‘No,’ she mutters. ‘I don’t want to do that. But it’s probably the only option.’
‘Only if you’re intent on being a coward. I watched you catch a gingerbread house in mid-air while chasing down a reindeer, and muscle a drunk man out of a fancy party. Those don’t sound like actions of a coward, though.’
‘Wow, you really pay attention.’
‘Reluctantly, yes. I am observant to my core.’
Despite the train moving a little faster, it’s still freezing in the carriage, and without the hot dishwater tea, the cold is getting to her. Haf waddles to the baggage rack and flips open her rucksack, which is packed alarmingly neatly. Her chest aches – if Esther was really unkind, she would have thrown everything in here. Instead, she took the time to fold everything up.
And at the top, there’s something wrapped up in brown paper and tied in string.
She takes it, and another jumper, and heads back to her seat.
‘What’s that?’ asks Bryn, as she wraps the jumper around her like a scarf. ‘Did your fake mother-in-law give you a good-riddance present?’
‘I’m not sure,’ she mutters. ‘And is that even a thing?’
‘Just open it,’ he urges, peering across the table.
She does, very carefully. The string unknots and the paper falls open, revealing a beautiful pair of gloves. They’re just like the ones she had seen at the fête, but instead of snowflakes, it’s little white reindeer.
Resting atop them is a small square of brown card. Written in cursive handwriting is a message:
I’m in if you’ll have me. Merry Christmas. Love K x
‘Oh my God,’ she splutters. ‘Oh my God, oh my God!’
Bryn grabs the card from her hands and reads it. ‘Wait, when did she give this to you?’
‘She didn’t!’ Haf shrieks, her mind racing. ‘I must not have seen them, but, oh God, she even asked me about gloves when we were on the walk and I thought she was just laughing about my horrible cold hands. It’s just like in the book! Oh no.’
‘What?’
‘I ran away!’
‘Emotionally?’
‘Literally! I literally ran away from her, and she said Laurel told her to talk to me about everything, and with these? Maybe she was going to tell me she wants to be with me, butI ran away!’
She grabs her battered and definitely dead phone and shakes it, willing it to somehow turn back on. ‘I don’t know her number, or even Christopher’s number. Oh crap, I need to tell her.’
She looks up and smiles at Bryn.
‘I’m going to do it. I’m going to tell her I love her.’
‘Attagirl!’
She pockets the card and slips the gloves on. Her heart flutters in her chest, pounding out a rhythm of Kit. Kit. Kit.
The train driver announces that they’re pulling into London, finally, and before long they’re piling off the train together atPaddington station. Bryn kindly helps her with the enormous backpack.
Right behind him is the famous bronze statue of Paddington Bear.
‘Where are you headed now?’ Bryn asks as they reach the end of the platform.
‘St Pancras. Ambrose is meeting me there. I think I’m going to get a cab so I don’t knock someone out with this,’ she says, lifting the backpack higher on her back.
‘And then?’
