Winter Wishes at Swallowtail Bay: a heartwarming romantic comedy perfect for curling up with this Christmas for fans of Jill Mansell (Swallowtail Bay, Book 3)

by Katie Ginger

  ‘Darling.’ Brenda Wilson was not the type of woman to admit to a family feud, and it seemed that, in front of her friends, all previous disagreements were forgotten. Whether that would continue in private, Nell would find out later. Brenda cupped her daughter’s cheek. ‘You look a bit tired. Were you on nights last night? Cat’s a midwife,’ Brenda said over her shoulder to her friends.

  ‘Yes, we know,’ one of the women replied, obviously having been told before.

  Brenda ignored the slight note of irritation. ‘Such a noble profession, isn’t it?’

  ‘Lates, not nights.’

  ‘Well, make sure you get a good night’s sleep tonight. No one wants to be puffy-eyed on their wedding day.’

  Worried that things might go south fast, Nell said, ‘Was there anything specific you and your friends wanted to see, Brenda? Tom’s in the lounge and Niall’s just here. He’s even got some sample menus and tasters.’

  At the mention of tasters, the women accompanying Brenda left her and headed in Niall’s direction. Without even a goodbye, Brenda hurried to catch up.

  As time wore on, Nell was soon caught up answering questions about Holly Lodge and even roped Cat into explaining how she was going to have the place set up for her wedding. Taking down names and addresses, Nell arranged some appointments for the New Year for people to come back and talk more about their weddings. She could have punched the air but didn’t, knowing she’d look like a total idiot in the still crowded hotel.

  By late afternoon, the crowds disappeared, and the vendors packed up and left in dribs and drabs. Brenda left on good terms with Cat, even if it was just for the sake of appearances. When the last business owner had departed, Nell told Zoe to go home and thanked her for all her hard work. She wasn’t going to make her stick around for the clear-up, it was going to take a while.

  In the aftermath, Nell, Tom, Cat and Kieran were having a cup of tea in the lounge before she tackled putting all the furniture back and an epic hooverthon to clean up all the cake crumbs and debris on the floor.

  ‘Well,’ said Nell, ‘I officially declare the Holly Lodge wedding fair a success. I had lots of enquiries and I’ve even got some people coming back after Christmas to chat some more.’

  ‘I’m – I mean we’re really proud of you, Nell,’ said Tom and Nell took a moment to admire the light in his eyes at her success.

  ‘Very proud,’ Cat added. To be back to their normal friendship was the icing on the cake.

  A noise in the hall had Nell halfway out of her seat when Harry stuck his head in the doorway, back from a day with his family.

  ‘Wow, looks like your wedding thing was a success. Great job, Nell!’ Enthusiasm filled his features, brightening his already blue eyes, and she felt that rush of attraction that ran in her veins whenever he was around.

  ‘Thanks, Harry. Nice day?’

  ‘Yep. We went somewhere called Thornhill Hall. What a place. Wouldn’t mind somewhere like that myself.’

  ‘Did you want a drink or anything?’ She hoped he’d say yes and join them, even though Tom was scowling. She really couldn’t figure out what he had against her polite, handsome American guest. It wasn’t like he’d ever been rude or complained about anything. Not like these other mystery guests whose reviews kept appearing on HotelRater.

  ‘No thanks. I think I’d like a soak in the tub and a good book on that amazing bed of yours. I mean …’ Colour flooded his cheeks. ‘The amazing bed in my hotel room. I’ll be going out again in a few hours anyway.’

  Nell clenched her stomach muscles tight to stop the fluttering inside her as she imagined him naked in the bath. Had that been a Freudian slip? Had he been imagining her in bed with him? The thought that he might have been thinking of her in that way made her hot. Retaining some professionalism, she said, ‘Well, I’ll be down here if you need anything.’

  ‘Sure thing.’ And with a kind of salute he said goodbye.

  Nell watched him go, knowing Cat’s eyes were on her but she didn’t look for fear that everyone would see the hope in her face.

  ‘Who salutes when they say goodbye?’ Tom said. He was getting a bit grumpy again and she wondered if it was another headache coming on.

  ‘Cool people, mate,’ Kieran teased. ‘I only salute when I see a magpie.’

  ‘And that’s not weird at all,’ Nell replied. ‘Do you salute magpies, Cat? I’ve been known to curtsey at cats before, but I don’t normally salute magpies.’ Cat giggled just as Mr Scrooge appeared at the window, tapping with his paw. Nell jumped up to let him in. ‘Hey, my little pussycat. Welcome home. Did you have a nice day out?’ She turned to see everyone smirking at her. ‘What?’

  ‘Do you think you’re getting a bit too attached to him?’ asked Tom.

  ‘No,’ Nell lied. She was getting far too attached to him and with every passing day hoped no one would claim him but didn’t fancy admitting it. After teasing Kieran just now he wouldn’t fail to tease her back. ‘I just like him, that’s all.’

  ‘No takers yet then?’ Nell shook her head. Tom held his hand down and surprisingly Mr Scrooge didn’t immediately back away or scratch him to death. ‘Seems he’s getting used to me.’

  ‘And me,’ said Kieran. Mr Scrooge curled up by the fire that was now roaring in the grate and Nell had to force herself to move from her comfortable chair.

  With a great sigh she said, ‘Okay you lot, if you’re not helping then off you go. I’ve got a lot to do before I can relax for the evening.’

  ‘What movie is it tonight?’ asked Cat, knowing Nell would be curling up on the sofa and watching a romcom.

  ‘After today and given the fact it’s nearly Christmas? It’s got to be Love Actually. The wedding scene with Keira Knightley when everyone starts singing ‘All You Need is Love’… Perfect.’

  Cat nodded approvingly. ‘Good choice.’

  ‘Want to join me?’

  ‘No, thanks. It’s my only night off so me and Kieran are cuddling up and watching a movie too.’

  ‘Not a romcom though,’ he added. ‘Unless I can count The Fast and the Furious as a romcom.’

  ‘Definitely not,’ Cat and Nell said in unison.

  ‘What about you, Tom?’ Nell asked. He was scrunching up his eyes and opening them slowly. He did it a couple of times and Nell’s worry began to grow again that he was getting another headache. It had been deafening in the hotel at times today so it wasn’t that surprising. ‘Tom?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Yeah fine,’ he answered, stopping blinking.

  Nell cast a glance at Kieran and Cat, but they were snogging and didn’t seem at all worried. She was happy to see them back to normal and hoped the blow-out with Cat and Brenda had cleared the air, but the worry over them was replaced with worry over Tom. Maybe he had something in his eye. ‘Did you want to watch a movie with me tonight?’

  ‘Oh, umm.’ He considered for a moment. ‘No, thanks, Nell. I’ll help you clear up but then I’ll be off. Bit worn out after today.’

  Feeling unusually disappointed that he didn’t want to stay, she stood up. ‘Go on then, lovebirds, you two go and let me get started.’

  ‘We’ll help you tidy first,’ Cat said. ‘We’re not leaving you with all of this.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘That’s what friends are for.’

  With Michael Bublé’s velvety voice singing Christmas tunes, Nell and her friends put her hotel back together, and she was left feeling more positive than she had in months. Things were finally starting to turn around and she even had Thanksgiving dinner with Harry to look forward to in only a few days’ time. There was a lot to prepare for that too. She wanted to create something special for him. Not a scene from a movie exactly, but with the twinkling lights, the Christmas decorations and the fire burning, it was sure to be a magical evening and one that catapulted their relationship forward into … well, into something, because right now it wasn’t anything at all. She just kn
ew this was the thing to stop him thinking of her as just a hostess and as a woman. The idea sent longing through her body causing the tired aches to intensify.

  With a contented sigh as she hauled furniture up from the basement, she daydreamed of another wonderful fantasy where Harry was madly in love with her and her guests joined him in calling her the greatest hostess in the whole of Great Britain. Cat might have said that life wasn’t like a romantic movie and Nell knew that deep down, but there was no harm in believing. Maybe one day her daydreams would come true. There wasn’t actually anything wrong with hoping you’d find a love that made you fizz with excitement every time you saw that person. And her daydreams had never hurt anyone before. It’s not like they would now, either. There was no one to hurt.

  Chapter 14

  Though Tom was thoroughly enjoying adding even more things to the Christmas window display of the flower shop, slotting in a couple of poinsettia in bright red pots tied with giant gold bows and wooden nutcracker dolls standing proudly to attention, he shivered having gone outside in just his jumper, too preoccupied to find his coat.

  He’d seen the exchange between Cat and Brenda and heard all about Cat and Nell’s argument. At least the wedding fair had brought them together again and been a huge success too. It was nice to see Nell looking content again. Even if she did still beam a little brighter when Harry was around.

  Then there was Kieran. As his best friend and best man at his wedding, Tom had a duty to check on his mate. Kieran had told him what Cat had said at the wedding fair about the buttonholes, but he had no idea how to actually support his friend. Cat was constantly making all the decisions, and Kieran was too worried about starting a row to say anything much about it. Cat was normally fun and lively, but this behaviour was worryingly erratic. Laid-back Kieran had always steadied her, brought her down to earth, he was her perfect counterpoint, but if she was shutting him out, what exactly did that mean?

  At the back of Tom’s mind, he worried that if things carried on as they were, and Cat continued to push ahead as she was, she would end up so stressed at the idea of marrying Kieran, she’d jilt him at the altar. He hadn’t voiced these fears to his friend. It would be too much right now and apart from that one episode at the wreath-making, and Nell mentioning that Cat kept changing her mind on the more minor details, nothing else had happened. Now she’d given Brenda a flea in her ear maybe she’d back off. Unfortunately, all this drama had taken the edge off how successful the wreath-making event had been for Holly Lodge. He’d so wanted for everything to start coming together for Nell, but it seemed life liked to throw more obstacles in her way than an episode of Ninja Warrior.

  Stepping outside into the cold air, he examined the window display again. It had a lot of height, but it needed framing more. The two tall nutcracker dolls at the sides were doing a good job but it needed a little more. He still had tons of holly as there were more wreath orders to fill and a holly wreath hanging down from the centre would finish it off perfectly.

  Back inside, shivering from not wearing his coat, he settled at his workstation to begin. The Christmas music was in full flow now it was the end of November and he and Janie could often be found having a bop and a singsong. Without his permission, Tom’s thoughts ran to Nell. Her dinner with Harry was coming up on Thursday and it weighed on his shoulders. Swimmers flew across his vision, blurring everything before him and a sharp pain shot through his finger. ‘Ouch!’ He blinked but the squiggly dots made it hard to focus, and they were all he could see against a background of red. ‘Shit!’ He’d cut himself with the secateurs. He hardly ever cut himself. The tiny lapse in concentration combined with the pesky swimmers getting in the way of his vision and he’d split open his finger.

  ‘Oh no,’ said Janie, coming up behind him. ‘That’s deep, Tom. You’d better go to the hospital and get it checked.’

  His vision cleared and his eyes focused on the deep gash in the pad of his left index finger. ‘It’s fine, I’ll just wrap it up and shove a plaster on it. I’m sure it’s not as bad as it looks.’ He squeezed it tight to stop the bleeding, wincing as pain shot through the length of his finger and into his hand. ‘I’m sure it’ll stop in a minute.’

  ‘I really don’t think it will,’ Janie continued, grabbing some tissues from the box on the worktop and wrapping them around the wound. Almost immediately the tissue became red and sodden. ‘I think that might need stitches. We can do the deliveries when you get back. I can’t wait till I’ve passed my test then I can help you with those.’

  Tom looked at his finger again, now twice the size with the tissues around it. He squeezed even harder trying to stop the bleeding determined to avoid a trip to the local hospital. After grabbing a few more tissues, he pulled the wet ones off, and saw for himself how deep the cut really was. It would definitely need gluing or stitching. With a sinking feeling, he realised Janie was right; he had to go but at least the shop was in good hands. He was the liability lately, not her.

  ‘Do you want me to call you a taxi? You can’t really drive with that.’

  Tom thought about calling Nell, but she was busy sorting out her winter romance package and he didn’t want to get in the way. She’d had enough downers recently without worrying about him and his clumsiness too, especially after the car incident. If she knew about this as well, she’d start getting suspicious. ‘I’ll call Kieran. I’m sure he’ll be able to drop me at Minor Injuries.’ He pulled his phone from his back pocket and made the call.

  After hanging up, he sat for a moment feeling dizzy and lightheaded. He’d never liked the sight of blood, that’s why he hadn’t followed his dad into medicine and become a doctor. It was funny how he’d fallen into floristry quite by accident after taking a short-term job following university. It had been to help a family friend over the Christmas period, but he’d absolutely loved it. Some of their friends had taken the piss but Kieran hadn’t. As a gardener he loved flowers just as much as Tom, just in a different way. Tom had fallen completely in love with the wonderful mix of art and science in floristry and never looked back. In all the time he’d been working he’d only cut himself a few times, and never before like this.

  Kieran bustled through the door within about five minutes of Tom calling. ‘All right, Tom, what have you done, mate?’ Tom showed him the wrapped-up finger and changed the soaking wet tissues once more. ‘Geez, that’s bad. And you look a bit peaky. Janie, have you got any biscuits or anything?’ Janie nodded and went to grab one while Kieran helped Tom into his coat.

  ‘I’m all right, Kieran, honestly. Blood just makes me a bit squeamish. If you drop me off at Minor Injuries, I’ll just sit there until they see me then get a taxi back.’

  ‘No, you won’t,’ he replied, his eyebrows lifting to the brim of his woolly hat. It always made Tom laugh how when Kieran was caught frowning, he could look so severe and even a little thuggish, but inside he was a giant teddy bear. ‘I’m not just leaving you there. I’ll wait with you and bring you home. Come on, though. Best get that seen to.’

  Janie shoved a handful of biscuits into Tom’s free hand and he tried to reassure her as she stared at him in concern. ‘Don’t worry, Janie. I won’t be long.’ As he left, he felt guilty for putting her through it, and for leaving her alone in the shop for God knows how long yet again. ‘I really am sorry about this, Janie. Just serve the customers who come in needing stuff for today and make notes of everything else. I can sort those out tomorrow, okay? You don’t have to do everything. Hopefully, I’ll be back within an hour.’

  Kieran scoffed. ‘An hour? At Minor Injuries in winter? You’re having a laugh, aren’t you?’

  ‘Don’t worry, boss,’ Janie said with her usual chirpiness. ‘I’ll manage fine.’

  Knowing she would, Tom reluctantly allowed himself to be led and bundled into Kieran’s van. It was lovely and warm where he’d had the heater on, and Tom was glad of it. The truth was he was feeling a little shaky and cold. He clipped in his seatbelt and cradled hi
s bad finger inside his jacket like a tiny baby. With his good hand, he nibbled on a biscuit, hoping the sugar would stop his legs feeling like jelly.

  Kieran pulled away then nodded at Tom’s hand. ‘So, what happened?’

  Tom’s initial reaction was to just pass it off as bad luck, or a moment’s lost concentration, but his worries had been mounting for months, getting steadily worse with each passing day and carrying that weight alone was becoming harder. With the prang in his van and now this, Tom felt the alarm bell ringing in his brain louder and clearer than ever before, and knew it was time to come clean. After a heavy sigh he said, ‘I’ve been having a few problems with my vision for a while.’

  His friend’s brow wrinkled in concern. ‘What sort of problems?’

  ‘Little bits floating across my eyes, difficulty seeing in the dark and particularly during that weird half-light you get at dusk. It takes ages for my eyes to adjust and if I don’t stop and stand still while it does, I end up missing my footing.’ He paused, feeling the keenness of Kieran’s glance. ‘And I keep getting headaches. Bad ones. I think it’s because I’m straining my eyes but …’ He didn’t want to finish the sentence and say out loud how worried he truly was.

  ‘Have you been to the doctor’s?’ Tom shook his head. ‘The optician’s?’ Tom shook his head again and looked down at his finger. ‘Why the bloody hell not?’

  If only he had a good excuse. He couldn’t say, ‘I’ve been too chicken shit to face up to the fact that something might be seriously wrong.’ It sounded pathetic. Kieran’s voice was a little softer, but not by much.

  ‘Well, you’d better tell the nurse at Minor Injuries everything when she sees you.’