Page 52 of The Christmas Star

‘And we weren’t having that. Were we, Jackson?’

Keeping his eyes on Roma, he smiled gently. ‘Definitely not.’

‘I think that’s enough excitement for now.’ Maeve gave Roma a fuss. ‘Time to get you sorted, eh?’ She returned her attention to her audience. ‘The first thing we need to do is put her in the bath.’ Maeve smiled at the camera. ‘Thank you again for all your kind words and support. As for the less kind out there, remember what I said and do better. Until next time. Au revoir, tout le monde. À bientôt!’

I took a deep breath and rather than race to the comment section, I let my phone drop. Regardless of what Mum said, the internet trolls wouldn’t be able to help themselves. Regardless of Mum’s efforts, her attackers would already be calling her cruel for denying Roma’s real owners the chance to get their dog back. While others accused her of spreading rabies. Not sure how much more excitement I could take, I decided not to read them.

CHAPTER 34

At last, finishing up with the French driver, Theo said his goodbyes and joining me, jumped in the driving seat. He placed a hand on my knee. ‘You okay?’ he asked.

I smiled and nodded. ‘They’ve found a dog.’

Theo looked at me confused. ‘Who has?’

I let out a laugh and gestured to my phone. ‘Who do you think?’

Behind us, the French driver started his car and once he’d turned in the road, Theo followed suit.

‘They were at some service station.’

Theo’s interest piqued. ‘Did they say where?’

‘Nope. They didn’t even give a clue. Anyway, this dog was abandoned by all accounts.’

The French driver took a left and so did we.

Theo smiled. ‘Jackson’s always wanted a dog.’

‘You should see the way they’d wrapped it in a blanket. I honestly thought it was a baby. Although for Mum it probably is a substitute grandchild. It is cute though. It’s got these massive brown eyes and a big bushy tail. They’ve called it Roma.’

‘Maybe they’ll share custody. Fifty-fifty.’

The French driver turned right with us close behind.

‘The poor thing probably doesn’t understand a word they’re saying. I imagine it’s only ever heard French.’ I looked at Theo. ‘Speaking of which, why didn’t you tell me about your linguistic ability?’

Theo smiled, no doubt, recalling my efforts with the hunter. ‘I tried, but you told me you were handling the situation, remember.’ He laughed. ‘If I didn’t have eyes, I’d have sworn it was Maeve in the car.’

I gave his knee a playful tap. ‘Cheeky.’

‘I worked in Paris for a year,’ Theo said. ‘Back in the day when I was training to be a chef. I wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t learnt the lingo. Maybe that’s why it’s stuck.’

Thanks to menopausal brain fog, half the time I couldn’t recall words in English. I’d be knackered remembering a foreign language.

The French driver pulled up at a junction and as he indicated right, Theo flipped his indicator too.

I frowned. ‘Are we following him?’

‘Who, Lucas?’

At least I now knew the driver’s name.

Theo nodded. ‘We are, yes.’

‘Why? Shouldn’t we be going south?’

‘Because he’s offered us somewhere to sleep.’