After that he walked out to the car. It was already starting to get dark and he really should press on. Yet he sat for a moment in the driver’s seat and wondered what she had bought and what had been written on the card but, rather than find out now, Daniel put it in his glove box. This journey had the potential to be awkward enough, without finding out that she’d bought him a little Holly & Daniel snow globe or...
Well, he didn’t possess much imagination in the romantic Christmas present department. Still, he would guess that if she was that upset about the stocking, well, there was going to be something rather special for him in that silver parcel.
He’d open it tomorrow, Daniel decided. He’d open it when she was safely home.
Safely, because he liked her.
More than he cared to admit to himself and certainly more than he dared to admit to Holly.
Of course she was confused, because so too was he. For the best part of a year Daniel had been planning for this trip and desperate to get away.
Now, though, it felt as if there were more and more reasons to stay.
* * *
Daniel pulled up outside her flat and did his best not to recall chasing her up the concrete stairs, and as he knocked on the door he tried not to remember them falling through it.
‘Come in.’ Holly beamed.
‘I’d better not,’ Daniel said. He really, given what had taken place there, didn’t want to stand in the hall! ‘The traffic sounds pretty bad.’
‘Of course...’ She was a little flustered. ‘I’ll be one moment.’
He stood on the doorstep and then realised that Holly was on the telephone and so, rather than being like his father who would sit in the car, pressing on the horn until everyone came out, he stepped in and waved a hand as if to say to take her time.
Holly headed into her bedroom, which was really her living room. She had the television on, he could see, though the sound was turned down.
‘We’re just leaving now,’ he heard Holly saying. ‘No, don’t worry about that. I’ll see you shortly.’ Then another pause. ‘Mum, I really do have to go. Daniel’s already doing me a huge favour.’ She came to the bedroom door and rolled her eyes. Clearly her mother thought there was a lot that had to be discussed between now and three hours’ time when Holly would be there.
‘Yes, I’ve got the cheese,’ Holly said.
So, rather than drumming his fingers and appearing impatient, Daniel went through to a small lounge room and took a seat and listened to the neighbours shouting.
‘Sorry about that,’ Holly said as she came through to the rather cold lounge. ‘The logistics of Christmas in my family. Honestly...’ She blew out a breath and picked up a coat from the chair. ‘I’m ready.’
‘I’m not,’ Daniel admitted. ‘I’d love a drink.’
‘Sure.’ Holly said. ‘Coffee?’
‘Please.’
He followed her into the kitchen.
‘Do you want something to eat?’
And usually he would say no, but he hadn’t had lunch and, given that he had no intention of stopping on the drive to her home, it would be a long time until he’d be eating again.
‘Thanks.’
She made toasted sandwiches. Turkey, Brie and cranberry.
‘It’s Christmas after all.’
They smelt delicious.
‘Now I can see the end of my movie.’
It wasn’t a plan to get him into the bedroom, Daniel knew, given that she practically lived there.
And so she flicked the television back on and it was one of those stupid movies that ran every Christmas.
‘Holly,’ Daniel said, ‘even I know the ending.’
She just smiled and sat on the edge of the bed to eat her own toasted sandwiches while Daniel took a seat on a small chair, though, rather disconcerting for him was this sudden wish to lie down and open a bottle of wine and watch the movie and...
...spend Christmas in bed.
‘I love this bit.’ She turned up the sound on the movie as they ate and even Daniel laughed, because it was cheesy and funny and it was just very, very nice to be here.
‘Did Albert’s family come and visit him?’
‘Albert?’ Daniel checked, and then shook his head. ‘How would I know?’
‘I thought they might have popped into Emergency, or that you might have...’ She gave him a smile. ‘I bet they’re having a good old catch-up right now.’
Daniel didn’t return her smile; instead, he stood.
‘Come on, we’d better go.’
The traffic was hell and the car inched its way through the streets but finally they hit the motorway.
Then the car stopped inching its way.
It just sat in gridlocked traffic as both pretended not to notice it was now after six.
‘What are your plans for tomorrow?’ asked Holly, just trying to be polite.
‘No definite plans,’ Daniel said.
‘Will you see your family?’
‘I’ll pop in for ten minutes.’
He briefly turned and saw her rapid blink and saw the wrestle as she tried not to judge.
‘Things are a bit complicated at home,’ he said, when usually he offered no reason.
Thankfully the traffic eased a little and for the next hour they made if not good then reasonable time.
The phone rang out in the car, making her jump as it came over the speakers, and she glanced at the dash.
Dad.
Daniel didn’t answer the call.
Then five minutes later it happened again and she could feel the tension in him.
There were signs for a service station and guessing he might want to speak to his father without having it broadcast over the speakers for her to hear Holly asked if they could stop.
‘Holly...’ He glanced at the time on the dashboard. ‘We need to push on.’
‘And I need the loo.’
He gritted his teeth as they pulled into the service station and Holly got out. ‘Do you want anything?’ she offered.
‘To get there this year. Just hurry.’
He watched her disappear into the building and then realising he could call his father Daniel did so. He kept an eye out for Holly as he was connected and they briefly spoke.
‘Amelia’s trying to sort out numbers for dinner...’
Daniel let out a silent mirthless laugh. From the way his father described it Amelia was counting out potatoes and fretting as to whether she had enough, when, in truth, she’d just give the number expected for dinner to the maid.
And as he sat there he could well recall coming home from boarding school where Christmas preparations had been in full swing to a house where there were none.
His father had often worked and no matter how nice the nanny was, she would far rather be on the phone to her own family on Christmas Day than entertaining him.
And he remembered with clarity the loneliness of Christmas and he was so over the pretence and the farce of it all.
‘I shan’t be there for dinner,’ he told his father. ‘I’ll drop by with Maddie’s present but I really can’t stay for long.’
‘We’ll be going to the club in the afternoon...’
Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but wasn’t sure it was his place. At least his father made some effort now, at least, for Christmas he tried to be home.
‘When do you fly?’
‘I still haven’t booked,’ Daniel admitted.
He didn’t know if he wanted to go.
Holly was right.
Thirty-two was pretty old to be taking a gap year.
He was running and a little like Albert he was suddenly tired. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ Daniel said.
‘Maddie wants to speak to you.’
‘Tell Maddie I’ll see her tomorrow,’ Daniel told his father, because he could see Holly making her way back to the car. ‘I have to go.’
Despite his telling Holly to hurry, she had taken the time to stop for refreshments and he had to reach out and open the door as she was carrying two take-away cups.
‘Christmas coffee!’ Holly smiled, handing him one of the cups and then climbing in.
‘You find the Christmas in everything.’
‘I do.
He took a sip and pulled a face. ‘What the hell is this?’
‘Coffee and cinnamon, I think,’ Holly said. ‘And maybe a bit of nutmeg?’ Then she got to the real reason she had taken so long. ‘Did you call him?
And one of the reasons she irked him and one of the reasons he liked her more than she knew was because of moments like this—Holly had done the polite thing, Daniel now realised. Guessing that he might not want her around while he spoke with his father, she had made a polite excuse to leave.
Then she had ruined her tact by asking if he had called him!
‘Yes,’ Daniel said. ‘He just wanted to check on numbers for dinner.’
‘Are you going?’
‘No,’ Daniel said as they again hit the motorway.
‘I’m sure he’d love it if you came along...’
Daniel said nothing and Holly could sense he’d prefer it if she didn’t either.
‘I’ll leave it,’ she offered.
‘Please do.’
He stared at the car registration in front of him and then at the wall of traffic ahead and, of course, Holly simply could not leave it.
‘But surely at Christmas...’
‘Holly.’ Daniel turned. ‘I didn’t offer you a lift home to indulge in a cosy chat about my family situation. I don’t need your take on it.’
‘Friends talk...’ Holly started, and then gave in. Who had even said they were friends?
She didn’t even have his phone number and he had never asked for hers.
‘I wonder when it will stop raining,’ Holly said, and Daniel rolled his eyes at her attempt at conversation. ‘Is that banal enough for you? We can talk like strangers at a bus stop.’
‘Holly...’
‘I mean, it’s not as if we’re even friends. You couldn’t even be bothered to introduce me to your ex.’
He knew she was referring to Amelia.
‘She’s not my ex.’
Holly rolled her eyes. ‘An old one-night stand, then.’
‘I’ve never slept with her.’
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘You don’t have to believe me, Holly.’ God, she had a nerve. ‘I don’t have to explain myself to you.’
He wanted to, though.
It had been excruciating in the department store and it had been that way for Holly too and no doubt why she had decided to walk off.
‘I know it was awkward for you at the shop...’
‘It was awkward long before that,’ Holly sighed. ‘Maddie called three times when you were in the shower. Was she your date the other day?’ When he didn’t answer she stared out of the passenger window. ‘Honestly, Daniel, I don’t know how you juggle them all.’
Then again, he hadn’t attempted to juggle or hide, Holly thought, he’d just listened to his messages while she’d sat there, pulling on her boots.
‘Amelia, the woman you met that day is my stepmum.’
To her credit, Holly said nothing, not even a little shocked gasp. She just turned back to look at him.
‘That date I had last week was with my sister, Maddie.’
‘Maddie’s your sister?’
‘Yes, and she’s five.’
‘Why didn’t you just say?’
‘Because I find it awkward. When we’re out everyone assumes that she’s mine.’
‘Is that why you’re still here?’ Holly asked, and looked at him.
‘Yes, she wanted me to see her in the nativity play and she’s getting upset about me going away.’
‘You’d be like a rock star to her.’
Daniel nodded. ‘It’s not all one-way, she’s actually very good company. We go to the movies and things but I don’t really go over to the house.’
‘Because you don’t get on with your dad?’ Holly frowned. ‘Surely you can get past that for her sake?’
And then his phone rang again and she glanced at the dash.
Maddie.
‘What’s she doing up this late?’ Daniel asked, though more to himself.
‘It’s Christmas Eve.’ Holly answered anyway! ‘She’s probably excited.’
When he answered the call, though, Maddie sounded a little strained.
‘Is Father Christmas real?’ she asked him. ‘Thomas said it’s all made up.’
‘Thomas?’ Daniel checked.
‘He was Joseph in the nativity play.’
‘The one with no teeth?’ Daniel checked, and Maddie started to laugh. ‘The one who nearly dropped the baby? I wouldn’t be paying too much attention to him.’
‘So there is a Father Christmas?’
‘Yes.’ He could say that because for all Amelia’s faults she would make sure there were presents under the tree for her daughter. ‘So you can stop worrying and go to bed and I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘For dinner?’
‘Not for dinner, I’m...’ He could feel Holly’s ears on elastic as she pretended not to listen and he couldn’t even come up with an excuse. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Why can’t you just go for dinner?’ Holly said once the call had ended. ‘I mean, how hard could it be?’
‘Holly, my father didn’t even celebrate Christmas until he married Amelia. I used to sit at home with the nanny on her phone the entire day to her family overseas while he went to work.’
She knew she was hearing the truth, there was something in his voice that told her that Christmas had always been hell.
‘Not all families are perfect, Holly!’
She could hear the dig and she stared ahead.
‘My family’s not perfect, Daniel.’
‘Well, they come close.’ Daniel mimicked her voice when she’d spoken about her birthday. ‘“My parents always make sure that both are celebrated!”’ He reverted to his bitterness. ‘Of course they do.’
‘Not always.’ And she stared ahead at the traffic and she told him a truth, and this time it was Holly who was more speaking to herself. ‘They forgot my birthday once.’
CHAPTER TEN
‘WHEN YOU SAY “FORGOT...”?’
‘They forgot completely,’ Holly said.
‘Tell me.’
‘No.’ Holly shook her head. ‘You’ve just admitted that you basically had no Christmas at all growing up, so it seems a bit shallow to be upset about missing out on one birthday.’
‘How old were you?’ Daniel asked.
‘I was six, turning seven.’
So not a whole lot older than Maddie was now, and he could just imagine the hurt it would cause his little sister.
‘Tell me,’ he said, and his voice was kind and she found that she wanted to.
Silly, that some silly childhood memory could make her eyes burn all these years later.
‘Usually we had birthday cake for breakfast on Christmas Day and I opened my presents and then we’d all go through to the lounge and Christmas Day would start. We still do that, though we have champagne now too. It was just one year...’ Her voice trailed off as she recalled her confusion when they’d gone straight through to the lounge. And how she’d tried not to cry as she’d opened her presents. ‘I kept thinking they were just pretending that they’d forgotten a
nd then I realised they actually had. Now I look back I can see it had been a difficult year for my mum. My Uncle Harry had been in hospital—he’ll be there tomorrow... Drunkle Harry.’
Daniel smiled.
‘And Adam, my brother, had been sick with bronchiolitis.’
‘When did they remember?’
‘When I went to bed. Mum came in to say goodnight.’
‘Were you crying?’
‘No, I had my nervous smile on!’ Holly said, and they both laughed but then both fell silent.
She stared out of the window, recalling that odd day, and she knew that the tears in her eyes had little to do with some long-ago memory.
It was a little like how Daniel made her feel now.
As if something that was so terribly important to her meant very little to him.
If she hadn’t pushed that envelope under his nose, if Kay hadn’t prompted him, she’d be minus a chocolate stocking now.
Exactly!
And while, yes, he’d come out to make up for their row, if her car hadn’t broken down they’d have already gone their separate ways by now.
Soon she would be forgotten.
* * *
Finally his chirpy passenger was silent and Daniel got the peace he had craved, except he rather missed her incessant chatter.
The traffic was barely moving and to fill the silence he turned the radio on and listened to the carols.
Another half a mile, another half an hour.
And still Holly said nothing.
She took out some Christmas cards from her bag and started to write them but after a couple she gave in and put them in the door pocket. She was tired of being peppy and ensuring that everyone was happy.
Blue lights were flashing up the hard shoulder, though it was the police and fire brigade that were passing them, rather than ambulances.
‘Have a look on your phone,’ Daniel said, ‘and see what’s happening.’
‘A lorry has lost its load,’ Holly said.
‘We might need to think about getting off at the next exit.’
‘We can’t,’ Holly said as she went through the traffic updates. ‘There’s flash flooding and the exit is closed.’
And she expected a hiss of frustration from Daniel but instead he gave a soft laugh. ‘Of course it is.’ He looked ahead. ‘We might have to find somewhere to stay the night.’
Playboy On Her Christmas List Page 11
