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I look back at Darcey and Cate, who both say, “Awwwww…”

“Please tell me what’s going on,” I beg.

“Once you’ve closed up the shop,” Cate says, “all will be revealed.”

I sigh, but there’s plenty to do, so I start sorting out the till while the girls begin tidying up. Harri sweeps the floor, and Paisley and Blair make sure all the leftover books are in boxes. Cate and Darcey clean up the pieces of wrapping paper, and Lettie tidies the children’s section, then comes over to help with any last sales.

Finally, it’s five o’clock. The last customer leaves, and I turn the sign on the front to ‘Closed.’

“Wow, what a day.” I blow out a long breath. I haven’t worked so hard in ages.

All my friends look equally worn out. I’m so touched that they all came to help. While they finish up, I count the till twice, reconcile it against the day’s sales, and put the excess cash into the safe. The bank is closed now, so I’d deposit it first thing Monday.

The guys begin drifting down from the flat. Several of them have helped around the shop during the day—Carter served customers at one point, and I saw Ollie coming and going carrying boxes of something, although I’m not sure what.

Finally, Mitch appears. I’ve hardly seen him all day. He’s changed his top since this morning, and he looks gorgeous in an All Blacks jersey. His hair is still speckled with white paint though.

Everyone congregates in the centre of the shop, and Jake says, “Off to the Black Anchor to celebrate?”

“Sure,” I say, thinking I’d love a drink.

But to my surprise, Cate says, “No, sweetie, not you.” She looks at Mitch and smiles, then starts shepherding everyone to the door.

They all cast me mischievous looks as they pass, and some of them kiss my cheek before giggling and heading out.

Mitch goes over and locks the door. Then he turns back to face me.

It’s quiet in the shop now. The sun is still bright, but lower in the sky, and the bookshop is warm. I love the smell of books, but I like the smell of his cologne even more.

I feel suddenly shy. “You’ve been very mysterious today,” I say.

“Been working on something,” he says. “Want to come and see?”

I nod, and he slips his hand into mine and leads me across the shop.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mitch

Suddenly, I feel a wave of nerves. I’m not used to that. I swallow hard as I lead Vix up the steps to the flat, my heart banging on my ribs. Hopefully I haven’t made a big mistake…

“You’ve painted the stairwell!” She looks around as she climbs. “Oh, it looks so much better.”

“Ollie did it, actually. He complained all day about having to climb ladders but whenever we told him to come down, he refused, so I think he actually enjoyed it. And we’ve used low-odour paint everywhere, so hopefully it shouldn’t smell too bad.”

We reach the little landing, and I put my hand on the door handle. “Ready?”

She nods, eyes wide. Pulse racing, I open the door and gesture for her to walk in before me.

She goes into the room, then stops. I close the door behind us, then stand beside her and look around. It’s not quite finished, but we’re a good two-thirds of the way there.

All the sliding doors and windows are open, and with the low-odour paint, the smell isn’t too bad at all. It smells clean and fresh, vastly different from what it did the first day we came up here.

Mid-afternoon, I went back to the Harbour Master’s cottage, had a shower, and changed into clean clothes. Then, while the guys finished whatever they were doing, I spent a couple of hours getting the place ready for the evening.

In the corner of the room is a small Christmas tree, its fairy lights twinkling gently. Around the room, I’ve strung several more strands of white fairy lights, some shaped like icicles, so the place looks like a fairy grotto.

In the middle, on the floor, I’ve spread out a square blanket with two big cushions, and a Japanese chabudai I found in a local furniture store—a low, foldable table. I’ve set some jazz playing quietly on my phone. A larger candle fills the air with the Christmassy smell of cinnamon and orange.