Perhaps she should do more of that once she was over this heartbreak. If she got over this heartbreak. Bella shook her head. As painful as it was, she knew that eventually, at some distant time in the future, she would be back to her old self. She just had to take each day as it came. Bella eyed the hedges full of birds and the flowerbeds that next season would burst into life and attempted to be cheerful.

She had always been like her mum, the type who preferred to get on with things. She wasn’t great at burying her feelings and wore her heart on her sleeve, but she definitely preferred not thinking about her current situation if at all possible and the giving tree had done a great job of that so far. And, at least all trace of Evan had been removed from her cottage thanks to her mum. What was left of Evan’s now sat in a box in what had been his side of the wardrobe.

A small smile climbed onto Bella’s face at the thought that when she went home tonight Lavender Cottage would feel more like her home than a space they had shared together. She needed to feel in control at the moment, and her home had always been her sanctuary. Now she was making it her space and that could only be a step in the right direction, even if it was a painful one.

Taking a breath of the crisp clean air, Bella made her way to the largest of the Alpine chalets that served as an information point and general office for the volunteers. A number of them were set up to the side of the children’s play area and they reminded Bella of a European Christmas market. The warm memory of a family visit to Bruges when she was fifteen filled her and it was as if the heavy scents of cloves and cinnamon still lingered in her nose. It wouldn’t be long before Bluebell Park was just as enchanting with music playing at the grotto and lanterns shimmering a golden glow over the ground.

The coldness of the day matched the weather they’d had on that trip, though the generators at the different market stalls had kept her warm in Bruges. Lots of hot drinks were going to be required today with working on Santa’s grotto, but she could already imagine the kids’ faces as they stepped inside, eager to ask Santa for the top things on their Christmas lists. Thankful to get out of the wind, Bella yanked the door to the volunteers’ hut open.