Christmas at the Little Clock House on the Green

by Eve Devon

  ‘Less?’ If anything it made him look more. Darn it. There she went with her noticing again when she was supposed to be focused on doing work she was good at and that made her happy and in the process restoring her confidence in herself.

  ‘I thought it would help someone see me in a less Lady Chatterley’s lover light, that’s all.’

  ‘Do you mean me?’ she asked, without thinking.

  ‘No.’ His laugh this time was one of genuine bemusement and Emma wanted to swallow her own tongue. ‘Why would I care what light you saw me in?’

  ‘Absolutely no reason at all,’ she said, absurdly peeved to find that since they’d met she’d occupied not one corner of his mind. ‘It’s all this unpolluted fresh air,’ she complained, hoping he didn’t hear the slight breathless note in her reply. ‘It’s giving me brain-freeze.’

  ‘Let’s walk, then. It’ll warm you up.’ And just like that they were walking towards the woods together. As if they’d been getting on famously from the second they met. But then, ever since their eyes had connected over his designs for The Clock House courtyard…

  ‘So how’s it going at The Clock House?’ Jake asked.

  ‘Good,’ Emma answered. ‘Kate wants me to interview for a member of staff. You know, to help out if it gets busy. To be honest I’m not sure it’s going to be necessary.’

  ‘Of course it will be. Have you ever managed a place like Cocktails & Chai before?’

  ‘Sort of.’

  ‘For real, or for acting real?’

  ‘For real,’ she said with a roll of her eyes. ‘Why on earth did you think I’d come here?’

  ‘Honestly? To learn the ropes for a part you wanted.’

  ‘You thought I was here to Christian Bale myself into a role?’ she risked a quick glance up at him and realised he wasn’t totally convinced she still wasn’t. ‘What, you think I’ve adopted some sort of character for the duration I’m here? Is that what everyone thinks?’

  ‘Probably.’

  So the residents she had met already thought she was second-best to a real bar manager. ‘Well, I’ll just have to convince you all otherwise,’ she promised. ‘How do you think I met Kate?’

  ‘I assumed while she was travelling.’

  ‘I really want to say the thing about when you assume but I suppose, technically, you’re right. She came in to write a review of the bar I worked in. A few years on and I knew enough so that I could run the bar when the owner, Rudy, went out of town.’ You see, she wanted to point out. I’m hardly a stranger to commitment.

  ‘Then you already know you can’t do everything on your own. Unless you want to let everyone down when you keel-over from burnout?’

  ‘I’ve no intention of letting anyone down. And I’ve no intention of burning out. Tomorrow is my day off and I’m going to—’ she hesitated.

  ‘Going to?’

  ‘As it happens I’m going to spend the day in Chawton.’

  ‘Chawton – sounds as if I should know it.’ His hand came out to rub over his clean-shaven jaw. ‘What’s in Chawton?’

  ‘Jane Austen’s House Museum.’

  ‘Right. More old things.’

  ‘Is there something wrong with doing a little sight-seeing on my day off? Soaking up a little culture? Getting away from Whispers Wood for a while?’

  He had the grace to look embarrassed as he mumbled, ‘No, no, and no.’

  She was content to let his acknowledgements rest in the air for a moment as they walked through the woods.

  ‘Are you driving there?’

  ‘No way. I’ve seen The Holiday. I’m not even attempting driving on the wrong side of the road in a shift-stick Mini or something equally small. Kate has to go into town anyway so she’s dropping me off at the station. So what do you do on your days off then?’

  ‘I spend time in the gardens.’

  ‘That doesn’t really sound like a day off.’

  ‘Only to you. To me, it’s great. Peace and quiet and some manual labour.’

  ‘Mindfulness 101.’

  He nodded. ‘Putting your hands in the earth does give you that zen-like quality of life that’s so elusive when you’re constantly plugged in.’

  ‘Have you lived that life then, the one where you’re constantly plugged in?’

  For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to answer and then he was saying softly, ‘Once upon a time.’

  ‘And you fell out of love with it?’

  ‘Maybe it fell out of love with me.’

  She waited and when he didn’t elaborate she huffed out a breath. ‘Are you this cryptic with everyone, or is it just me?’

  ‘Oh, definitely just you.’

  ‘Right. Don’t trust the imposter. I get it.’

  ‘Are you pouting, Hollywood?’

  She didn’t answer and after a moment, he surprised her by confiding, ‘When your family has lived in a place like Whispers Wood, generation after generation, you get used to everyone already knowing your life story. You fall out of the habit of volunteering personal information.’

  ‘And?’ she asked.

  ‘And?’ he mimicked, one eyebrow shooting up.

  ‘Oh, come on. There has to be more to it than that.’

  He was silent for a moment and then added, ‘I guess I sort of forget how to talk to people sometimes. Comes from working on my own a lot.’

  ‘Working too much on your own can make you a little paranoid.’

  ‘Hey, just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me,’ he said with a laugh.

  The way he said it definitely made her think he’d been burned. ‘What happened to make you believe every newcomer is here to personally shake you down?’

  He turned his head so that she couldn’t see his expression and his tone was mild when he said, ‘Nothing happened.’

  Too mild. She felt the spike of sadness that he obviously didn’t trust her.

  ‘So do you not have anyone to help you with the gardens?’ she asked.

  ‘I can’t afford to take on anyone at the moment.’

  ‘And what are you going to do if you keel-over from burnout in those gardens of yours? Who’s going to come to your rescue?’

  ‘Are you kidding? This is Whispers Wood. If someone from the village doesn’t work it out in five minutes, I’m pretty sure one of my five brothers and sisters would stumble across me.’

  ‘You have five siblings? Do they all live around here?’

  ‘No, thank God. At the moment I only have to worry about Sarah and Seth popping in every five minutes.’

  ‘I’m finding it hard picturing you as someone from a large family. You must be the oldest, right?’

  ‘Nope. Middle.’

  ‘Ah. The peace-maker.’

  He looked at her in surprise.

  ‘With that many siblings someone has to be. So maybe Sarah and Seth are popping around to get advice and be listened to. They probably love having you nearby.’

  ‘They hate it. Because after the listening and the calming everyone down, invariably comes the lecture.’

  ‘I’d start calling it “advice” – at least in your own head. Sounds better, doesn’t it?’

  ‘You seem to know an awful lot about family dynamics. Do you come from a large family?’

  ‘Nope. Only child.’

  ‘Actually, that makes total sense.’

  ‘It does?’ She looked up at him. ‘Explain, please.’

  ‘The acting.’

  She walked a couple of paces and then trying very hard to take the ire out of her voice said, ‘Do you think I went into acting to get attention because I was an only child?’

  ‘No, I think you might have been lonely.’

  She tripped over a tree root. At least that was what she told herself as he automatically put his arm out to prevent her falling. ‘Okay?’ he asked, that super-intense gaze seeking out hers.

  She nodded, and glanced away. After pausing to shove her scarf back, she said, ‘You coul
dn’t be more wrong. I had lots of friends and a perfect childhood.’

  ‘No one has a perfect childhood, Hollywood.’

  ‘Well, I did.’ Even as she said it she wondered what it was about this man that made her speak without thinking. Someone so completely comfortable in his own skin should make her feel comfortable too, right? Why on earth was she pretending to be perfect for him? He didn’t care either way. Worse, he saw right through it.

  It must just be because she was getting nervous about seeing her dad again after such a long time. Nervous she’d take one look at him being perfect with his new perfect family and wonder why it couldn’t have been that way with her. ‘So, what’s your plan for not keeling over with overwork then?’ she asked, determined to bring them back onto safer ground. ‘I take it you do have one?’

  ‘I do. It’s called a holiday.’

  ‘The getting away for Christmas? I got the impression that wasn’t so much of a holiday as an escape.’

  ‘Eager to see the back of me, Hollywood?’

  ‘Couldn’t care less!’

  He stopped and turned to stare down at her and vaguely she realised they’d arrived at Wren Cottage. As his eyes searched hers he must have seen something she’d been hoping to hide because his voice was soft and thoughtful when he said, ‘Huh. Turns out you really are a good actress.’

  ‘Turns out you have an ego the size of a—’

  She didn’t get the rest of the words out because suddenly he was reaching out and tugging on the end of her scarf and for one insane moment she genuinely thought he was going to close the distance between them and stop her mouth with his.

  Instead those lips of his twitched as he swung the ends of her scarf in opposite directions around her neck, nearly knocking her out as the giant pom-poms at each end bounced off each side of her head. ‘’Night Hollywood. Enjoy your day off tomorrow,’ and whistling The Holly and the Ivy, he sauntered off down the road.

  Chapter 14

  Lights, Camera, Action: Scything!

  Emma

  ‘That feels amazing,’ Emma said as Kate removed the last of the honey facial mask from her face so that she was free to run her fingertips over smooth and refreshed skin.

  ‘I told you it would,’ Juliet said, collecting up the bowls and towels from her dining-table, where the three had been sat, enjoying a bit of pampering during an evening off.

  Well, not an evening off exactly. But it was much more fun going through Christmas plans for The Clock House, when it came with facials, manis, pedis and scrumptious food provided by Juliet.

  ‘Kate sold shampoo, conditioner and skin moisturiser using Bea’s natural organic recipes at the village fete this summer and sold out within hours,’ Juliet said proudly as she cleared away. ‘Right, who’s for some Christmas popcorn?’

  ‘I’m in,’ Emma said, figuring she could call it healthy because it was popcorn. Getting up from the table she followed Juliet and Kate over to the kitchen area of the gorgeous barn-conversion home that Oscar had renovated. ‘So the facial scrub was from one of Bea’s recipes?’ she asked Kate, leaning against the large breakfast bar.

  ‘Yes. There’s heaps to do before we’d be allowed to use Bea’s Bee Beautiful products in Beauty @ The Clock House but one day I hope to stock a full range and then sell to other spas and shops. For now I’m just pleased you both agreed to be my guinea-pigs. Hopefully my skills are getting better. I nearly poked someone’s eye out at college the other day.’

  ‘I don’t know how you both fit everything in,’ Emma said. She’d thought she’d been busy in LA, going to class, auditioning and working at Bar Brand. Thought she’d loved it all but it hadn’t been like this. She’d hardly ever seen her flat-mates for a start. They all got on but there wasn’t the camaraderie. Their world was too competitive. Being in Whispers Wood felt like she was working towards something with friends – that they were all equally invested to make The Clock House work.

  Kate grinned at Emma. ‘It helps we have you on the team.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Juliet said, reaching up into a shelf to get what looked like a huge canister of sugar.

  ‘I’m loving it,’ Emma confessed. ‘I know we haven’t even opened yet, but it’s so much fun it doesn’t really feel like work.’

  ‘You’re not missing your City of Stars?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Apart from feeling cold most of the time? No. God, is that awful?’

  ‘Depends,’ Juliet said. ‘Is it LA or acting you’re not missing?’

  Emma thought for a moment. ‘I guess I don’t know. This – being here – doesn’t feel like a novelty, maybe that’s why I’m not feeling homesick?’

  ‘And at least you have family over here, too. Have you arranged to meet up with your dad, yet?’ Kate asked.

  Emma nodded. ‘I’m going the day after the tree-lighting ceremony.’

  ‘When’s the last time you saw him?’ Juliet asked.

  ‘My eighteenth,’ she answered without missing a beat. ‘Either Mum organised it or he was over on business, I don’t know. Anyway, he stopped over and took me out to dinner. It was …’ she tailed off, unsure how to describe the happiness of seeing him with the disappointment of not seeing her friends and going to the party they’d organised for her. ‘Very grown-up,’ she finally decided upon. ‘He’s not the most gregarious of men. He’s more serious. Likes numbers. Doesn’t approve of what I do. Did,’ she corrected.

  ‘He didn’t like you acting?’

  ‘I’m not sure he thought it a viable career option. You know, not stable enough.’ She guessed he’d been right, hadn’t he?

  ‘So what does he think about what you’re doing now?’

  ‘I guess I’ll find out.’

  ‘You haven’t told him?’

  Emma shook her head. ‘I didn’t want to tell him on the phone.’ She hadn’t wanted to hear the confusion followed by the bemusement in his voice and feel even more unrelated to him. ‘I’ll tell him when I see him. What about you, Kate? Does your father know what you’re doing with The Clock House?’

  ‘Nope. And even if he did, I doubt he’d have an opinion on it either way.’

  Emma searched her friend’s face to see if she was trying to hide her feelings. ‘Don’t you miss him?’

  ‘How can you miss what you never really had?’ Kate replied and Emma realised she really was reconciled to not having the man in her life. ‘The small number of years he was in my life was really an illusion anyway. I tried to pretend he really wanted to be there, but he really didn’t. I’m over it.’

  ‘And at least you have your mum,’ Emma waited a heartbeat and then decided to just ask, ‘Will you be inviting her over for Christmas Day?’

  ‘I need to find out what Daniel’s doing about his mum, first. I haven’t met her yet and it feels a bit too much asking them both to spend the whole day together. God, when did Christmas get so complicated?’

  ‘I think it happens the moment you get your own place and have to decide who you’re having over for Christmas,’ Juliet said.

  ‘Let’s cheers to that with a honey martini?’ Kate asked, efficiently setting out the ingredients.

  Emma eyed up the size of the glasses Kate had got out. ‘It’s nice having someone make me a drink for a change, but so I can pretend the correct amount of outrage, are you trying to get me drunk?’

  ‘You deserve to let your hair down after the crazy hours you’ve been putting in, which don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly appreciate, but, sooner or later it really is going to feel like hard work and I don’t want you thinking coming here should be all work and no play. If it makes you feel better think of the drink as mostly medicinal.’

  Emma laughed. ‘And why do I need medicine?’

  ‘It’ll warm you up,’ Juliet insisted. ‘You think we haven’t noticed how cold you always are?’

  Emma watched as Juliet next put a glug of oil and a knob of butter in a large pan and tipped in the popcorn kernels before covering the pan with a tight-fitti
ng lid. ‘I really do have to get a handle on the heating situation,’ she admitted, thinking about how she should have asked Jake to show her how to work it again but somehow feeling cold had been the furthest thought from her head when they’d been sparring. Chatting. Flirting…

  Whatever the hell it was they’d been doing.

  ‘I’m going to write it all down for you again,’ Juliet said with a smile, taking a gloriously misshapen bowl with hideous blue and orange squiggles all over it from a cupboard and setting it down on the counter-top.

  ‘What is that?’ Emma asked, clapping a hand over her mouth when she realised what she’d said.

  ‘It’s a bowl, of course,’ Juliet said with a sniff.

  ‘You kept it,’ Kate said, clutching her heart and smiling. ‘This,’ she said, pointing to the sunken clay receptacle, ‘is proof Juliet isn’t perfect at every craft she tries. I dared her to keep it so that the balance of those who can craft and those who can’t was restored.’

  ‘It doesn’t go with anything,’ Juliet said, looking forlornly down at it. The glazes all came out wrong. I think I was going through my displacement activity of “I’ll never get together with Oscar” phase, otherwise I’d have mastered the art of the throw-down better. If it wasn’t so big, I’d wrap it up and give it to you as your Secret Santa present.’

  ‘It’s so ugly it’s beautiful,’ Kate declared.

  Emma definitely agreed with the first part, and reached tactfully for the canister. She opened it and inhaled. ‘Oh my God.’ The scent of vanilla pod, cinnamon, lemon and orange peel filled the room. ‘It smells like—’ she was going to say home but realised with a start that it actually smelled like the set of a Christmas movie she’d worked on when she’d been thirteen.

  ‘Christmas,’ Kate supplied with a nod, picking up the cocktail shaker. ‘I know. Juliet is the best at making things look, taste, smell and sound perfect. Except when it comes to a pottery throw down. Not a bit of Molly Jensen/Emma Bridgewater to be found and that makes me so happy.’

  ‘Just for that I’m going to sign up for more classes,’ Juliet pouted.

  ‘Please,’ Kate said shaking the cocktail ingredients. ‘As if you’ll have the time once we open.’