The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop

Chapter 1

‘Oh darling, it’s so lovely to have you home! And to think we’ll have you for a full six weeks over Christmas. It’s the best present we could have asked for, isn’t it, Oscar?’

Diana Stewart stood on tiptoes to place the fairy on top of the Christmas tree, before taking a step backwards to admire her handiwork. The English Pointer, lying legs akimbo on the corner sofa, raised a doleful eye at the sound of his name.

‘You’re early with the decorations, Mum.’

Isla Stewart wondered if she hadn’t made the biggest mistake of her life.

After receiving the devastating news about her job and discovering a leak pouring through the kitchen ceiling at her rented flat on the very same day, Isla had decided, on something of whim, that she needed to get out of London.

The time had come to reassess, to gather herself, to work out what she was going to do next.

It had seemed like the best idea. Now, back in the family fold, she wondered what on earth had possessed her.

Six whole weeks! Was it too late to invent a fake invitation for the holiday season from a ‘friend’ in London and disappear back to her shared, slightly damp flat in Highbury to spend Christmas tucked away in her room with a roast turkey ready meal from Marks that decision had already been made for her.

Only right now, she didn’t want to contemplate what it might mean for her everyday life.

She had so many thoughts and feelings flooding her brain, but she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make sense of any of them.

It was Christmas. Well, almost. And she was going to make the most of the most magical time of the year. Now wasn’t the moment to dwell on her uncertain future. That could wait until after the celebrations.