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“Are you dating anyone?” I ask curiously.

“Nope.” He sips his drink, but something about the look in his eyes tells me he’s fibbing.

“You are,” I scold. “Who is it? Come on, tell us!”

But he shakes his head. “I’m not here permanently. I’m planning to move on in the New Year, so I don’t want to get involved with anyone.” He gestures at Mitch. “So,” he says, “how are you doing?”

We chat for a bit about John and the bookshop. Mitch explains that he’s going to see his grandfather tomorrow. Then he reluctantly admits what we found in the flat.

“With that in mind,” he says, “I was wondering what you’re up to Sunday. If Grandad gives the go ahead to get rid of those boxes, I wondered whether you’d be available to give me a hand to move them down into the shop.”

“Yeah, sure. Surgery’s closed unless there’s an emergency.” Ollie has a sip of his whisky. “I can rope Jake in, too, if you like.”

“Jake Calloway?” Mitch looks delighted. “He’s back here as well?”

“Yeah. He’s head chef at The Captain’s Table, but his sous chef takes over every other weekend, and we go fishing sometimes.”

“That would be great.”

“I can get some of the girls to help too,” I say.

Ollie gives me a mischievous smile. “The Sleigh Belles, you mean?”

“Oh yeah,” Mitch says, “You were going to tell me about that.”

Dad chuckles, and I poke my tongue out at him. “I wouldn’t laugh too much,” I warn him, “you know we’ll be roping you in for the performance.” I sigh at Mitch’s quizzical look. “It’s for the Christmas Fair. The book club is forming a choir… called the Sleigh Belles, with an ‘e’.”

Mitch chuckles. “Sounds like a great idea.”

“We’re all going to have the name of a reindeer,” I inform him. “Blair worked it out on a spreadsheet after our meetup last night and emailed us today. Guess who I’m going to be.”

“Comet,” Ollie says.

Mitch snorts. “I’m guessing Vixen.” He sips his whisky, his eyes twinkling. “It suits you.”

“I’m sure that’s very far from the truth, but thank you.”

“Emma said she’s Dasher,” Ollie announces. “That suits her too. I don’t think that woman has ever sat down in her life.”

I giggle. “Yeah. I can’t remember them all. But Cate is Cupid, because she makes wedding bouquets, and Blair is Blitzen… can’t remember the rest.”

“Are you all going to wear antlers?” Mitch asks.

“Yeah, and Dad’s going to have to find a red nose.”

“I’ll try to catch a cold,” Dad says, and I grin. “Well,” he announces, “I’ve got a bit of work to do, so I’ll leave you youngsters to it.” He rises and nods to the boys. “Good to see you both. Don’t stay up too late.” He winks at me. Unbidden my face heats as I remember his teasing question, Just a friend?

“And you, Mr. Winter,” Ollie says.

Dad rolls his eyes and goes out and down the corridor to his study, and the three of us chuckle.

“You guys hungry?” I ask. They exchange a glance and laugh. “Silly question,” I say and smile. “I’ll get a snack.” I go out into the kitchen and have a look around the cupboards. There are a few mince pies left from last night and also a couple of slices of Christmas cake that one of the girls brought. I put them on a tray and also heat up some leftover sausage rolls in the microwave—the boys won’t care that they’re a little soft.

I take it all back into the living room and put it on the coffee table, and the guys exclaim with pleasure and immediately dig into everything. I go over to the sliding doors and open them for a bit. Dad’s beautiful garden is lit by the last rays of the sun, and the smell of warmed jasmine floats in through the doors.

I join the guys, and we sit and chat for a while, catching up with what’s been happening in our lives. At first, the ghosts of the past flit around us—Jayden, Dan, Mum, other friends who’ve moved on. But gradually we slip into the type of easy and relaxed conversation you have with people you’ve known for a long time.

Ollie tells us about the stress of working in Auckland, and how he enjoyed the move back to the bay. Mitch talks about teaching in the city, and how he wishes his principal was as nice as Dad.