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‘See you, and raise you one,’ she said, se from under the bed

‘This is the perfect Christift ‘Rosie’ He stared doith astonishiven him

‘Do you like them?’

‘First editions of my favourite author—are you serious? I love them’

‘Margaret helped me—told me which antiquarian bookshop to use They’re for the library on the island,’ she explained ‘You don’t have these volumes, do you?’

‘Do you kno rare these are?’

She had soaret had insisted that Rosie must enjoy some of the money from her inheritance that she had been able to afford them

‘What’s this?’ she asked as Xavier handed her a package that looked very ive to him

‘Open it and see,’ he said

He opened his second gift at the same time, only to discover they’d both had the saht red Christmas sweater had a cross-eyed reindeer on the front, while the one she had given Xavier had a srey beard

‘Perfect!’ they chorused, laughing as they fell back on the pillows

‘But I don’t think we need to put the for her

Five years later

The sugar-sand beach on sunny Isla Del Rey was packed with islanders, visitors, children, and young people of all ages The hacienda had been coinal architectural features, and there was a sturdy handrail on the impeccably maintained cliff path

Xavier held a barbecue on the beach once a year to host all the suppliers and buyers, ere big supporters of the island’s now faetable far Doña Anna Adventure Camp helped him out