Page 85 of The Blind Date

“Speaking of days off, I still have fifteen left this year. I’m thinking of taking them all around Christmas.”

“Then you’d have most of December off. Nice.”

"It gives me something to look forward to."

"What does Christmas look like for the Remingtons?” Cedric asked, curious.

"We start Christmas early."

"How so?" He asked, curious.

“Our extended family is quite large, and we make a point of getting together at Christmas. So, whoever is hosting Christmas that year, we'll head up a day early. All my uncles, aunts, cousins, and other extended family are usually there. It’s normally the one time a year we all get to see each other. Our family is kind of spread all over the country, and we also have a few members over in the US who come over every year for the holidays. We usually stay over for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and then another day or two, so it's always very fun. Kind of like a big sleepover. Busy, but very fun."

"That does sound very fun," Cedric smiled a soft smile. "Our Christmas is a lot quieter."

"The whole Barlowe clan doesn't get together?" I asked, curious. Yasmin and Alfie looked like they could throw a good party.

“There aren’t that many Barlowes. The most we’ve hosted for Christmas would be my uncle, aunt, and a few cousins. But they're quite a lot older than us and live in Scotland, so they don't come down every year. It was just the four of us last year. It was great, but no doubt tame compared to a Remington Christmas."

“If you want, maybe you could join us this year?”

Cedric mulled over it for a moment, but he didn't look the least bit conflicted. "Your parents won't mind?"

"I think we both know they’d be over the moon.”

“As would mine,” he laughed. “Speaking of parents, how have yours been lately?”

"I haven't seen them since Sunday, but when I spoke to them on the phone, Dad sounded completely normal. Mum, on the other hand, sounded like she wanted to say something but was holding back the entire time.”

“My mum was the same way,” he chuckled and brushed a hand through his hair, pushing the strands away from his face. “Cillian and I went over to have dinner with them on Wednesday, and it felt like Mum and Dad were mincing their words the whole time.”

“It makes me feel kind of bad for hiding this from them.” I gestured between the two of us.

“But then this probably wouldn’t have happened if they kept pushing us together like they were doing.”

“If they had their way, we would have been married and onto our second child by now,” I huffed, even more so because I knew it was true.

“If they had it their way, our mums would have joined us on our blind date to ensure it went perfectly.”

“I don’t think so.” I shook my head, but Cedric laughed. The look on his face told me that he knew something I didn’t. “Why would they want to join us on a blind date?”

"Beats me.” He shrugged. "But when they first roped me into it, I was at dinner with them all, remember? They were convinced that we were highly compatible and perfect for each other. They wanted to come along to ensure, and I quote:'everything went well’. I shut that down real quick.”

“Everything went well.What does that even mean?”

“I have no idea, but I had to talk them out of it.”

“I’m so glad golf takes up so much of their time,” I laughed. “I dread to think about how much more unbearable they would have been if it didn’t.”

He shuddered. “I don’t even know why they’re so obsessed with wanting me to settle down. They know how badly it went the last time. I mean–” Cedric abruptly stopped, his eyes wide. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent like that.”

"You don't have to apologise.” I shook my head. "Do you want to talk about it? What happened the first time, I mean?"

Cedric stared at me for a few moments, his eyes flitting over my face as he tried to gauge the meaning behind my words.

“You know about it?” He murmured in question after a few moments.

“Alina and your dad mentioned it once.”

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