by Beth Good
‘They’re barely one-and-a-half, Dad, they don’t understand what Christmas is yet,’ Rose said, laughing at his enthusiasm. ‘And just a heads-up, you may make the poor little things cry if you plan on jumping out on them in a red coat and beard.’
‘Make my grandsons cry? Nonsense.’
The door jangled behind her, and there was Nick in the doorway, stamping cold feet and clapping leather-gloved hands. ‘Bloody cold out there,’ he said, then nodded to her dad and Shantelle. ‘Merry Christmas!’
‘Ho-ho-ho!’ Her dad adopted a deep, booming voice, leaning towards the boys. ‘Ho-ho-ho!’
Jason startled and woke up, crying piteously at once, both arms flailing above his white fleecy blanket. His brother Jake opened his dark eyes, fixed them on his grandfather’s face, gave a tiny smile, then went back to sleep.
‘What the hell?’ Nick said, looking perplexed.
‘Dad wants to play Santa this Christmas Eve,’ Rose explained, shooting him a secret smile as she plucked a wailing Jason from his buggy and sat him comfortably on her hip, the boy a dark-haired, dark-eyed replica of his father. ‘He was just practising his, erm, ho-ho-ho on the boys.’
‘I see.’
‘Sorry,’ her dad said contritely, and then looked at her husband with quiet sympathy. ‘I haven’t seen you in a few weeks, Nick. How are you doing?’
Nick did not answer at first. Instead, he stripped off his gloves, and held out his hands so she could pass him Jason. He snuggled the boy against his chest, and kissed him until the tears had subsided.
Shantelle, in tight black leggings and a festive sparkly jumper, moved discreetly away to arrange a few Poinsettias in the Christmas window, crawling into the window space with her bottom on display.
Rose looked at Nick, but luckily he had not noticed Shantelle’s protruding bottom. Not that she was worried he would stray. Only that he might question her judgement in leaving such a young manager in charge of her precious shop. She believed in her judgement one hundred percent though. Shantelle was brilliant with customers and suppliers alike, if a little bouncy at times. And she was even becoming better at gold-spraying alliums for the Christmas display without covering half the shop in glittery gold paint.
Besides, she needed Shantelle to get used to managing a shop, because once they had their next two shops open – yes, a Mistletoe Flower Shop chain was in the works, thanks to Nick’s investment – she would need a manager for their flagship store, planned for much larger premises she and her new personal assistant Petra had just acquired near Euston Station. Then her dad could run this place on his own again, with maybe a part-time helper, which had been his dream ever since his accident.
Finally, Nick turned back to her dad, his smile speaking of a sadness that had not yet healed. ‘I’m doing okay, Henry,’ he said, with deliberate understatement. ‘Some days are better than others. Like today, for instance.’ He paused. ‘How about you?’
Her dad made a face, shrugging, though he did not fool any of them. ‘Oh, you know. Muddling through. Keeping busy helps.’
‘Yes,’ Nick said deeply. ‘This first Christmas is going to be hard though. Her favourite time of year.’
‘Your mum would have wanted us to enjoy it,’ Rose said quietly into the silence. ‘For the boys’ sake, in particular. You know how she doted on them.’
Sadly, they had lost Barbara early that autumn. Not to her cancer, which had remained in remission, but to a massive stroke, which had been so unexpected, it had torn their lives apart. Nick, in particular, had been devastated by the loss of his mother and best friend for so many years. But even he was slowly starting to recover from that shock. Having the twins was helping, Rose thought, watching with a hurting heart as he cradled his boy before placing Jason back in his warm buggy.
Her dad and Barbara had enjoyed a close relationship right up until her death, seeing each other several times a week. Nothing had been said, but she suspected they had been considering marriage. Then she had died so suddenly, and her dad … Well, Henry too was only just beginning to pick himself up. And again, having his two grandsons in his life was a major help, as well as being able to work in the flower shop again, a role he had absolutely insisted upon as soon as the place reopened. Life was changing for them all, Rose thought, and despite the sadness of Barbara’s untimely death, it did feel as though things were getting better.
‘And what do you think of the new Christmas Parade complex?’ Nick asked, looking at her dad with his eyebrows raised. ‘Does it meet with your approval?’
‘OMG, it’s freakin’ marvellous!’ Shantelle said, her voice muffled as she crawled back out from the flashing, glittery window display. She gave Nick a massive smile as she jumped down, her face lit up almost as brightly as the Christmas tree itself, gold tinsel strands wound round her dreadlocks to make her look even more festive. ‘My cousin’s got a flat on the third floor. She says it’s gorgeous. Totally. And about three times bigger than her last place, but for the same rent. Which is almost impossible in this part of London, trust me.’ She embraced Nick warmly, then kissed him on both cheeks. ‘You are, like, the best billionaire ever.’
Rose cleared her throat.
‘Oh.’ Shantelle glanced at her boss, then hurriedly released Nick, smoothing down the broad shoulders of his suit as an afterthought, now slightly crumpled from her enthusiastic embrace. ‘Sorry.’
Nick glanced at Rose, and she felt the loving intimacy of that gaze like a touch. ‘Ready for lunch?’ he asked softly. ‘I’ve got Ebba going round and round the block, now there’s only disabled parking allowed out there.’ He checked his watch. ‘Then shopping, I believe? For … What was it again?’
‘Clothes for the twins. And more nappies.’
‘Of course.’ He quirked a brow at her dad. ‘Here I am, CEO of my own global company, and I have to take my wife shopping for nappies.’
Shantelle’s eyes were wide. ‘But you’ve got a nanny, haven’t you? That funny-looking Lolita thing.’
‘Lola,’ Rose corrected her, grinning at the reference to their pink-haired Goth nanny, who rarely had anything to do because Rose herself was always in the nursery, too much of a control freak to let another woman handle her babies.
‘Okay, Lola, whatever. Why can’t she do the grunt work for you?’
‘Because my wife doesn’t trust the nanny to know what Jake and Jason really need, and prefers to do everything herself,’ Nick said drily, stopping at the door to pull on his gloves again. ‘Apparently she even enjoys shopping for nappies for them. And online won’t do either, before you suggest it. Online shopping is too impersonal, she claims, and not enough fun, for God’s sake.’ He watched as Rose wheeled the buggy round, ready for departure. ‘Plus, this way she gets to take the babies with her while she does the dreadful deed. Which means buying them toys for Christmas. More toys, I should say, as she’s already spent a fortune on the little nippers this month.’
‘Hey, mister, you enjoy shopping for nappies and kiddy toys too, I know you do.’ Rose glared at him accusingly. ‘So don’t make out like I’m dragging you away from some important business meeting,’ she added, ‘just to go out with the boys.’
‘Darling, for the record, I certainly don’t enjoy shopping for nappies,’ he told her with mock sternness, and bent his head to kiss her lips, ignoring Shantelle’s delighted shriek, ‘I adore it.’
Thank you for reading this Beth Good romcom!
Other charming romcoms by Kindle All Stars author Beth Good (UK links):
Christmas at the Lucky Parrot Garden Centre
The Cornish Colouring Book Club
The Oddest Little Cornish Tea Shop
The Oddest Little Book Shop
The Oddest Little Gingerbread Shop
The Oddest Little Chocolate Shop
The Oddest Little Christmas Shop
The Oddest Little Romance Shop
The Oddest Little Beach Shop
The Oddest Little Christmas Cake Shop
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br /> The Oddest Little Shop Trio
(a 3-story edition)