Page 59 of The Merry Christmas Project

‘Ooh!’ Nell’s eyes twinkled. ‘Is he as handsome as his son ?’

‘You are making mountains from molehills,’ Astrid said, rearranging the mince pies on the tin quite unnecessarily. ‘I saw him reading the poster for my art classes, that’s all. He told me that he was interested in birds and asked whether if he came could he paint them. I said that it was a good idea and I invited him to come for a walk with Otto and me.’

‘Was that when he had his fall ?’ I asked.

‘Very unfortunate.’ Astrid winced. ‘He tripped over a tree root. Although at least it meant I was able to see inside his flat. He has been very private until now.’

‘What’s it like ?’ I asked.

She frowned. ‘It is neat and clean. He has lots of books and he says he likes watching films. He keeps a bird table on his balcony and he is experimenting with different seeds to see which birds he can attract.’

‘I’m hearing a but,’ said Nell, dunking bread into her soup. Otto inched closer in anticipation of crumbs.

‘There is no sense of his previous life,’ Astrid said. ‘Who was Fred Robinson before he moved to Rosebridge ?’

‘Not even any photographs ?’ I asked.

She gave a little sigh. ‘There are lots of photographs of his wife, a nice neat-looking woman, and a couple of the family, but not much else. Even the furniture looks new. I cannot imagine parting with all the mementos I’ve collected of my life. But never mind, we are all different.’ She dismissed her comments with a wave of her hand. ‘It was nice to meet Cole after hearing so much about him.’

‘Cute, isn’t he,’ Nell put in with a cheeky wink. ‘And even cuter now we know he isn’t married anymore.’

My heart gave an unexpected squeeze and I realised how much I wanted Astrid to like him. ‘What did you think ? He’s been very good to me and obviously cares about his family too. He said his sister’s fence blew down and he went round to mend it and he dropped everything when Fred had his fall.’

She smiled. ‘I think he too might be lonely. Like his father.’

‘Interesting.’ Nell jerked her head to me. ‘He definitely likes you, Merry – invite him for a walk and hold his hand in case he trips.’

I shook my head. No way ; my mouth went dry at the thought of it. ‘I can’t do that. Firstly, I’m far too busy at the moment and secondly, if he said no, I’d be mortified.’

‘Why would he say no ?’ Nell gave an exasperated huff.

I shrugged. ‘Why would he say yes ?’

Astrid and Nell groaned and immediately launched into the many reasons he’d want to go on a date with me.

I held my hands up in protest. ‘Daniel and I might be over, but my heart is still bruised from being knocked back; I’m not sure I’m ready for any more rejection.’

‘You can’t rule someone out just in case it doesn’t work out,’ Astrid said. ‘I’m assuming we’re having this conversation because you do like him ?’

I nodded sheepishly. ‘But Cole is so different to me : he’s organised and professional and methodical. Even the way I knock nails in horrifies him. Why would a man like that be attracted to a woman like me ? I’m attempting to change my ways but it doesn’t come naturally.’

Nell frowned. ‘Why not be yourself? We shouldn’t have to change our behaviour to make someone love us.’

I gave her a knowing look. ‘Isn’t that what you do when your parents come to visit ?’

She went very quiet.

‘Mein Gott,’ said Astrid, touching her fingers to her lips. ‘I am guilty of doing that also.’

‘With Fred ?’ I guessed, thinking of the mince pies and the cottage pie and the Mary Berry outfit.

She nodded. ‘I thought that my hippy dresses would put him off, especially after seeing the picture of his late wife.’

‘I’m just as bad.’ Nell shuddered. ‘I’m thirty-five but I still conform to my parents’ way of thinking when I’m in their company.’

‘So what do we do ?’ I said, automatically turning to Astrid for her wisdom.

She reached for my hand and squeezed it. ‘It is like I said earlier : the people who really love you, love you just the way you are. I think we all need to remember that, yes ?’