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“You’re a very, very smart little girl,” I tell her softly, a tingle running down my spine at the thought that she caught what he was saying, and I didn’t. “Yes, we’re going to try each other on for a bit.”

“Will you get married?”

“Not yet. Daddy and I have to wait for the divorce to come through next year.”

“But you and Mitch will be boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Yes. Do you mind?”

She thinks about it. “Will Daddy still be my Daddy?”

“Always, my darling. He’ll call every week, and he’ll come up a few times a year to see you. And maybe when you’re bigger, you can go and stay with him.”

“Will Mitch live here all the time?”

“At the cottage? No. Sweetie, I have a surprise for you. I have to wait for the bank to give me the money to buy the bookshop. But Mitch has been painting the flat above it for us, and providing all goes well, we’re going to live there.”

“Above the bookshop?” She looks delighted.

“He’s painted your room pink.”

“Oh!”

“We’ll have to buy you a new bed, and you can choose some new bedding. Would you like unicorns? Mermaids?”

“Unicorns!” She can barely contain her excitement.

I laugh. “Okay. So… you don’t mind if Mitch is my boyfriend?”

“No. He makes you smile.” She starts colouring some flowers.

My throat tightens. Out of the mouths of babes…

She frowns at me. “Are you crying?”

“They’re happy tears,” I whisper.

It’s the last piece of the puzzle. If Millie is happy, then I’m happy, and I know everything is going to be all right.

*

The next few days fly by. I spend my days at the bookshop, sanding the floor, mending shelves, and painting. In the evenings, the Sleigh Belles practice their singing. I don’t get to spend much time with Mitch, but I don’t mind because our whole future lies ahead of us now, and soon we’re going to have all the time in the world.

He calls his principal and hands in his resignation, and after that he seems more settled and happy. He helps me in the bookshop during the day and sees his old friends in the evenings, and as often as possible, he pulls me into a quiet corner for a kiss, and we never go long without a cuddle.

Alongside all this, there’s the usual Christmas preparation—buying and wrapping presents and organising the menus for the Christmas period. It’s mad and chaotic and even frenzied at times, but I love it. I’ve never felt so happy and excited.

The weather is changeable, but Christmas Eve dawns bright and sunny, perfect weather for the Christmas fair. I spend the morning baking mince pies and sausage rolls and getting some of the vegetables ready for Christmas Day. Mitch has volunteered to look after Millie for the day, and the two of them help me in the kitchen for a while until she gets bored, and then he takes her off for a walk through the town to have a look at all the stalls.

Eventually, I take the last mince pies out of the oven, and then I get changed and head down to join them. I discover them having an ice cream while they watch the acrobat doing tumbles and juggling.

The town smells amazing because of all the food stalls—pulled pork buns, sausage sizzles, pizzas, crepes, ice creams, and smoothies, as well as more traditional Christmas fare like warm mince pies and slices of Christmas cake. There are plenty of places to buy last-minute presents—hand-crafted goods like leather handbags, paintings of Evermore Island, metal wall hangings in the shape of fantails and tui birds, and handmade soaps.

Around two p.m., Mitch leaves us to go and fetch his grandfather from Wisteria Villas. He drives him back to town and parks around the back of the bookshop. Millie and I go in to meet them as they come through the back door.

“John!” I run up and give him a big hug. He’s walking slowly with a cane, but he looks bright and well, better than the last time I saw him.

“Look at this!” he exclaims, looking around the shop. He examines the floorboards, the newly painted walls, the light fittings that Ewan installed, and the repaired and painted shelves. “It looks like new!”