Page 112 of The Day After Christmas
‘I have my ways.’
‘Sneaky thing.’
‘I know,’ said James a little proudly, although his voice was strained.
‘What? Why does your face look like that?’
‘All will become clear. But first… breakfast.’ James stood up, opened the door to the hotel room and picked up a tray which must have been sitting there a while. He placed it on the little table by the hotel room window and lifted the silver cloche with a flourish. Underneath it was a plate piled with a full English vegetarian breakfast plus a little rack full of toast, a glass of orange juice, a mug of coffee and even a little flower in a vase.
‘Eat this, then put that on and meet me in the lobby,’ he said, indicating the box. ‘And it must be in that order. Do not under any circumstance attempt to put that on before you have eaten. Promise me.’
‘What? What’s going on?’
‘Promise me, I said.’
‘Fine, I promise. Aren’t you eating?’
‘I’ll get something downstairs. Take as long as you need, I’ll be reading the paper.’
‘James, you’re scaring me. What are you up to?’
‘Just do it.’
Felicity’s blood was beginning to pound in her ears. What in the name of a room service breakfast was going on here?I trust him, I trust him, I trust him. And also, oh God, please don’t let him leave me.
She waited until he’d pottered around the room a bit more. Eventually James left and went downstairs, still with that same look on his face.
Heart thumping, Felicity took the lid off the box.
Inside was the most exquisite dress she had ever seen in her life. It was ivory satin with buttons and sequins sewed into the bodice and a long extravagant skirt. She lifted it up and gasped at how the material flowed, soft and silken and very, very expensive. If Felicity didn’t know better she’d think it was a…
‘This is a wedding dress,’ she said in a wobbly voice, although there was no one in the room.
A voice came from the other side of the door.
‘Put it on.’
‘You’re supposed to be downstairs.’
‘I know. I knew you’d bloody open the box first. Eat your breakfast. Then you can put the dress on. Don’t think, just do it.’ There was a long pause while Felicity’s stomach did a series of mini-somersaults. ‘I love you. Just remember that, okay?’
‘I love you,’ she said to the door.
‘Go on, get eating. We’re on a clock here.’
‘Okay, okay, I’m doing it,’ said Felicity, her pulse beating wildly now. What had he done?
CHAPTER 53
When she was finally satisfied that he’d actually gone downstairs, Felicity sat down at the little table, but her appetite had vanished.
I’ll eat a bit later,she thought, and then hurried into the bathroom to do her make-up. What on earth was she meant to be making herself up for, for goodness’ sake? Surely that wasn’t a wedding dress, was it?
Felicity pulled it over her head and nearly gasped out loud at the sight of herself in the mirror. The satin creation fit her perfectly, accentuating her minimal curves the best it could and even giving her a tiny bit of cleavage, which was unheard of.This must be Sophie’s influence,she thought. James was good but even he wasn’t that good.
Her hands were shaking as she brushed and dried her hair and found a hair clip to pin it up on one side, the most effort she ever went to.
When she’d finally completed a frantic transformation, her eye turned to the food.
