Page 43 of The Night Before Christmas
A whole hour passed like this, and then her phone buzzed again.
Another text. She thought about leaving it. Tried to ignore it. Tried not to check her phone. Tried to carry on staring at the ceiling but her brain wouldn’t let her.
It might be him. Things might have changed. He might be on his way. There’s still hope.
She looked. Of course she looked. And of course, it wasn’t him at all.
Adam: Please let me take you out for dinner tonight. We have… unfinished business. I know you know it too. A x
Felicity put her phone down again.
This was a dangerous time. She knew that from past experience. The pain of James’ rejection, combined with the embarrassment of being stood up in front of Andrea, surrounded her with a familiar uncomfortable, prickly feeling, and she knew that in this state and with her legendary lack of willpower, she was liable to comfort eat, binge drink or do some other reckless thing she would later regret.
Why did you let yourself trust him? Idiot.
And she also knew this was the time that Adam in particular could get to her. He was like her kryptonite, as if he knew that she was always vulnerable to his advances. He also seemed to be a teensy bit psychic. Always knowing the perfect moment to strike. She still couldn’t believe he’d come back into her life at all, let alone the same week that she met someone new.
Another message popped up on her phone, and her traitorous brain had read it before she even had the chance to clear the notification.
Adam: Just dinner. No strings. I think we have some things to work out. I’ll take you to that pub you like near the forest. I wonder if they still do that sloe gin? A x
Instinctively, Felicity glanced at the ring box, her mind whirring. She could practically hear James’ voice, telling her to work things out with Adam. She could still feel the sting of him standing her up. And she could remember how it felt to be near Adam again after all this time.
Deep breath. Another deep breath. A third. And she typed:
Okay. Dinner. But that’s all.
I don’t know what you mean ??. See you tonight.
Ugh. Winky face.What am I doing?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
This was surreal.She was in a pub. With Adam. On a Saturday night. How had this happened?
They were sequestered in the corner of the White Lion, just as he had promised. Felicity kept thinking how sneaky and cunning it was of him to suggest this place, which had been their favourite, back in the day, even though it had now gone all up-market and bistro-style.
Adam never does anything that isn’t calculated, thought Felicity. And then she chastised herself for being so cynical.Try and enjoy it, she told herself.Try and relax.
They were sitting in a small, dark oak booth. It smelled of stale beer and woodsmoke from the fire roaring away nearby, and the buzz of people chatting around them was just loud enough to make it feel like they had their own little bubble of privacy. It was only punctuated occasionally by the young, dark, and very attractive waitress who had clearly taken a liking to Adam and seemed to be coming to check on their table rather more often than was strictly necessary.
As they chatted, Felicity watched a bead of condensation making its way down her icy glass of sloe gin, served just as she liked it over plenty of ice. She was used to Adam beingflirted with, and she was long past feeling jealous. It was more of an irritation really, which – she realised – must mean she wanted to hear what he had to say rather more than she had expected to. Weirdly, at the same time she also felt guilty about James. Nothing had been agreed, nothing had been discussed, they’d only ever managed one non-date and he had let her down badly today, but she still felt guilty for being out with Adam. Like she wanted to check for hidden cameras and was utterly convinced her phone microphone was going to switch itself on and somehow convey this whole conversation to him through the ether. Which was ridiculous on so many levels. Besides, it was James who had encouraged her to sort things out with him in the first place. Right?
The waitress finally moved off, but not before she’d touched Adam on the arm, Felicity noticed, with a hint of admiration.Classic technique that. Adam didn’t seem to notice. He took a sip of his gin and tonic and gave Felicity a long, meaningful look. He did look good. She’d give him that. Not as tired as the other day. And the firelight was doing wonders for his chestnut skin and chiselled features. Her cheeks grew warm as an unwanted and rather X-rated memory flashed into her mind.
‘So, you’ve opened the box, I take it?’ he said, breaking into that chain of thought.
‘Eventually,’ she said. ‘It’s really beautiful.’
She found herself digging it out of her bag and handing it over. Was that the thing to do? Clearly not.
He waved it back towards her. ‘It’s for you,’ he said. ‘Please, keep it.’
She stared down at the little blue box. ‘But, Adam, I… I just don’t get it. Why would you show up out of nowhere and give me a ring like this? I mean, you nearly gave Andrea a heart attack, she thought you were bloody proposing!’
He laughed then, a little too hard.
‘Well, even if that was my intention, you’ve put paid to that one, haven’t you!’
