‘Rea said you were here so we came to surprise you,’ added Aunt Terri, taking her turn with the hugs.

Alex took Laurel by the shoulders and studied her face. ‘You,’ he said, ‘look great.’

Laurel gazed at him, at them all, taking in their faces, flushed from the cold air outside. ‘I’m stunned. I wasn’t expecting you.’

Something flickered behind Fliss’s eyes, though she still smiled. ‘Just checking you’re OK.’

‘Right.’ Laurel nodded. ‘The best way to do that was to surprise me? And you and Alex thought it would be great to come together?’ They were making her feel hemmed in, too hot in her Christmas sweater with goggle-eyed reindeer on the front, and she wondered how they were all bearing the closeness of the hall while still muffled up in their coats.

Fliss shrugged, her smile still stretching her lips but not quite lighting her eyes. ‘Sure. Why all the questions? We just wondered about you.’ Then, wilting under Laurel’s stare, she conceded, ‘Alex got in touch – I told you that – and I guess it was me who suggested we come and see for ourselves …’

‘See for yourselves,’ Laurel echoed, slowly and thoughtfully.

Fliss seemed unbalanced by being questioned and relieved when Alex jumped in. ‘Aren’t we allowed to want to know how you’re getting on?’ he demanded, giving Laurel’s arm a reassuring rub.

She switched her gaze back to him. ‘I’m fine,’ she answered. She knew she sounded brittle and suspicious, but springing themselves on her like this … she didn’t appreciate being checked up on as if she might not be able to manage her own life. Sure, Fliss was a great friend and Alex had been a wonderful husband … but it felt like they were overstepping her boundaries.

The smile she turned on her aunt was several degrees warmer. ‘Aunt Terri, this is great! I didn’t expect to see you for a week or so.’

Terri beamed. ‘Your lovely sister said I could come when I wanted. I fancied a break from everything at home.’ A shadow passed over her face but then she smiled again. ‘Christmas in the village was always wonderful.’

Before Laurel could answer, Fliss, wearing an apologetic expression, put in, ‘Terri, would you mind terribly showing me to the ladies’ room? I guess you know the village hall?’

‘Of course,’ answered Terri, too well-mannered to point out she’d barely talked to her niece yet. ‘It’s off the foyer.’

They wandered off and Laurel was left alone with Alex … well, ‘alone’ apart from the hundred or more villagers thronging around them, making the air ever more stifling. She looked at him and lifted one eyebrow.