The Holiday Swap: The perfect feel good romance for fans of the Christmas movie The Holiday

‘Don’t you dare tell Flo anything. You don’t think I’m going to let you go off and have all that fun without me, do you?’ She straightened her shoulders. ‘I’m being pathetic, it’s only for a long weekend, I’m sure Jimmy will sort stuff here, after all it was his idea, wasn’t it? And if he really does love me, he won’t mind helping out.’ She grinned. ‘Oh, God, he’ll think I’ve gone crazy.’

‘Well that’ll solve your problem then,’ Anna grinned, ‘he might un-propose.’

***

The next day Anna drove her to Liverpool to get a passport (which cost far more than she’d budgeted for), then they looked at flights, which turned out not to be exactly dirt-cheap after all. And now the butterflies were doing loop-the-loops in her stomach. There was no turning back.

She knew she had a stupid grin on her face as she put the kettle on. God she was pathetic to be so excited about a few days in Spain; anybody would think she was five years old.

Anna hung her sodden coat over the kitchen chair. Water dripped off, then ran in rivulets over the quarry tiles of Daisy’s kitchen floor, coming to a stop when they hit Mabel’s rug. ‘I swear if it doesn’t stop raining soon I’ll be coming to Spain too.’

Daisy shrugged. Even the rain wasn’t bothering her that much today, although it had made the motorway trip slightly scary, especially the way Anna drove. ‘The chickens hate it. They’re all huddled together in a sodden heap, refusing to lay.’ They had stared at her accusingly with their beady little eyes, looking very bedraggled and sorry for themselves when she’d checked up on them before they’d headed off.

‘Well at least it won’t be raining in Barcelona.’

‘No, Flo’s probably sitting in the sun.’ Daisy had to admit she was a teeny bit envious of Flo right now. She didn’t have a problem with a bit of rain, but this was turning the paddock into a paddy field – and it was cold, sleety stuff which trickled down the back of your neck. She found it hard to imagine not having any rain though.

‘It’ll be fab out there.’

Suddenly noticing the wistful note in Anna’s voice, Daisy stopped thinking about offering her field up to the rice gods, and put her mug down with a clatter. Hot coffee splattered out onto the back of her hand. ‘Bugger.’ She wiped it absent-mindedly down her jeans. ‘Why don’t you come?’

‘But it’s your trip.’ Anna was studying her mug intently.

‘Rubbish! It’s only a few days and I know Flo would love to see you, she was your bestie really, not mine.’

‘I don’t want to gate-crash your adventure.’ She still wasn’t looking up.

‘Anna! How could you possibly think that! Come. Book your ticket!’

‘Now who’s being the bossy one?’ She suddenly grinned and met Daisy’s eye. ‘You wouldn’t think I was awful if I admitted I’d booked a couple of days off work on the off-chance, would you? It’s just I was really hoping you’d say that.’

Daisy squealed and wrapped her arms round her friend. Being adventurous was one thing, doing it with Anna made it much better. ‘Really? You’re terrible, but it’s going to be fantastic, the three little bears back together again.’

Anna rolled her eyes, ‘I can’t believe you still allow your mum to call us that.’ She untangled herself. ‘It will be fab though, the three of us. Won’t it?’

Daisy paused, excitement was great, but what about the practicalities? She picked at a loose thread hanging from the bottom of her jumper and avoided looking at Anna. If she went to Barcelona she’d need clothes; she couldn’t go in these scruffs. But she’d be spending money she should be saving up towards a wedding. Although she doubted Jimmy had even thought about the finances, he was one of those ‘everything will work out fine’ types, whereas she liked to plan. ‘It’ll be amazing. I do feel a bit guilty though, I am very fond of Jimmy.’

‘I know you are. I’m not trying to interfere in your life, whatever he says, but I’m just scared that if you don’t take this chance you’ll just say yes cos it seems the sensible thing to do.’ Her arm hung heavy round Daisy’s shoulders. ‘Just for once I want you to stop being sensible, be a bit mad and impulsive like me.’ She grinned. ‘Then you can marry him if you’re sure it’s what you really want to do, and you won’t spend the rest of your life on what-ifs. I’ll even be your bridesmaid.’

Daisy rolled her eyes. ‘That’s enough to put anybody off.’ She paused. ‘Come on then, let’s get your plane ticket booked. When is Flo expecting us?’

‘Next Thursday.’ At least Anna had the good grace to look a little sheepish.

‘I’ll need some clothes.’ To hell with the expense, this was one of life’s essentials.

‘We’ll shop tomorrow. Christ, is that the time? I’m supposed to be working in the wine bar in Kitterly Heath tonight. See you at 10 a.m.?’

***

A frighteningly short week and a half after he’d proposed, Jimmy dropped Daisy and Anna off at Manchester airport.

It was a sunny December morning. Daisy’s favourite time of the year was actually autumn, when the leaves were a glorious multi-coloured mosaic and the golden sun, low at the end of each day, had lost its harsh stare and instead wrapped everywhere in a friendly- uncle hug. She wasn’t that keen on winter, the novelty of cold mornings and ice-covered troughs wore thin after a few weeks. So going away was good, wasn’t it?

Or not. What on earth was she doing heading to Spain and wall-to-wall sunshine (although a few hours spent with Google one evening had warned of showers) when she could be riding Barney across the fields and spending the evenings with her toes being toasted by the Aga? It was mad, it was crazy, it was so unlike her.

But she was damned well going to do it, even if looking at Jimmy left her feeling like the worst possible girlfriend in the world.

Then she’d come home and know for sure whether she wanted to waltz down the aisle with Jimmy, or not.

‘Stop worrying. It’s only three days, Daisy.’ Jimmy pulled into the ‘drop-off’ zone. ‘I won’t park up, not really into goodbyes. So I’ll say bye here, okay?’

‘Thanks.’ Anna was out of the car and was retrieving her rucksack from the boot almost before the car had stopped moving.

Only three days. Three days to discover the world and experience life seemed a bit of a rum deal, tall order, whatever her dad would call it. But three fabulous days! Oh God, what if it really was as good as it sounded? What if she didn’t want to come back? What if she ended up wanting more? She squashed the thought down and was sure that Jimmy had decided she was scared, not excited. Which was probably for the best. If you’d just proposed to somebody you weren’t going to be pleased if they looked deliriously happy at the prospect of whizzing off to another country without you, were you?

She set her face to serious mode and tried to squash down the giggles that were leaping up and down inside her like a boxful of frogs. ‘You will make sure Barney doesn’t get out, won’t you?’

‘I will.’

‘I got a new sack of carrots, they’re by the back door.’

‘Fine.’

‘And he doesn’t like that New Zealand rug, it rubs his withers.’

‘Daisy I am quite capable of looking after a horse for a few days.’

‘And don’t let Mabel sleep on the bed.’

‘Don’t worry, I won’t let her near it.’

‘I would love you to come.’ Prove to me that our relationship could work, that there is something in there that adds up to a happy-ever-after. That we actually do want the same things in life.

‘I know you would.’ He shrugged. ‘Go on Daisy, do this, this thing that you need to do, then promise me you’ll come home and we can go back to being like we were.’

‘I promise I’ll be back home soon.’ She couldn’t promise they’d go back to how they were because that had already changed. They could either move on to married life, or…

Neither of them mentioned what she was supposed to be coming home to – him, the rest of their lives, setting a date; the words sat like the wallflower at the party, wilting but determined to stick it out until the bitter end. Clinging to hope.

‘Go on. Bugger off. Anna’s waiting.’

She got out of the car, tugged at her suitcase and tried not to grin, because that wouldn’t be fair. She was finally doing it. Finally going.

***

As the plane banked to the right and started to make its way along the coast, Daisy was glad that Anna had insisted she sit where she had when they’d checked in for the flight.

‘You need Seat F, the window seat.’