Page 34 of Christmas Games
December eighteenth. Thirty-six weeks + three
Zoe gazed at her reflection in the mirror and tried not to cry.Again.
It was the day Santa was visiting Kinloch Castle, and she was in a room just off the entrance hall, trying to fit her heavily pregnant body into an elf costume.
This had seemed a brilliant idea eight months ago, but even an extra-large costume wasn’t going to cut it. The striped tights only made it as far as her mid-thigh, and the top was stuck above her bump.
She looked like an overstuffed sausage and felt like a beached whale.
This was her favourite time of the year, and she was finally going to be a mum. She should have been full of happiness. However, right now, she hated being pregnant and hated Christmas. Her stomach seemed unnaturally big, her ankles were swollen, she couldn’t sleep, she needed to pee all the time, and her breasts had started leaking.
She felt guilty and ungrateful, and desperately missed her parents and her best friend, Sam. Her mum and dad had planned to stay home for Christmas, then travel up after Zoe gave birth in January and stay a month. But even if they changed their plans, there was nowhere for them to stay. Brad’s friends were due in a couple of days and had hired the entire castle.
This Christmas was meant to be quiet, just her and Rory together in the cabin, but was now looking like more relentless work when she could barely even stay on her feet.
Taking off the elf costume, Zoe put her maternity trousers back on. They were down an elf, but at least Rory was still playing Father Christmas.
There was a knock at the door, then he entered, a big smile on his face.
‘I bring glad tidings.’
Zoe looked at him askance. ‘Have you been on the sherry?’
‘Of great joy,’ he continued.
Her jaw dropped. Rory looked relieved as well as happy. This was extremely strange.
‘Who are you and what have you done with my husband?’ she demanded.
Cradling her face, he brushed his lips across hers. ‘I have done a good thing.’
‘And that thing is?’
‘Brad’s friends aren’t coming.’
She pulled back. ‘What? They cancelled? But we need the money! We’ve spent—’
‘Shhhh, it’s okay. We’re not refunding them anything.’
‘What? How?’
‘I rang Brad. I told him about the stress we’re under, the mistletoe shortage and how we didn’t want his friends to be disappointed.’
‘You rangBrad?’
He nodded.
‘He Who Shall Not Be Named?’
Rory grinned. ‘Yup. And he persuaded them to swap coming here for a free stay at his place in Aspen, followed by Saint Barts.’
‘And we don’t have to give them their money back?’
‘Nope.’
Zoe sank into a chair. ‘Holy shit. So we can have a quiet Christmas, just the two of us?’
‘Yes, or if you want, we can invite your parents?’
