Page 26 of Christmas Joy at the Cornish Bakery

Robyn took his hands in hers. If she wasn’t mistaken, she may have thought he was nervous. ‘Are you nervous?’

‘Not about you meeting my family, no.’ He smiled. ‘About you deciding you’d rather not give what we have between us a chance when you meet them, yes.’

Throwing her head back, she laughed. ‘Well, I can already tell they like Christmas as much as you.’ She touched a string of fairy lights draped over the porch.

‘Even more so, I’m afraid.’ He grinned.

She tried to keep a straight face. ‘And I’m guessing you’re rather hoping some of that Christmas joy will rub off on me?’

Tilting his head to the side, he shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips. ‘Maybe.’

‘Maybe?’

‘Okay, yes.’ He chuckled as he leaned forward and kissed her before drawing back. ‘But only because I want you to experience how I feel about this time of the year.’

She nodded. That’s all everyone seemed to want down here, Elsie, Diane, Brooke, everyone else at the bakery, Lizzie and Terrence from the care home. They all seemed to want her to enjoy the festive season. To really enjoy it. Not just to put a front on and pretend like she’d had to all these years. She swallowed. She’d only just met these people, and yet they seemed to care.

‘Let’s do this then.’ Waiting for her to nod again in agreement, Jasper pushed the front door open and was immediately greeted by Dasher, who jumped up at him, resting his paws on Jasper’s waist as his tail wagged vigorously.

‘Hello.’ Robyn fussed over Dasher as his attention turned to her. ‘I think he remembers me.’

‘Haha, yes I think so too.’

As Dasher left them to run back into the party, Robyn paused and took in her surroundings. The hallway was traditionally decorated, the floor with blue and white patterned tiles and picture rails on the walls, and the air was laced with mulled cider, spices and the distinct aroma of freshly cut ivy which was hung over the family photographs adorning the walls. Now they were inside, the music was even louder, and people chattered and laughed above the tunes playing. By the sounds of it, therewere a fair few people too. A couple ran across the hallway, the man following his partner, both holding champagne flutes. Robyn glanced around. People must be in the rooms to her left and her right.

‘Jasper! You made it.’ A woman appeared from her left, and after placing her glass down on a long narrow wooden shelf, drew Jasper in for a huge hug before turning her attention to Robyn. ‘Hello, I don’t think we’ve met?’

‘Hey, Mum. This is Robyn. She’s volunteering at the bakery at the moment and has been helping out at the care home for the last few evenings.’ Jasper grinned as he placed his hand on the small of Robyn’s back.

‘Hi, nice to meet you.’ Robyn smiled, hoping she looked more confident than she felt inside. This was crazy! She and Jasper had shared their first kiss yesterday and now, today, hours later, she was meeting his mum. What had he been thinking in inviting her? What hadshebeen thinking in accepting his invitation?

‘Wonderful to meet you, Robyn.’ Stepping forward, his mum hugged her around the shoulders before stepping back and retrieving her glass. ‘Help yourself to drinks and something to eat before coming on through. Uncle Bernie is just about to start one of his party games.’

‘Ooh, great.’ Jasper held his head in his hands before peeking through his fingers at Robyn and chuckling. ‘I’m sure you’ll love his party games.’

‘I’m intrigued now.’

Jasper’s mum laughed. ‘He does like to make sure everyone’s having fun. I’m Charlotte, by the way.’

Robyn watched as Charlotte disappeared into one of the rooms, presumably the living room, before she glanced back at the front door. Was it too late to change her mind and escape?

‘Hey, I’m not holding you hostage.’ Jasper chuckled as he held his hands up in front of him, his palms forward.

‘I know.’ She bit down on her bottom lip before rolling her shoulders back. She was here now, and this obviously meant a lot to Jasper, so the least she could do was to pretend she was enjoying herself. And she’d had enough practice at doing that.

Chapter Twenty

‘Your turn, Robyn. Give it a go.’ Jasper’s Uncle Bernie passed her his walking stick. They were sitting in a circle, all fifteen-odd guests crammed into the living room, some sitting on sofas, others perching on the arms of the chairs, and some sitting crossed legged on the floor as she and Jasper were. After some more active party games such as trying to pass a balloon along a long line of people without dropping it, and a somewhat slapdash version of musical statues where instead of standing still when the music stopped, you had to pretend to be a reindeer ready for flight, they were now enjoying a more leisurely game.

‘Okay, here goes.’ She tapped the end of the walking stick on the floor three times before dragging it across the carpet in the shape of a star. Looking across at him, she tilted her head. The aim of the game was to copy exactly what he’d done with the walking stick and yet it was her second go after it being passed around the circle twice and still, according to him, no one had copied him exactly.

‘Good try, Robyn. But no luck, I’m afraid.’ Uncle Bernie sighed dramatically as the room erupted with yet more questions.

‘I don’t understand. We’re all copying you exactly, Uncle Bernie.’ Jasper’s brother, Finn, shrugged his shoulders.

‘Ahh, not exactly.’ Uncle Bernie laughed, a full-on belly laugh, which vibrated around the room.

Robyn passed the walking stick to Jasper, who was sitting next to her. ‘Good luck.’

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