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Chapter Nine
‘Yum, this is tasty.’ Holly took another bite of the puff pastry mince pie Joe had bought her from one of the stallholders.
‘You’re making a good go of showing you don’t like it.’ Joe chuckled as he bit into his.
‘Huh?’ Holly looked down at her coat and laughed as she brushed the pastry crumbs to the ground. Finishing it off, she picked up her takeaway cup of hot chocolate and leaned against the bench encircling the huge Christmas tree in the middle of the courtyard.
‘That was good fun and your wreath turned out well in the end, didn’t it?’ Joe looked down at the two large ones containing their wreaths by their feet.
‘Yes, I think so.’ She smiled. After struggling to get started, she was happy with the end result. ‘Of course you did have a little advantage over me.’
‘Ooh, not this again.’ Leaning forward, he put his head in his hands and groaned dramatically.
‘Oi!’ Holly gently shoved his shoulder and laughed. ‘But we never did get to finish our conversation.’
Joe chuckled. ‘No, I guess we didn’t.’ He leaned back again, looking up through the branches of the Christmas tree, the colourful flickers of the fairy lights peeking through the green needles. ‘But there really is nothing else to say.’
‘Ah, but I think there is.’ Holly grinned. She knew there was. His cheeks had a tint of red to them, just as they always did when he was embarrassed or self-conscious. It was something she loved about him, but she knew equally annoyed him.
‘Here, look at this.’ Putting his arm around her shoulders, he gently pulled her back and nodded upwards. ‘If you look hard enough, you can see right up through the branches to the stars in the sky.’
Relaxing next to him, Holly tilted her head back, blinking against the bright twinkling of the fairy lights. Joe was right. She could see the stars. Just. The branches of the tree were plentiful and bushy with the needles, but looking through the tiny gaps between the branches, she could make out the dark night sky and the brilliant white of the stars. ‘Oh yes.’
‘Please don’t make me answer your question.’ Joe’s voice was quiet, his breath tickling her ear as they looked up.
Glancing at him quickly, she frowned. It wasn’t like him not to divulge everything. The four of them had always been close and had always shared their crushes, their loves and their heartbreaks with each other.Most men she’d dated, including Mick, had always tried their hardest to cover up any emotions they might deem vulnerable, but not Joe. He’d always been very much willing and there to talk about anything from the annoyance of missing a bus to life’s serious problems, and he wasn’t afraid of showing his emotions. So it felt strange that hewouldn’ttell her, but she had torespecthis wishes. ‘Okay.’
‘Thank you.’ Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head before relaxing back again.
Itmustbe someone she knew. Susie or Lara perhaps. He’d been spending a lot of time with Lara recently. Ever since she’d begun to work from home, she and Joe hadbeenmeeting to go walks or tograb a biteto eat at lunchtimes. It must be Lara he liked. But why had he gone on a date with his neighbour instead of telling Lara how he felt?
Sitting up, Joe downed the rest of his hot chocolate and chuckled. ‘I can almost hear your brain working trying to figure out who I’m talking about.’
Holly straightened her back and took a sip of her drink. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Shall we head back? You’ll be able to give Elsie her wreath.’ Joe looked at her.
‘Yep, why not?’ He wasn’t about to tell her, was he? They might as well get back to the bakery and back into the warmth.
––––––––
‘YOU OPEN UP, I’LL GRAByour wreath for you.’ As soon as Joe had pulled the handbrake up outside the bakery, he jumped out of the car and headed to the boot.
‘Thanks.’ Holly braced herself for the drop in temperature as she opened the car door and hurried to the bakery, pulling the keys out as she did. She peered through the glass of the door before pushing it open. Cheerful festive music seeped out into the street as she and Joe stepped inside. ‘Hello?’
‘Oh, evening, love.’ Elsie appeared at the other side of the door and held it open, ushering both Holly and Joe through. ‘Come on in, I was just about to make myself and Ian a nice hot choccie. Would you both like one?’
‘I should get going, but thank you.’ Joe indicated his car outside and pivoted on the spot, looking for somewhere to put the large wreath box. deciding on the table closest to the window, he lowered it before looking at Holly. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Yes, okay.’ Holly nodded.
‘Have we got company, Elsie, love?’ Ian’s voice called from the back of the bakery.
Turning, Holly frowned. She couldn’t see where Ian had called them from. Stepping forward, she realised that a small shed had been half-built towards the back of the bakery and one of the side panels was shuddering. Ian must be holding it up. Was that the grotto? Was he building Santa’s grotto?
