“SARAH’S GOT great taste.” Oliver stood next to him as they admired the now fully decorated tree.
“Yeah.” Ed was forced to agree with him. She’d picked out the best of his old ornaments but bought new fairy lights and a new tree topper.
Less was indeed more.
Oliver turned to him with a smile he’d worn ever since they’d got out of bed. Ed imagined he looked much the same. “You have to admit, the whole place seems cosier now.” He held his arms out and did a slow circle. Sarah had also included a few more decorations that were now placed around the living room: Ornaments with fairy lights that would look lovely when lit up later.
Ed couldn’t deny it gave the room a warm feel that had been lacking before. “I guess.”
Oliver elbowed him playfully, rolling his eyes. “You guess?”
“Fine,” he conceded. “It’s much better now.”
Tapping his chin, Oliver glanced around them. “You know, this room would look great with a wooden floor and a log burner over on that wall.”
Ed had no trouble visualising the picture Oliver painted, and yeah it would look wonderful. “It would.” He didn’t bother adding that he wouldn’t be the one to make those changes. No point stating the obvious. Instead he reached for Oliver’s hand, twining their fingers. “Would you help me put those up?” He pointed to the outside lights that Sarah had brought over. “Might as well go the whole hog.”
“Yeah.” Oliver squeezed his hand. “Of course.”
Scooping up the three boxes of lights—overkill in Ed’s opinion—they slipped on coats and shoes and went outside.
The sky was overcast but not the sort of grey-white that promised snow. He glanced up as they unravelled the first string. “Think we’ll get snow this year?”
Oliver paused, lights in hand. “It’s not forecast.” He started to wrap them around the tree in the middle of Ed’s front lawn. “And it better not snow when Mum and Claire are due to fly home.”
“When’s that?” Ed couldn’t remember if Betty had said a specific date or not.
“December nineteenth, a week on Thursday.”
Ed caught the excitement in his tone. “Bet you can’t wait.”
“Yeah, Mum’s been gone a while, and it’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen Claire.”
They finished draping the tree with lights and stepped back to admire their handiwork. It looked good. At this rate he was going to have to buy his sisters some extra special Christmas presents this year.
They put another set along the front of the bungalow.
One box remained.
“I reckon that’s enough, don’t you?” He gestured to the lights. “Any more would be overkill.” He glanced from his now-decorated front garden to Betty’s bare one, then back to Oliver. “Do you think Betty would—”
“She’d love it.” Oliver beamed at him, and Ed’s stomach swooped.
God, he was in so much trouble.
Picking up the last box, he crossed over to Betty’s lawn, Oliver on his heels. “Where should we put them?”
“Somewhere she can see them,” Oliver suggested, looking around with a frown.
She didn’t have a tree like Ed did, but the right-hand side was separated from her other neighbours by a low hedge. Ed pointed to it. “Maybe along the top of that?”
“Yeah, that might work.”
After they were done, Oliver pulled him into a kiss, right there in the middle of Betty’s front lawn.
PDAs weren’t exactly Ed’s thing, but with Oliver wrapped around him, lips soft against his, any awkwardness slipped away, and Ed lost himself in the warmth of Oliver’s mouth.
His hands, though, were getting colder by the second, and he reluctantly pulled back. “Let’s go back inside, it’s bloody freezing.”
