Page 21 of Made Up for Love
Probably sensing that her friend didn’t want to talk, Jacinta turned on the TV where Elf was about to start. Lydia hated it, Jacinta couldn’t get enough of it and always wanted to watch it when it was on, even if it wasn’t Christmas. Lydia sat through as much of it as she could, then picked up her phone. There was still nothing from Joel. She debated whether to send him a message and decided against it. If he had wanted to see her again, he wouldn’t have given her the brush-off earlier.
* * *
“I’ve really messed this up.” Joel stared into the bottom of his pint glass, which was already almost empty.
He and Luke sat in their local pub, where Christmas karaoke was taking place and a couple were trying to impersonate Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews. It was one of Joel’s favourite Christmas songs. Or at least it had been up until now.
“What are you talking about?” Luke had been about to go to the bar to get refills but sat back down again.
“You remember I told you about the woman I met in Scotland?”
Luke nodded.
“We had a sort of a date last night and I kissed her.”
“Nice one! When can I meet her?”
Joel held up a hand. “Probably never because I was a total idiot.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We were getting on really well, had a great dinner, chatted about all sorts of things. I even told her about Zara,” admitted Joel. “Then when we got on the plane, I started going through all sorts of memos from Rupert, basically telling me I can’t do my job properly, and before I knew it, I stormed off without even saying goodbye to her properly.”
“I’ll get us some more beers.”
While Luke was at the bar, Joel pulled his phone out of his pocket. There wasn’t anything from Lydia. He knew he’d been in the wrong, ignoring her and rushing off, and she deserved a proper explanation of why he’d done it. Somehow a text didn’t seem to cut it. He needed something bigger, more of a gesture.
“Here, get this down you.” Luke placed a whisky chaser next to their fresh pints. “Surprised you didn’t get to taste more of that on your trip.”
Joel reached for the tumbler and downed it in one go. He winced as the amber liquid burned a path down his chest, but he felt as if he deserved it.
“What are you going to do? I can tell you like this girl.”
“I do, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Didn’t you say something about her parents having a big do for their anniversary on Christmas Eve?”
A flash of inspiration hit him. “Luke, I could kiss you!”
His friend made a face. “I’d rather you didn’t. Save that for Lydia, please.”
“Oh, don’t you worry, I will.” Joel grabbed his coat and pulled it on. “Gotta go. I need to do some investigating.”
Once back in his flat, Joel fired up his laptop and began to find out as much as he could about @lydshenmua. He was grateful for the fact that she was perhaps a little careless with her personal information online and it wasn’t long before he had exactly what he needed.
He smiled, a plan beginning to formulate in his mind. If it all went to plan, it would be another Christmas to remember. For the right reasons this time.
14
The village hall where Lydia’s parents lived had never looked more beautiful. Between Megan, Lydia and Jacinta, it had been transformed from dull and boring into festive and romantic.
“Lydia! Don’t put those plates there; they need to go on the end of the other table.”
Megan had been barking instructions at her from the moment Lydia had arrived. Although she wouldn’t tell her sister, she was grateful for the distraction. It stopped her from thinking about Joel.
Lydia did as she was told, then put her hands on her hips. “What’s next?”
“Where’s the cake?”
