Carole Singer's Christmas (11 page)

‘Is there a difference?’

‘Of course there’s a difference! Or has it been so long since you’ve kissed a woman that you can’t remember? It takes two to kiss properly. This morning, Seb grabbed me and kissed me. I didn’t kiss him back.’

‘That’s not what Matilda said.’

‘I couldn’t give a damn what Matilda said. Perhaps you should have watched instead of listening to gossip. Then you would have seen that I pulled away from him and got in my car to come here. If I’d known that I was going to be insulted, I wouldn’t have bothered.’

He was still staring at her. ‘You pulled away? Really? And that took you several minutes to do, did it? I told you, I got a running commentary.’

She sighed heavily. She had never felt like slapping someone as much as she wanted to slap him but she managed to control the urge. She’d already tried to castrate him and break his nose. If she slapped him too, she would be the one with the criminal record for GBH.

‘Yes! It did. I was so surprised by it that I hadn’t even realised he was kissing me at first. It took a while for me to get myself together and his arms were wrapped around me so tightly that it then took some time for me to break free. Why don’t you grab an unwilling and unsuspecting female and kiss her and see how long it takes her to get away. I’ll even time it if you want.’

She thought she saw something flash across his eyes and even a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth but it was gone in a split second.

‘I might just do that one day,’ he said, turning away and heading towards his office, still holding the box in his arms. ‘The only problem is I don’t believe in kissing unwilling or unsuspecting women, especially other men’s girlfriends, and definitely not when they’re practically engaged. And if you’re offering yourself in the role, you’d hardly be unwilling or unsuspecting, would you? Now as fascinating as this discussion is, I’ve got work to do. Stay or go, the choice is yours but if you’re staying, you can pick up those boxes you so kindly knocked over just now.’

‘Of all the ...! I wasn’t offering myself ... although I can assure you, I’d be both unwilling and unsuspecting. I have absolutely no desire to kiss you and somehow, I can’t quite see you in the role of an enthusiastic and desperate lover!’

Through his office windows, Carole saw him drop the box on his desk. She saw his head shoot up and his shoulders tense. He appeared to be mulling something over. She stayed where she was and watched him for a few seconds, wondering if she’d said too much. She was about to take her coat off and go and pick up the boxes when he turned and stuck his head around the door frame. He looked almost comical.

‘Are you saying Sebastian kissed you because he was desperate? That’s not very self-complimentary is it?’

‘What?’ That wasn’t very amusing in her opinion. ‘I didn’t mean he was kissing me because he was desperate. I meant he was desperate to kiss me. There’s a big difference, you know. Huge! He said he’d been dreaming about me all night and he couldn’t wait to hold me in his arms again, to make love to me like we used to, to ... God! Why am I telling you this?’

He scowled. ‘Really? He said all that and you were still unsuspecting ... and unwilling when he kissed you. My, my. Didn’t you believe him?’

‘Of course I believed ...! Look, I’m not going to continue this conversation with you. I came here to work, not discuss my sex life. This may come as a surprise to you, oh Lord and Master, but what I do in my personal life really is no concern of yours. And ... not that that is what happened as I think I’ve explained in some detail, but if I want to kiss another man, I’ll damn well do so whether I’m engaged or not. Is that clear?’

Their eyes locked for several seconds and her breath came in short sharp gasps.

‘Practically engaged,’ he said, grinning slightly. ‘You’re not engaged yet, or so I’ve been led to believe. And yes, that’s perfectly clear. I’ll bear it in mind for the future. I assume you’re staying. If so, once you’ve restacked the boxes, you can make some coffee if that’s okay with you. I’ll be working on the beds out the back for about three quarters of an hour so I’ll be ready for a cup by the time I finish that. I take mine white with no sugar.’

Carole tutted. ‘It won’t take me that long to stack the boxes and make coffee,’ she said with a hint of annoyance, taking off her coat and tossing it onto one of the chairs.

‘I should hope not,’ he replied, stroking Nicodemus who was standing by his side. ‘But I’m guessing you’ll want to give the kitchen a thorough going over before you even attempt to touch the kettle – and that will.’

‘Very funny,’ she said, even though she knew he was absolutely correct; that was exactly what she would do.

He glanced across at her and his eyes seemed even darker as they travelled the length of her body, stopping their journey at her flushed face.

She fidgeted, feeling somehow almost naked by the way he was looking at her.

‘They fit,’ she said, pulling at the hem of the tight T-shirt before realising that emphasised her curves even more.

‘So I see,’ he said, coughing as if something had stuck in his throat.

‘Haven’t you got work to do?’ she added.

‘What? Oh yes. Sorry, I was just wondering why those clothes look so much better on you than they ever did on Mary. It seems an inch definitely does make all the difference.’

He smiled down at Nicodemus, cocked his head to one side to indicate the hound should follow him and marched off towards the land at the back of the garden centre without another word, leaving Carole fuming in his wake.

‘That man makes me so mad,’ she said through clenched teeth.

She was sorely tempted to throw something at his back only because she was stupidly hoping that he’d turn round and smile at her the way he’d just smiled at his dog. And that thought made her madder still.

CHAPTER NINE

Carole felt very tired by the time she got back to her gran’s cottage around midday. It wasn’t because she’d been working so hard at the garden centre although she had certainly done that. She’d stacked the boxes, swept the very large floor space, moved piles of pots and plants and various other things to make more space and tidy around them, and then she’d cleaned the kitchen.

By the time Nick came in for coffee, he said he hardly recognised the place and asked if, like the animated version of Cinderella, she had a secret army of mice and birds to help her. She wasn’t sure if he was pleased or not and when he took his coffee and went back outside, she thought he probably wasn’t.

Nick asked one of his staff to show her how to work the cash register and take credit card payments and another to show her where things were. When Josie called her at eleven o’clock to ask if she fancied lunch later, she had the distinct impression that he was trying to avoid her. When he came in at twelve and told her she’d been there too long and she should go, she wasn’t sure if he meant for her benefit or his.

‘So you’ve still got feelings for Sebastian, have you, after all this time?’ Mitsy asked the moment Carole walked into the cottage.

‘Matilda told you then?’

‘Did you really think she wouldn’t?’

Carole shook her head and kissed Mitsy on the cheek. ‘No. But I hoped I might get a chance to tell you first.’

‘Well, as dear as Matilda is to me and as much as she assured me that she’d keep it to herself, I think it’s safe to say that half the village already knows that you and Sebastian kissed and the other half will know by tomorrow. Do you really think that was wise? Kissing him in broad daylight? Are you sure this is a road you want to go down?’

‘I’m not sure about anything any more, Gran. Just a few days ago, all I wanted was for Dominic to propose and for me to become Mrs Carole Smith. I didn’t have a care in the world other than that. Now ... I’m so confused, I don’t know if I’m coming or going.’

‘Do you want to talk about it, dear? You know I’ll always be here for you. Whatever you do, you know I’ll support you one hundred per cent.’

‘I know you will, Gran. And I will talk to you but not just now. I need time to get my head together a bit and think things through. I will just say one thing though. Seb kissed me this morning and it was a complete surprise. I didn’t know he was going to do it and I stopped it as soon as I realised what was happening.’

‘That was very wise, sweetheart. Just be careful, though. Seb is a good-looking young man and we both know how much you loved him. How much we all loved him in fact, but people aren’t always as they seem and, however well we think we know someone, sometimes they can take us completely by surprise. Now, how did you get on at the garden centre?’

‘Quite well, I think. And it’s a lot cleaner now, I can tell you that much. I’m just going to have a shower if you don’t mind and then I’ll tell you all about it. Oh, Josie’s popping in for lunch if that’s okay.’

‘Of course, dear. It’ll be lovely to see her. She’s got a bit of a crush on Nick if I’m not mistaken.’

‘How do you know that? Is it that obvious? Does ... does Nick know?’

‘I should think so, dear. Josie does make rather a show of waiting to be served by him even when there are others available to help. He’d have to be blind not to notice that, although he’s never said anything about it. He’s very open about lots of things but not his love life. That’s one thing he seems to want to keep rather close to his chest. He told me about an unrequited love in Italy but that’s about it.’

‘Lucia. Yes, he told me about that too, briefly. Haven’t you asked him, Gran? That’s not like you? You usually give everyone the third degree about that sort of thing the minute they set foot over the threshold,’ Carole said, grinning affectionately.

‘Of course I have. He just says that there’s not very much to tell. Lucia broke his heart and whilst he’s had a few girlfriends since, he hasn’t found ‘the one’.’

‘And you didn’t persist?’

‘What more is there to say? The man’s a true romantic, dear.’

‘Really? Well, he doesn’t seem that romantic to me. Sarcastic – yes. Flirtatious – possibly. Romantic – no.’

‘Give him time, sweetheart. I’m sure Nick’s got a few surprises up his sleeve.’

Carole headed towards the stairs to go for her shower. ‘That’s what worries me, Gran, although not in the way you mean.’

***

‘I’m really sorry, Josie,’ Carole said over lunch after telling her friend that she couldn’t help out in the garden centre. ‘It’s a matter of Health and Safety or something. I suppose there’s a cost element. He didn’t really say.’

‘Oh well. It’s probably just as well actually. I’ve been asked to help out with the Christmas musical at the village hall so that’s going to take up quite a bit of my time between now and Christmas Eve.’

‘You don’t sound very happy about it,’ Carole said.

‘I’m not particularly. I agreed to play the piano but now I seem to have been press-ganged into doing that, helping out with the costumes and acting as a script prompt, tea lady and God knows what else. General dogsbody, I believe it’s called.’

‘You’ll have such fun,’ Mitsy declared with evident enthusiasm. ‘I’ll be helping as usual but I can’t do as much this year because of this leg.’ She shot Carole and Josie a mischievous look. ‘Nick’s agreed to help backstage so he’ll be there every night they’re rehearsing and also beforehand, moving things and suchlike.’

Josie brightened visibly. ‘Really? Well, I suppose it’s the least we can do, isn’t it, to support the local community? And it’s for a good cause, after all.’

‘And what’s that? The how to get Josie off with Nick cause?’ Carole joked. ‘Oh, don’t look at me like that. Gran’s known for ages that you’ve got a crush on the guy.’

Josie looked horrified. ‘How?’

Mitsy tutted and grinned. ‘Good grief, Josie. You couldn’t make it any more obvious if you barged into his office naked and sat on the man’s lap. Oh! Whilst we’re on the subject, Carole dear, I know you’re terribly busy and I really shouldn’t ask but that’s something you could do to really apologise to Nick.’

Carole spat out the mouthful of tea she’d just taken and even Josie looked aghast.

‘Gran!’

Mitsy seemed confused and then burst out laughing. ‘Oh dear, no! Oh Good heavens. I didn’t mean you should sit on his lap, naked dear! That’s the trouble with getting old. Things pop in and out of one’s head, often with no connection to anything at all. No, no. I was thinking of the scenery and of Nick and that reminded me of the Christmas trees.’

Carole sighed with relief although she was having trouble deleting the image of herself sitting on Nick’s lap ... naked.

‘Sorry Gran, now you’ve lost me totally. Do you want me to draw some Christmas trees?’

‘No, no. Well possibly. Nick’s selling Christmas trees at the garden centre and he’s building a sort of archway for people to walk through and having a type of Santa’s winter wonderland theme going on, with fake reindeer and suchlike – just to get the children excited. I was thinking it would be lovely – if you had the time that is, to paint a sort of stone effect entrance for the arch – as a surprise.’

‘Oh I see. Um. Yes, I could do that, I suppose. It wouldn’t take that long really. But ... how can I do it as a surprise when he’ll be at the garden centre whilst I’m doing it?’

‘Well ... this is just a suggestion, dear and please say no if you’d rather not. He’ll be at the pub on Saturday evening. I know that because he’s agreed to run the end of the month pub quiz. I’ve got keys to the centre and if you’ll both help me into your car, we could go along on Saturday evening and do it then. Josie and I can organise the rest of the winter wonderland part whilst you’re doing the archway. That way, when he gets in on Sunday morning, he’ll see it and it’ll be such a lovely surprise. What do you think?’

Josie sighed. ‘I seem to have got myself press-ganged into spending Saturday night in a freezing garden centre.’ She glanced across at Carole.

‘Okay. I suppose we could. I’ll be back there tomorrow morning so I can ask a few subtle questions and see what he has in mind, but won’t he be doing it himself tomorrow? If he wants to start selling trees from Sunday, he won’t leave things to the last minute, will he?’