Page 25 of The Merry Christmas Project

He burst out laughing. ‘Thank you for that. And now that you’ve just relieved me of my very last shred of self-esteem, I’ll take my nuts and go.’ He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. ‘I can’t believe I just said that.’

‘Oh yes, hold onto those,’ I said, smirking back at him.

Oh God. I turned away from the counter, unable to believe how it was even possible to say so many embarrassing things in the space of two minutes.

Nell, still struggling to stop herself laughing, took his money and I was about to hand him his free sample of wasabi peas when a disturbance three stalls down drew my attention. There was a flurry of movement and a crash of something being knocked over, followed by shouts of ‘Oi’ and ‘Watch out !’ and an all too familiar yappy bark.

‘Scheisse !’ yelled a voice.‘Catch that dog !’

There was only one person in Wetherley who swore in German : Astrid. I dashed out from behind the stall just in time to see Otto bounding towards us.

‘Otto, stop !’ I cried, trying to grab his lead. But it was too late – Otto had already left the ground and was flying through the air towards Cole.

‘Whoah !’ Cole staggered backwards and miraculously caught the dog mid-air. He held him at arms’ length and laughed. ‘Well, hello little fella.’

Otto wriggled and licked his face.

‘Sorry about that, it’s my friend’s dog !’ I gasped, finally getting hold of the end of Otto’s lead.

‘It’s OK, at least I won’t need a wash later,’ he said, putting the dog down and wiping the slobber from his cheek.

Otto looked up at us like butter wouldn’t melt, his tail sweeping the floor vigorously.

‘I’m so sorry !’ Astrid arrived at the stall, breathless. ‘One minute he was trotting along, then he must have spotted you, Merry, and darted off so fast that he jolted the lead from my hand.’

‘Don’t worry,’ I said, handing the lead back to her. ‘He only doled out a canine kiss.’

‘Yes, no harm done and at least I’ve made an impression on someone today,’ Cole teased, directing his smile at me. He stuffed his purchases into his coat pocket and bent down to ruffle Otto’s ears. ‘Nice to meet you, Otto. Goodbye, ladies. It’s been … quite an experience.’

‘Likewise,’ I said, holding his gaze.

‘Come again soon,’ Nell added.

Astrid gave a low whistle as he strode off through the market. ‘Who was that ?’

‘Cole,’ said Nell, with a shrug. ‘From Bakewell.’

‘Well, Otto certainly took a shine to him,’ said Astrid.

He wasn’t the only one, I thought, still keeping an eye on Cole’s movements. ‘Hey, look, he’s letting himself into the bank.’

We watched as Cole put a key into the lock and then, shoving the door with his shoulder, pushed his way in.

‘Maybe he’s the owner,’ said Nell.

The building had been empty since the bank closed and apparently had changed hands a couple of times over the years. For the last twelve months, the lovely old façade had been hidden behind scaffolding. Daniel, whose shop was next door but one, had heard a rumour that it was to be converted into a residential property, but apart from various workmen appearing, no one had never seen anyone who looked like they might be in charge.

‘Hopefully that scaffolding will be coming down soon,’ Astrid frowned. ‘I can see it from the window of my flat. It spoils the beauty of the square.’

‘Go over and ask him, Merry !’ Nell urged. ‘Find out what his plans are.’

I chewed my lip ; it was tempting. He was the first man to have caught my eye since Daniel.

‘No,’ I decided, suddenly feeling a flutter of nerves. ‘Not today. When I know more about the Christmas plans, I’ll go over then and try to persuade him to join in. And maybe his dad too.’

Nell gave a shiver of pleasure. ‘I can’t wait for Christmas. Only another month until the big tree goes up. Christmas trees are magical.’

‘Oh ja,’ Astrid agreed, her eyes sparkling. ‘Choosing our tree was always such fun. It marked the start of Christmas in my family. We would go to the forest in Bavaria and pick out the best one. My brother wanted the tallest one, but I always looked for a perfect shape.’