‘What time do they start this madness?’ Ed asked, pulling her back to reality.
‘Soon, I think,’ Dodie said. ‘They’re never strict on times; I think when they feel everyone who’s registered has pretty much arrived they go for it. It looks like a good turnout,’ she added, eyeing the colourful crowd gathered at the shore. ‘Better than last year I think.’
Ed stamped his feet and blew into his hands. ‘I can’t believe you’ve done one of these already and knowing how cold it was agreed to do it again.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s weirdly fun. There’s a great sense of camaraderie and, in the end, what’s a few minutes of discomfort in your life compared to the world of good the money it raises does?’
‘I couldn’t have put it better myself,’ he said. ‘I didn’t say I didn’t like that you decided to do it again, just that I was surprised. A lot of people wouldn’t. Then again, a lot wouldn’t do it in the first place.’
‘The way I see it, none of us knows what’s in our future and one day we might need the help of charity ourselves. I mean, look at Nick. I’m sure when he was living in his nice house with his wife and kids he didn’t imagine a few years later he’d be on the streets. But it happened.’
‘Nick has a wife? And kids?’
Dodie nodded.
‘Where are they now? How did he end up on the streets?’
‘He never says, but I know he’s more choked about it than he lets on. He likes you, though,’ Dodie added. ‘Maybe when you start your homeless work he’ll open up to you, and you might even be able to help him connect with them again. After all, you went through something similar with your mum.’
‘Maybe,’ Ed replied, deep in thought. ‘Hang on a minute… how did you know about the homeless work?’
‘I saw Nick last night when I worked at the shelter with Gran,’ she replied with a small smile. ‘He told me all about it. He tells me you’ve become quite pally of late…’
‘Like you said, he’s an interesting bloke once you get talking to him. Victim of circumstances – it can happen to the best of us. We’ve got a lot in common really.’
Dodie smiled vaguely as those eyes assaulted her senses again. She wasn’t thinking about Nick now. She wasn’t thinking about Ed’s past or his future. She wasn’t thinking about the hardships he’d suffered and the pain he’d both endured and caused. She wasn’t even thinking about George and Margaret. She was thinking only of how much she wanted to lay her hands on his chest, how she wanted to run her fingers down his torso and feel the heat of his skin beneath them, how she wanted to explore every inch of him with every inch of her. She’d never wanted a man the way she wanted him right now, and it terrified and excited her in equal measure. She wanted to shout it to the crowds on the beach, but she wanted to run and hide and give herself time to cool down too. She barely knew what to do with herself. Hurry up and start the dip, she thought. At least the cold water might do something to douse the fire stoking inside her.
‘Mum wanted to come too,’ he said. ‘She’s here with Trevor… Somewhere, at least. Want to say hello?’
Dodie nodded and gave silent thanks that mind-reading was not an actual thing because she was pretty sure Julia didn’t need to see the thoughts she was having about her son right now. Ed began to walk and she fell in step alongside.
‘I told them to wait by the parking spaces,’ he said, frowning as they reached the tarmac and saw no sign of Julia and Trevor. ‘Typical.’ Turning to scan the beach, he was silent for a moment. ‘Bloody hell, can’t see them anywhere. Come on, we’ll have to walk around a bit until we find them.’
It took ten minutes to finally locate Julia and Trevor, who greeted Dodie warmly while she thanked them for the flowers Ed had brought to the shop the night before. Julia was brighter than Dodie had ever seen her. She was happy to see that relations seemed a lot more relaxed between them both and Ed too, and they even shared gentle banter as they waited.
‘I’m almost tempted to join you,’ Trevor said, angling his head at the crowds waiting to take the plunge. ‘Spirits are certainly high.’
‘That’s probably what they’ve been necking to keep warm,’ Ed replied with a wry smile. ‘Now that I think of it, a skinful of whisky would probably have kept the chill at bay.’
‘Or you’d have been too drunk to care,’ Trevor said.
‘You’ll be alright?’ Julia asked, her gaze switching from Ed to Dodie and then back again. ‘You’ll be careful not to stay in too long, won’t you?’
‘There’s not much danger of that.’ Ed glanced at Dodie. ‘A quick in and out is the strategy I’m going for.’
‘We have to make it count, though,’ Dodie said. ‘If it’s not a hardship then you haven’t earned the sponsor money.’
‘As long as it has the same end result I’m with Ed,’ Trevor said cheerfully. ‘No point in killing yourself over it.’
‘What are you up to for the rest of the day?’ Julia asked Dodie.
‘Nothing much after this apart from the usual. I’ll pick up Gran and head to my parents’ house for dinner and then we’ll watch an old film before we all fall asleep.’
‘Oh, that sounds nice. We’d do that ordinarily, but of course we’re not home today so it will be a bit different this year.’ She offered Ed a fond smile. ‘Not that I mind, of course. I always watch It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Day. Sort of a tradition.’
‘Oh, I love that film so much!’ Dodie cooed. ‘One of my all-time favourites!’
‘Absolutely. Such a beautiful story,’ Julia agreed. ‘Eddie loves it too, don’t you?’
Ed turned to her, a slight flush on his cheeks. ‘Eddie? Since when did you call me Eddie?’
‘Since always,’ Julia said, that peculiar maternal indignation in her voice that all mothers have when they don’t see why childhood indulgences have to change.
‘It’s been Ed for years,’ he sniffed.
‘I think it suits you,’ Dodie said, biting back a grin. ‘It’s cute. So, how about it, Eddie? Ready for our dip?’
‘If you call me Eddie once more I’ll be throwing you in,’ he said, now holding off a grin of his own.
Dodie stripped her coat off and Trevor took it for her. She turned to Ed, who took off his trainers and then hesitated, glancing around at the crowds.
‘Nobody is going to care,’ Dodie said in a low voice. She reached to give his hand a quick squeeze. ‘If anything they’ll be in awe of your strength and bravery.’
He looked up at Julia and Trevor, who were smiling with encouragement too.
‘I’m so proud of you,’ Julia said, tears misting her eyes. ‘I don’t tell you that often enough, but I’m incredibly proud of the man you’ve become. And this, today, makes me prouder than ever.’
With a deep breath, he pulled off his tracksuit trousers to reveal his swimming shorts and his scarred leg beneath. And then he stood up straight, scanning the crowds again. Barely anyone noticed, and those who did gave a silent nod of encouragement or a smile of goodwill.
‘In the end,’ Dodie said, ‘all that matters is that we’re here for the same reasons today, and nobody thinks you’re any less of a man because of your leg.’ She blushed. ‘If you see what I mean.’
‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘It means a lot to hear you say it.’
The PA system crackled into life to announce the imminent start of the event.
‘We’d better get down to the shore,’ Dodie said. ‘Ready?’
‘I was born ready!’ He grinned, and he reached for her hand.
She was shivering as they walked across the sand, clammy and wet beneath her feet, but the cold wasn’t the only reason. She could pretend it was because she was falling for Ed, but the truth was she’d already fallen. His hand was warm and solid around hers as they fell into step, the pace of her heart just that little bit faster at the feel of his skin on hers. This was driving her crazy, the not knowing, it was like torture. Today, she thought, when this is done, come what may,
I have to tell him. If it ended badly, if he walked away, if he’d decided to go back to Blackpool never to return, if she’d hurt him so deeply the last time they’d shared their feelings that he couldn’t forgive her then so be it, but at least she’d have tried, at least she’d have told him, because to carry on pretending was driving her mad.
They lined up at the shoreline, watching the white-crested waves darken the sand where they touched. He squeezed her hand, gave her a manic grin, and her heartbeat picked up speed. And then someone fired a starting pistol and he began to run with everyone else, pulling Dodie behind him. The sea came to meet them, sharp as an icy slap around her legs.
‘Oh my God!’ she squealed, alternately laughing and trying to catch the breath that the cold had stolen from her lungs. ‘IT’S BLOODY FREEZING!’
‘I don’t know what you expected,’ Ed shouted, laughing too. He must have been as cold as she was, but she didn’t think he’d ever looked happier. Even the awkwardness he’d first shown revealing his scars amongst the crowd of bathers had gone. All she saw now was a beautiful man, a friend, someone she desperately wanted in her life. She wanted to fling her arms around him, to whisper in his ear how she felt, for time to stop while they kissed. She shook the thought away. Later, when she could explain properly how she felt, when they were both sober-minded enough to talk it through.
‘I expected it to be cold!’ she cried, grinning even though her legs were quickly becoming numb. ‘Just not this cold!’
‘Wishing you hadn’t come? I did try to warn you.’
‘Never!’ she said, stamping up and down to keep warm, though it succeeded only in splashing the seawater further up her body and making her colder. She glanced around at the other bathers, shrieks of delight and horror in equal measure coming from the crowd, but sheer joy on every face. To be alive, on this day in this place, felt like a wonderful thing, the reasons they were here even more so. Nothing made Dodie feel more complete than the thought of the good she was doing.
But when she looked back, Ed seemed to have forgotten the cold and he was standing stock still, his smile faded, watching her intently.
‘What?’ she asked, her own smile faltering.
He shook his head slowly, a bemused expression. ‘You.’
‘Have I done something wrong?’
‘I don’t think you could ever do anything wrong. You’re just… you. That’s what you’ve done. You’re… I’ve never met anyone like you.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’ She gave an uncertain laugh, arms folded tight around her body to keep out the cold.
‘You should,’ he said. ‘Dodie…’ He paused, and the world around them suddenly seemed to pause too. ‘You’re amazing. That’s all. Just amazing. And I wondered…’
‘Yes?’
‘Could I get that kiss now?’
The widest of smiles stretched her face, her stomach flipping and her body shivering from more than the cold. She nodded and he stepped forward, pulling her close and placing his lips over hers. They were salty, chilled, but they warmed as they kissed, and she liked the taste of the sea on them. Everything she had ever wanted was in that kiss.
Pulling away, he leaned his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. ‘I’m sorry,’ he murmured.
‘What for?’
‘Because I’m going to tell you something you might not want to hear.’
‘What?’ she whispered, aching to have his lips over hers again, almost wishing he’d stop talking.
‘I love you,’ he said. But then he frowned. ‘Is that OK? I mean, is that too soon?’
She smiled slowly. ‘More than OK. Because I’m pretty sure I love you too.’
The anxiety drained from his face and he grinned. ‘Now isn’t that a coincidence?’
‘It wouldn’t be the first one.’
‘Oh, God,’ he said. ‘You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to say it to you. I’ve been scared in my life but the thought of saying that to you… it was worse than anything I’ve ever faced.’
Dodie’s mind went back to the thoughts she’d had that very morning, how desperately she’d tried to figure out what to do, how to tell him. And he’d been feeling it all along. They both needed to open up if they were going to avoid this every time something needed saying.
‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘I have to tell you that I’ve felt the same. I’ve wanted to say something for ages; I didn’t know how you’d react but… I guess it doesn’t matter now.’
‘Well,’ he said, ‘that makes us a pair of idiots, doesn’t it?’
‘I suppose it does. As long as we can be idiots together I don’t care.’
‘Me neither…’ He pulled her into another kiss, long and hot enough to turn the freezing water around them into steam ‘There’s one more thing,’ he whispered as their lips parted.
‘What’s that?’
‘I think we might get hypothermia if we stay in here any longer.’
Dodie giggled, and she leaned back to see that people were now making their way to the beach. Some watched her and Ed with raised eyebrows and smiles but most were just desperate to get into their warm, dry clothes. Somewhere up on the sands Julia and Trevor were probably watching, but she didn’t care.
‘It’s funny, but I don’t feel so cold any more,’ she said, reaching to kiss him again.
He grinned down at her. ‘There’s something else.’
‘What now?’ she replied, pretending to be annoyed.
‘It’s snowing.’
She looked up. The first flakes drifted from a white sky. ‘That’s OK, I love snow.’
‘Of course you do; why doesn’t that surprise me? But I suspect the sea is about to get a whole lot colder.’
‘Let it,’ she said, but then squealed as she was suddenly swept off her feet, into Ed’s arms. He began to stride towards the beach, not hampered in the slightest by her weight.
‘Put me down!’ she giggled, but he carried on walking.
‘I’m not letting you get pneumonia,’ he said. ‘There’s a severe shortage of girls willing to stand in a freezing cold sea while a man tells her they love her so now I’ve found one I’m keeping her.’
‘What if I don’t want to be kept?’
‘Well then, I’m afraid that’s too bad.’
Ed dropped her gently onto the sand. One of the organisers rushed over to hand him a towel and he wrapped it around her, drawing her into his arms again.
‘Now I’m lovely and warm but you’re still cold,’ she said, her eyes locked onto his. ‘What if you get pneumonia? There’s a severe shortage of men willing to run into a freezing cold sea for me and then tell me they love me. Now I’ve found one I’m keeping him.’
‘What if I don’t want to be kept?’ he asked, dipping his head to kiss her.
‘Well then,’ she whispered, smiling as he broke away, ‘I’m afraid that’s just too bad.’
THE END
***
If you got swept away in the romance of A Very Vintage Christmas, we just know you’re going to love A Cosy Candlelit Christmas, book 2 in the An Unforgettable Christmas series.
Get it here!
A Cosy Candlelit Christmas
An Unforgettable Christmas Book 2
Get it here!
All Isla wants for Christmas is to be left in peace, but in the Alps there’s potential for romance in every snowflake that falls…
It’s the week before Christmas and Isla McCoy has just received an unexpected gift: a letter announcing she is due a life-changing inheritance, but only if she’s willing to make peace with the father who abandoned her.
She has absolutely no intention of making amends, but who could resist an all-expenses-paid trip to the French resort of St Martin-de-Belleville?
There she meets smooth-talking Justin and nerdy glaciologist Sebastian; two very different men, with two very different agendas. Torn between her head and her heart, Isla finds herself utterly lost in a winter wonderland of her own fe
elings.
Surrounded by twinkling candles and roaring log-fires, Isla’s resolve finally begins to melt. But will she learn how to reconnect, not only with a whole new family, but with herself and her heart?
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A gorgeously heart-warming festive read to help spark a little romance in those long winter nights. Perfect for fans of Jane Linfoot, Debbie Johnson and Jenny Colgan.
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Also By Tilly Tennant
An Unforgettable Christmas series:
A Very Vintage Christmas
A Cosy Candlelit Christmas
From Italy with Love series:
Rome is Where the Heart Is
A Wedding in Italy
Honeybourne series:
The Little Village Bakery
Christmas at the Little Village Bakery
Mishaps in Millrise series:
Little Acts of Love
Just Like Rebecca
The Parent Trap
And Baby Makes Four
Once Upon a Winter series:
The Accidental Guest
I’m Not in Love
Ways to Say Goodbye
One Starry Night
Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn
The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
Mishaps and Mistletoe
A Letter From Tilly
I really hope you’ve enjoyed reading A Very Vintage Christmas as much as I enjoyed writing it. You can sign up to my mailing list and will get all the latest news this way. The link is here:
A Very Vintage Christmas: A Heartwarming Christmas Romance (An Unforgettable Christmas Book 1) Page 25
