Once the train picked up speed, the towns and the countryside whizzed by. Ella knew it would be perfect hanging out with Callie. It would help to heal her hurt and put the past behind her. She was looking forward to their girly time; being Callie’s lodger was going to be fun. Ella had visions of late-night films, glasses of wine and proper belly laughing, just like the old days at university. She had every intention of getting her life back on track and getting herself out of this financial mess, but she just hadn’t worked out all the details yet.

Despite the distance between Chester and Inverness, the journey flew by. Ella and Callie reminisced about their university days, they dozed a little, and finally the train reached its destination. This was it. Ella had arrived in Scotland. With mixed emotions she stepped off the train behind Callie.

‘How are you feeling?’ asked Callie, throwing away their rubbish in a nearby bin.

‘Excited, scared… sad,’ admitted Ella.

‘That’s understandable, but I promise you, you’re going to love it here. When Dan and I broke up, I came to stay with Julia at her B&B and instantly fell in love with the place. I’ve no intention of ever living anywhere else. There’s something about Heartcross…’

Compared to Chester, this had to be the world’s tiniest station, comprised of a coffee shop, and not much else. Ella admired the wonderful blooms hanging from their baskets as she followed Callie over to the taxi service outside the wrought-iron railings.

‘Where to?’ asked the taxi driver after he placed Ella’s suitcase in the boot of the cab.

‘Heartcross, please,’ Callie told the taxi driver and climbed in the back of the taxi next to Ella. He nodded and began to drive.

Heartcross was a tiny village separated from the local town of Glensheil by a temporary bridge, the original having been brought down in a storm. Cut off from civilisation, the village had become famous in the national news, and since the TV coverage of the disaster, tourism had been growing at a rapid pace. In the last twelve months alone, property tycoon Flynn Carter had added a new five-star hotel, a boat house and a fancy restaurant to the quaint village.