‘I had a feeling you might be,’ she said, stepping properly in and closing the door behind her. ‘Ned said I should come over.’

‘Did he?’ I squeaked, shifting from one foot to the other.

I would have to thank him later.

‘Oh Liza,’ Maya then kindly said. ‘Please don’t look so worried. I haven’t come over here to bawl you out, because there’s really no need.’

‘Isn’t there?’ I gulped.

I was still finding it hard to believe that she could be so generous and forgiving, even though nothing she had said or done suggested otherwise.

‘No,’ she said, as she pulled off her muddy boots. ‘Absolutely not. The heart wants what the heart wants and there’s nothing anyone can do to change that.’

‘Ned told me that’s what you’d said,’ I whispered, my bottom lip trembling a little.

I reached for the kettle before I succumbed to the tears of relief I could feel waiting in the wings.

‘And I meant it,’ she firmly said. ‘In fact, I should have backed off that first morning I tried to kiss Ned under the mistletoe and you walked in,’ she further added.

‘You should?’ I frowned, taken aback.

‘Yes,’ she laughed, elegantly sitting on one of the stools I had to scramble to get a foothold on. ‘I should. Now I’ve thought it all through, I’ve realised it was as plain as the nose on my face right from that very moment.’

‘What was?’

‘That Ned was smitten with you, of course.’

‘Really?’

From what I could remember I thought he’d looked knocked sideways by Maya’s flirty antics. It never entered my head that he’d noticed me.

‘And you looked pretty keen on him too,’ she carried on, dreamily staring off into the distance.

‘Are you sure?’ I flushed.

‘I am now,’ she nodded. ‘And you know, I would have given him up straightaway, only you said you were certain that he liked me.’

I knew now that that was the result of them looking like the perfect match, coupled with my desire to see Wynter’s Trees left in the hands of the best possible team to run it. Had I factored my feelings into the equation and confessed them far sooner, things would have been different weeks ago, but there was no point dwelling on that now.

‘Anyway,’ Maya shrugged, as if her derailed romance was all part of life’s great plan, ‘all’s well that ends well and I’m delighted for you both. I really am.’

‘That’s so kind of you, Maya,’ I said.

Her smile was both generous and genuine and she didn’t look at all fazed.

‘Would you like a coffee?’ I offered, as the kettle boiled.

‘Not really,’ she said, wrinkling her nose. ‘But I wouldn’t say no to a mug of your hot chocolate.’

‘With extra marshmallows?’

‘Of course!’ she laughed.