Page 27 of Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle

‘Depending—’

‘Depending on the weather and the roads being open, I know. I’m getting the hang of this Mull of Kintyre thing now.’ I hold up the box of handmade chocolates I was hiding in my other hand. ‘And I got these in town today. Interested?’

He makes a noise of desire. ‘If there’s one thing I can’t resist, it’s chocolate of any kind. Can I persuade you to swap the book for joining me and finding something mindless on TV?’

I nod happily while he ducks back across the room and gathers up the blanket and deposits it into my arms and then hands me the TV remote. ‘You take this because it’s the thickest blanket, get comfortable and choose something to watch while I go and make us both a cup of tea. Deal?’

‘Deal.’ My fingertips graze against his as I take the remote from him, and the sound of his socks jingling as he heads towards the kitchen makes me smile to myself. The red tartan blanket is still warm from his body heat when I wrap it around my shoulders and sit down at the opposite end of the three-seater settee, and when he comes back with two steaming mugs of tea, he sits back in the corner of the sofa and pulls another blanket over himself.

I put the chocolates in the space between us and leave a Vicar of Dibley Christmas special on the telly, and we both giggle even though we’ve seen it many times before.

The fireplace crackles away to itself, filling the room with a cosy glow. I realise that drinking tea, sharing a box of artisan chocolates, and simply talking to Ollie has quickly become my favourite way to spend a night, and I already know I’m going to miss this when December is over.

10

On Saturday morning, Maisie and Rory tumble out of Nancy’s car with the exuberance of Golden Retriever puppies, and their energy is enough to make anyone feel exhausted already.

‘Uncle Ollie!’ They fill the driveway with delighted shrieks as they hurl themselves at Ollie, who matches their shrieks gleefully, crouches down to greet them and then stands upright with both of them wriggling in his arms.

‘Auntie Lula!’ Maisie escapes his grip and comes over to throw her arms around me with unexpected force.

‘You’re supposed to call them Mum and Dad soon,’ Rory tells her as Ollie puts him down and he comes over and holds out a hand for me to shake. ‘Two pretend children reporting for duty, ma’am.’

I can’t help laughing at his seriousness as I shake his hand. ‘It’s nice to meet you both.’

When I’ve untangled Maisie from my legs, I crouch down to say a proper hello. ‘And you should probably call me…’

I glance up at Ollie for verification on what exactly they’re supposed to be calling me.

‘Auntie Lula,’ Rory confirms for me. ‘We’re not stupid – we’re not going to forget over Christmas but it’s too early for “Mum and Dad” yet.’

‘Fine by me.’ Ollie shrugs, making his grey cable-knit jumper tighten across his chest in all the right ways.

‘Granny and Grandpa say we’re supposed to get to know you so we don’t look like we’ve never met before at Christmas.’

‘Well, that is very good advice, Master Rory.’

Rory laughs and Maisie giggles. ‘I like your hair, can I practise French braiding on you?’

Nancy follows them up the driveway, carrying a bag each for them. ‘Are you two sure about this? All day and all night as well?’

‘Nothing we can’t handle. These wee monkeys are going to be no trouble at all, right?’ Ollie tugs on one of Maisie’s plaited bunches.

‘Trouble? Us?’ Rory says in the most well-practised innocent voice I’ve ever heard.

It’s probably the scariest two words ever uttered. My eyes meet Ollie’s, and he gives me a look of trepidation that’s probably only half-joking at best.

‘You can call me or Hamish anytime.’ Nancy glances between us. ‘If you two can handle this as a couple, you’ll have no trouble with a few uptight bosses and an arrogant colleague over Christmas.’

I’m not sure it’s quite the vote of confidence I was hoping for, but I stand next to Ollie and watch as the kids give their grandma a hug goodbye and he nudges his arm into my shoulder and gives me a ‘we’ve got this’ smile.

‘This is going to be soooo much fun!’ Maisie bounces up, back down, and then back up the steps while we wave as Nancy drives away, and for not the first time, I wonder where she gets her energy from and what I’ve got myself into. Suddenly bear-hungry Santas on Oxford Street seem like small fry in comparison to being a pretend mum to someone else’s kids, and I can’t help wondering what Patricia Calloway would think if she could see me now.

Rory fist-bumps the giant nutcracker standing guard by the main door, and Ollie lifts Maisie up so she can plant a kiss on its rosy wooden cheek, and I love the ease between them, reassured that they obviously feel at home with him.

‘Granny says we’ve got our own rooms now, can we see?’ Rory is already inside the foyer.

‘Did Uncle Ollie tell you he’s getting me a pony?’ Maisie takes my hand and drags me inside too. ‘And a stable for the pony to sleep in, and hay for the pony to eat, and a field for the pony to play in, and riding lessons!’