Page 28 of The Secret Holiday Kiss

‘He’s living in wedded bliss. I’m an interloper.’

‘Do you always dismiss yourself like that?’

‘Do you always interrogate people like this?’

Avery leaned forward. ‘If you remember our first meeting, you’ll realize that I learnt my interrogation skills from you.’

Daisy felt the heat rise to her cheeks. ‘I think I should—’

‘Avery! Hi. Good to see you.’ Harry emerged from the living room and shook Avery’s hand. ‘You don’t need to hover in the hall. Daisy should have invited you in for a drink.’

‘She did,’ Avery said, ‘but I need to get back. We should have a few pints at the Blossom Bough soon.’

‘Great. It’s long overdue.’

‘Agreed. And Daisy, let me know if you want to do the thing.’

‘The thing?’

‘Me being an ear. And I’ll give you that tour, too.’

‘Now that you’ve stopped being pissed off with me?’

‘Now that I know you’re not a spy.’ He grinned, and Daisy’s stomach flipped. She wondered if she could come up with a new design style called Sexily Scruffy, modelled entirely on Avery. It would involve robust, rounded furniture, lots of clean lines and warm, sandy colours, then fringes and tassels on the softer furnishings. God, that could actually work, in a Seventies sort of way. And she was clearly going mad.

‘How do you know I’m not a spy?’ she managed.

‘Because I could tell you believed it when you said hell hounds weren’t real. If you were a spy, you would have seen all sorts of weird shit.’

‘If I was a good spy, though, I’d make you think I didn’t believe in them while hiding the truth from you.’

Avery laughed. ‘Fair enough. Let’s discuss it when we get together.’

‘Come here, if you like? I promise I’ll keep the dogs out of the way.’

‘I’m going to cure his phobia,’ Harry said. ‘Introduce him to them slowly, show him how harmless they are little by little.’

Avery scoffed. ‘I don’t need phobia therapy. Not everyone loves dogs, OK?’

‘How do you feel about mischievous goats?’

‘Now Felix, I am totally on board with. He’s my kind of pet.’

‘Of course he is,’ Daisy said.

‘Right, I’ll get off now, but I’ll be in touch.’

‘Good.’ Daisy tried to hide how delighted she was at this unexpected turn of events. ‘Will you bring cake?’

Avery flashed her his wide, disarming smile. ‘Try and stop me.’ Then he was gone, leaving her standing on the windswept doorstep, the cold air rushing inside but her entire body overheating, her mind racing with ideas for Sexily Scruffy Design. Maybe following the Jimmy Nail song that day had been a huge mistake.

‘All right?’ Harry was giving her a curious look.

‘Absolutely fine,’ she said breezily, and turned away from him. ‘Want some hot chocolate? I’m going to let the dogs out and make myself a mug.’

‘Do I look like the kind of man who drinks hot chocolate with marshmallows in?’ he said dryly.

Daisy smiled. ‘I never mentioned the marshmallows, so I think the answer is yes.’