‘And then you outed their son as… well you outed him. It was far more interesting than our normal Christmas,’ I said, and we all burst out laughing.
‘I don’t know if he’ll ever speak to me again,’ said Chris. ‘I love him.’
‘You could do so much better than Kenneth Rosebury,’ I said. ‘Anyway, he’s up at university in Keele, I take it you live in London?’
‘Yeah. My parents just bought me a cottage by Regent’s Park… Where I’m going to die alone!’ he added mournfully.
‘Well I’m here,’ I said kindly. ‘And you really impressed me with how you wrestled with John Paul Belmondo.’
‘Really?’ he said, wiping the tears off his face.
‘Yeah, your hair didn’t move.’
‘Aquanet hairspray. I swear by it. Look, here’s my phone number,’ he said handing me a card. ‘I hope you’ll ring me, Coco.’
* * *
Chris left when the champagne ran out. He invited us to a club in the West End but we promised we’d do it some other time. It had started to snow again when we came back inside. I surveyed the mess in the dining room. I went to pick up a broken plate but Daniel put his hand over mine.
‘They’ll be gone hours at the hospital.’
‘Yes they will,’ I said. ‘Here, I haven’t had my Christmas present from you yet.’
We went and sat by the fire again and swapped gifts. I’d bought him the new Kate Bush record Hounds of Love which he was thrilled with. He then handed me a little box. I opened it and nestled inside was a silver chain.
‘Oh Daniel, it’s beautiful,’ I cried. He lifted up my hair and gently fastened it around my neck.
‘I want to be with you always Coco,’ he said. ‘And every year we’re together I want to buy you a beautiful piece of jewellery.’
Well that was it. If I wasn’t hopelessly in love with him before, I was now. We cuddled up together by the fire as the dusk fell and snow drifted softly past the window.
‘Will you marry me Coco?’ he whispered quietly in my ear. I closed my eyes, lay my head against his chest and felt his strong heart beating.
‘Yes Daniel,’ I said. ‘Yes, I’ll marry you…’
A Note From Robert
First of all, I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read A Very Coco Christmas. If you did enjoy it, I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and reviews really help new readers to discover one of my books for the first time. If you want to drop me a line, you can get in touch on my Facebook Page, through Twitter, Instagram or my website www.robertbryndza.com. I love to hear from readers, and it blows me away every time I hear how much you’ve taken my books into your hearts. There are lots more to come including, yes, more adventures from Coco Pinchard, so I hope you stay with me for the ride!
Rob Bryndza
* * *
P.S. If you would like to get an email informing you when my next book will be released you can sign up to my mailing list using the link below. Your email address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
http://eepurl.com/UITxz
About the Author
Robert Bryndza is the author of the international #1 bestseller The Girl in the Ice, which is the first in his Detective Erika Foster series. Robert’s books have sold over 3 million copies and have been translated into 28 languages. In addition to writing crime fiction, Robert has published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels. He is British and lives in Slovakia.
www.robertbryndza.com
Acknowledgments
A big thanks to Peta Nightingale and Araminta Whitley at LAW for their huge enthusiasm and support for me and Coco Pinchard. To my mother-in-law Vierka who is just brilliant - and nothing like Ethel. For Ján who gave me the time, space and support to write, I couldn’t have done it without you. Team Bryndza rules!
And lastly to my readers. The popularity of Coco thus far has been down to you reading and talking about my books. Word of mouth really works. Thank you.
A Very Coco Christmas Page 6