Page 80 of The Merry Christmas Project

‘I just make a massive list and try and get as much ticked off by the end of the day as I can. Anything left over gets put on the list for tomorrow. Simple.’

‘Oh, Merry, no,’ Cole stared at me incredulously. ‘Now that’s the stuff of nightmares.’

We both laughed and for the next few minutes continued our Christmas wrapping in companiable silence until we both reached for the scissors at the same time. Heat flooded my body as his fingers touched mine. I kept perfectly still, hoping he’d take my hand, bring it to his lips.

‘Whoops, sorry.’ He pulled his hand away. ‘Ladies first.’

‘Thanks,’ I mumbled, feeling a whoosh of disappointment.

‘Nice jumper by the way. I thought you didn’t like Christmas ?’ He gestured at my jumper, which featured a line of reindeer pulling a sleigh.

‘Actually, Christmas is growing on me,’ I said, realising that that was true. I’d been hung up on spending this Christmas as one half of a couple, but now I was actually looking forward to being able to do as I pleased. ‘But this jumper belongs to Nell ; I’ve run out of clean things and I’ve been too busy to do any washing.’ No need to mention that I didn’t want to wash my favourite jumper yet, not while the scent of him still lingered on it.

‘In that case I have good news,’ Cole said, pausing from wrapping to sip his coffee. ‘Holly Cottage is ready for you to move back into. You’ve even got a new washing machine.’

‘Oh wow, thank you !’ I clapped my hands together. ‘I hope you got that reckless landscaping contractor to foot the bill ?’

He grinned at my feisty tone. ‘Some of it. The company is usually very good and I didn’t want to sever all ties with them ; the guy who owns the business is pretty decent. He sacked the person responsible for dumping the debris in the river and has more than made up for the damage caused on site. He’s even agreed to provide apple and pear trees for each of my houses. Which will tie in nicely with the name of the development – Orchard Gardens.’

‘So all’s well that ends well,’ I said, impressed with Cole’s way of dealing with someone who’d let him down. I couldn’t wait to wake up in my own cosy cottage again and I was sure Nell and Olek would be grateful to have the house to themselves. Although the extra workspace at the old bank had been a boon.

‘Could I carry on working here for a bit longer, would you mind ?’ I asked. ‘Just until we’re past the Christmas rush. The thought of transporting all my stuff back to the cottage right now does not fill me with joy.’

‘I don’t see why not.’ Cole sorted through the offcuts of paper for a piece to fit a deck of magic cards. ‘I did notice a lot of boxes in the corridor.’

I held up my crossed fingers. ‘Most of those are my stock to sell on Sunday at the school Christmas Fair before the lights switch-on. I’ve been roped in to having a stall.’

‘I miss all that stuff, the Christmas parties, the nativity plays, the carol concerts with my kids,’ Cole said wistfully. ‘It was great being part of their world.’

‘Why don’t you join me ?’ I said, thinking how much more fun it would be if Cole came along. I had Astrid lined up to assist me, but she wouldn’t mind taking a rain check. ‘I could do with the help, although maybe leave the gift-wrapping to me.’

We both looked at the length of mangled sellotape in his hand and laughed.

‘I would have loved that,’ he said, looking genuinely touched. ‘But I’m having a Sunday lunch with my family before we come over to Wetherley for the event; I don’t want to let them down. Considering I live with my sister and her husband, I hardly see them, we’ve all been so busy.’

‘Me too. I’ve barely had time to draw breath. All work and no play, as they say.’

Cole scribbled a message on a gift tag to Harley and peeled the self-adhesive sticker off the back.

‘So, when do you think you will have time to, you know, play ?’

‘Play ?’ I blinked at him, unsure of his meaning. Was he leading up to asking me out ? If he did, I’d say yes; in fact, my yes was so ready to come out that I thought I might burst.

He cleared his throat. ‘You know, the opposite of work, time to go out and have fun.’

Cole was a confident, straightforward sort of guy. I was sure if he wanted to ask me out, he’d just do it, he wouldn’t beat about the bush. Besides, he’d implied often enough that his children were his priority. All of which led me to the conclusion that this conversation was not leading up to a date.

‘I’m busy right up until the end of Christmas Eve,’ I said with a sigh. ‘But on Christmas Day I shall wake up late, eat chocolates in bed for breakfast and watch my favourite Christmas film with a glass of champagne.’

Cole nodded his approval.

‘Sounds like a plan, I wouldn’t mind doing that too.’ He raised a hand to his mouth. ‘Sorry, that sounded like I was inviting myself into your bed. Please forget I said that. I’ve made myself blush. I never blush. You were saying ? About a film ?’

My heart pounded against my ribs. Forget he said it ? Like that was going to happen. The thought of waking up to find Cole Robinson in my bed on Christmas morning was awakening delicious sensations I hadn’t felt for a long, long time.

‘Home Alone 2.’ My face felt like a furnace ; now we were both blushing. Christmas morning, Cole, champagne …

Cole swallowed. ‘Wasn’t expecting that.’