Page 38 of A Merry Little Christmas

‘Anything else you want to ask before I leave you to it?’ He reached for the last Lebkuchen gingerbread cookie and bit into it. It was one of Astrid’s recipes, which she and Emily had had a go at this morning. They weren’t as chewy as Astrid’s and her icing was thicker, but making them had kept her occupied for a while and, more importantly, had distracted her from the fact that Nell hadn’t returned any of her messages since the incident on Zoom the other day. Emily had taken the rest with her for afternoon tea with an ex-colleague.

Merry had hoped to be back at work by now and able to go in and smooth over things with her oldest friend, but Pip had prescribed another forty-eight hours’ rest. She’d argued that she was fine, but her midwife had joked that at least she was getting used to losing her freedom – a taste of what was to come once baby arrived. Merry had not found that funny at all.

Steve was awaiting her response. Did she have any questions …?

Merry looked around the living room at Holly Cottage and felt a wave of nostalgia; she’d been here a little over two years and had nothing but fond memories. Her life had changed beyond compare in that time. She’d been heartbroken and single when she’d moved in, trying to get her small candle-making business off the ground to make ends meet. She’d done that and more, turning it into a successful brand with a shop on the high street and a thriving online presence. But even more important, she’d met and married Cole and their lives had become one here in her tiny home. Even though things were a little tense between them now, she wouldn’t change a thing.

‘I don’t think so,’ she said finally, ‘but I hope that whoever moves in here next takes good care of it and loves it as much as we have.’

‘Home and Castle can’t guarantee that, I’m afraid.’ Steve put his coat on and wrapped a Burberry scarf around his neck. ‘But I can promise we’ll find either good-quality tenants or a buyer with solid financial credentials. You’ll have no problem selling or renting a character cottage like this, I assure you. Do you have any idea which way you’ll swing?’

‘We want to keep our options open at this stage,’ said Merry, ushering the estate agent into the hallway and opening the front door. Cole was unlikely to be home for another hour, but it would be Sod’s Law if today he arrived home early.

That last thought was still fresh in her mind when she spotted Cole’s van in the distance heading their way.

‘Quite right. And I hope that you’ll choose Home and Castle to help you do so.’ Steve pumped her hand; he had soft hands, almost feminine. Give her the rough, calloused, strong hands of a builder any day. The sound of Cole’s van made him look up. ‘Good luck with the baby. Is that your husband, by any chance? I could wait.’

‘Yes, possibly, but it looks like he’s on a call and he could be a while. You’d better hurry, I think it’s about to rain.’

She almost shoved the poor man outside, who glanced up at the clear sky looking very puzzled. She waved at Cole, who was in fact on a call, and went inside to manufacture an identity for the man who’d just left.

It was another couple of minutes before he let himself in and found her in the kitchen clearing away their mugs and the biscuit plate.

He dropped a kiss on her cheek and wrapped an arm around her waist. ‘Was that Steve Mann the estate agent I just saw?’

‘Um … yes. You know him?’ Her heart sank. Of course he bloody did. Cole probably knew everyone involved in residential property in a fifteen-mile radius. ‘It was. He just popped in on the off chance.’

‘Merry.’ Cole gave her a look which was part bemused and part stern. ‘Please don’t ever take up poker, you’ll lose everything we own. Besides, I’ve known Steve a long time, he doesn’t make house calls unless he can smell a fee.’

She sighed in resignation. ‘Fine. You got me. I thought I’d make some initial enquiries, to move things along a bit.’

‘I love how resourceful you are,’ he said carefully, ‘and you’re right, we do need to think about the future of Holly Cottage.’

She sensed a ‘but’ and jumped in quickly. ‘Exactly. Make a decision and move on.’

‘What did Steve say?’ he asked.

‘That he could find a tenant or a buyer quickly.’

Cole shook his head. ‘Standard Steve. He likes clients to think that his is the only estate agency which can deliver the goods.’

‘So what do you think: sell or let?’ Merry had planned on having this conversation later, snuggled up in front of the fire rather than leaning up against the kitchen sink, but it was what it was.

He pondered before answering. ‘The last time I rented it out, I found the most gorgeous tenant. So gorgeous in fact that I married her, and we’re expecting our first baby any day.’

‘Hopefully not any day,’ she put in.

‘But,’ he continued, ‘we’re in the lucky position of being able to leave this place vacant for the time being while we get ourselves sorted. There’s no need to rush. Estate agents can wait. Let’s just do one thing at a time, hey?’

Merry frowned. Why did they have to wait? Why do something next week, or next month, when she could do it today?

‘Says he,’ she muttered.

He frowned. ‘Meaning?’

‘Seriously?’ she said crossly. ‘Here’s a question for you. Is Meadow View your priority?’

She stepped back from him and folded her arms, which wasn’t as easy as it once had been thanks to her bump.