I laugh. “I’m sure that isn’t true.”
“Don’t you believe it,” Glenn disagrees. “I used to follow him around, wanting to hang out with him and his mates when they played football.”
I smile. “Aw, how cute!”
He smiles. “I’ll have you know, I was trying to be cool.”
“But, let me guess, you were anything but?”
“Got it in one, though I didn’t realise it at the time.” He pauses as Sofia comes over with our drinks. “Thanks, Sofia,” he says, taking a sip of his pint.
“No problem,” Sofia replies. Placing my lemonade in front of me, she grins. “He’s finally won you over, has he?” she jokes, nodding at Glenn.
Looking across the table, I smile. “I wouldn’t say that but I’m beginning to realise he’s not as annoying as I first thought,” I retort.
Glenn grins. “Well, that is a compliment coming from you.”
“Two pints when you’re ready, Sofia,” someone calls from the bar.
“Yeah, be there in a sec,” she calls back. Turning her attention back to us, she says, “Well, have fun, you two,” before leaving and indicating to me that we should talk later; no doubt she wants all the details of my date – sorry, non-date! – with Glenn.
“So, have you got any plans for Christmas?” Glenn asks, taking me by surprise.
“Um… no, not yet,” I mutter. I shrug. “I’ll probably end up gatecrashing Holly’s plans.” Then I add, “I’ll probably see my dad at some point, I guess.”
“You don’t sound so sure.”
“Well, with things how they are between us…”
“But it’s Christmas,” Glenn points out.
“But that doesn’t change anything,” I retort. “I mean, it’s been years since either of us have celebrated Christmas.” I see the look on Glenn’s face. “No, please don’t do that; please don’t feel sorry for me. It is what it is,” I add, ignoring the pain I feel.
Leaning back in his chair, Glenn holds his hands up. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you.” After a moment, he asks, “So, tell me about the Christmases you did celebrate.”
I stay silent, allowing my mind to drift back… “Mum loved Christmas,” I begin, smiling, “I mean, really loved it. She would get me to write a letter to Santa on the first day of December and then make this big show of taking me to the letter box and getting me to post it.”
Glenn smiles. “We used to do that, too,” he says. “I remember not being able to reach the slot so my dad had to lift me up.” I can’t help laughing at the image he’s given me. “Oh, yeah, that’s right; laugh at the vertically challenged.”
“I’m sorry,” I chuckle, trying to control myself.
“So, what else did you do?” Glenn asks, steering the conversation back on track.
“Mum used to take me to a class in the florists where they taught us how to make our own Christmas wreaths,” I continue.
“Oh, that sounds like fun!”
I shake my head. “Well, it wasn’t; it was boring and I kept stabbing myself with the wire that was supposed to secure the pine needles to the frame.”
He winces. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound like much fun.”
“No, it wasn’t,” I agree. “We also used to go the Carlisle Christmas market every year-”
“We did too!” Glenn beams. “And we went to the ice-skating rink!”
“Yes!” I exclaim. “How weird that we both did that!”
We’re both grinning like idiots, now, marveling at the coincidence.
“Wouldn’t it be weird if we had both been there at the same time and we walked right by each other?” Glenn suggests. “Or skated past each other,” he adds as an afterthought.
“That would be a little too coincidental,” I say, my doubts creeping in. “I mean: that would only ever happen in a movie.”
“Well, you don’t know,” he protests, “you hear it all the time about people passing each other on the street and then, years later, finding each other again. That could be us!”
Yeah, I don’t buy that but he seems to like the idea so I keep my mouth shut; he doesn’t need to know that I’m a cynical realist, just yet, does he?
“I’m going Christmas tree shopping tomorrow,” he announces suddenly. “Want to come?”
I shake my head, disappointment coursing through me, for some reason; what’s wrong with me? I don’t want to go Christmas tree shopping! “I can’t, I’m working.”
“What if I said I’ll be going later in the day?” he asks hopefully.
“I’m sorry but I don’t want to leave Holly on her own to clean up.”
“What if I helped you clean up and then you, Holly and the kids could come with me? You could even pick up a tree and some decorations for your place,” he suggests. “You know, brighten the place up a bit.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my place, thank you very much,” I retort. “Anyway, I don’t see the point in decorating.” As he opens his mouth to speak, I hold a finger up to silence him. “And if you say, ‘but it’s Christmas’, I’ll scream.”
“Actually, I was going to say that putting up the decorations was a big thing in my house; once we’d finished, we’d all sit down, watch a Christmas film and stuff ourselves with mince pies and punch – without the alcohol, obviously,” he added.
“Yeah, we did, too,” I admit quietly.
“Okay, quick: favourite Christmas film?” Glenn fires at me.
“Easy: Gremlins.”
“Gremlins?” he scoffs. “Gremlins isn’t a Christmas film!”
“I beg to differ,” I protest. “It takes place at Christmas, Gizmo is a Christmas present, he even wears a Santa hat; therefore, it’s a Christmas film.”
Glenn shakes his head. “No, you can’t have that. Pick another.”
I shrug, smiling. “Okay then: Die Hard.”
“Oh no, that’s an even worse choice!” he cries. “It’s a film about terrorism!”
“That takes place at Christmas,” I remind him stubbornly.
Glenn shakes his head. “Well, I think your choices say a lot about you,” he laughs.
“Okay, then, Mr. Christmas: what’s your favourite?”
Glenn thinks about this for a moment (why am I not surprised? He probably has a list as long as his arm). “Okay, obviously I love the classics like It’s a Wonderful Life-”
I roll my eyes. “Bit obvious,” I mutter, shaking my head in disappointment.
“But I have to say my favourite is Nativity; the first one,” he adds quickly. “They got a little weird after that.”
I nod. “That’s okay, I guess.”
“Oh, come on; it’s better than ‘okay’! I mean: when the kids perform at the end? It’s amazing!”
“Yeah, I guess that’s good,” I concede, “but Mr. Poppy always spoilt it for me. I mean, he’d get the sack in real life; he just wouldn’t keep a job in a school.”
“And that, coming from the girl who loves a film about cute, fluffy rats turning into raging monsters!” he cries in disbelief. “You’re definitely looking for realism in films, aren’t you?”
“Actually, if you knew anything about Gremlins, you’d know Gizmo was a Mogwai,” I reply haughtily, “not a rat.”
Glenn laughs. “Well, my Gremlins trivia is certainly lacking,” he admits.
“Then maybe I need to educate you,” I joke.
“Is that an offer?” he challenges, meeting my gaze head-on.
I stare back at him and realise the ball is now firmly in my court. Throwing caution to the wind, I say, “Yeah, I guess it is. How about tomorrow? You can come over once you’ve decorated and I’ve closed the tearooms.”
Glenn smiles. “Great; it’s a date.”
I smile at his choice of words, realising I’m no longer scared of their implication.
Chapter 21
“Where are the kids?” I ask, wondering why they haven’t made an appearance so far. I stop mopping the floor to glance at the clo
ck: 5.22; their school bus should have arrived by now.
“Didn’t I tell you?” Holly asks distractedly. “Glenn was in earlier and asked if he could borrow the kids to help him go pick out decorations and a tree.”
“Poor them,” I mutter. “Why didn’t I see him?”
“He came in when you were receiving the delivery,” she replies. “Are you upset you missed him, then?” she teases.
I scowl; don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she’s not dwelling on Mike but does that have to mean she resorts to teasing me instead? “No, I didn’t mean that; I was just wondering.”
“Hmm hmm,” she hums as she disappears into the kitchen.
I glance out the window, hoping to see headlights coming our way…
Shaking myself, I go back to work; when did I become the kind of woman who waited for a man to show up? I never used to be; in fact, in the past, I couldn’t have cared less whether a guy had turned up for a date at all. But, with Glenn, it’s different; everything’s different.
“Do we have more disinfectant?” Holly calls from the kitchen.
I abandon my mop, leaning it against the window and, stretching my back out, I make my way to the kitchen. “In the cupboard,” I reply. “It came with the delivery this morning.”
Holly nods, retrieving the bottle from the cupboard.
“Have you decided when you’re telling the kids, yet?” I ask tentatively. We deliberately haven’t spoken about Mike today but we can’t put it off forever.
“No,” Holly replies tersely, keeping her back to me.
“Holly, you can’t keep avoiding it,” I tell her. “They have to be told soon.”
She turns to face me, her eyes brimming with tears. “I know, Jess, but I don’t see why I can’t keep it from them, just a little longer.” She wipes her eyes with the heel of her hand. “I can’t ruin Christmas for them just yet.”
“Try not to see it like that,” I advise. “I mean, it will be different, sure, but different doesn’t necessarily mean worse.”
“I know that and you know that,” Holly agrees, “but do you really think they’ll see it like that?” she asks.
I don’t get a chance to answer because the door to the tearooms bursts open and a whirling dervish enters, lead by Glenn.
“We’re back!” he cries to no one in particular as he dumps a long, rectangular box on the floor. Behind him, Amy and Josh enter, weighed down with carrier bags.
“Next time you tell us you want a favour,” Josh announces, dumping his bags onto the nearest table and glaring at Glenn, “I’m gonna say no.”
Glenn smirks. “Don’t give me that; you loved it.” He catches Holly’s eye. “Don’t let him tell you he hated it; he loved looking at all the snow scenes with the animals.”
“Did not,” Josh mutters, blushing.
I smile. “Don’t worry, Josh, we all have our embarrassing little secrets.”
“Like how you know all the words to Barbie Girl?” he retorts.
“Hey!” I exclaim, glaring at him. “We said we’d never speak about that in public!” Josh only shrugs. I turn to Glenn, who’s grinning at me.
“Barbie Girl, huh?”
“It was popular when we were kids,” I explain.
“That’s your excuse, is it?” Glenn teases.
“So… what did you get?” Holly asks, coming to my rescue.
Glenn pats the box next to him. “A Christmas tree and decorations!” he announces, throwing his arm wide.
“I picked the snowman!” Amy announces, searching through her bags and pulling out a box with a picture of a cartoon snowman on the side. “I thought you’d like it, Auntie Jess.”
I smile. “Yeah, it’s cute but I’m not going to see it if it’s at Glenn’s place.”
“But these are for you,” Amy says, glancing at Glenn. “That’s what you said, wasn’t it, Glenn?”
I turn to Glenn, a deer caught in headlights. “Yeah, these are for you, Jess.”
I gaze at the bags and the box holding the tree, bewildered. “But what am I going to do with all this stuff?”
“Don’t worry,” Glenn reassures me, quickly, “most of it’s packaging. Seeing as you’re only here a couple more weeks, I only got a few things.”
“Yeah, to bring a little Christmas into your life,” Amy adds brightly. “Like you used to have.”
I’m suddenly aware of everyone’s eyes on me and I clear my throat, blinking away tears. “Right, well, who am I to say ‘no’ to that?” I force myself to smile as I collect my keys and hand them to Glenn. “Why don’t you lot go and take that stuff upstairs; we’ll be up in a minute, after we’ve finished here.”
Glenn salutes me. “Aye, aye, Cap’n.” Picking up the box, he turns to the kids. “Come on, then, kids; you heard the boss.”
Josh picks up his bags, muttering something about slavery and leads the way outside, his sister following. Glenn turns to me in the doorway, catching my eye for a moment and flashes me a smile before following the kids around to the back.
“Did you know about this?” I ask, glancing at Holly.
“He may have mentioned wanting to do something Christmassy for you,” she says quietly, placing a hand on my arm. “He means well, Jess.”
“I know he does,” I agree. “It’s just… the last time I decorated was with Mum, a couple of weeks before…” My throat tightens; I can’t even bring myself to finish the sentence.
Holly pulls me into a hug, rubbing my back. “I know,” she whispers. “Look, if you don’t want to do this, then I can make some excuse-”
I shake my head, pulling myself out of her arms. “No, don’t do that; maybe this will be a good thing,” I say, bracing myself, “maybe with you, Glenn and kids around… maybe it won’t be so bad.”
Holly smiles. “Yeah; maybe this is just what both of us need today: a chance to forget everything and have some fun.”
And, with those words playing on repeat in my head, we finish cleaning, close the tearooms and head upstairs.
“Well, it looks a hundred times better in here, now,” Glenn declares as he finishes his fourth slice of pizza.
“Considering it looked so terrible in the first place, I’m not sure that’s saying much!” Josh retorts, quickly dodging my hand as I try to slap him.
“Hey, it wasn’t that bad in here,” I protest.
“Yeah, but now it looks all Christmassy!” Amy chips in with a grin.
“They do have a point,” Holly reasons.
“Okay, it was a bit bare but-” I pause as everyone looks questioningly at me. “Alright, fine, you lot win: it looks better, now.”
And it’s true; before, it was all just bare, white walls but now… A fibre-optic Christmas tree stands proudly in the corner (thanks to Amy and Holly), swathed in tinsel in a multitude of colours and baubles that reflect the ever-changing lights perfectly; Amy’s snowman stands under it beside a reindeer Josh had picked out for me and a St Bernard with snow on it’s fur (according to Glenn, it’s supposed to represent Yogi – despite being a totally different breed); and last, but not least, a string of elf fairy lights has been draped around the edge of the coffee table.
I gaze around, marveling at the change in the place; it all looks so different now, very… Christmassy.
“Well, I think we’ve definitely outdone ourselves,” Holly announces.
“When are we going to put up our decorations, Mum?” Amy demands.
“Geez, we’ve only just done this place,” Josh grumbles, stuffing the rest of his pizza in his mouth, “can’t we leave it a bit before doing more?”
Holly ignores him, focusing on her daughter. “How about Saturday?”
Amy nods enthusiastically. “Can Jess and Glenn come round to help?”
“Ah, kid, I’m sorry,” Glenn interrupts, “I can’t Saturday; I’m working.”
Amy looks crestfallen but recovers well as she looks at me expectantly. “You can come though, can’t you, Auntie Jess?”
I sigh in
wardly. Two days of Christmas decorating in one week? What did I do to deserve this? “Sure, why not?” I reply, trying to channel my excitement.
“Great, well, now that that’s sorted,” Holly declares, getting to her feet, “I think we’d better be making a move.”
“Can’t we stay a bit longer?” Josh whines.
“You know we can’t,” Holly says, “you have school in the morning.”
Groaning, Josh gets to his feet and goes to collect his coat, his sister hot on his heels. After saying our goodbyes, I’m suddenly aware that it’s just Glenn and I.
“Thanks for doing this,” I murmur, gazing around the room.
“Not too much like Santa’s Grotto, I hope?”
I chuckle. “Not at all like Santa’s Grotto.”
“Good. Now, I seem to recall someone promising to show me the wonders of Gremlins?”
I grin. “That’s right; I did, didn’t I?” Jumping to my feet, I head to my room and my tiny collection of DVDs. “Be back in a tick; don’t go anywhere.”
“Well, apart from the fact it takes place at Christmas, I still don’t see that it’s a Christmas film,” Glenn declares as the credits roll. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent enough film, but…”
I shake my head. “Well, there’s no helping you, is there?”
“Obviously not.” Checking his watch, he says, “Guess I better be off; it’s getting late. Yogi’s going to think I’ve forgotten him again.”
“Far be it from me to come between a man and his dog,” I smile. Turning off the DVD, I lead Glenn to the door. “Say hello to Yogi for me, will you?”
“Sure; hey, maybe we could do one better.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why don’t you come on a walk with us, some time?” he asks.
I’m slightly taken aback by his offer but find myself nodding. “Yeah, that’d be good.”
“Okay, then; maybe one night this week, then?”
“Sure.”
I look up, meeting his gaze; is it just me, or has something changed between us? He gazes down at me, undecided… then he leans forward, his eyes darting momentarily to my lips… I catch my breath, anticipating the kiss… surprised when he changes course, kissing my cheek, instead.
All I Want For Christmas (A Sweet, Contemporary Romance) (Romance In The Lakes Book 1) Page 11