Page 35 of The Perfect Gift

‘Thanks.’ She added a splash to her tea then handed it back.

He put it away and took his seat. Lifting his mug, he blew across the top of it and took the tiniest sip. He wasn’t much of a tea drinker, but whenever he had one he always wondered why he didn’t drink it more often. ‘Sometimes only a cup of tea will do,’ he said, more to himself.

Frankie snorted. ‘Where did you get that from, a tea towel?’

Ed laughed. ‘It’s something Ma used to say when we were kids. She has a little saying for pretty much everything.’ He glanced at her over the rim and decided now was the time to push a little. ‘One of her favourites is “A problem shared is a problem halved.”’

Frankie stiffened. ‘You say that like you think I have a problem.’ She picked up her mug, took a sip and cursed softly as the hot liquid burnt her mouth.

‘You seem in an awful hurry to get out of here, that’s all.’

Frankie’s phone began to ring again in the other room. She stared at her mug, seemingly determined to ignore it.

‘You not going to answer that?’

‘No.’

Ed swallowed down a sigh. ‘Right, then, do you have paper and a pen handy?’

Frankie frowned as she raised a finger and pointed towards a drawer. ‘In there. What do you want it for?’

Ed went to fetch them then sat back down. ‘So we can make a pros and cons list, which will help you decide when the best time to leave is.’ He opened the notebook to a clean page and drew two columns. ‘Shall we start with the cons?’

‘It’ll be a short list because there aren’t any.’

‘Oh, I beg to differ,’ Ed protested. ‘If you leave today you’ll miss the Christmas Fayre tomorrow.’

‘That’s not a con.’ Frankie’s smile was as sharp as her tone.

‘But if you don’t come to the fayre, you won’t get to see me freezing my arse off in the splash-for-cash dip.’

Her brows drew together. ‘The what now?’

‘Rick is organising a fundraiser for the local volunteer lifeguards group and he’s roped me in. We’re going to collect as many donations as possible and then those of us silly enough to agree to it are going to take a swim.’

Frankie’s eyes widened. ‘In the sea? Are you mad?’

Ed shrugged. ‘Jury’s out on that one, but the lifeguards do a brilliant job keeping the beach safe in the summer so I didn’t feel like I could say no. My testicles might never forgive me.’

Frankie’s surprised snort of laughter felt like a victory. ‘It would almost be worth staying to witness that.’

‘So that’s one for the cons column, then!’ Ed scribbled it down before she could protest. ‘And there’s Ma’s trifle, of course.’ He added another note.

‘What on earth are you talking about?’

Ed glanced up at her. ‘Trifle. Fruit, jelly, custard, cream⁠—’

‘I know what trifle is, you idiot,’ she cut in with a roll of her eyes.

Ed shook his head. ‘You only think you know what trifle is, because you haven’t tasted Ma’s yet. She makes it every Christmas and it’s the best thing about lunch. Don’t tell my mum I said that, though.’

‘I’m not staying in the village just so I can taste some pudding your grandmother makes,’ Frankie protested.

‘You’ll be missing out.’ Ed shook his head, giving her full sad-kitty eyes.

Frankie shot him an exasperated look as she picked up her tea. ‘I don’t understand why you’re doing this. Why do you care if I go home early?’

Ed set his pen down and met her gaze full on. It was time to lay his cards on the table. ‘Because I like you, Frankie, and I was hoping we might spend more time together.’