‘Someone’s in a good mood,’ laughed David. ‘Even though she looks like she’s gone a few rounds with Joe Bugner.’

‘Joe who?’ I frowned, wincing as the action made my bruised and cut cheek throb.

‘He was a boxer in the seventies,’ explained Ned.

‘Oh right.’

‘I reckon it’s the max strength painkillers,’ said Ned.

‘No, it isn’t,’ I grinned. ‘I’m happy.’

Spotting the signs, I could see David was about to launch into his familiar, ‘I told you coming back here was a good idea’ speech but Maya’s voice floated through from the barn and he turned his attention to Ned instead.

‘Can’t you go?’ Ned pleaded with him.

‘No, because she called for you,’ David pointed out, ‘I’m pretty certain I would be a huge disappointment.’

With a sigh, Ned reluctantly pushed back his chair and ambled off.

‘What’s going on?’ I whispered to David. ‘I thought Ned would be jumping at the chance to meet Maya out there under the mistletoe.’

I guessed that was why she wanted him. There were bunches of the stuff appearing everywhere now. With Lilith on site, Maya had access to a constant, fresh supply and was always to be seen refreshing and replenishing.

‘Between you and me,’ David conspiratorially replied, ‘I don’t think Ned’s all that keen on privately meeting Maya anywhere.’

I felt my good mood plummet. I had assumed their paths were now seamlessly aligned.

‘Oh,’ I said, resisting the urge to sneak a look to find out how Maya was faring for myself, ‘I got the impression that they were fast becoming a couple.’

‘I don’t think so,’ David further confided. ‘But I do know is it’s a long time since anyone asked me for a Christmas kiss.’

I’d forgotten that David was a widow. His wife had died a few years before he became a partner in the business, so his circumstances, in some respects, sadly echoed Dad’s. I wondered if that had, in part, drawn the two men together. I also wondered how Ned had coped with losing his mum. Like me, he’d also experienced the aching pain of familial grief. It was a sad thing to have in common.

‘Me too,’ I sighed, as Ned sidled back in, looking sheepish. ‘You might want to wipe that lipstick off your face before you greet the customers, Ned,’ I suggested, feeling more put out than I should considering I’d gone to the effort of kissing him goodbye myself.

‘Morning team,’ beamed Maya, as she breezed in with Liam hot on her heels. ‘Are we all ready for another busy day serving up Christmas spirit?’

‘I am,’ said Liam, who looked ready for anything and entirely smitten. ‘I can’t wait.’