Page 51 of Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle

‘Good heavens, look at this place!’ Mum looks around in awe and then wraps me in a hug. ‘And look at you, you’re practically glowing! And you!’ She turns to Ollie and reaches up to pat his face. ‘Oh, you are a real Prince Charming! You’re the most handsome son-in-law I’ve ever had! No offence, Brian!’

‘None taken,’ Brian calls from the car where he’s lifting suitcases out of the boot. Ollie gives Mira a hug and shakes Dad’s hand for a second time, but Mum has embarrassed him so much that his cheeks are currently contributing to global warming, and he goes over to say hello to Rocco and help Brian with the luggage.

‘It’s not real, Mum!’

‘I know that, silly, but we’re just playing along, aren’t we? Mira’s filled us in on the real reason you came up here.’

‘You can’t act like he’s your son-in-law that you’ve never met before, you were supposed to have been at our wedding!’

‘The visitors aren’t here yet, are they?’

‘No. Tomorrow.’

‘Then you’ve got plenty of time to fill us in!’ She hugs me again. ‘Oh, it is good to see you! And this place is delightful! I always knew Paul McCartney could never be wrong!’

When released from the car, Rocco gives me an impatient hug before zooming around the driveway like an aeroplane and nearly toppling into the fountain, while Ollie and Brian take the luggage between them, and I lock up the gates and herd my parents and Mira inside.

‘The castle is stunning,’ Dad says while Mum admires the giant nutcracker outside the door. ‘Did you really do all this, Lu?’

‘All Lula’s work.’ Ollie leaves the suitcases by the stairs and drops his arm around my shoulders. ‘It would be nothing without her. Thank you for lending me your daughter’s talents this year. It’s been the most… enlightening month of my life.’

I meet his eyes again because that was a good word choice.

‘Finally, something with soul.’ Mira strokes a poinsettia leaf while Mum peers at the Christmas village, whose 1800s villagers have had their numbers bolstered by several Lego figures and My Little Pony horses over the past couple of weekends. ‘What a contrast to those soulless corporate windows you keep doing in London. This is something you actually care about.’

‘I do. This place deserves to be showcased at its best.’ I reach up and squeeze Ollie’s hand where it’s resting around my shoulders, and then quickly let go when I spot the four pairs of eyes on us. Rocco is distracted by taking baubles off the tree and throwing them onto the floor or he would’ve noticed too.

Ollie drops his arm and picks up the basket of Santa hats and reindeer antler headbands that we’ve left in the entrance hall and offers it around. ‘Take any you want, Lula’s making them mandatory for all guests, even though I can think of a couple of very staid men and their glamorous wives who are not going to agree to that.’

‘And I’ve told you, Christmas is all about fun in our house. No work talk!’ It’s a discussion we’ve had multiple times this week and every time we end up on different sides of the half-serious-half-joking argument, but I catch the look between Mira and Brian because it’s very ‘old married couple’ for two not-old, not-married, not-a-couple people.

Nancy and Hamish have heard the noise and come to see what’s going on, and after another round of introductions, Nancy insists on making up two more rooms.

‘Do we even have that many rooms?’ I ask.

‘Just about. Any more guests and you’ll have to bunk up with me.’ Ollie waggles his eyebrows in a way that leaves no one in any doubt that there might’ve been a bit of bunking up going on already.

He insists on carrying suitcases up the stairs and helping Nancy with the rooms, leaving me to give my entire family a tour of the castle.

I think Mum might actually faint when she sees the library. ‘No wonder you married him!’

‘I didn’t…’ I make a noise of frustration, and she laughs because she’s winding me up.

‘This really is impressive,’ Mira says approvingly. I’ve sent her photos of the view from the window, but seeing it in person is something else.

I go over and whisper to her while Mum is distracted by books.

‘Don’t mess this up for Ollie, okay? I know you have your doubts, but he’s the loveliest man I’ve ever met and he’s put so much thought, and expense, and time and effort into this pretence, he deserves it to go the way he wants it to.’

‘So, what, fake wives can’t have families? We came because… you’re clearly smitten with him and this place, and you know how much Mum loves the Mull of Kintyre song. She was upset about not seeing you for Christmas, and Brian vaguely suggested that we could see if there were any vacancies in nearby hotels, and before we knew it, we were packing our bags. We’re not here to mess anything up for either of you.’

‘Rocco is four years old! He’s never going to understand about sticking to the story!’

‘Even if he does say something he shouldn’t, he’ll be banging on about seeing a unicorn swimming in the fountain a minute later. He’s vastly more interested in Paw Patrol than in your pseudo-boyfriend’s promotion. No one’s going to take a four-year-old seriously.’

‘He knows my name isn’t Lucy! He knows I live with you and not in a castle in Scotland! And I’m not smitten with anyone or anything,’ I add to address her earlier comment that has taken this long to filter through to my jumbled brain.

‘Smitten or not, you seem happy.’ My older sister has always been able to see right through my lies. She tugs at the cream cardigan I’m wearing again over my own clothes. ‘And this strangely large cardi suits you. This whole place suits you, you look happier than you’ve been in London for years.’