Page 45 of The Secret Mistletoe Promise
‘Your sonnet was perfect,’ Dexter said, once the quiet had settled over them like snow. ‘I think that’s such a skill, being able to recite something from memory, and so well that you have everyone captivated.’
‘I’ve had some practice over the years. It felt good, doing it for Sophie and Harry. That sonnet’s a bit obvious, I wanted to find a passage from the book I’m reading, but—’
‘What’s that?’
‘Northanger Abbey. Someone left a beautiful edition for me at Birdie’s house.’
Dexter narrowed his eyes. ‘With a postcard? From The Secret Bookshop?’
‘Yes! Birdie said some people got books like that last Christmas.’
‘Yeah, Sophie did. And Jason and Simon. I don’t thinkthey ever worked out who sent them, though. A Christmas mystery.’
‘I’m honoured to be included. And I love it – I hadn’t read it before, but it’s funny and romantic. It has some great scenes, and this whole gothic house thing going on, but I couldn’t find a long enough passage that seemed wedding appropriate.’
‘I’ve never read it. I read thrillers, mostly, and Lucy is obsessed with Romantasy, which is challenging because there seems to be a new, epic series out every five minutes and she wants them all – to read on her Kindle and then have the special editions for her bookshelf. Working out which ones are suitable for her, and which ones are—’
‘Full of filthy sex?’ Imogen said with a grin.
Dexter looked at her, and suddenly she wanted to strip off her jacket and his, because she was too hot. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had looked at her like that.
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Full of filthy sex.’
‘You need a book consultant.’ The words rasped out like she smoked cigarettes on a loop.
Dexter rubbed his forehead. ‘I needsomething.Anyway. I don’t knowNorthanger Abbey, but it sounds like it’s appropriate for Mistingham, if it’s got a gothic house vibe.’
‘We should do it for the Christmas play thing!’
‘What?’ Dexter said with a laugh.
‘You and me. We should perform a scene from it for Mistingham’s Christmas event.’
Dexter went still. ‘You’re staying here for Christmas? I know you said you weren’t ready to go home, but I thought you would be going back to London in time for Christmas. Your fiancé …’
‘Ex-fiancé,’ Imogen said. ‘I have officially called it off with him.’
‘You have?’ Dexter said it so quietly she only just heard him.
‘I’m not a rebel, Dexter. I always follow the rules. But I was prepared to run away from our wedding, mess up people’s lives and cost my family a whole lot of money. I didn’t do what was expected of me, and it made me realize what I’d known deep down for a while. I tried so hard to do therightthing, but I was standing there, on my dad’s arm, and there were all these expectant people. The dress had cost more than anything else I’d ever owned, and it was for one day that would lead to a life I wasn’t sure I wanted.’
‘You did the right thing for you,’ Dexter said.
Imogen nodded. ‘I overheard Edmund and my dad discussing it, the morning before the wedding. How great our marriage would be for Dad’s law firm.’
‘What?’ Dexter leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and turned to look at her.
‘I’d been feeling … uneasy. It had been building for months. Everything that should have filled me with delight, designing invitations and wedding dress shopping and looking at venues, I just had this low, bubbling undercurrent of dread. But the closer it got, the more I realized backing out would be a big deal. Then, the day before, my dad came round to drop off something at our flat, and I was due to get my nails done but I was running late. They thought I’d left already.’
‘What did they say?’ Dexter sounded calm, but there was something underneath his words, a dark undercurrent, that Imogen didn’t dwell on.
‘Dad said he was looking forward to welcoming Edmund into the family, which I already knew because he’s always fitted in better than I have.’
She could remember it so clearly. She’d been about to grab her umbrella because it looked like rain, but then she’d heard them in the living room: the sound of her dad clapping Edmund on the back, a low chuckle, and then:
‘One more day, and you’ll be my son-in-law – the son I’ve always wanted – and Imogen will be Mrs Goddon. I couldn’t be prouder of either of you, and you know this will do wonders for the firm, make it so much stronger.’
Edmund’s reply had been smooth, his tone smug – which wasn’tunusual, but she’d hoped for a different emotion when he wasdiscussing their marriage.‘This is absolutely the bestoutcome, the neatest solution. There are so many benefits for all of us, with my position as partner cemented in this way. Imogen obviously comes out of it well, too.’
