Page 22 of The Perfect Gift

They were both silent for a while, then, out of the blue, Ed said, ‘I thought I was in love with someone last year.’

There was something confessional in his tone and Frankie found herself leaning towards him. ‘What happened?’

Ed sighed and scrubbed a hand through his scruffy mop of hair. ‘She was my boss and I believed her when she told me her marriage was over. When she decided perhaps it wasn’t after all, I was out on my ear. No one at the company batted an eyelid when she got rid of me because I was only a temporary hire and she told the company I was surplus to requirements.’ He shook his head. ‘I was too embarrassed to fight it, so I just left.’ The edges of his mouth tipped up in a self-deprecating smile. ‘See what I meant about needing to grow up a bit?’

Far from finding him immature, Frankie thought his confession showed a depth of maturity and empathy she admired. He’d recognised her vulnerability and exposed something about himself in return. ‘You didn’t have to share that with me, but thank you.’

Ed shifted in his chair and then rose. ‘Well, I think that’s probably enough of confession time for one day, don’t you? I’d better go and face the music at Mum and Dad’s before they disown me.’

Frankie would’ve liked him to stay longer, but she’d already taken up too much of his time. She pushed back the blanket and stood. ‘Thank you for staying and talking to me. You can tell them it’s my fault for delaying you.’

Ed grinned. ‘I might just do that.’ He raised his hand and touched her arm, just a ghost of a touch that was gone almost before she’d registered it. ‘I’m glad you gave me the chance to explain, and I really enjoyed getting to know you a little better. Maybe we can catch up again soon?’

She nodded. ‘I’d like that, but I’m not sure there’ll be time. We’re hoping to finish filming on Wednesday.’ She stopped and shook her head. ‘No, we have to finish or there’ll be a mutiny if we don’t. Everyone else is desperate to get home before Christmas.’

‘And where’s home for you?’

‘Nowhere, really. I have a flat back in London, but I only live there because it’s convenient.’ She glanced around the cosy little cottage and sighed. ‘I wish I could take this place with me as it’s the most at home I’ve felt anywhere for a long time.’

‘Why don’t you see if you can stay on for a bit longer, then? Although, saying that, you’ll have plans for Christmas back in London, I assume.’

She shook her head. ‘No one to make plans with, remember? Besides, I’m not much of a Christmas person. I’ll probably just chill out at the flat. I’ve got a script to look over for my next role, so that will keep me occupied.’

‘You can do that here, then,’ Ed declared, like her staying on was a done deal. ‘And you can join us at Mum and Dad’s for Christmas – there’ll be so many of us that one more won’t make any difference.’

‘Oh no, I couldn’t impose on them!’ The little girl inside her was intoxicated by the thought of it though. It had been too many years since she’d experienced anything like a family Christmas. The memories of the ones when it had been just her and her mum were too painful to recall, given how things had ended between them. And the ones after that? They’d been more soap-opera slanging matches than photo-album moments.

‘Rubbish. Mum loves a waif and stray!’ Ed clapped his hands together. ‘I’ll speak to her and Dad tonight but consider yourself invited. Right, I’d better get going.’ He headed towards the door and she followed in his wake. Ed paused with his hand on the handle and looked around the room. ‘If you’re staying, we should get you a tree.’

‘A tree?’

‘Pointy green thing. You stick it in the corner and cover it in lights and tinsel and baubles.’

She laughed. ‘I know what a Christmas tree is. I’m not sure I need to bother with one though. And I haven’t even said I’m staying.’ The cottage was leased until the end of December, but no doubt the production company would be trying to hand it back early if they did manage to finish filming on time.

‘Nonsense! I’ll speak to Dad about borrowing the car and we can go tree hunting next weekend.’ Ed paused. ‘Damn, it’s the Christmas Fayre on Saturday and I’ve promised Rick I’ll help out. We could go on Friday morning instead – what do you say?’

‘Who are you, Santa’s little helper?’

Ed laughed as he pulled open the door, letting in a blast of frigid air that made her shiver in just her pyjamas. ‘Consider me your magical elf sent to help you discover the true meaning of Christmas.’

Frankie took the door out of his hand and shooed him outside. ‘You make it sound like a Hallmark movie.’

‘I’m not sure I’d go that far, but give me a chance and you’ll be a Christmas kind of person before you know it.’ Ed took a step down the path. ‘I’ll see you bright and early Friday morning. Don’t forget to lock the door behind me.’

Frankie did as he instructed then rested her back against it with a sigh. She stared across the room. If she moved the table next to the fireplace it would be the perfect spot for a Christmas tree… She shook her head. ‘What the hell are you doing to me, Ed Penrose?’

13

Ed rescued the flowers from Frankie’s front path and took them back to Harry and Kat’s flat. He’d wanted to throw the damn things away, but he couldn’t leave them in any of the bins near the cottage and risk her spotting them. He let himself in and called out a greeting but there was no sign of either Harry or Kat. Ed hurried into his room and placed the bouquet on the dressing table, deciding he’d sort out what to do with it in the morning. He quickly stripped off his shirt then headed into the bathroom to rinse his hair and face under the tap to remove any lingering smell of wine. He still hadn’t tracked down Matt to find out where his stuff was and the shirt was a loan from Harry. He rummaged through the contents of his open suitcase on the floor and found the least rumpled shirt he could and quickly buttoned it up. Tropical flowers weren’t exactly the right look for mid-December, but it was the best he could do at short notice.

Dressed and presentable once more, Ed picked up the basket arrangement he’d bought for his mum and headed straight back out. As he closed the door he realised he’d better let his brother know where he was going. He took out his phone and opened his voice notes app.

‘Hey, mate, I’m off to Mum and Dad’s to grovel for forgiveness. Hopefully they’ll feed me, if not I’ll grab something from the chippy on the way home. If you need me to pick anything up for you or Kat, let me know. I won’t be late.’

Ten minutes later he was standing on the front doorstep of his parents’ house. They’d left the porch light on for him, a beacon to show him the way home. He looked down at the basket in his hands. How on earth was he going to apologise for going AWOL? Every step closer to their door had been harder to take as the impact of his thoughtless behaviour had struck home. It honestly hadn’t occurred to him for a second that anyone would’ve been worried about him, and the fact it hadn’t only went to prove how disconnected he’d become from them. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and rang the bell.

Moments later the door swung open and he was face to face with his dad. Jago Penrose had a deep scowl on his face and Ed’s gut twisted. Damn, he really was going to get a bollocking.