Page 96 of The Merry Christmas Project

‘Hey, you !’ I answered while nodding to Fred. ‘That’s great, see you in two.’

Cole was downstairs. The heavy fire door at the back of the building opened and clanged shut again. My heart began to race. We hadn’t seen each other for a few days. In fact, since the first of December, we’d hardly managed to get together alone at all, apart from some snatched moments here and there.

Cole was working crazy hours on site at Orchard Gardens, pushing his team to make as much progress before the Christmas break as possible since his buyers were pushing for moving-in dates. I was rushed off my feet not only with Merry and Bright orders but with the final preparations for the Christmas Project. I’d managed to take half a day off to go Christmas shopping with Nell. I missed her now I wasn’t living with them, and of course, she wanted to know every detail of my new romance with Cole.

There wasn’t much to report on that score at the moment. Cole and I were mostly communicating through text messages through the day and talking on the phone, usually late-night conversations, quite often in bed. We chatted about anything and everything, slowly revealing ourselves to each other, piece by piece like a long-distance jigsaw puzzle, and although I was dying to carry on where we’d left off after the lights switch-on, there was something deliciously exciting about the wait. I carried these new feelings around with me, like an extra layer, keeping me warm. I felt energised and alive and full of hope. Anticipation was building for Christmas Day when we could finally spend the entire day wrapped up in each other.

I met him at the top of the staircase, and he pulled me into a bear hug.

‘This is a lovely surprise,’ I said, relishing the solid feel of his chest beneath his jacket. He’d brought the cold air in with him and looking at his boots, he’d come straight from the building site. He kissed me and I shut my eyes. He smelled of fresh air and frost and something undeniably sexy which was doing all sorts of things to my insides.

He leaned back to look at me. ‘I needed to see a friendly face. Have you got a minute ?’

‘Of course. Come into the packing room and you’ll see a second friendly face.’

Cole sniffed the air as he entered the room. ‘Smells good in here.’

‘Winter Wonderland,’ Fred said. ‘One of our newest. Pine, eucalyptus and sage. If you close your eyes you could almost be in Lapland.’

One of the most surprising things to come out of Fred’s arrival in the business was the discovery that he had an incredible nose for perfume. He had a talent for finding exactly the right quantity of fragrance oils to mix to find the perfect scent. It had been he who’d finally blended the scent I’d been trying to capture for so long, the one which reminded me of Cole. He’d swapped bergamot in for the citrus fruits I’d experimented with and now Mistletoe Kiss, as we’d named it, was going down a storm on Instagram.

Cole took a seat, resting his elbows on his knees, his body rigid with tension.

I sat on the arm of his chair and placed a hand on his neck. ‘What’s up ? Are the children OK ?’

He blew out a breath. ‘According to Lydia, Harley’s refusing to go back to school in January.’

I felt for Cole, he was caught between wanting to present a united front with Lydia and doing his best for his kids. ‘It’s natural for him to have a wobble, especially at Christmas.’

He smiled up at me and squeezed my hand. ‘I sent the kids that video of Hester switching on the lights and I think that might have been the catalyst.’

‘Don’t start blaming yourself, son,’ Fred said. ‘He’s been through a lot. Don’t you remember how you were whenever you were away from home for any length of time ?’

Cole sat down wearily. ‘This is a bit different, though.’

Fred winked at me. ‘Cole went on a trip with the boy scouts and got homesick.’

‘Dad,’ Cole warned, but he was already starting to smile.

‘His mother had to fetch him because he’d threatened to go on hunger strike if they didn’t let him go home.’

‘You poor thing.’ I ruffled the hair at the back of his neck, imagining a little russet-haired boy, brown eyes pooling with tears. ‘How long had you been away ?’

‘Ooh.’ Fred scratched his head pretending to think. ‘All morning.’

‘I see,’ I said gravely.

Cole shrugged sheepishly. ‘What can I say, I’m a home-loving kid.’

‘Why don’t you book your flights for February ?’ I suggested. ‘At least they’ll be able to count down the days until you arrive ; it’ll give them something to look forward to.’

‘Good idea,’ said Fred, standing up and putting on his coat and hat. ‘And not just for the kiddies either ; getting away in the New Year is good for the soul, whatever your age.’

I flashed him a smile discreetly ; seed nicely planted, Fred.

‘I think I will,’ said Cole. ‘And in the meantime, they’re off to that fancy house tomorrow with the outdoor hot tub, so hopefully it’ll take their minds off England.’

Fred chuckled. ‘When I was growing up, we had a toilet at the bottom of the garden and a tin bath in front of the fire on Sundays. We dreamed of having an indoor bathroom ; now if you’re rich enough, you get one built outside !’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Right, folks, I’m off to trip the light fantastic at the Rosebridge Christmas Party.’