AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Now I’ve started kissing you I can’t seem to stop.’
‘Don’t apologise,’ she said. ‘I’m not sorry.’
‘What about your parents?’
She shrugged. ‘They know as well as anyone that life’s short and you have to grab happiness when you can.’
He nodded at the sense in her words. ‘It is short and things can change at any given moment.’
‘So let’s have a wonderful Christmas and leave any worrying until January.’
‘Deal,’ he said, then he kissed her again.
* * *
On the way back to the house, something caught Leo’s eye and he turned to get a better look. ‘Is that a sledge being pulled by a dog?’ he asked.
Erin followed his gaze and laughed. ‘Zara told me she’d seen that the other day but I was sceptical. To be honest I thought she was winding me up.’
There was quite a bit of snow on the ground now and it was still falling from the sky, making the village feel like it had been covered by a cold white blanket. The air had a muffled feel and sounds didn’t seem to be carrying so a calming hush had fallen over the village.
‘Perhaps it’s one of Santa’s elves,’ he said with a grin.
‘Perhaps it’s Santa himself,’ Erin replied. ‘Leo… I’ve been thinking. Why don’t you come to my room tonight? We can keep each other warm.’
He glanced at her parents who were walking behind them with the others. ‘I don’t know… It feels a bit strange under your parents’ roof. Doesn’t it?’
‘I guess it does. But my room is far away from theirs and we can just cuddle. I’d really like to be held. I feel like I need to be held by you.’
‘OK then. I’ll come to your room. But just for a cuddle.’ He winked at her and she giggled.
‘Just a cuddle,’ she agreed.
When they reached the house, Leo turned to look at Sunflower Street before he closed the door. The snow was piling up on the ground, the cars parked on the street, the driveways and the roofs of houses. It was beautiful, exactly like a scene from a chocolate box.
‘It’s wonderful here,’ he said.
‘It is but not as wonderful as you,’ Erin replied, taking his hand and pulling him inside.
Chapter24
Erin
Erin padded downstairs on Christmas Eve filled with a sense of something that she hadn’t felt since she was a lot younger. She placed a hand on her belly when she reached the bottom step and tried to work out what it was. Then she realised. She felt excited. Filled with anticipation. And she liked it. A lot!
She checked her appearance in the hallway mirror, tried to tame her bed hair by running her fingers through it and tucking it behind her ears, then headed for the kitchen where she found her parents sitting at the island drinking coffee.
‘Morning, Erin,’ her mum said.
‘Morning!’ She breezed across the kitchen and helped herself to coffee then leant against the unit looking out of the window. ‘Wow! It’s a winter wonderland out there today.’
‘It is indeed. Seems like the snow came thumping down last night,’ her dad said.
‘Well I didn’t hear a thing because I slept like a log.’ Erin turned to face her parents and found them both looking at her with their heads tilted as if they were assessing her. ‘What?’
‘Everything all right is it, Erin?’ her mum asked.
‘Yes everything’s great. Why?’
