Page 13 of The Cosy Travelling Christmas Shop

Daniel hadn’t been living in his small, rented house for long, but it would do as a stop-gap until he found something he wanted to buy, in an area he wanted to live in, and at a price he could afford. He had stupidly given up his own little cottage with its wonderful garden to move in with Gina. Although it hadn’t seemed a stupid move at the time. It had seemed logical and sensible. He’d been spending nearly every night at her house anyway, so the next step was for him to move in with her.

He’d sold his house for not a great deal more than he’d bought it for (the small profit he’d made was sitting in his bank account and he was being very careful not to touch it), thrilled to play happy families with Gina. And for a while, he had been happy.

Unfortunately for him, she hadn’t.

She had been happy for him to pay the bills, put food on the table and buy nice things for her and Amelia, but that happiness hadn’t extended to being monogamous.

In a way he didn’t blame her. Carl was Amelia’s father and it was only natural that Gina might want to resume her relationship with the man, even if it was more for Amelia’s sake than her own. What Danieldidblame her for, was for not ending things with him first. It had seemed to him as though she’d been hedging her bets, and her attitude had been too cold and calculating for his liking.

Their split had not been pretty. He’d wished her well with Carl, and she’d alternately wept and pleaded, then hurled abuse at him when it was clear their relationship was over.

To his relief, he’d walked away with his heart more or less intact when it came to his love life. But when it came to Amelia, he’d been grief-stricken. He missed the little girl dreadfully, and he thought about her every single day.

It must be hard for Amelia not to have him there. He’d been such a large part of her life for nigh on two years, that she must be devastated. But, as he’d said to his mum, he couldn’t stay with a woman he no longer loved for the sake of a child that wasn’t his and one he had no legal claim to.

In some ways, he’d wished he had asked Gina to marry him and had formally adopted Amelia. At least then he could still be a father to her.

But he hadn’t thought of it, and by the time he’d found his girlfriend in the arms of another man, it had been too late.

It didn’t help that Gina, possibly sensing her daughter meant more to him than she did, had railed at him at the time that she’d make sure he never saw the little girl again.

Maybe it had been for the best. The last thing Daniel wanted was to upset Amelia. A clean break was better for her, especially if her mother took up with yet another man. Too many father figures in her life might only confuse her, and Gina’s new fella might resent him anyway.

Not that Gina had a new man, that he knew of. But it was only a matter of time. Gina was the sort of woman who was never without a man for long, and it had been several months since things had ended between them.

After her initial denial, then anger (probably more because Carl hadn’t been interested in getting back together with her, and she’d burnt her bridges with Daniel), Gina had changed tack and had thrown herself at Daniel, pleading that she’d made a mistake and begging him to take her back.

If he had loved her, he would have gone back to her in a heartbeat, but her infidelity had highlighted what had been missing in their relationship.

No, the pair of them were better off going their separate ways; she’d soon find someone else. As for Daniel…? Maybe it was time to think about dating again. Not all women were like Gina, and although his experience with her had made him wary of trusting again, he didn’t want to be without love in his life forever.

An image of Seren, the woman from the supermarket, swam into his head and he smiled. He’d enjoyed their banter as he was buying the whisky, and maybe it was fate that their respective relatives were in the same care home. He wouldn’t mind bumping into her again, and he knew where she worked so he could make sure that happened. He didn’t want to come across as too keen, but if he began shopping there on a regular basis, he might get to know her better.

He was still smiling as he pulled up outside his house and got out of the truck: he’d got the impression that she had seemed to like him, too—

‘Glad you’re pleased to see me. I’m pleased to see you, too,’ Gina said, and Daniel squawked in fright as he walked towards his front gate.

‘Flippin’ heck, Gina, you almost gave me a heart attack.’ He put a hand to his chest, feeling the mad thumping beneath his T-shirt. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I’ve come to see you, of course.’ She stepped towards him.

Daniel stepped back.

A momentary flash of annoyance swept across her face, before she hastily rearranged her features into a more seductive expression. ‘I’ve missed you.’

‘Hmm.’ He bet she had – she’d missed his contribution to her household expenses, more like. He knew he was being cynical, but he couldn’t help thinking that way.

She simpered. ‘Have you missed me? Now you’ve had a chance to calm down and think it over?’

Daniel hesitated. He’d not missed Gina, but he had missed being part of a couple. He’d missed someone being there when he got home from work, he’d missed a warm body to cuddle up to at night, he’d missed cooking a meal together, laughing at the TV together, sharing tales about their day…

‘Amelia keeps asking after you,’ Gina continued, and Daniel’s heart clenched.

‘That’s not fair,’ he protested.

‘It’s true – she does keep asking for you. Why don’t you come round one evening? You can put her to bed and read her a story, then we could…’

He raised his eyebrows, daring her to complete the sentence.

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