‘Still is now,’ he said, looking up. Laurie took in his lively brown eyes and caramel skin. Not at all bad-looking, for a grandpa. ‘You’re Bill the Bikeman, aren’t you?’ Laurie asked. ‘It is Bill, isn’t it?’ Laurie had seen the sign he sometimes propped up next door, advertising his bike services in big chalk letters. There was always a queue outside it.
‘That’s me, yes,’ he said with a deep laugh, dragging his eyes away from Lily and putting his hand out for her to shake. ‘Pleased to meet you. Can I pour you another rum?’ He reached over for the bottle and poured her out a glass, topping it up with ginger ale. Laurie took a bite of her chicken.
‘You got something, just there,’ Bill said, politely, pointing at the place in Laurie’s teeth where some black jerk sauce had got lodged. Laurie, embarrassed, got it out and thanked him.
‘Pretty good cook, isn’t she?’
‘The best,’ Laurie replied, then followed Bill’s line of sight back to Lily. ‘You should talk to her, you know,’ Laurie prompted him.
‘Really, you think so?’
‘Oh yes. I happen to know for a fact that she’s single. Hot property.’
That was all the encouragement Bill needed. ‘Well, in that case,’ he said, ‘will you excuse me for a moment?’ Laurie motioned for him to go ahead, and he stood up, straightening out the fabric in his trousers. With just a brief backward glance and a smile at Laurie, he made his way over to where Lily was standing talking to a friend.
Laurie scanned the room: there were a few familiar faces circulating around the table, but it didn’t look like Siobhan and Ed had arrived yet. Laurie checked the clock on the wall. It was only four, she had hours still.
Her phone buzzed with a message. She clicked in order to read it, grateful for something to do.
Rachel.
One thing. You do know Jay’s still in love with you,
don’t you? And that he’s single? x
Laurie’s pulse raced. She looked up and caught sight of Jay right away, in the kitchen. He had come in from outside. He wasn’t talking to that girl, or in fact any girl at all, but to Sean from the basement flat. Jay saw her looking. Excusing himself from the conversation, he made his way over to where Laurie was sitting. Her heart started to race.
‘You made it,’ he said, a smile spreading across his face. She hurriedly tucked her phone away as he took a seat next to her.
‘Wouldn’t have missed it,’ Laurie said.
‘I’m glad you did,’ he said, smiling. ‘Merry Christmas.’ Jay lifted his can of Red Stripe to clink it with her glass.
Laurie’s mind went blank – with Jay so close she couldn’t think of a word to say.
‘I enjoyed meeting your friend Rachel,’ he said, putting his beer down on the coffee table.
‘Oh yes, you two got on?’
‘Oh yeah,’ he said. ‘We’re like this,’ he laughed, crossing two fingers to show her. ‘She even made it along to one of our gigs.’
‘Siobhan told me about that,’ Laurie said, feeling the tiniest pang of jealousy.
‘Rachel made me think about a few things, actually.’ He paused. ‘God, I’m really not good at this stuff,’ he said, raking a hand through his hair. ‘But I feel like …’
Laurie’s heart was thudding in her chest as she waited for him to continue.
‘At the end of the summer it seemed like there was something there. Something special between us,’ Jay said, ‘and there still is. On my side at least.’
His words hung in the air. ‘I think it’s worth another try. A proper one. I think you’re amazing, Laurie. I always have. That is unless that guy last night was your boyfriend … in which case—’
‘Ed?’ Laurie said, a smile creeping on to her lips. ‘No. He’s Siobhan’s.’
‘OK. Good,’ he laughed. ‘Glad we cleared that up. So, what do you think?’
As Laurie looked into Jay’s eyes, summer didn’t seem that long ago. She wanted it back – with Jay she felt different. Like a better version of herself.
‘I’m sorry I was an idiot,’ Laurie said. ‘It must have seemed really selfish. I think I was scared. Because you and me … well, it’s a big thing, isn’t it?’ she smiled, then covered her face with her hands. ‘God, this is hard, isn’t it? Listen,’ she went on. ‘I’ve got a flight to catch in a couple of hours.’
‘A flight?’
‘Yes. Long story.’ She took a deep breath and summoned up all of her courage. ‘But if you want to continue this conversation,’ she said, ‘we could talk upstairs, while I finish packing?’
‘Sounds good,’ Jay said.
Laurie couldn’t tell for sure if Lily had spotted Jay and her leaving – she was slow-dancing in the kitchen with Bill, to a reggae track.
Laurie’s heart thudded as she walked up the stairs with Jay and walked into her flat with him.
‘Wine?’ she asked, going through to the kitchen.
‘Yes, thanks.’
Laurie took a bottle of red from the side and opened it, pouring two glasses. He stood beside her and she was conscious of how close he was. She felt his familiar warmth, took in the smell of him that she’d missed.
‘So, where are you going this time?’ he said, taking one of the glasses and standing in the kitchen doorway.
‘Spain,’ she replied. ‘Just for a couple of weeks. I’m seeing in New Year with my mum. A bit of mother-daughter time’s long overdue.’
‘Sounds good,’ he said.
‘Sure you don’t mind keeping me company while I throw the rest of my shoe collection into my suitcase and try to close it?’
‘Not at all,’ Jay said, smiling. ‘It would be an honour to sit on it with you.’
As Laurie walked towards Jay to pass him, he smiled and pointed to something above the doorway. ‘What’s this?’ he asked.
Hanging there was a sprig of mistletoe, tied with a red bow. Laurie smiled. Rachel must have put it up.
She looked across the doorway at Jay. ‘Because if it’s a trap,’ he said, ‘I really don’t mind.’
Jay moved his hand up her arm and brought her gently towards him. He smoothed back her hair, then cupped her chin with his hand. Looking into her eyes, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip.
Laurie closed her eyes as he kissed her, her whole body tingling at his touch. She put her arms around him. It felt natural, as if they were meant to be there.
As they kissed, Laurie forgot all about the flight she was about to catch. She thought instead of all the time with Jay she wanted to catch up on. The second chance they had now, to put things right, do it better this time.
And then there was room for just one other thought in her mind: Thank you, Rach.
I hope you enjoyed reading Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. Here are a couple of my favourite things to make at this time of year, to keep you in the Christmas spirit.
Zak’s Photo Snowglobes
Drop your family into a Christmas scene! These pretty personalised snowglobes make perfect gifts for doting grandparents.
You will need:
A clean glass jar with a flat top
White glitter
A photo of a family member (smaller than the jar height and diameter)
Sticky-back plastic (or a laminator) to cover the photo
Distilled water
Small amount of glycerine (available from chemists)
Superglue or a glue gun
Waterproof Christmas decorations for the backdrop
Prepare your photo. Choose a photo of a family member and cut around the outline of their face or body. Then waterproof the image by laminating it or covering it in sticky-back plastic (on both sides) leaving a centimetre extra surrounding the image, so that the photo is completely sealed in.
Create your Christmas scene. The underside of the jar lid is going to provide the base for your Christmas scene. Bend the bottom centimetre of the photo over and glue it to the inside of the lid using glue-gun glue or superglue. Add waterproof Christmas decora
tions behind the image to keep it propped up, like a plastic sprig of holly, a Santa cake decoration, or a souvenir Eiffel tower. Leave enough space around the edges for it to screw back on easily.
Fill your jar with distilled water almost to the top, then add a couple of teaspoons of glitter and a dash of glycerine to help the snow to drift down slowly.
Seal it up. Put plenty of glue around the lid, and then screw it on tightly. Decorate the edge of the lid with glitter or a ribbon, for extra sparkle. Give jar a shake and enjoy watching the snow fall over your handmade scene.
Next up, some beautiful ribbon-tied Christmas tree decorations. These traditional biscuits will add a touch of class to your tree, and they taste twice as good as they look …
Milly’s Gingerbread Stars
Makes about 30 biscuits.
Ingredients:
340g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp grated nutmeg
1½ tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground ginger
225g unsalted butter, softened
340g soft brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
75g crystallised ginger, finely chopped
To decorate:
225g icing sugar
Silver balls to decorate
Preparation: Put some classic Christmas tunes on the stereo and pour yourself a glass of sloe gin.
Sift the flour, baking powder, spices and salt together into a mixing bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar together, and then beat in the egg gradually. Stir into the flour to make a dough, then add the ginger. Now reward yourself with a sip or two of the gin.
Place the dough between two sheets of clingfilm, and roll out to the thickness of a pound coin. Pop it in the fridge for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and put your feet up for a bit.
When the dough’s ready, cut out the biscuits, and put on a greased baking tray. Cook them for about ten minutes, and, while they are still hot from the oven, poke a hole at the top of each one. Leave them to cool on a wire rack.
Decoration: Thread a ribbon through the hole at the top of each biscuit. If you’re making your own icing, simply sift the icing sugar, and then mix to a stiff consistency with boiling water. Brush the icing over the biscuits and decorate them with silver balls. They can then go in an airtight container (they’ll keep for a couple of weeks) or you can hang them straight on your tree.
Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!
Love,
Abby x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Huge thanks to my brilliant editor Jo Dickinson for her creativity, insight and guidance, and to agent extraordinaire Caroline Hardman for her support at every stage.
To the excellent team at Quercus – Jenny Richards for the lovely cover, Georgina Difford, Katie Gordon, Kathryn Taussig, David North and everyone else who has worked so hard on my book.
To Caroline Hogg, Emma Stonex and my mum Sheelagh, for their continuing encouragement and wise words. Thanks in particular to James, for his ideas, enthusiasm, and flair for Christmas tree decoration.
Finally, to the friends and family who make my festive season sparkle each year. Merry Christmas!
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