Page 51 of The Cosy Travelling Christmas Shop

‘You’ve got to eat,’ he said. ‘Going to work on an empty tummy is no good for you.’

‘Go on, then,’ she said. ‘But we’ll have to be quick.’

‘We will be,’ he assured her, crossing his fingers. He’d have a little word with the waitress and let her know they were in a hurry.

Luckily the cafe wasn’t busy, and after they’d ordered they easily found a free table. Seren took her coat off and draped it over the back of her chair, then slid into a seat opposite Daniel. ‘When is your next Santa outing?’ she asked him.

Daniel checked to make sure no one had heard. ‘Shh,’ he hissed theatrically. ‘I don’t want any little ones to get the wrong idea.’

‘You are so silly,’ she giggled, and he felt a surge of pleasure at being able to make her laugh. She had an infectious laugh, and he’d be happy to listen to it all day. In fact, he’d be happy to sit and talk to her all day. It was a pity she had to go to work.

He was jerked out of his thoughts when he felt a nudge on the arm, and he looked around to find his mother and Mrs Williams standing behind him. Both of them had their eyes trained on Seren.

‘Fancy seeing you in here,’ his mother said. ‘Who is this?’

‘Hi, Mum; hello Mrs Williams,’ he sighed, feeling deflated. He could have done without his mother being here. ‘This is Seren. Seren, meet my mum and her next-door neighbour.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Seren said politely, and he wondered what she was thinking.

‘I’m Linda,’ his mother began, but before she got any further Mrs Williams said, ‘Are you Daniel’s new girlfriend?’

Seren looked startled, as well she might, Daniel thought.

‘It’s… um… early days yet,’ he stuttered, and was mortified when he heard Seren snigger.

Mrs Williams stared at her. ‘I hope you treat him better than that other one. His mother didn’t like her at all, and neither did I, from what she told me of her,’ she declared.

Daniel wished the ground would open up and swallow him. Then he felt Seren gently kick his ankle, and he risked glancing at her.

Far from taking offence, she was struggling not to laugh, and he felt his tension ease a little.

‘Come along Phoebe, let’s leave them to eat in peace,’ his mother said, catching his eye. ‘I’ll phone you later, Daniel. Bye, Seren; it was nice to meet you.’

Did he imagine it, or had his mum winked at him?

He was careful to keep his expression blank until his mother’s back was turned and then he rolled his eyes. ‘Sorry, I didn’t expect Mum to be here. She usually pops in on Wednesdays. And I can only apologise for Mrs Williams. She should never have said what she did.’

‘Don’t be daft – you’ve already met my dad, and my Aunt Nelly. It’s only fair I get to meet your family.’

At that moment their paninis arrived and there was silence for a short while as they both tucked in, although Daniel only made a half-hearted attempt at tackling his. He had been hungry, but seeing his mother and her friend had dimmed his appetite somewhat. He couldn’t believe Mrs Williams had asked a question like that, and he was horrified.

‘Don’t be embarrassed,’ Seren said, wiping her mouth with a serviette. ‘My dad is the same. I won’t let him near a boyfriend of mine, if I can help it.’

‘Yes, but you had a double whammy.’

She took a sip of her spiced latte and regarded him with a twinkle in her eye. Daniel squirmed, guessing what she was about to ask.

‘Did your last girlfriend treat you badly?’

Yep, that was what he thought she might ask. The last thing he wanted to do was to slag Gina off, and it was a bit too soon to tell Seren all the sordid details, so all he said was, ‘You could say that.’

‘And your mum didn’t like her?’ She peeped at him from over the rim of her mug.

‘Only because of the way she treated me,’ he said. ‘It’s not as though she’ll dislike anyone I’m going out with, just because I’m dating them.’

‘Glad to hear it.’ Her teasing grin revealed a dimple on each cheek, and he looked away hastily. Seeing them had sent a bolt of longing through him, and he desperately wanted to gather her into his arms.

Control yourself, he commanded silently, willing his libido to calm down and behave. He hadn’t even kissed her yet, for goodness’ sake!

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