Page 34 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
My lips tugged to one side.
The stupid woman was too gorgeous for her own good.
“Sure, you do. Shall we get the trees sorted out before you turn into a snowman, and I can’t get rid of you until the snow melts again?”
Sylvie sighed heavily and tugged her bobble hat further down over her ears. “Yes, we should. I can’t imagine anything worse than being stuck with you until spring comes.”
“Oh, I can. Being stuck with you wins that fight.”
She stuck her tongue out at me, and I grinned.
“Come on. You’ll be better off buying some that we haven’t cut down yet.” I nodded in the direction of the uncut tree area and motioned for her to follow me.
“Uncut? Why do you have some uncut?”
“Some people prefer it. It doesn’t make sense to cut them all down anyway—it’s handy for things like what you need them for, but if they don’t sell, it’s no big deal. They can keep growing for another year.”
“Oh.” Sylvie folded her arms across her chest, tucking her gloved hands into her sides. “That makes sense.”
“Do you know what you need?”
“Yes.” She smacked her lips together. “Four nine-foot trees, four six-foot trees, four five-foot trees, two seven-foot trees, and approximately eight four-foot trees.”
I stopped walking and blinked at her. “What the fuck do you need so many trees for? Your own tree farm?”
“Please don’t ask,” she muttered. “Hazel.”
“That’s… how many trees?”
“Twenty-two.”
“For one day?”
“Yes,” Sylvie said slowly. “To be fair, most are for the dinner and reception, and the ones that are being used for the ceremony are being transported to the children’s hospital immediately after so they can enjoy them.”
“I suppose that’s as good a use as any for them,” I replied. “Does Julian know he’s getting married in a festive forest?”
“He does. He told me he’s just there to pay the bills for it.”
I slid my gaze towards her as I opened the gate. “You know, if your sister wasn’t successful in her own right…”
“Oh, I’d be the first to call her a gold-digger.” Sylvie snorted. “But I really think he just wants to make her happy,and that’s it. I know Christmas Eve isn’t exactly everyone’s first choice for a wedding, and I doubt it was Julian’s.”
“Probably not,” I admitted. We’d been friends for years, and he’d always had a relatively normal outlook where Christmas was concerned. “He did ask me what to do about it when she proposed it.”
“What did you say to him?”
“That if he didn’t care, to just let her choose it. Their wedding isn’t overly large anyway, so it doesn’t matter too much. It’s not like their families have to travel far.”
“True,” she agreed. “It’s just a lot of trees that I’m going to have to end up decorating, and I’m not hugely happy about it.”
“All by yourself? Twenty-two trees?”
She waved a hand. “That’s just me moaning. Mum, Nana, and Julian’s mum are going to help, but it’s still going to take us a few days.”
“I have a six-year-old boy you could borrow. He’ll likely want paying for his time, though.”
“No, thank you. I’m too much of a perfectionist for that.”
