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‘Hello, Millie.
Tim pushed past her, wrestling with an enormous Christmas tree which he deposited in the entrance hall, wiping the perspiration from his brow with the back of his hand. Zach followed a couple of seconds later with another two fragrant fir trees, one under each arm, and set about putting one up in the library and the other in the dining room.
‘The decorations are in boxes under the stairs, Millie. If you’ve finished the preparations for theFestive Feastdemonstrations this afternoon, I wouldn’t mind a bit of help to turn this place into the best Christmas grotto this side of Oxford?’
‘Sure. Where’s Claudia?’
‘Stayed on in town to do a bit of last minute Christmas shopping.’
‘Oh.’
Millie glanced at Tim’s face and saw a wide beaming smile, his cheeks splashed with circles of red, his eyes dancing with excitement. She wanted to ask why Claudia had decided to stay in Berryford when they had the presentation to deliver in forty minutes but decided against it. However, the jollity in Tim’s demeanour told her something had happened that morning, or maybe it was just the reprieve from the worry of the manor’s future, and he was determined to celebrate.
‘Tim, is everything—’
‘Never better, Millie, never better.’ And to her amazement he hugged her, managing to stab her cheek with a sprig of holly in the process. ‘Ooops, sorry!’
‘Tim? Where do you want me to put this garland?’ asked Zach, traipsing through her pristine kitchen with his muddy boots carrying a long necklace of interwoven greenery, pinecones, ribbons, and baubles.
‘Mantlepiece in the library, please. Could you help Millie with the mistletoe for the doorways?
‘Absolutely!’
Millie saw Zach glance across at her, his eyebrows raised suggestively until his eyes fell on the work surfaces in the kitchen and a smile split his cheeks.
‘Did you do the preparations this morning?’
‘I did.’
‘Looks great.’
Zach waited until Tim had disappeared into the dining room and moved closer to her, so close the aroma of his cologne tickled at her nostrils sending her emotions into turmoil. If she hadn’t known before, her body was certainly screaming its desire at her now. It was the perfect time to tell him how she felt.
‘Zach…’
‘Millie…’
‘You go…’
Her mouth was inches from his, her heart beating out a concerto of jubilation. No sooner had their lips met than there was a triumphant exclamation from the hallway.
‘Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Are you serious?’
Millie rolled her eyes, and Zach whispered, ‘Let’s save this until later, shall we? I’d better go and see what’s snapping at Tim’s heels.’
They rushed into the entrance hall to see Tim standing stock-still with his mobile phone pressed to his ear, his mouth gaping and his face as red as the Santa’s hat dangling from his hands.
‘Everything okay?’
‘Okay?’ Tim repeated, staring at them as if they were strangers.
Millie giggled.
‘Oh, yes, erm, that was Claudia. I…’
He stopped, his eyes fixed unseeingly on the oil painting hanging next to the library door.
‘Tim?’
