Page 47 of Christmas, Actually

Ezra turned and regarded Doris, his face a picture of misery. ‘It has.’ He nodded. ‘I’ve… tried to make it up to her. At least I’m in the process of doing…’ He ballooned his cheeks.

‘Spit it out, boy,’ Doris demanded.

‘I’m not good with words.’ Ezra rolled his eyes and blew out a puff of air. ‘But I will say I’ve got a plan. I’m going to do something that I hope will help.’ He glanced towards the entrance of the shop. ‘I pray it’ll work.’

‘Well, for your sake I hope it does,’ Stan said, shaking his head. ‘It won’t do to upset Eleanor.’ Beside him, Ethel nodded.

The door dinged again and there was a scamper of feet, then Clara’s stomach lurched as Figgy and Liam appeared. He was wearing his Mr Christmas suit and Figgy was clutching the scrap of material she’d given him the day before. He scampered to greet her, but Clara noticed Liam held back.

She gazed at him, hoping for a smile or some sign that he was happy to see her, but he avoided her gaze and instead greeted Doris and Ethel, before shaking Stan’s hand.

Something was wrong – Clara could feel it in the pit of her stomach, in the way her knees suddenly felt weak. Had she done something wrong, said the wrong thing, been too needy? Or could it be to do with Hudson arriving – was Liam upset about that? Her mind tracked back. She hadn’t called him. She should have called him, but she’d messaged and he hadn’t replied. Her stomach roiled. Or did this have something to do with Mia, had he decided to reconcile with her? And why was she spiralling? She had to be rational. She had nothing to apologise for. She needed to remember that. Hadn’t Liam been the one to tell her she deserved better?

She took a step towards him, intent on drawing him to one side so they could talk, but then the door dinged again and Eleanor came in carrying a sack filled with presents, with Nora following clutching one of her black cats.

‘I’ve got mulled wine for anyone who needs a shot before the day begins,’ Nora declared, waving the large bag confirming what Joe had told them. ‘There are cakes in here from Hazel too.’

‘Yes, Danny and Sam have been cooking up a storm since we suggested they have a bake-off to win Kiera’s heart. There’s a veritable glut of stock.’ Nora grinned and wagged the bag again before heading towards the back room where Joe kept everything.

‘So,’ Eleanor said as she went to put the sack of toys between the two thrones. ‘Is everyone ready?’ Clara noticed she avoided Ezra’s gaze, despite the bookshop owner staring at her like a puppy who’d lost his best friend.

Liam nodded without smiling. ‘All good here,’ he said shortly. ‘Are we going to start with the song today?’

‘I thought it might be fun,’ Eleanor said. ‘Then Joe can do his magic tricks and⁠—’

‘Make Bugs disappear!’ Doris said, clapping her hands gleefully. ‘He did it at Evergreen House, it was a riot! It took three tries to bring the rabbit back, though.’

Joe frowned and shook his head, making the glitter on his face sparkle. ‘Bugs wasn’t feeling cooperative. I only got him back by bribing him with carrots.’ He looked unhappy.

‘I’m sure that won’t happen today – even if it does, it’ll give the children something to talk about,’ Doris said, clearly excited at the prospect of Bugs causing trouble.

‘Should we get into position and run through things now?’ Liam asked.

‘Good plan,’ Joe said, directing them towards the sparkly chairs.

‘I’ve poured you all a glass of mulled wine just in case you get thirsty during the event,’ Nora jumped in as she headed out of Joe’s stockroom carrying a tray filled with paper cups and a plate layered in wonky biscuits in various colours. She placed it on a table Joe had set out behind the thrones.

‘If anyone’s thirsty or hungry, you can help yourselves.’ His attention darted to Liam, who hadn’t moved and was still holding Figgy’s lead. ‘Do you want to give me the dog? I was going to make Bugs disappear. How about I do the same with Figgy?’

‘I don’t know.’ Liam frowned at his dog. ‘Have you worked with anything as big as a retriever?’ He gripped the lead tighter.

‘I’ve seen Joe work with all kinds of animals,’ Doris said. ‘Didn’t you once make a cow disappear, Joe?’

He nodded. ‘Ah, well, that was a long time ago and on a stage far larger than this, but it all went off without a hitch.’ He glanced at Figgy again. ‘The dog will be fine, lad, but if you’re not sure…’

‘Of course he’s sure,’ Doris said, going to pry the lead from Liam’s hands. ‘Can you imagine how excited young Charlie will be when his dog gets to star in a magic show?’

‘I suppose.’ Liam still looked concerned. ‘Are you sure he’ll be okay? It’s just, I don’t want to lose⁠—’

‘Don’t fuss,’ Doris said, guiding the dog towards the stage. ‘Figgy is going to love it! Imagine.’ She widened her eyes. ‘He’ll be taking a trip to a magical destination with his best friend. You can’t deny him an experience like that.’

Doris guided Figgy to the stage and Bugs suddenly popped out from beneath the table before wriggling his nose at his friend.

‘Fine,’ Liam said and reluctantly made his way over to the thrones. Clara went to join him.

‘Everything okay?’ she whispered as they both took their places.

‘Everything’s fine,’ Liam said without looking at her.