Page 84 of The Merry Christmas Project

‘Of course, if you’ll let me.’ He shrugged. ‘Everyone has those family friends who you call auntie and uncle even though they’re not relatives. I’m sure Nell will be Auntie Nell.’

‘I’d love that,’ I said simply. I hadn’t had those sort of family friends growing up, but he was right about Nell. She would insist on being called their auntie as well as being godmother to all of my children.

He beamed. ‘Me too.’

I looked across at Astrid who was kneeling next to the nativity scene, deep in conversation with two little boys who were intent on feeding the hay to the rag-taggle collection of stuffed animals in the stable. She would make a wonderful grandmother ; she’d be called Oma, the German word for granny. I sat back in my seat, suddenly overcome with emotion. I’d always thought of myself as being alone in the world because I didn’t have any blood relatives, but it wasn’t true ; I had people who cared, who’d be there for me, and what more could you ask from your family than that ?

‘Thanks, Daniel,’ I said, feeling a bit tearful.

He must have sensed my mood because he slipped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. ‘Hey. That’s what friends are for.’

I wondered why we’d never had a discussion as open and honest with each other like this when we were together. Perhaps neither of us had dared. Perhaps on a subliminal level we’d both known it would lead to conflict. Now more than ever, I was so glad we were just friends and nothing more. This felt right.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled at Daniel. ‘So how’s it going with you and Tasha ?’

‘Good,’ he said, flushing slightly. He fiddled with the star on the top of his hat. ‘Really good. She’s buying me an iron for my fortieth and taking me away for the weekend to a golf resort in Marbella.’

‘You’ve already got an iron.’ The memory of the creases in Daniel’s pyjama bottoms made the corners of my mouth twitch. I bet Cole didn’t iron his. If he even wore them. I had a sudden delicious vision of him naked in bed.

‘A different sort of iron. Are you all right ?’ he said, narrowing his eyes with concern. ‘Your face has turned really red.’

‘I’m fine,’ I said, fanning myself. ‘Anyway, so has yours.’

He grinned boyishly. ‘It still feels odd to talk about her. We haven’t told many people yet. But I will before my birthday.’

‘Merry Shaw ?’ A vaguely familiar voice broke into our conversation. ‘It is you ! Fancy seeing you here !’

It took me a moment to place the woman in front of my stall with short burgundy-red hair and a chunky baby in an elf onesie in her arms. And then it came to me : Trisha, last seen crying in the ladies’ loos at Tractor World at the prospect of imminent redundancy. Standing beside her was a younger woman who, apart from the obvious pregnancy bump, was the spitting image of her mother.

‘Fancy seeing you here !’ I said, standing up to give her a hug.

‘This school is where my little grandson will be going when he’s older. We thought we’d come and check it out.’ Trisha patted the head of the little elf.

‘Good thinking,’ said Daniel. ‘Never too early to get organised.’

‘This is my daughter, Stacy,’ Trisha continued, pointing to the younger woman. ‘Stacy, this is my ex-colleague from Tractor World, the one who offered to take voluntary redundancy so that none of the rest of us would get the chop.’

Ah. I felt Daniel’s eyes bore into the side of my head. I daren’t even look at him. Instead I gave a high-pitched laugh. ‘That’s me,’ I said with false jollity. ‘Nice to meet you, Stacy. How is everyone at Tractor World ?’

‘No idea !’ Trisha replied with a giggle. ‘I got offered a much better job just after you left. I’m a Sales Office Manager at Rotary Mowers now. A promotion.’

‘You left ?’ I felt my mouth gape and forced it shut. I’d sacrificed my job for hers and she left ? I couldn’t believe it.

Trisha nodded. ‘I did. And I don’t regret it for a moment. Looks like it worked out all right for you too, running your own business. What are you selling, then ? Ooh, candles. Go on then, I’ll take two small ones.’

Daniel didn’t speak until after Trisha and her family had left.

‘So,’ he turned to me, bemused. ‘I’m sure you said you’d been made redundant.’

I tucked my hair behind my ears and licked my dry lips, wondering how to spin this one. ‘Ah, well. The thing is, she was really upset and worried and so I …’

I didn’t go any further because I realised that Daniel’s shoulders were shaking with laughter.

‘Oh, Merry,’ he shook his head, a wide smile on his face. ‘That is just the sort of thing you’d do.’

I exhaled with relief. ‘You aren’t cross ?’

‘Of course not,’ he assured me. ‘You did a kind thing, and it all worked out for the best in the end, didn’t it ?’