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Me:Sounds promising!
Missie:Carly’s come over with a load of torture implements. She’s waxing me within an inch of my life.
Me:LOL! So I can expect some smooth skin tomorrow, can I?
Missie:Oh yeah. Like a baby’s bum.
Me:Well I’m debating whether to wear my Secret Santa gift. A pair of boxers with a picture of a gift and the slogan ‘I have a huge present for you.’
Missie:Love it!
Me:Ah jeez I’ve just realized there’s another pair attached to the first.
Missie:What do they say?
Me:Jingle my bells and I’ll guarantee a white Christmas.
Missie:OMG I swear coffee just came out of my nose!
Me:I’m not wearing those.
Missie:I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t. And now Carly’s wondering what’s going on because I’ve got the giggles.
Me:LOL
Missie:I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
Me:You sure you don’t want me to pick you up?
Missie:No, I’ll Uber. I’ll see you at six?
Me:I’m looking forward to it. Xxx
Missie:xxxxxxxxxx
I put the phone down and look at Zelda. “She’s one in a billion,” I say, scratching her ear. “You’ll help me get the girl, right?”
She licks my hand and nibbles a finger with her tiny pointy teeth. I sigh. God, it’s going to be a long twenty-four hours.
*
I spend most of the next day in a feverish haze. I go to the supermarket in the morning to get the ingredients for dinner, then spend a couple of hours on the phone, checking on last-minute details for Damon’s wedding and stag night. It’s going to be a big do, and he has people coming from all over New Zealand, including the guys we often deal with in Auckland—Mack and Huxley, and Titus has flown back from the UK for Christmas and the wedding. I’m organizing something special for the stag night, and I check up on people to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
I tidy and decorate the house. As I rarely have visitors, my one concession to it being Christmas is a small fiber-optic tree beside my TV, but I splash out on several strands of fairy lights because I know Missie likes them, and take a while to string them around the living room and bedroom.
After that, Zelda and I go for a long walk through Hagley Park, and I run her ragged chasing balls, knowing it’ll zonk her out for the rest of the day. I’m halfway around when I get an interesting text, and I muse on that as we walk back, the air filled with the smell of freshly mown grass.
When we get home, I lay the table, set a Christmas playlist going on my phone through the speakers, then start preparing dinner. First I make the dessert and put it in the fridge to set. For the main course, I’ve bought an eye-filet steak each, and I’m going to serve it with chunky fries and a fresh green salad, and her choice of a blue-cheese or peppercorn sauce.
I’ve just finished making the blue-cheese sauce when, a few minutes past six, I hear a knock at the door. Zelda barks, and I tell her that it’s Missie and it’s okay. Flinging the tea towel over my shoulder, I go to the door and open it.
It’s only been two days since I saw her, but the sight of her still takes my breath away. She’s wearing a long, blue, sleeveless maxi dress that clings to her bust then falls to the ground in folds. Her hair is pinned up in a loose bun, and tendrils curl around her face. Her makeup is immaculate, her eyes sultry, her lips glistening with gloss. She’s so fucking beautiful that for a second I can only stare, mesmerized.
“You didn’t tell me you lived in a mansion,” she says, eyes wide, bending to say hello to Zelda as she bounds around her. “Hello Miss Zee! Wow, you’ve grown!”
“You want to come in?” I step back and hold out my hand. “I’ll take your bag. The butler’s got the day off.”
She gives me a wry look as she hands me the small case, then picks up Zelda and carries her into the house, leaving behind the faint scent of her perfume. It wraps around me like silk ribbons, and my pulse picks up speed.
