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Chapter 28
‘I’ve got something for you,’ Daniel said, when Seren arrived at his house ridiculously early the following morning to pick him up to go to the Christmas Tree Farm.
He had his hands behind his back and she could see tufts of foliage poking out around him.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
‘Ta da!’ With a flourish, he presented her with a misshapen wreath.
‘It’s lovely,’ she said, taking it from him. It was decorated with lots of greenery and some rather pretty white flowers, and she inhaled their sweet scent with pleasure. ‘What are they?’
‘These arehelleborus niger, also known as Christmas rose.’ He pointed to several wide-open flowers with bright yellow stamens, which didn’t look like any rose she’d ever seen before. ‘And these here…’ He touched the petals of another white flower, with longer yellow stamens ‘…arelonicera fragrantissima, winter honeysuckle. I grew them myself. I made the wreath myself, too.’
He was so proud of it, Seren was touched by his thoughtfulness. It didn’t matter that it was an odd shape, the fact that he’d made it and hadn’t just grabbed a bunch of supermarket flowers, meant the world to her.
‘I haven’t quite perfected the shape yet – the bottom of the heart is easy enough, but the rounded bits at the top are more difficult to get right.’
Seren examined it, thinkingso that’s what it’s supposed to be – a heart-shaped wreath. ‘You’ve not done too bad a job,’ she said, giving him a kiss.
It was a few minutes before they were able to carry on the conversation.
‘I thought you could maybe make some for Valentine’s Day,’ Daniel said. ‘I think they’d go down a storm, with red roses obviously, not white ones. Although you could use white ones for weddings. What do you think?’
Seren thought it was a marvellous idea, but they had today to get through first and loads of fresh greenery to sell before she could turn her mind to the new year and beyond. ‘Get in,’ she told him, returning to Dippy and climbing into the driver’s seat.
She was glad Daniel was with her, because the farm was off the beaten track and down a narrow lane and she didn’t think she would have found it on her own. Making a mental note to invest in a satnav after Christmas, she parked the van and began to set up, while Daniel went off to find the grotto in which he was to spend the next few hours.
Seren blew him a kiss and he pretended to catch it, clutching his hand to his chest with a blissful expression on his face. Abruptly he became solemn, and even from this distance she could see the sincerity in his eyes as he mouthed, ‘I love you.’
Smiling to herself, Seren marvelled at how her world had turned upside down in twenty-four hours. This time yesterday, she’d had to drag herself out of bed and force her reluctant body to go through the motions of pretending to be a functioning human being, when all she’d wanted to do was to hide under the duvet and sob into her pillow.
But she’d made the effort to visit Aunt Nelly, and now here she was with a job (of sorts – if it panned out), her savings intact and in the loving arms of her boyfriend.
Not only that, but she also couldn’t wait for Christmas, because she’d be spending the biggest part of it with Daniel. Which reminded her… she intended to pay Santa a visit later, sit on his knee and tell him what she wanted for Christmas.
It was only going to be a short day because by four in the afternoon it would be too dark to wander around a Christmas Tree farm, so Daniel didn’t mind only having a short comfort break to wolf a sandwich down and have a hot drink.
He’d gone from dreading today (having to be happy and joyful when he felt anything but, would have been a nightmare) to having a thoroughly good time.
He put it down to being in love and knowing that his love was returned.
His grandad had been right – lovewasthe point. He was so grateful to Edwin for making him see that he needed to make things right with Seren.
And he’d certainly done that – although kissing for hours in a draughty shed hadn’t been the most comfortable of experiences, it had been the most magical. Eventually though, the cold had driven them indoors, where Patrick had plied them with hot toddies and mince pies, until Daniel thought it best to head home.
He’d longed to spend the night with her again, to show her just how much he loved her, but it was enough for now that they were back together, and he’d gone home on a cloud of sheer bliss, his soul light and his heart singing.
His heart almost stopped when his mobile rang just as he’d finished his last bite of cheese and pickle on sourdough and he hurried to answer it, his pulse thrumming in his veins. He could have sworn he’d turned it off before he’d entered the grotto.
‘Hello?’
‘What have I told you about answering your phone in such a manner? It simply won’t do. If you answer your phone like that when you’re working for me, I won’t be very impressed.’
‘Miss Carruthers. Hello,’ he repeated.
‘This is she. I’m most disappointed in you. I went to all that trouble to recommend you to Highfields and you turned them down.’
‘They didn’t actually offer me the job,’ Daniel began, wondering how quickly he could get rid of her; he was due back from his break in a few minutes.
