She was humming along to a carol service on the radio as she worked when Sam appeared an hour later.
‘Good morning,’ Nessie said in surprise. ‘Merry Christmas.’
Hiding a yawn behind her hand, Sam reached for the coffee pot. ‘Merry Christmas. Please tell me there’s fresh coffee in here.’
Nessie pulled a face. ‘There was, an hour ago. Why don’t you make us some more? Unless you’d rather peel parsnips?’
‘No, I’ll do the coffee,’ Sam said hurriedly, eyeing the vegetables in alarm. ‘I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that life is too short to peel a parsnip.’
Nessie laughed. ‘That’s stuff a mushroom. But don’t worry, I’ll do it.’
Sam yawned again. ‘Good. Anything else I can do?’
‘I don’t think so,’ Nessie said, surveying the organised chaos that adorned every surface of the tiny kitchen. ‘Everything is under control.’
‘Great,’ Sam said. ‘I’ll get Joss up in a minute and we’ll make a start on downstairs.’
Nessie gave her a sidelong look. ‘Are you going to tell me what happened between the two of you?’
Her sister shrugged. ‘He apologised for being an unsupportive, jealous idiot and I accepted his apology. Then we kissed and made up.’ She stretched and winced. ‘All night.’
‘I know,’ Nessie said, grinning. ‘I heard you.’
Sam seemed entirely unembarrassed. ‘He says he loves me.’
‘Well, duh,’ Nessie teased. ‘How do you feel about that?’
‘Happy,’ Sam said. ‘I love him too.’
Nessie almost dropped the vegetable peeler. ‘Really? Oh Sam, that’s wonderful news!’
‘Don’t go buying a hat or anything,’ Sam warned. ‘It’s still early days.’
‘Even so . . . ’ Nessie beamed at her sister. ‘Look at you, all grown up and admitting you’re in love. I never thought I’d see the day.’
Sam tried to scowl but failed and smiled instead. ‘Yeah, I know. Serial-dater Sam settles down.’ She fired a meaningful look Nessie’s way. ‘Which just leaves your relationship to sort out. Please tell me you haven’t dreamed up yet another reason not to be with Owen while you slept.’
Nessie’s stomach swooped pleasurably at the mention of his name. ‘No, I haven’t. But today isn’t the right time. It’ll keep until after Christmas.’
Sam let out a groan. ‘And then it will be New Year’s Eve and you still won’t have done anything. Nor will Owen. Honestly, Ness, can’t you carpe diem or something?’
‘I will,’ Nessie promised, turning around to slide the turkey into the oven. ‘As soon as Christmas is over.’
‘You’d better,’ Sam warned. ‘Because I won’t be held responsible for my actions if you don’t. I want proper snogging and evidence of hot sex, do you hear me?’
Nessie felt her face flush in a way that had nothing to do with the heat from the oven. ‘I’ll do my best,’ she managed.
Ruby was the first to arrive, shortly after midday. She swept Nessie and Sam into Chanel-scented hugs and insisted on giving them their presents there and then, rather than placing them under the tree in the bar.
‘Wow,’ Nessie gasped as she opened her gift. ‘Is this a Mont Blanc fountain pen?’
Ruby nodded. ‘Elizabeth Taylor used to swear by hers. “Ruby, darling, it’s like the words just write themselves,” she told me once. Happy Christmas, Nessie, I hope you like it.’
Nessie got up to plant a kiss on the other woman’s cheek. ‘I love it – thank you.’
Sam’s present was a butter-soft Mulberry bag that made her whoop with delight.
‘I’m sorry I don’t have a present for you, Joss,’ Ruby said, once Sam had thanked her. ‘I didn’t know you’d be joining us today.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Joss said, reaching across to take Sam’s hand. ‘I think we managed to surprise everyone, including ourselves.’
Owen and Luke arrived next, and they had a surprise guest of their own.
‘Kathryn!’ Sam shrieked, wrapping Owen’s sister in a warm hug. ‘You made it!’
‘I did,’ Kathryn said, laughing. ‘Although it was touch and go for a while – I thought I’d have to hitch a ride on Santa’s sleigh.’
Luke rolled his eyes. ‘Like that would ever happen. Everyone knows he doesn’t carry passengers.’
Kathryn’s eyes danced. ‘But I did get chatting to someone interesting while our train was stuck in the arse end of nowhere.’ She smiled wickedly. ‘I’m calling him an early Christmas present.’
Sam’s eyes widened as she demanded more detail. Owen glanced across at Nessie and smiled. ‘Merry Christmas.’
Nessie felt her heart thud as she returned his smile. ‘Merry Christmas, Owen.’
Once Sam had heard all about Kathryn’s mystery travelling companion, she got to work supplying everyone with drinks – for Ruby’s sake, the bar was only serving mocktails. They were just settling into their places around the table when there was a resounding knock at the door.
Ruby looked around in bewilderment. ‘Who could that be? We’re all here, aren’t we?’
Nessie exchanged a secret smile with Sam. ‘Carol singers, probably. I’ll just go and get rid of them.’
She crossed the bar to the front door and opened it. Framed against the pristine whiteness of the snow were three strangers. Nessie smiled at the man. ‘Hello. You must be Cal.’
He shook her outstretched hand. ‘And you must be Nessie. Thanks for inviting us today.’
She stepped back to let Cal and his wife and daughter in. ‘It’s my pleasure.’
Ruby had been regaling everyone with another of her wickedly funny theatre stories but she stopped the moment she saw Cal. Her eyes widened in shock and she almost dropped the glass of cranberry juice she was holding. ‘It can’t be . . . ’
Cal smiled nervously. ‘Hello, Mum. It’s been a while.’
Clutching at her walking stick, Ruby hurried towards him. ‘Darling,’ she said, her eyes filling with tears. ‘It’s been too bloody long.’
Nessie felt her own eyes prickle with tears as the two embraced and she knew she wasn’t the only one – Sam was blinking hard too.
‘This is my wife, Merle,’ Cal said, standing back to indicate the tall blonde woman at his side. Then he placed a hand on the shoulder of the shy little girl trying to hide behind his legs. ‘And this . . . this is little Ruby. Your granddaughter.’
It was all too much for grown-up Ruby: she burst into tears, which set Nessie off. Sam found a packet of tissues from somewhere and passed them round, dabbing at her own eyes as she supplied another round of drinks.
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ Ruby said to Cal, for the fourth time. ‘And I can’t believe these wicked girls didn’t tell me what they were plotting.’
Nessie and Sam exchanged smiles. ‘It was all very last minute,’ Nessie explained. ‘We wanted to surprise you.’
Ruby dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘I am most definitely surprised. This is the best present I could have wished for.’
‘All we need now is Micky,’ Sam said.
‘You haven’t!’ Ruby gasped, goggling at her.
Sam laughed. ‘No, he’s your New Year’s Eve gift. But now that we are all here –’ she tapped her glass with a fork to get everyone’s attention, ‘I’d like to propose a toast. To family.’
‘To family,’ they echoed, and there were plenty of warm glances.
Nessie stood up. ‘And I’d like to propose that we eat.’
The meal was a roaring success. The turkey was golden and perfect, the roast potatoes were hot and crispy and the gravy was rich and, Nessie was grateful to see, lump-free. Laughter and groans filled the air as the crackers were pulled and jokes were told. And there were sympathetic squeals when Ruby revealed Cal was short for Caliban, from The Tempest.
‘You have no idea how much I got teased once the kids found out at school,’ he grumbled.
‘It could have been worse,
’ Ruby said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘You could have been called Puck. Just think how much fun your classmates would have had with that!’
Nessie listened to the teasing and sat back, soaking up the happiness and basking in the glow of a job well done. Every now and then she sneaked a look at Owen, and dared to dream of Christmases yet to come.
Once everyone was so full that they couldn’t eat another thing, she got to her feet and started to clear the plates.
‘Let me help,’ Owen said, standing up.
Nessie shook her head. ‘You’re a guest; you don’t need to clear up.’
‘And you cooked,’ Owen countered. ‘You definitely shouldn’t do the dishes. So why don’t we compromise and do it together?’
Nessie felt a shiver run through her as his eyes met hers. ‘Okay.’
At the other end of the table, Merle started to get up too. ‘Can I do anything?’
‘Yes,’ Sam said promptly. ‘You can sit down. Nessie and Owen can manage on their own.’
Out of the corner of one eye, Nessie saw Ruby lean across and whisper something to Merle, who smiled.
‘We’ll just get on with it then, shall we?’ Nessie said, casting an embarrassed glance around the room.
‘I wish you would,’ Sam muttered, raising her eyebrows.
Kathryn nodded. ‘And don’t come back down here until the job is done.’
Nessie cringed at their lack of subtlety. What must Cal and Merle think of them? Even worse than that, what must Owen think?
‘Who wants to play Monopoly?’ Luke asked, and a good-natured argument broke out over who was going to be the dog.
‘That was a delicious meal, Nessie,’ Owen said, once the plates had all been transferred to the kitchen upstairs. ‘It must have taken you ages to prepare.’
‘A few hours,’ she said. ‘Not that long. Most of it was already prepared – all I did was stick it in the oven.’
His brown eyes regarded her thoughtfully. ‘I think you’re downplaying things but thank you anyway, on behalf of the Rhys family.’
Flustered by his thanks, Nessie reached for a tea-towel. ‘Do you want to wash or dry?’
His lips quirked into a smile. ‘Dry, I think.’
They worked in silence for a few moments, then Owen cleared his throat. ‘I think I owe you an apology.’
Nessie sent a wide-eyed look his way. ‘You don’t.’
‘I do,’ he said, sighing. ‘Gweneth put you in an impossible situation and I should have guessed what she was about earlier. I’m sorry for that.’
She shook her head. ‘Don’t. You couldn’t have known.’
‘No, but I could have questioned why she was so desperate to take Luke back to Wales. I should have known that you had a very good reason to break things off between us.’ He paused and pulled her hands from the hot soapy water, drying each one gently with the towel. ‘And I should have told you how I feel about you long before today.’
Nessie’s heart began to speed up. ‘It really isn’t your fault—’
He laid the tea-towel on the table and gazed at her solemnly. ‘I didn’t imagine saying this in a room full of dirty dishes but I don’t want to wait any longer.’ He took both her hands in his. ‘Nessie Blake, I love you. I think I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you, downstairs in the bar, looking like a startled hare who would run at any moment. And like a fool, it’s taken me an age to admit it to myself – partly because I was scared of loving anyone again but partly because I couldn’t be sure you loved me back.’
The breath caught in Nessie’s throat. ‘How could you think that?’
His forehead crinkled. ‘Because you were always coming up with reasons why we couldn’t be together, so I thought that maybe you just weren’t that interested. And then you told me what you’d done, how you’d let Gweneth blackmail you to protect me and Luke, and I knew I’d been blind.’
Nessie was filled with a soaring swoop of delight. ‘Of course I love you,’ she whispered. ‘I always have.’
He stared at her as though he didn’t quite believe her. Then, after what felt like an age to Nessie, he smiled. ‘That’s all that matters, then,’ he said, leaning down to kiss her.
Nessie thought she would burst with happiness as she wound her arms around his neck. They might have been kissing for one minute or five when Nessie realised they had an audience. She considered ignoring whoever it was but modesty prevailed and she pulled gently back to see Kathryn, Sam, Joss and Ruby beaming in the kitchen doorway.
‘How long have you been standing there?’ she asked, feeling embarrassment set fire to her face.
‘Long enough,’ Kathryn said, with considerable satisfaction. ‘Do you have any idea how long the entirety of Little Monkham has been waiting for this moment to happen?’
Nessie’s hands flew to her cheeks as she threw a mortified glance at Owen. ‘Really?’
Sam nodded. ‘Oh yes. There’s even been a sweepstake.’ She glanced at Ruby. ‘Okay, who had Christmas Day?’
Ruby consulted a little notebook and then beamed. ‘I believe that was young Luke.’
Luke poked his head around the door, grinning. ‘All right – finally!’
It was much later.
Cal and his family were settled in one of the luxury guest rooms under the eaves of the pub and Luke was fast asleep in the other. Ruby had been escorted home with promises of a snowball fight with her granddaughter the next day. Kathryn, who was almost dead on her feet, had excused herself to fall into her own bed for the first time in weeks. Joss had gone upstairs to Sam’s room and Owen had popped back home to collect some fresh clothes for the morning. Nessie could hardly breathe from anticipation as she stood in the doorway of the Star and Sixpence with Sam, gazing out at the star-filled sky over the snowy village.
‘It’s been quite a year,’ she said.
Sam snorted. ‘You can say that again. It’s been crazy.’
Nessie wrapped her arms around herself and smiled. ‘Crazy in a good way.’
‘Yeah,’ Sam allowed. ‘Although if next year wanted to be less dramatic, I wouldn’t mind.’
‘And we owe it all to Dad,’ Nessie said, with a slight shake of her head. ‘Did you ever think you’d feel thankful to him for anything?’
‘No,’ Sam said after a moment. ‘But I never thought I’d understand him, either, and I do. A bit, anyway. Enough.’
Nessie glanced back into the Star and Sixpence, aglow with light from the fireplace. ‘Me too.’
Sam stared at her for a moment. ‘I’ve got an idea. Stay here – don’t move, even if Owen comes back and tries to sweep you off your feet.’
She vanished back inside the pub, leaving a blushing Nessie gazing after her in confusion. But everything became clear when she reappeared with two glasses of ruby red port.
Sam held one out to Nessie. ‘A toast,’ she said, lifting her glass. ‘To Dad. Thanks for giving us exactly what we needed, even though we had no idea we needed it.’
Nessie raised her own glass and touched it against Sam’s. ‘To Dad,’ she echoed, smiling. ‘Here’s to another year at the Star and Sixpence.’
Acknowledgements
First of all, sparkly love and kisses to T and E.
Thank you to Jo Williamson, of Antony Harwood Ltd, for the unfailing support. Enormous thanks to my very patient stars on top of the tree, Clare Hey and Emma Capron – you’re definitely on Santa’s ‘Nice’ list. A large Espresso Martini for superstar SJ Virtue and Gingerbread Bellinis all round for everyone at Simon & Schuster, for ensuring every day is Christmas at the Star and Sixpence.
Huge thanks to resident cocktail guru Kate Harrison, plus Miranda Dickinson, Rowan Coleman, Julie Cohen and Cally Taylor – you are my rocks.
Thank you to Aidan Turner for looking the way he does.
And lastly, thanks to all the reviewers and readers – you are incredible. Bottoms up!
COMING SOON
A new series from Holly Hepburn
&
nbsp; The Picturehouse by the Sea
Also by Holly Hepburn
Snowdrops at the Star and Sixpence
Valentine’s Day at the Star and Sixpence
Summer at the Star and Sixpence
Christmas at the Star and Sixpence
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2016
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Copyright © Tamsyn Murray, 2016
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