Page 93 of The Secret Holiday Kiss

Daisy laughed. ‘Twinkly was on my mood board, so I guess I’ve succeeded.’

‘It kicks off in nine hours.’ He had his hands in his pockets, and he looked happy, well rested. As if he was looking forward to Christmas.

‘Nine hours until the ball, two days until Christmas,’ Daisy said lightly.

There was a long, loaded pause, then Harry said, ‘You’ve not heard from him?’

‘No. I thought it made sense to give him some space, after …’

‘You know people say things they don’t mean when they’re angry or upset.’

‘You sound like Mum,’ Daisy told him. ‘I’m not twelve.’

Harry groaned. ‘I’m not good at this, OK? And we haven’t been close over the last few years – the last couple of decades, really. But Daisy,’ he turned to face her, ‘I hated what Stefan did to you. When you told me, I wanted to break something. I knew how much it mattered to you, the life you’d built, and I wanted to comfort you, but I didn’t know how, or if you would … want that from me.’

‘I wasn’t good at accepting support from anyone,’ Daisy admitted.

‘Big change there, then.’ Harry widened his eyes and Daisy had to laugh. ‘But now, with you here, and it’s Avery …’ He shook his head.

‘What?’ Daisy realized she was desperate for his advice, a pearl of wisdom, something to make her feel better.

‘He’s a good guy,’ he said. ‘You know you can tell when someone’s just … good? He was fun to hang out with when we were young, and I don’t remember much about him getting in trouble, except that it was so unlike him to fight with anyone.’

Daisy sighed. ‘He hasn’t told you?’

‘Told me what?’ Darkness and Terror were sniffing around the perimeter of the room, and Daisy knew she would have to give the place a last, rigorous hoover, because what if any of the villagers were allergic?

‘He beat them up because of us.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He told me that he heard those boys taking the piss out of us, because of where we lived, then because Mum got sick. He didn’t tell me exactly what they said – I’m not sure he even remembers – but he was defending us. You because you were friends, me because I was so introverted, so awkward back then. He did it because he’s got a big heart.’

‘Shit.’ Harry rubbed his jaw. ‘And he ended up being sent away because of it?’

‘I think he’s just …’ She shook her head. ‘He’s been abandoned, in lots of ways. I know his parents were trying to help him, to get him out of the bullies’ orbit, but it must have felt like they were giving up on him. Then I turned up and it started out as a bit of fun, I was always going back to London, but we just … hit it off. It seemed like more.’

‘Then Lars waltzed in,’ Harry added, because Daisy had told him what had happened.

‘Then Lars waltzed in and implied that I was only here to improve things, to take pity on Mistingham because I was so much more sophisticated. And Avery’s had a knock, with everything going on in Norwich, and I think he included himself in that: that I was above him, only spending time with him out of pity, and then I’d be leaving too – another abandonment.’

‘That’s a very convoluted story,’ Harry said gently. ‘Have you asked him if that’s what he thinks?’

‘He said some of it when we argued, so I think there’s some truth to it. At the very least, he knows I’m not sticking around, so he decided to end it as painlessly as possible.’

‘How’s that going for you?’

‘Not painless,’ Daisy said. ‘I thought we’d have the ball together. Christmas too.’

‘You still can. Avery will come around.’

‘And he and May would be welcome here on Christmas Day?’

Harry laughed. ‘Pretty much everyone is welcome on Christmas Day, but May and Avery are on the VIP list.’

‘Pretty much everyone?’

‘I invited a few friends over, the year I got together with Sophie, and—’