Page 84 of The Night Before Christmas
‘Sure, whatever you say, Crazy Cat Lady.’
They made love twice more that morning. And then once more for luck.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
When they finally emerged fromthe flat, blinking in the sunshine and desperately in need of sustenance, it was practically lunchtime. Thankfully, ‘Officer McClane’ had brought along a change of clothes and was now dressed in a blue and white checked shirt and jeans, as if the whole dressing up as an 80s classic movie character thing had simply been a figment of her imagination.
The memories, though, were very real.
‘Come on, I know just the place,’ said James, and they jumped in a cab and ended up in a part of town Felicity had never been to before. It was leafy and quiet and, as they finished a ridiculously posh pie and chips lunch in a high-end pub called the Coach and Horses, something clicked into place.
‘This is where you live,’ said Felicity.
‘Yes,’ said James, with a gesture almost of apology.
‘Is that why you didn’t want to tell me? Because you live in Chelsea Downs?’
James winced at the nickname. The area was called Chancery Downs and, well, the nickname was not exactly intended to be complimentary.
‘I don’t drive a Range Rover, if that helps,’ he said with a shrug.
‘Very glad to hear it,’ said Felicity. ‘So, what do you drive?’You can tell a lot about a man by the car he drives. That’s what Bex always says. Not that her judgement could really be trusted anymore.
‘You’ll see for yourself in a minute,’ said James, thanking the waitress on the way out in a way that made Felicity feel inexplicably proud to be walking next to him.
She felt even prouder when he led her along the street to an enormous 1950s house with a huge bay window and modern sage-coloured windows. There was a vintage Mustang and a brand-new shiny Tesla in the driveway.
‘Yes, I’m a hypocrite,’ he said with a grin, gesturing at the cars. ‘I only use the naughty petrol one when I really need to let off steam.’
Felicity nodded. It was so pretty she could see why. Red high shine polish with a white go-faster stripe. Like something out of a movie.
But it was when he opened the door of the house that she was completely blown away.
It was renovated on the inside to within an inch of its life, all wooden floors and modern, slightly uncomfortable-looking furniture – except, she was pleased to see, for the large and very squishy sofa in the living area. Felicity decided that from now on, she would always judge a man on his choice of sofa instead. It was as good a way as any, after all.
The kitchen area – for the ground floor was almost entirely open-plan – was grey marble with hand-crafted kitchen cabinets. The obligatory island in the middle had a very large, very expensive-looking hob built in. All the surfaces were clutter-free and sparkling clean.
‘That’s the dream,’ said Felicity, before she could stop herself. ‘Look at that island! And it’s all so… clean! So neat!’
‘Don’t look too closely.’ James coughed, looking embarrassed.
‘I hadn’t picked you for a neat freak,’ said Felicity, head on one side.
‘I’m more of a right angle tidier, if you get my drift.’
Felicity nodded. She did.
‘I just go around adjusting angles and hiding things in cupboards. The rest… that’s all courtesy of my lovely cleaner, Lorraine.’
‘You have a cleaner. Oh my goodness I’m so jealous. But also, how very 1950s of you.’
James laughed. ‘It is rather. I don’t usually admit to it in public. It seems morally questionable somehow. But the simple truth is that this house would be in a state of disrepair by now without her. She’s completely amazing. And I just don’t get time to do any of it.’
Felicity raised an eyebrow.
‘Okay, I don’t getmuchtime to do any of it. And when I do get free time… well I prefer to volunteer at cat sanctuaries and suchlike.’
‘Maybe it’s time you told me what you actually do for a living,’ she said, conscious she was smiling like an absolute idiot.
