Page 3 of A Little Light

“That’ll be nice.”

Sally’s eyes lit up. “You’ll come?!”

“I’ll come.”

Sally almost fell over the bench as she rushed to her feet and took the seat beside Andi instead. She wrapped her arms around Andi, squeezing her tight. “It’s so good to have you back, babe. We’ve all missed you so much.”

When Sally released Andi, she turned to Sally and placed a hand to her knee. “I’m going to try harder to enjoy life more. I promise.”

“It’s been so difficult for you, we all understand that, but you’ll find your feet again. You’re one of the strongest women I know, Andi.”

“Once upon a time, yes.”

Sally took Andi’s face in her hands, stroking a thumb across her cheek as a tear fell. “When you’re ready, we’re all here for you. Okay?”

“I know you are. You’ve all been amazing since I lost Jane. But what you said before…you were right. It’s time to live again and have some fun. I don’t know what fun looks like anymore, but being with friends is a good place to start.”

Sally leaned in and kissed Andi’s cheek. “It’s the best place to start.”

Andi exhaled a breath. She was done with crying and feeling sorry for herself. And even if she wasn’t done with crying, this wasn’t the best place for it. Not while families sat around getting into the Christmas spirit. She could cry while she was alone at home.

“Excuse me?”

Andi wiped at her tear-stained cheeks, clearing her throat as she looked up and behind Sally. It was the woman from the hut. The one with the dreamy blue eyes. Andi shouldn’t be admiring her eyes, should she? “Yeah?”

“I upset you back there. I’m sorry.” She nervously shifted from left to right, her nose red from the cold. “I’m not having a very good day. I’m sorry I took it out on you.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t upset me.”

Sally turned around and looked up at the woman. “Why would you be here apologising unless you’d done something wrong? Who even are you?”

Andi placed a hand to Sally’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Relax.”

“No. If she’s upset you, I want to know why.”

Here we go. Andi got to her feet and took a business card from her jeans pocket. She had those bloody things in every place she could. “I heard you on the phone. I have a loft going up for sale towards the end of next week. If you wanted to have a look at it before it goes live, here’s my card. I’ll be there tomorrow morning taking pictures and preparing it for sale.”

The woman frowned, looking down at the card now in her hand. “Thank you.”

“Not everyone is out to interfere. I really did just want to help.”

“God, I’m so sorry.” She eyed the business card again. “Andi.”

“As I said, I’ll be there tomorrow. Call me if you want to come over and have a look around.”

“Absolutely. I’ll be there.” The woman extended her hand; Andi took it and shook. “I’m Rachel. And I feel like a complete idiot now. Can I buy you a drink or a waffle to apologise?”

“No, thank you. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.” Andi almost held her breath waiting for a response from Rachel. She hadn’t anticipated being so struck by someone this evening, but she was sure it was only down to the setting they were in. Had it been snowing, Andi may well have imagined herself in a Hallmark movie. Those eyes…damn.

“You will. Definitely. Thank you so much.”

Andi took a step back and returned to her seat at the table. Sally was still eyeing Rachel suspiciously, but Sally was often protective of her friends. As Rachel slowly walked away, clearly embarrassed by her behaviour at the hot chocolate hut, Sally turned back to Andi.

“What was that all about?”

“She was looking for a loft to buy. I cut into her call, and she didn’t take that very well. But it all worked out in the end.”

Sally grinned. “Does this mean we can go and get warm in a bar now?”

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