-up to him. I had been naïve to think that I could shut the imminent task out, even with the distraction of Christmas and the ever-growing Wish List.

‘If I were you,’ said Dolly as she took a step back to admire her creative skills with the piping bag. ‘I wouldn’t put it off much longer.’

‘You’re right,’ I agreed. There was no need to ask what she was referring to. ‘I’m going to do it tomorrow.’

‘Good,’ she said. ‘I’m pleased. It will be a relief to get it off your chest and out of the way. It’s one thing to have made the decision but now you need to act on it.’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘And I can’t imagine it’s going to come as a complete surprise to him, can you?’

Dolly let out a long breath.

‘Who knows?’ she said. ‘He’s hardly predictable, is he? I mean, anyone in their right mind would be thinking that they’d cooked their goose, but this is Jonathan we’re talking about and I’m not sure he knows what his right mind is.’