‘I’ll see what Alex says, but I think we’ve both realised we’re not going to be able to keep it to ourselves for much longer. And if I’m honest…’ She paused, her mind on Alex for a moment. She thought about those soft brown eyes, that mop of hair thatnever seemed to behave itself, about his broad shoulders and dependable arms, where she felt safer than she’d ever felt. About his gentle concern and his silly jokes, and she wondered why she’d felt the need to keep what they had secret at all. It was early days, but she was beginning to see she’d never felt surer of anyone in her life. Not only did she feel certain of what they had, but she was proud. She was proud of him, of the man he was, and proud to be with him. Why wouldn’t she want to shout that from the rooftops? What was more amazing was that, instinctively, she knew he felt the same, a certainty she’d never had with any other man.
‘Ireallylike him,’ she said, unable to stop the huge soppy smile from spreading across her face as if it might burst free. ‘He makes me feel like…’ She shook herself. ‘See, listen to me. You don’t need to know this.’
‘We do!’ Victor said, folding his arms and leaning forward with such eagerness that he looked more like Corrine waiting for a titbit of gossip than Corrine did.
‘No, we don’t!’ Corrine chastised him. ‘I’m sure we’ll hear all about it when Zoe and Alex are ready. Drink your tea, you great hairy idiot!’
Zoe started to laugh again. Until very recently, she’d never been quite convinced that the move to Kestrel Cottage had been the right one. She’d loved the area and she’d settled in to her job, but there had always been something missing. And even when she’d got together with Alex it still wasn’t quite clear. But sitting here now, with the two loveliest neighbours a woman could have, with good strong tea in the pot and a mouth-watering cake, surrounded by the rolling hills and open fields of their land, knowing how they and everyone else was on her side, cheering her on, willing her happiness, she suddenly saw it. Of course it had been the right move. It was almost as if everythingin her life, the good, the bad, even the difficult and devastating moments, had led her here, to where she was meant to be.
The past year had been hard, but Zoe had high hopes that things were about to change for the better.
* * *
