The Winter Garden (Nightingale Square #3) - Heidi Swain Page 0,139

door swung open.

‘Come in, you two,’ said Luke stepping aside. ‘You must be freezing. Come in and get warm.’

Finn and I shared a look as we stepped over the threshold and were treated to a rousing welcome from our many friends as Kate took our coats and scarves.

Everyone was included and the house looked every bit as beautiful as I knew it would. Lisa and her tribe, along with Heather and hers were enjoying the buffet, Chloe and Hannah were deep in conversation with Poppy and Jacob, and Carole and Graham were busy keeping everyone’s glasses topped up, while Mark and Neil treated Abigail and Jasmine to a dance as Michael Bublé encouraged us to have a merry little Christmas.

‘What do you think of the decorations?’ asked Harold, when I went to wish him a merry Christmas.

‘They’re lovely,’ I smiled, admiring the festive haven Kate had created, ‘but not a patch on mine.’

He laughed in response. ‘I’m so pleased it’s you who has moved into my home, Freya,’ he said a little shakily.

‘So am I,’ I agreed, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.

With the wine flowing and the fires stoked, everyone was the happiest I’d ever seen them, and that was saying something. I caught the scent of sweet perfume as I looked around at my new friends and knew that Eloise was with me.

Feeling her presence made me feel even warmer than the fire and I was happy to acknowledge it, comforted to know that she was there. I had been content at Broad-Meadows and my time there had been, for the most part, happy, but Nightingale Square was where I felt truly at home. It was wonderful to know that she understood that.

‘Right!’ shouted Luke, pulling me out of my reverie. ‘Let’s go on a tour of the garden, shall we?’

I expected everyone to object, but they were all willing and we bundled ourselves up again before setting off to explore the cleverly lit garden under the star-studded sky.

We hadn’t gone far, however, before Finn pulled me to one side and treated me to a pulse-racing Christmas kiss.

‘I love you, Freya Fuller,’ he said softly, as a snowflake fell and landed in his hair.

‘I love you too,’ I whispered back, feeling another tickle my nose.

‘Are you cold?’ he asked, his grey eyes looking deep into mine.

‘No,’ I swallowed. ‘Never. Not with you to keep me warm.’

Again, he took my hand in his and I knew, that with him by my side, I would never feel the cold.

Acknowledgements

I’m absolutely convinced that the time between sitting down to write the dedication and acknowledgements for each of my books is getting shorter and shorter, even though this year has had every opportunity to drag by.

I hope that by the time you are reading this, the world will have returned to some sort of normality and that you haven’t borne the brunt of the devastating pandemic that has kept us locked in its grip, seemingly forever. In fact, I hope that by the time The Winter Garden is published you will be so busy enjoying the delights of the festive season, that you won’t have time for my ramblings at the end of the book!

So, with fingers firmly crossed, I will, for once, keep it brief…

Huge and heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported me through what has been, for so many reasons, a particularly difficult year. Whether you are someone I know IRL or through the medium of social media, whether you are a blogger, a dedicated #swainette, fellow author, member of my publishing team or family, I am honoured to call you my friends and beyond lucky to have you on my side.

Your kindness, support and friendship make me one very happy author and it is always appreciated. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a healthy New Year.

May your bookshelves – be they virtual or real – always be filled with fabulous fiction.

With love, your friend,

H x