‘What a jerk,’ she said. ‘Stay away from the man.’
‘I intend to. I certainly know how to pick them, don’t I? Oh, but at least two other people are happy.’
I told her about Adele and Marcus.
‘Crikey. They didn’t waste any time did they?’
‘They wasted the last two years. And even longer, if you take into account that if he had asked her out when he wanted to all those years earlier, none of that stuff with Cara and Jeff would ever have happened.’
‘True. It’s all about timing, isn’t it? And maybe being in the right place at the right time.’
‘Or in my case, the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m sorry I keep calling you, Madi, but it’s feels as if my life is spiralling out of control. Even the snow which seemed to be dancing around me and Alec on the bridge, is now twirling around me, relentlessly. It appears to be making fun of me.’
‘Yeah. Because snow does that, of course. Call me later with an update. Or even if you just need to chat. I’m always here for you, Noelle. You know that.’
‘Love you,’ I said.
‘Love you too.’
I rang off and the snow twirled even more.
‘You are such a fool, Noelle,’ it seemed to be saying.
Or perhaps that was me, talking to myself.
Fourteen
I couldn’t believe it was Thursday already. I had no idea where Wednesday went. I spent most of it wallowing in self-pity and watching the small amount of snow that had settled, melt. It was ironic that Marcus and Adelle were now blissfully happy, and I was the one down in the dumps.
They had even put up decorations inside and outside of both of their cottages. They had invited me to join in, but now I was the grinch who ignored the invitations.
Well, I didn’t ignore them. I simply said no and that I wasn’t feeling well.
Tuesday had been an awful day after that row with Alec. The less said about that the better. But he did fix my heating and had replaced the timer and of course, he’d already mended the tap. So everything in the cottage was running perfectly.
Apart from me.
He had left me a note saying that he was sorry if he’d done anything to upset me as that was the last thing he wanted to do. And he hoped that we would meet again when things might be different.
Jerk.
He had charged me for the timer, but he’d thrown in the tap for free. I paid his bill immediately, and didn’t respond to his prompt payment thank you email that arrived the same day.
I had popped into Adele’s after speaking to Madi, rather than Adele coming to me as agreed. I explained that I was juggling some personal issues and asked if we could bake cookies instead of making Christmas decorations.
She didn’t seem to pick up on my low mood but she was so joyful about her own new love life, who could blame her?
She told me how Marcus had arrived at her door, more than a little tipsy, and how he had apologised profusely, and told her she had been right about Cara and Jeff all along. She said they had talked all evening and for most of the night and then something had changed between them.
Marcus had taken her hands in his and said, ‘I should’ve married you, Adele, not Cara. I should’ve asked you out when I had intended to and not listened to Jeff. I should’ve trusted my owns feelings. So I’m trusting them now. I think, deep down, I’ve always loved you. I know I said and did some horrible things, but all I can say is I was a total idiot. Noelle has helped to open my eyes and see what’s in front of me. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I’m definitely not worthy of your love, but I sincerely hope you’ll forgive me, and if you’ll give me a chance, I’ll spend the rest of my days showing you how much you mean to me. I love you, Adele. Is there any chance you’d consider going out with me?’
Adele said she couldn’t speak because she was so surprised. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined Marcus might love her. But she eventually managed to nod and say yes.
And then, like the woman in love she really was, she had grabbed Marcus by his shirt collar and planted a kiss on his lips.
‘You should’ve seen his face, Noelle. One minute it was all contrition and heartfelt honesty. The next it was pure love and passion. He kissed me back and then he pulled me into his arms and we kissed, and kissed, and kissed. I think we might’ve kissed all night if I hadn’t told him to take me to bed and make love to me. He honestly looked like a child who had got every toy on his Christmas wish-list, and a special bonus toy on top.’
‘I’m so happy for you both,’ I said. ‘I was hoping we might all become friends by Christmas and that maybe at some stage, you two might develop that friendship into something more. This is beyond even my wildest dreams.’
