Page 84 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

She carefully tore the paper aside and was stunned to find a wooden doll’s house inside. Except this one was a perfect replica of the hotel.

‘Ben and Grandad made it,’ Hannah told her. ‘We left the walls blank so that you could decorate them yourself.’

‘It’s perfect,’ Lily stammered, feeling choked up. ‘I love it.’

She stared down at the small version of the hotel. As well as all the rooms that she knew so well being in proportion, it had tiny fireplaces and even a miniature bar in the Snug, complete with fairy lights.

‘You’ll always have Maple Tree Lodge wherever you go,’ she heard Ben tell her.

She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears so that she could only nod and smile in response.

Christmas dinner was a cheery time. It had originally been suggested that they hold it in the dining room but everyone was far happier to eat in the kitchen at the long table. So it was a relaxed meal, complete with many helpings of food and groan-inducing jokes in the crackers.

‘Jake, that dinner was delicious,’ said Faye, sitting back in her chair after they had all finished.

‘Definitely,’ agreed Lily. ‘It was incredible.’ She held her stomach after eating far too much. ‘But I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to move again.’

‘A walk around the lake will help with that,’ announced Walter from the head of the table.

Most of the family groaned in response.

‘I was promised that there would be no aerobic activity on this festive day,’ grumbled Jake. ‘It’s not like Alex is here to make us all feel guilty.’

‘It’s a tradition,’ said Dotty. ‘We always go for a walk before the sun sets on Christmas day.’

‘And we moan all the way around the lake as we go,’ added Hannah, with a smile.

‘Good,’ said Frankie. ‘At least that sounds like my kind of tradition.’

But in the end, the walk around the lake was a jolly affair. They all wrapped up against the biting cold wind that whistled across the water. But as the sun sank low in the sky, leaving behind a blaze of pinks and oranges in its place for a short while, everyone stopped complaining and agreed that it had been a great idea.

On the walk, Lily fell behind a little, joined by Ben.

He had been quiet that day and she had guessed the reason why.

‘How are you?’ she asked softly so that nobody else could hear.

‘It’s been a bit strange,’ he replied, also keeping his voice low. ‘You know, without Dad being here.’

It was their first Christmas without his dad and she was sure that everyone was quietly feeling the sorrow that day.

‘I’m sure,’ she said.

Before she could help herself, she slipped her gloved hand into his and gave it a squeeze.

Ben gave her a small smile and they held hands all the way back to the hotel.

He hadn’t mentioned anything about the kiss since it had happened. She loved him for being patient and waiting for her to be ready. That he respected her feelings.

And yet, as they reached the oak-framed porch long after everyone else, she found herself hesitating and not wanting to go inside just yet.

Ben turned to look at her, raising his eyebrows at her in question.

‘Well, it is Christmas,’ she told him, pointing to the bough of mistletoe that had been hung there a few weeks before.

He smiled and drew her into his arms, bending his head towards hers.

‘It’s like an extra Christmas present, just for me,’ he murmured before closing the gap between them.