Page 55 of The Cotswolds Christmas Fair

She shook her head, dragging her imagination away from all that. She so badly wanted to be the version of her that Anthony saw.

‘What about you? How’s your family?’

He smiled. ‘All boringly good, actually. Mum’s pretty much better now, so I think my services are no longer needed, really.’

Jen took a sip of wine, trying to appear casual. ‘That’s good. So will you be heading back to your normal life?’

She watched him through her eyelashes, hardly daring to breathe. Everything in her told her this was the beginning of something special, that Anthony was going to be someone important in her life. But what if she was wrong? What if this wasn’t the beginning, but the whole thing, and it was about to end?

He leaned forward, elbows on the table, a small smile flickering over his lips. ‘I don’t know,’ he said softly, as his eyes travelled over her face. ‘I’m finding I’m not that keen to leave, for some reason.’

She smiled, a huge and radiant smile that she couldn’t control. ‘Your nieces?’

He grinned. ‘Oh, yeah. My nieces, yes, must be that.’ He took a sip of wine, eyeing her over the rim of the glass. ‘They are super cute.’

They talked until they were the last people in the restaurant, so intent on each other that they were unaware of the emptying tables around them.

‘Sorry,’ Anthony said, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair as he smiled up at the waitress who was hovering with the bill. ‘Lost track of time, and now we’ve kept you late. Are you working again tomorrow?’

She smiled and shook her head. ‘Day off tomorrow.’

‘Oh, good, so you’ll get a break from annoying customers like us.’

She laughed. ‘I’ve had way worse than you.’

‘Oh dear.’ He pulled a face. ‘Must be bad!’

The waitress left, and he helped Jen into her coat. Instead of letting it go, he held on to the lapels and pulled her into him, smiling softly, kissing her gently, his lips soft against hers.

Taken by surprise, she felt the room shift around her. The kiss was brief and gentle, and felt both exciting and familiar. He took her hand and led her out, raising his eyebrows at the waitress and saying goodbye.

The street was cold and dark, frost sparkling on the pavement, the lights that were strung above twinkling in the clear night. There were still a few stragglers on the streets, couples holding hands, friends walking in groups; laughter drifted through the air.

Anthony leaned against the wall, smiling as he wrapped his arms around Jen’s waist and slowly drew her closer to him. They stood for a moment as he took her in, stroking a strand of hair from her face, his breath coming a little quickly. She waited, knowing what was coming, longing for the touch of his lips against her own.

And when he kissed her, it was with such passion that she couldn’t catch her breath. And didn’t want to.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The messages were more frequent now.

Jen had spent the day holed up in her room, re-reading Wuthering Heights and getting distracted by her phone, texting Anthony about books and films and art – well, he mostly texted about art, and she agreed with whatever he was saying. The cat had deigned to come into the room, and had even curled up on the bed nearby; not touching Jen, but tolerating her presence, at least. Jen lay on her stomach, watching the dots that indicated Anthony was replying. They were talking about places they’d like to travel to – India, Hawaii, Azerbaijan.

The thudding of little footsteps outside the door alerted her to the imminent arrival of the children, and sure enough, Amy soon burst in, with George following behind.

‘Auntie Jen, come and see my costume for the school play, I’m going to be a angel,’ Amy said, jumping onto the bed and flinging herself onto Jen’s back. George scrambled up and lay on top of Amy, and they wriggled and giggled, and Jen laughed, as she lay under the warm weight of them.

‘OK,’ she said, rolling over and catching both children in her arms as they rocked around on top of her. She held them tightly, nuzzling George’s soft neck and kissing Amy’s pink cheeks until they squealed with laughter. ‘OK, OK. I’ll come and look.’

‘And then can we play in the snow?’ Amy asked, hopping up and down in excitement.

‘Of course. Let’s go,’ she said, letting the children drag her downstairs. Jen, Julia and George were soon settled on the sofa while Dan helped Amy into her costume. They heard her giggling from outside the door as he entered.

‘Are you ready?’ he asked, smiling proudly. ‘Then may I present, Angel Amy!’

She skipped in, wearing a white pillowcase with holes cut in for her head and arms, sparkly wings attached with elastic, and a tinsel halo that kept slipping down her face. She beamed at them.

‘Wonderful!’ Julia said. ‘Wave to the camera.’