Page 13 of Christmas off Script
Ella had one cut for him in case of emergencies, but he’d never needed to use it before. Todayhadbeen an emergency, just not one he’d ever anticipated.
He rubbed the centre of his chest. Was Ella still crying? Her tears had felt like knives to his heart. No-onewas allowed to hurt her like that.No-one.
Ella had been doing her PGCE in Bristol when she’d met Oliver, and seemed so excited when she’d introduced him to Leo and Lila one Christmas in the Horse and Hounds. Almost as if she couldn’t believe Oliver had been interested in her.
It was the night of the Christmas quiz, something Leo and Ella took very seriously. They’d been reigning champions for the past five years, under the name the Noel it Alls, and were wearing costumes for the occasion. This December, they were both dressed as reindeer, with enormous antlers that Ella had made from papier mâché.
Lila had rolled her eyes at the two of them good-naturedly, but still wore an elf hat and tried her best to contribute to the team. Oliver, on the other hand, made jokes about their outfits that were more like sneering than humour. Leo and Lila had pretended not to notice, but Ella was clearly thrown off-kilter, and they’d lost to the Beardy Boys, who were all in Santa suits.
Oliver never took Ella seriously. Or Christmas.
Since that night, Leo had made a Herculean effort to get on with Oliver, but it was hard work. After everything she went through with her first boyfriend, Zach, Ella deserved the moon on a stick. Instead, she’d got a snobby arsehole who thought he was better than she was.
Hearing Ella’s footsteps on the stairs, Leo straightened his shoulders and smiled.
Don’t think about him now. Just focus on her.
She entered the kitchen, her face pink from the heat of the bath, but her eyes still puffy and red.
Without thinking, he opened his arms. ‘Hug?’
Chin wobbling, she nodded and crossed the room towards him.
Leo held tightly to her. Ella was the perfect height, with the top of her head resting just below his chin.It’s going to be alright. I’ll make sure it’s alright.
‘Thank you,’ she mumbled into his chest.
‘Anytime,’ he murmured.
She pulled away and gazed at the shopping bags. ‘Are we still making lebkuchen and limoncello?’
‘Entirely up to you. I just thought it might be nice to pretend everything was okay for a bit?’
She nodded. ‘And I’d like my last memory of this house to be a happy one.’
‘Well, we’re making two things, and it’s also our official start to Christmas, so we can make more than one happy memory today.’
‘Our fourth official start to Christmas.’
‘That’s true.’ After Christmas pudding making in March, Christmas cake baking and mincemeat preparation in August, then batch-cooking and freezing mince pies in October, it was their fourth official start. ‘But the first to involve Mariah.’
Ella brought her hands together into a prayer position, and Leo copied her. Taking a deep breath, they lifted their gazes to the ceiling, then bowed their heads in reverence.
‘To Saint Mariah,’ they said in unison. ‘May she grant us another win in the Christmas quiz.’
They grinned at each other and Leo took out his phone. ‘Are we ready to break her out?’
Ella hesitated. ‘Would you be able to do something for me first?’
‘Of course. As your BFFFF friend, I cannot refuse.’
‘What’s the extra F for?’
He put a hand on his heart. ‘Faithful. As long as we both shall live, I swear I will never let you down.’
She smiled, but her eyes were liquid with unshed tears. ‘Thank you, Leo.’
The silence was painful and his chest hurt again. ‘What can I do to help?’
