Page 40 of His Best Friend's Baby

And, of course, his deck was stunning—exceeding all her expectations, even though she’d learned to expect a great deal from this man. She stared at it for ages, wishing she could actually be there, enjoying the scents of barbecue and wood smoke, the views into the bush, enjoying Seth.

But of course she didn’t mention any of those wishes when she wrote back.

To: Seth Ramsay

From: Polly Martin

Subject: Re: You’ll never believe this

OMG, Seth. That deck is beyond gorgeous. I can just imagine it at night, with the fire pit alight and everything. You’re the one who deserves congratulations. It really is the icing on the cake for your beautiful home. You’ll have so many wonderful parties out there.

Summer’s asleep atm, but I’ll send you another vid in the next day or so.

And you have to bleach the stripes in dark hair first and then dye them.

Cheers,

Px

This time, Seth wrote back almost straightaway.

To: Polly Martin

From: Seth Ramsay

Subject: Re: You’ll never believe this

Hi Polly,

Wow, that’s quite a process. Re the striped hair, I mean. Your decision, of course. I don’t suppose I’ll ever see it. Are they into that sort of thing in Silicon Valley?

Cheers,

Seth

Chapter Thirteen

The first weeksof December were always a ridiculously busy time for Seth. Seemed everyone in the district suddenly remembered they needed their vehicle serviced before they headed off for the beach, or to visit family for the festive season, which meant Seth and his team were working flat out.

Their long days were packed with checking undercarriages, rotating tyres and checking tread depths, checking fluid levels, inspecting and repairing brakes, steering and transmissions. And this year, Seth’s parents and his sister Mandy and family were all coming home to Wirralong for Christmas, having celebrated the previous year’s festivities at Mandy’s place in Sydney.

Fortunately, his mum and Mandy were happy to take charge of the catering, with backups from their menfolk, and Seth was accommodating them all in his new house, which they were super excited about. But that had meant having all three bedrooms ready and buying extra bed linen, plus a blow-up mattress for Mandy’s three-year-old son, Archie. Not to mention worrying about the fact that the living area was still only furnished with camping chairs. Oh, and then the shopping for gifts. So, perhaps it wasn’t surprising that Seth was feeling several versions of weary by Christmas Eve.

It was dark as he drove home. The house lights were blazing through the trees as he reached the driveway. Through the living room window he could see the massive Christmas tree Mandy had put up. She’d brought a huge box of decorations as well and had strung lights over the front windows and out on the deck.

The place looked pretty damn festive, Seth had to admit, and it was great to be sharing this special time with his family. This evening, his mother was even keeping dinner warm for him, so he didn’t have to bother with cooking. Life was good, and Christmas promised to be close to perfect. He knew he should be feeling more upbeat.

‘Uncle Seth! Uncle Seth!’ Little Archie met him in the front doorway, already dressed in his pyjamas and bouncing like an excited kangaroo. ‘Santa’s coming tonight and I’ve hung up the most humongous stocking.’

‘How about that?’ Seth swept the boy up into his arms for a happy hug.

‘And you’ve got a giant Christmas card,’ Archie announced as he was set on his feet again.

‘A giant Christmas card? For me?’

‘Well, we’re guessing it’s a card.’ This came from Mandy, who had just come into the house from the deck. ‘It certainly came in a massive envelope.’ She gave Seth a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘Happy Christmas, little brother. You look beat. It’s time to put your feet up and chillax.’

‘I like the sound of that.’

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