The Best Little Christmas Shop

by Maxine Morrey

  Obviously not.

  ‘So!’ Cal stood back up from the dishwasher, closing the door as he did so. Perfect timing. ‘I’m just going to go and check on George. He was bit fretful earlier but Lexi and Apollo have the magic touch and had managed to get him to sleep while I was in the shower.’

  ‘Apollo?’

  ‘My dog.’

  ‘Oh!’

  ‘We just popped in after our walk this morning to see how George was feeling.’ Perhaps if I let her know I hadn’t spent a passionate night with her employer, it might make her worry less that I was about to break his heart. Or whatever it was that she was worried about me doing.

  ‘Oh, that was nice of you.’

  Did I detect a little softening there?

  Cal led the way and George was still out like a light to the soft accompaniment of doggy snoring. I hated to wake Apollo but I had no idea how Martha felt about dogs or what time I’d be home. I didn’t want him missing his dinner later if we got held up. I glanced at Martha, catching her expression. OK, so she might be a dog person after all. I gently nudged Apollo from his slumber. George’s hand slid softly down his fur until it landed on the duvet and Cal snuggled his son into the bed further. Martha and I walked out, the dog close by my side.

  ‘He’s beautiful,’ she said when we got to the hallway.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘The name suits him. Very regal.’

  I laughed. ‘You might not think that when he’s on his back, legs in air, snoring like a freight train.’ She laughed at the image of a not infrequent sight at our place.

  Cal joined us. ‘He’s still zonked. Thanks so much for this. I would have put it off if I could –’

  Martha waved his protestations away. ‘It’s my pleasure. Derek’s decided that a Game of Thrones marathon was his calling this weekend and after a day of it yesterday, honestly, it’s a pleasure to be here even more than usual. There’s only so much tits, arse, blood, and gore I can take.’

  My mouth had dropped open and Cal was laughing. Martha had that whole prim, respectable look going on and certainly didn’t look the kind of woman who said tits and arse!

  ‘What did I say?’ she asked, genuinely confused.

  I snapped my mouth shut and Cal just shook his head and gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. ‘Nothing. Thanks again and just text or call me if you need anything at all. OK?’

  ‘Of course. Now go if you must. But for goodness’ sake, have a window open or something. You look shattered, boy!’

  ‘Don’t worry. Lexi’s driving. She very flatteringly told me I looked hideous and then used George as emotional blackmail to make me relinquish my keys.’

  ‘Did she now?’ Martha turned to me. ‘Well done, you.’ She winked and weirdly I felt like I’d passed some sort of test. Or at least one stage of it.

  ‘In my defence, the word hideous was never used. He’s exaggerating.’

  Martha shrugged, ‘He’s a man …’ She left the rest of the sentence open to speak for itself as I laughed.

  Cal raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m feeling distinctly ganged up on here so I definitely think it’s time we left.’ The shower had revived him somewhat but his face was still drawn from tiredness and the worry of last night. But right now, his eyes sparkled with the fun of the tease.

  ‘Come on, boy.’ He looked down at Apollo. ‘We know when we’re beaten.’ Apollo looked up and tilted his head.

  I pulled on my boots and grabbed the hat I’d stuffed in my pocket. It wasn’t the most flattering thing I’d ever worn but it was warm and until the car warmed up, I valued my ears too much to give vanity the upper hand.

  ‘Cute hat.’ Cal grinned.

  Being the mature adult that I was, I stuck my tongue out at him. ‘I don’t care. It’s warm.’

  Cal leaned briefly towards me. ‘I was actually being serious.’

  I looked up, surprised. ‘Oh!’

  He gave a dip to the side with his head, considering. ‘It suits you.’

  ‘Thanks. I think,’ I replied, laughter bubbling through my words. Even after a night of no sleep – and not for the good reasons – Cal Martin still had a smile capable of knocking me right out of my fur-lined boots. To prevent that happening, I bent and fiddled with Apollo’s lead for a moment, giving myself a moment to reset and have a little mental shake.

  I had a whole day with this man ahead of me. Yes, he’s hot. And yes, I liked him. And even though I was usually really obtuse in such circumstances – I blame growing up surrounded by men – I was getting the idea that he might sort of like me too. But I had no idea what I was going to do with my life right now. And like I’d said at Giselle’s, at the most inopportune time possible of course, getting involved with anyone right now was probably not a great idea. Absolutely. Right! Good. That was sorted then.

  ‘Are you anywhere nice?’

  A deep voice with a definite hint of smile broke into my thoughts.

  ‘Huh?’ I stood back up and came face to chest with Cal. He bent his knees a little and looked at me straight on.

  ‘You were miles away …’

  ‘Oh … that. Yes. No.’

  Cal quirked an eyebrow and hit me with that smile again. Oh crikey. This was going to be an interesting day. Pull it together, Lexi!

  ‘Come on, boy. Up you get.’ Apollo leapt into the back of the Defender and Cal shut the door. We both walked around to the driver’s side.

  ‘Umm, you’re not driving, remember?’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’

  ‘OK. Then you don’t need me to come with you.’

  Cal took a deep breath. ‘You can sit and talk to me and keep me awake.’

  ‘The idea was for you to get some sleep. Which you need.’

  ‘Yeah, but –’

  ‘No buts. Keys please!’

  He gave me a look. ‘Considering you’re best friends, you and Giselle are very different, aren’t you?’

  ‘That we are. She’d get you to give the keys over without even realising you were doing it. I, on the other hand, don’t have her beauty or persuasive skills so I tend to find that a more direct approach has to be employed.’

  Cal smiled. ‘Direct can be good too.’

  ‘I’m glad you think so.’ I held out my hand for the keys.

  Cal laid the small bunch in it, but as I closed my hand around it, he didn’t quite relinquish his own hold.

  ‘I’d take issue with the beauty thing too. You shouldn’t do yourself down.’

  ‘Huh. Oh. Right. Good. Thanks. Thank you. Good to know.’ I nodded a little too vigorously and did a mental eye roll at myself. It was quite impressive how inordinately bad I really was at this kind of stuff. From the corner of my eye saw Cal run a hand across his chin, and I was pretty sure it was disguising a smirk.

  Keeping my eyes averted, I pulled my hand a little to gain full control of the keys and opened the door of the Land Rover, putting myself into territory I was far more relaxed in. As I settled myself behind the wheel, I risked a glance up at Cal as he walked around the bonnet to the passenger side. He was grinning. Well, I definitely wasn’t going to win any prizes for my feminine wiles but at least I provided amusement for those around me. That was always nice. Better when it was planned, but still.

  Cal pulled open the door and hefted himself in. Leaning forward he switched on the satnav and pulled his phone from a pocket in his jacket as he waited for it to boot up. I glanced back at the dog whilst I waited. Apollo had his head resting on the back seat, watching and waiting patiently.

  ‘He’s a great dog,’ Cal commented without looking at me as he tapped a postcode into the machine.

  I smiled at Apollo and stretched back an arm to give him a quick head rub. ‘He is.’

  ‘George has been going on about getting a dog for ages. I don’t think this morning is going to have helped much.’

  I looked round at him. ‘Oh! Sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any awkwardness. We were just passing and –’

  Cal h
eld up his hands. ‘That came out wrong. It wasn’t meant as a criticism. Maybe you’re right in that I need a rest.’

  I studied the satnav for a moment. ‘I don’t think there’s any maybe about it.’

  He laughed and pressed ‘Go’ on the device.

  ‘Fair enough. What I meant is if I can find such a great dog as this one, it might not be a bad thing. I’m aware that George is an only child – it could be good for him to have some company at home. Someone to bond with. Nothing I said could bring a smile to his face or get him to settle this morning and then you and Apollo walk in and he’s happy and asleep within minutes.’

  ‘It’s my scintillating personality. It often sends people to sleep.’

  ‘Now that I know is a big fat lie.’

  I gave him a shrug. ‘OK. So if I can just drop the dog off at home and let my parents know that I’m out with you and not in a ditch somewhere, then we can head off.’

  ‘Is it likely they think you’re in a ditch?’

  ‘You’d be surprised.’ I turned over the engine as Cal plugged in his seatbelt. ‘It’s my mum’s catchphrase. Whenever one of us was late, even just a few minutes, we’d be greeted with her telling us off, saying that she had been convinced we were lying in a ditch somewhere.’

  ‘On the plus side, it’s nice that someone cared if you were or not.’ Cal’s mouth was smiling but as I gave a quick glance to check the road was clear, I could see that the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  My stomach twisted. ‘I’m sorry. That was insensitive. I didn’t think –’

  Cal laid his hand over mine on the wheel for the briefest of moments, before resting it back on his lap. ‘It’s fine. I don’t want you second-guessing everything you say to me. But I can understand how your mum feels now. Every minute your child isn’t where they should be feels like hours.’

  I nodded.

  ‘You seem very close to your nieces and nephews so I’m pretty sure you’ve already got a good idea too.’

  ‘True.’

  ‘Just wait until you have your own too.’

  I swallowed, and looked away from him up the road, checking for traffic.

  ‘Is it clear your way?’

  ‘Yep.’

  I pulled out and headed back towards my parents’ place, doing my best to push Cal’s innocently made comment out of my mind.

  Chapter Eight

  We’d dropped off the dog, put Mum’s mind at rest, and had now been on the road nearly half an hour. Cal had finally given in about ten minutes ago and was sleeping soundly in the passenger seat. A couple of dips in the road had him bumping his head against the window on which he rested but he didn’t wake. Each time I heard it, I winced.

  As the next lay-by came into sight, I pulled off, keeping the engine running. Unwinding my scarf, I rolled it into a small bundle and leant over Cal. Wrapping one arm around his side, I hefted his not insubstantial weight away from the window momentarily and with the other, rested my scarf there. Gently I released him and made sure his head was now against the soft material, rather than the hard glass. I didn’t fancy having to explain to little George that I’d been kind enough to drive his father so that he could sleep but in doing so had also managed to brain him.

  ***

  I pulled to a gentle halt and checked the address again. It seemed this was the place. Cal was still sleeping and I hated to wake him. Being up all night with his son had clearly taken it out of him, plus I knew from Xander that Cal had recently been working at night after George had gone to sleep, trying to get on top of things after a recommendation by a celebrity had increased the demand for his services even more.

  As I sat for a moment, the engine ticking and cooling in reaction to the bitter air surrounding it, my phone rang. Diving my hand into my pocket, I fumbled for a moment and pulled out the mobile, almost juggling it in my haste to shut it up.

  ‘Hi,’ I whispered.

  ‘Why are you whispering?’ Giselle asked.

  ‘Cal’s asleep.’

  There was a pause. ‘Oh really?’ she asked, the biggest of smiles in her voice, ‘Well, at bloody last. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time he went out with a woman on her own and I know for certain it’s been far too long for you.’

  ‘Actually, I’ve never dated a woman on her own, or otherwise,’ I countered, my smart-arse gene coming to the fore.

  ‘You know what I mean. So? How was it?’

  ‘How was what?’ I asked, confused.

  I could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

  ‘The sex of course!’

  ‘Giselle. We’re in the car.’

  ‘Wow! Really? I guess once the fire’s finally lit, there’s no stopping you two! OK, so same question?’

  ‘Gis, it’s definitely not what you think.’ I was still whispering but I had a feeling I could have played a short concerto on the car horn and Cal wouldn’t have stirred. He’d barely moved since he’d closed his eyes, even when I’d manhandled him earlier.

  ‘It isn’t?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Umm … I know it’s been a while, but yes. I’m pretty sure I would know if something like you’re suggesting had happened.’

  ‘Shame.’

  ‘Not really. Too complicated.’

  ‘Life is complicated.’

  ‘This is true. Which only illustrates my point better. Why add more to the mix?’

  Giselle let out a sigh as she was prone to do whenever we veered onto the topic of me dating. Or more specifically, not dating. ‘So, what is happening then? Where are you and why is Cal with you but asleep?’

  I gave her a quick catch-up and then got to the crux of it.

  ‘So, how do I wake him up?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘What’s the proper form for waking him up?’

  Giselle’s tinkly laugh, unlike my own head back, belly laugh, drifted down the phone.

  ‘What’s the problem? You have a male best friend, three brothers, and worked with a tonne of blokes. I’ve seen them dozing in the garage on the television. Surely you must have had to wake one of them up before.’

  ‘Of course. All of the above I just give a shove and tell them to wake up.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘So. That doesn’t seem appropriate here.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I … don’t know.’ And that was the truth. I had no idea why this was such an issue. Cal was like any other bloke. Except I already knew that wasn’t entirely true. Which was exactly the problem.

  ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake this is ridiculous, I should just –’

  ‘Kiss him,’ Giselle offered.

  ‘What?’ I squeaked. This was something I very rarely did. Especially not in a whisper.

  ‘Kiss him. I can categorically say he won’t mind.’

  ‘I might!’

  ‘Liar.’

  I didn’t have an answer for that.

  ‘It’s not appropriate.’

  ‘Says who? Honestly, hon. I’m telling you he really wouldn’t mind. And I don’t think you would either. Maybe it’s time to –’

  ‘OK. I think he’s waking up anyway. Talk to you later. Bye!’ I hung up and glanced over to Cal who was still completely sparko. It wasn’t an outright fib to Giselle. Cal had actually moved slightly but his breathing stayed deep and steady and rhythmic and whatever I’d hoped, he wasn’t about to wake up. Damn.

  ‘Cal?’ I called, quietly.

  Nothing.

  ‘Cal?’ I tried again.

  Nope. Bugger. I wrapped my hand around a bicep that even under his squidgy jacket still felt pretty prominent. This time I gave him a gentle shake as I called. There was movement but no definite result. I shifted position, leant over a little more, and tried again. Cal’s head moved and thick-lashed, heavy-lidded eyes opened sleepily and looked directly into mine.

  Oh crap. That’s so not a helpful image to have in my mind right now! I sat back quickly and gave the rog
ue thoughts of Cal’s “just woken up look” starring in other possible situations the good hard shove they deserved out of my brain.

  ‘Hi.’ He smiled. His voice had that sleep-roughened edge. The thoughts I’d dismissed previously sniggered and crept back in. I did my best to ignore them.

  ‘Hello!’ I said brightly. ‘Nice sleep?’

  Cal shoved himself up a little, noticing the scarf under his head. He caught it as it slid down.

  ‘I’m pretty sure that wasn’t there when we started out. In fact –’ he looked at it and then me ‘– I’m almost convinced it was around your neck.’

  ‘It was. But your head was making some rather unsettling bumping sounds against the window.’

  He was looking at me in that world-disappearing way again. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘No problem,’ I replied, trying to keep my voice sounding casual as I took the scarf back from him.

  ‘I didn’t mean to sleep the whole way and leave you to it. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Really not a problem. You clearly needed the rest and it’s nice to get out for the day anyway.’

  Both of us peered out at the blackening sky and the odd large raindrop that had now started bouncing intermittently off the windscreen.

  Cal laughed. ‘You sure about that?’

  I shrugged and chuckled. ‘I am. I’ve not actually been outside the village since I got home. It’s good to get a change of scenery.’

  Cal nodded and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to wake himself up. ‘OK. Let’s go and check out the car before this scenery – and us – start getting distinctly soggy.’

  ‘Oh. I was just going to wait here.’

  ‘Don’t you want to come? I thought you might be interested?’

  ‘Of course. I just didn’t want to overstep or get in the way.’

  Cal shook his head. ‘Get your arse out of the car and come help me decide whether this is a good buy or not.’

  I pulled a face. ‘That I can do.’

  Cal shot me a grin through the glass as he closed the door and before I knew it, I’d returned it, full wattage. Walking around to the front of the car, I looked up at him.