Page 79 of All We Want for Christmas
She fell asleep, dreaming about riding behind him without a helmet, her cheek pressed against the leather of his jacket, the wind tugging at her hair and the roar of the bike obliterating every sound. She dreamed that she’d somehow flown off the bike, high above the lake and fells – yet she hadn’t been scared.
Over the next few days, Lara was running around getting ready for the last hordes before the Christmas break, solving the lack of loos problem, and finalising arrangements for the staff Christmas lunch. When the final visitors left on the 23rd, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
On Christmas Eve morning the staff worked hard to make everything secure and address any minor glitches tobe ready for re-opening. That way, they could finish early and get back to their families – or the pub.
Lara wasn’t sure if that would be Flynn’s plan – she only knew that he’d messaged the group chat to say he was looking forward to the Christmas dinner.
At 4 p.m., Lara changed into a Christmas jumper with a glittery Rudolph, put on her reindeer antlers, and headed to the formal drawing room for another of the Ravendale Christmas traditions: Christmas Eve drinks.
The stars were twinkling in the velvet Lakeland sky and the tower clock was striking the half hour when she walked up the steps into the castle.
Most of the staff who were staying on site over the holiday had gathered, along with a few of those who lived off-site but wanted to wind down and socialise before driving or getting a taxi home.
There were around twenty people laughing and chattering in the drawing room, including Jazz, Carlos, Rebecca the housekeeper, a few of the gardeners, and the head porter. Henry and Fiona were standing in front of the Christmas tree talking to Flynn.
‘Ah! Lara!’ Henry said. ‘Help yourself to a glass of fizz. Well done on surviving.’
Lara plucked a glass from the table and joined them.
‘Hi.’ Flynn had a slightly strained smile.
Henry was overflowing with festive bonhomie and looking a lot healthier. ‘Hello there! I bet you two are so glad that it’s almost over and we can all take a breather. Time for you both to relax and have a chill out.’
Lara looked at Flynn, expecting an amused glance in exchange, but his hand was on his pocket where he kept his phone.
Henry chatted to them a while more, talking about how much he was looking forward to their two daughters and their respective families visiting, before leaving them together by the Christmas tree.
‘He’s a sweetheart but I suspect he’s never had a “chill out” in his life.’
‘No,’ Flynn said, with the wry and crooked smile that still had the power to throw her off kilter and make her want to sweep him off to bed.
She cleared her throat and sipped her fizz. ‘This must be an exciting time for Molly,’ she said, in a low voice, making sure they couldn’t be overheard. ‘Tonight will be fun for her and Brenda.’
‘It will,’ Flynn murmured, distracted by a phone message. ‘Excuse me,’ he said, and glanced at the screen before breaking into a smile that lit up his face. ‘Sorry. That was Molly. She sent a picture of Esme dressed in a reindeer outfit at the nursery party yesterday.’ He showed the screen to Lara. Her heart ached at the photo of the smiling baby in her outfit.
‘She looks very cute,’ she said, realising that Flynn must be itching to reply.
‘She is,’ he said proudly.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ she said, as cheerfully as she could muster. ‘I ought to be going. I promised to check in with my parents and get an early night. See you tomorrow for lunch.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
‘G’day from Down Under! Happy Christmas!’
‘Happy Christmas!’ Lara answered, taking in the small and beaming crowd gathered round a table on the covered terrace of her sister’s spacious bungalow. It was early evening in Melbourne and the sun was still dazzling through the screen. They were all wearing Santa hats, along with their T-shirts and summer dresses.
Lara pulled the duvet up higher, longing to feel the warmth of that Aussie sun on her face and blot out the dark wintry morning. She’d emerged into the chilly cottage long enough to grab a mug of coffee and a croissant and pop a pair of glittery antlers on her head before returning to bed with her laptop.
‘I’d have thought you’d still be having a barbie on the beach,’ she joked.
‘It rained earlier,’ her sister, Mel, declared. ‘It does do that sometimes, even in December, and anyway, you can’t park by the beach because of the hordes of people wanting to do the same. Sun’s out now, though. We’re quite happy to chill out here.’
‘It looks wonderful,’ she said with a sigh.
She’d had an early night in front of the TV, so that she’dbe fresh for the busy day ahead. She drank her coffee and ate her croissant while her family tucked into grilled prawns and salad. The laptop screen was crowded with smiling, excited faces while her parents, brother-in-law and nephews – and Lara herself – opened their gifts in front of each other.
Then everyone, apart from Mel, waved goodbye and went outside to the pool to watch the kids play with their new inflatables.
