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Oh god, no! Not a Christmas proposal! Please no. That would just be the icing on the bloody Christmas cake, that would!
Then she caught herself and horror flooded through her. What was she thinking? She should be happy for Paul if he was in love and wanted to settle down at long last. Instead, here she was hoping that he wouldn’t be in love enough to want to get married. That was horrid and selfish of her and not who she was at all. Again, bloody Billy had made her feel this way and while it lay in his infidelity, she needed to get a grip because otherwise she would become bitter and cynical and that was not the person she wanted to be at all. She loved her brother and wanted the best for him and if that meant getting married to a woman who wore heels on a long winter walk then that was absolutely fine. In fact, it was absolutely fabulous, and she would be happy for them.
‘Right, come on, Erin get your ass out of bed immediately and stop wallowing.’
She threw back the duvet and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. It was a beautiful new day and she was going to make the most of being with her nearest and dearest because she was very lucky to have them.
Chapter17
Erin
‘This really is a lovely little village,’ Erin said as she walked along the street with Zara.
‘If you like dull and boring,’ Zara replied with a wrinkle of her nose.
Erin stopped walking and looked at her sister and spotted the smirk playing on her lips. ‘You don’t mean that, do you?’
Zara laughed. ‘Nah… It’s all right, actually. I did think it was a bit Snoresville when I first arrived but now I can see that it’s not so bad. And Mum and Dad like it and that’s what matters.’
They crossed the road and headed into the village. Erin looked around, taking in the pretty cottages, smoke curling from chimneys and the village green. Christmas lights twinkled all around them, fending off the gloom of the wintery day. The wind whipped up suddenly and a few flakes of snow drifted through the air.
‘Oooh! Looks like we might get a white Christmas,’ Zara said.
‘Perhaps we will.’ Erin pointed at the shops. ‘Shall we go in the bookshop?’
‘Do you need to ask?’ Zara shook her head as if shocked at Erin’s question.
‘Look at the name,’ Erin pointed at the sign. ‘It must be talking about Paul.’
‘Off the Shelf,’ Zara said. ‘Ha! I just got that. Paul’s all loved up now so he’s been taken off the shelf.’
Inside the bookshop, it was warm and cosy and smelt of cinnamon and pine. There was a large Christmas tree in the window decked with lights and tinsel and she spotted cinnamon sticks dangling from some of the branches, which explained the festive aroma.
Erin and Zara walked around, browsing the shelves and displays and by the time they got to the counter, they’d both selected several books.
‘It’s impossible to come into a bookshop and not buy something, right?’ Zara asked.
‘I can’t just browse in a bookshop.’ Erin shrugged. ‘It’s far too tempting.’
At the counter, the bookshop employee, a woman wearing glasses that looked too big for her face and that kept slipping down her nose, smiled at them. ‘New to the village or just visiting, lovelies?’ she asked.
Erin noted her name tag:Joy, Shop Manager
‘Our parents have bought a house on Sunflower Street,’ Erin said.
‘Ahhh. That’ll be the Dawlishes?’ Joy said with a warm smile.
‘That’s right.’ Erin nodded as the woman handed her a paper bag with her books inside.
‘Welcome to Wisteria Hollow, dears. I’m sure you’ll all love it here.’ Joy held out the card machine for Zara to pay then handed her a bag the same as Erin’s but bigger because Zara had bought more books.
‘Thank you, Joy,’ Erin said, returning the smile.
‘Ooh!’ Joy tapped the side of her head. ‘I forgot to offer you a loyalty card. Would you like one? I’ll stamp it for every five pounds you spend then you get 10% off when you’ve spent fifty pounds.’
‘Yes, please,’ Erin said and Zara nodded. ‘We’ll be back soon, I’m sure.’
‘We’ll have a sale in January so make sure you do come back and grab some bargains.’ Joy pushed her glasses up her nose again.
