Page 47 of The Perfect Gift

It was a strangely intimate thing to do, sharing a drink with him, and it made her pause for a second. It seemed silly, given what they’d got up to the night before, but still there was something different to this, a relaxed familiarity she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Whatever the feeling was, she liked it. She raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. ‘Oh, hey, I need to find out how many people are going to be at your parents’ house on Christmas Day. I was talking to Maud just now and she told me she’d be there with your great-uncle Davy.’ She laughed. ‘I didn’t even know you had a great-uncle Davy.’

‘There are rather a lot of us.’ She held the coffee as he ran through a list of names, ticking them off on his fingers as he went. ‘Mum and Dad, us four brothers and other halves is ten. Little Freya, of course. Ma, Pa, Davy and Maud. Matt, Chloe and their folks.’ He frowned. ‘How many’s that? Nineteen?’

‘Good Lord, where on earth is your mother going to put everyone?’

‘She’ll find room, don’t worry. Lunch will be a massive buffet and everyone brings something with them, so there’ll be enough to feed the five thousand.’

Frankie nodded, but she couldn’t help feeling a little nervous about how many people would be there. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t come…’

‘Nonsense!’ Ed placed his other hand on her hip. ‘Everyone wants you there.’ He squeezed her waist, gently. ‘I want you there.’ His encouraging smile faded a little. ‘Unless you’ve changed your mind? If it’s all going to be too much for you then you don’t have to come. If you’d rather just have a quiet day, I can come to yours instead.’

‘And miss Christmas Day with your parents? They’d never forgive me!’

Ed laughed and rolled his eyes. ‘It’s not like I’m a little kid any more, and there’ll be so many people there they’d hardly notice if I’m not around.’

It was sweet of him to offer, but he’d come home to spend the holidays with his family and she wouldn’t let her anxiety about being in such a big crowd of people spoil that. Besides, as nervous as she was, the idea of being a part of something special like that was too good a chance to pass up. ‘If you’re sure it’s okay then I’d really love to come. I’ll have to find some more gifts though. I can’t turn up without something for everyone.’

‘No one will expect you to bring anything, I already told you that,’ Ed replied, his tone just a touch exasperated. ‘Just bring yourself and it’ll be fine.’

‘Shh,’ she told him, leaning down to press a quick kiss on his lips. ‘I don’t get the opportunity to shop for presents very often, so let me enjoy myself.’

‘As long as you’re doing it because you want to and not because you feel like you need to,’ he conceded.

She did need to, but it was too difficult a feeling to try and explain to him right then. Thankfully the phone he’d stolen from Rick began to ring. ‘Coffee break’s over, it seems,’ she said as she tried to step back.

Ed held on to her hips for a few seconds longer, his eyes deep pools of concern. ‘If you have second thoughts about Christmas Day, you must promise you’ll let me know.’

‘I will.’ She shifted her weight as Rick marched over and held out his hand for his phone. Ed let Frankie go and soon the two brothers were caught up in a friendly argument over who was going to take the call.

‘I’d make a break for it while you can,’ Matt suggested with a mock-weary shake of his head. ‘This might go on for a while.’

‘Good idea.’ Frankie caught Ed’s eye as he surrendered the phone to Rick and gave him a little wave as she backed a few steps further away.

* * *

By the time Frankie arrived at the wreath-making stall, she was laden down with bags. There’d been something that appealed to her at almost every stall she’d visited and everyone had been so lovely to her that she’d found it hard to walk away without adding at least a little bit of something to her shopping haul.

She’d eaten the most delicious cherry Bakewell slice at a baking stall run by the parents and teachers of the village school, who were raising funds for stationery and supplies. She’d found the cutest crocheted hat on another stall that looked like a teddy bear’s face with ears that she’d bought for Freya after checking with Anya that it would be suitable. On Anya’s advice she’d bought an apron covered in bright holly and berries for Ma as she loved to bake with Freya, and a hand warmer for Pa because he liked to go out for a walk every day, whatever the weather.

She’d found a pair of pink flamingo earrings that made her smile and would be perfect for Maud. She had no clue about Davy so she’d opted for a navy-blue scarf at the same place she’d bought the hat. Shopping for Ed’s family was even more fun than Frankie had expected.

She’d had no idea what to get Chloe’s parents so had circled back to Chloe and Anya’s stall for more advice. Chloe’s attitude had been much the same as Ed’s about there being no need, but she’d finally relented when Frankie had insisted she wanted to give them something. ‘They like to go to the cinema over at Port Petroc once a month, so you could get them a gift card for there,’ Chloe had suggested in a lull between customers. ‘But you really don’t have to.’

‘I want to,’ Frankie had said for what had felt like the hundredth time. ‘This is fun for me, Chlo, okay?’

‘Okay, okay!’ Chloe had held up her hands in surrender. Her eyes had lit up. ‘Does this mean you’ve got me something?’

Frankie had laughed. ‘You’ll have to wait and see.’

‘That means you have, you tease!’ Chloe had clapped her hands together. ‘Well, two can play at that game and I know the perfect thing for you!’

‘Now who’s the tease?’

Their conversation had been interrupted by a woman who’d wanted to ask Chloe about the washability of the fabric on one of the skirts on their stall and Frankie had melted away with a smile back into the crowds. She might have been a bit nervous about Christmas with Ed and his family, but now she had gifts for everyone she was feeling a lot more confident about it.

The ladies running the wreath-making stall made a big fuss of her. They were part of the flower-arranging team at the village church – just one of the many things she found out about them within the first few minutes. They were so funny and sweet that she didn’t mind their requests for selfies, especially when she found out they wanted to share the photos with their daughters and granddaughters. ‘Well, that’s Nanna elevated to superstar status,’ Beryl said with a satisfied grin after she received a squealing voicemail from one of her granddaughters.

‘I’ll have to sit down and watch this show of yours,’ said a very posh lady called Gwendoline, who, it turned out, was the vicar’s wife. She wasn’t working on the stall, but had stopped by to offer her moral support.