Page 18 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
He looked at me with wide eyes, shaking his head. “No. Not again.”
Danny slowly stepped down the huge, stone steps, using the railing to make sure he didn’t trip. When he made it onto the gravelled driveway, he turned to me with a grin. “Ta-da! Can I get in the car?”
I pulled my keys from my pocket and unlocked it. “Jump in. I’ll be there in two seconds.”
He sped off. “Bye, Nanny! See you later!”
“Be good!” Mum called after him, then she turned to me. “If he starts getting bored and messing around, call me and I’ll come and pick him up.”
“He’ll be fine. He loves helping with the trees, and I know there’s a delivery of decorations that need to be put out. He can help Mrs. O’Shea hang the baubles for a while.” I kissed Mum’s cheek. “Let me know if you want me to bring anything home with me.”
“Yes. Dinner. Heath isn’t here today, and I can’t be arsed to cook,” she muttered.
I laughed, touching her arm. “Text me when you’ve decided what you want.”
“Uncle Tommy! Comeon!” Danny shouted from the car.
“That’s my cue.” I grinned at Mum. “See you later.”
***
“Thomas? There’s someone looking for coal outside.”
I cut off the netting machine and glanced up. “Thanks, Ryan. Did they say how much?”
He shook his head. “It’s weird. She looks familiar, though.”
That made me pause. “Familiar? How?”
“Like I’ve seen her before. Dark ginger hair. ‘Bout this tall.” He put his hand against his face, measuring her imaginary height. “Can’t place her, though. Weird.”
I dropped my chin. “Sylvie.”
“Oh, shit! Sylvie Harding!” Ryan laughed, recognition brightening his face. “That’s right. She’s back for Hazel’s wedding, isn’t she?”
“Grab this.” I sighed, tying off the netting of the tree before pushing it his way. “Unfortunately, she is. She’s planning it, too, that’s why she’s here so early.”
He side-eyed me. “Sounds like you’ve already run into one another.”
“Once, and that’s one too many times,” I ground out. “Can’t you get her the coal?”
He slid the tree off the machine. “Oh, no. Look at that. I’ve already grabbed this tree.”
I glared at him. “I’ll remember that. Do you know where Danny is?”
“Helping Mrs. O’Shea hang up the decorations on the display stand. She’s bribing him with jellybeans.”
I wished someone would bribemewith jellybeans to work.
What was I saying? I was an adult. If I wanted jellybeans, I could buy my own.
I was going to have to get this over and done with.
I walked out of the huge barn towards the front of the tree farm. Sylvie was standing in front of a display of full fir treeswith her head dipped as she tapped away at her phone. Her gloves were trapped between her body and her forearm, and they matched her red hat and scarf.
And her lips.
I swallowed.
