Page 15 of A Festive Surprise

Farid threw out his hands. ‘You tell me. Maybe they bring three things. Wait one second…’ He took out his phone and scrolled through it. ‘Here, I use translate. Maybe a sign of peace, prosperity and love.’

‘Seriously? Quite the romantic, aren’t you?’

‘Maybe. I like peace and love. These things I miss.’

Holly dropped her head to the side. ‘You miss your family?’

‘Of course. My family are everything. And now, I may not see them again. Not for a long time. But now, I’m here and this is where I will grow. Put the roots in the ground and make this my home.’

‘You’re planning on staying here?’ Holly picked up the collapsible washing basket and flattened it.

‘Sure.’ Farid fell into step with her, strolling towards the house. She was pushing five foot ten. He was a couple of inches taller and broad shouldered.

‘Why? I never find enough in one place to keep me. I’m not sure why anyone would want to be tied down.’ Memories of days with Gavin swam to the surface again. Yup, there had been a time in her life when that was what she dreamed of. She blinked the thoughts away.

‘Ya’ni, I see those boats and I wonder where they go, who is on them and why? I remember how I get here. I travel through many hostile places, see horrible things, do things I’m not proud of.’

‘Oh?’

‘Ay, I pay big money to get out of Syria on a boat that really I shouldn’t. I hide in trucks to get over borders. I beg on the streets. These things, they are not me. So, now, I’m here. I don’t want to do that again. I want to be home. And so I have to make this my home.’

She nodded. ‘When you put it like that, it makes sense.’

‘Holly, I will teach you something.’

‘You will?’ She eyed him over. This sounded promising.

‘Ay, I will teach you the magic of being home.’

‘Oh-kay.’ The word came out slowly, covering her scepticism in two syllables.

His bright blue eyes glinted from beneath his dark brows, begging her to come closer. ‘But I don’t give my lessons for free. You must give me something in return.’

Was that a pick-up line? Christ, he was crazy gorgeous, heart-palpitation-inducing attractive, but she wasn’t sticking around. A fling was fine and good. Nothing else. She didn’t do long-term. Whatever he was going to suggest, she wanted that to be crystal clear. Any dates she had these days came with disclaimers so everyone was on the same page. No chance of big feelings. Her heart was her own, not something to be carved up like a turkey on Christmas Day and shared around. But warning bells sounded louder than the jingling ones on Santa’s sleigh. Farid had the power to do serious damage. Even from their miniscule acquaintance, it was apparent. ‘So what’s your price? Because I like to get my money’s worth.’

‘I can tell.’ His teeth glinted as he grinned. ‘I teach you about the magic of home. You teach me about the magic of Christmas.’

‘No way.’ She stomped to the front door. ‘Why do you want to know about that? It’s consumerist crap, that’s what it is. I’d have thought you’d know better.’

‘La, la, la.’ He waggled his finger. ‘It is money, yes. Everything is money and something this big will make money. People would be crazy not to use it. What I want you to teach me is the magic.’

‘I know nothing about that.’

‘Don’t know or you forget?’

‘Both, probably.’

‘Then let’s find it together.’ Farid took her hand and squeezed it gently, sending pleasure bolts into her bloodstream. ‘Let’s make magic.’

Holly bit into her lip. What was his game? Was he a tease? Or was this something he genuinely wanted? Why not dispense with the games and go straight to making magic? Or she could humour him. How hard would it be to make him a hot chocolate, give him a gingerbread house to decorate and let him cuddle a fluffy penguin? Once that was done and dusted, she could substitute the penguin for herself and let the real magic begin. Easy as pie – mince pies, no less. She returned the pressure on his hand. ‘Ok, it’s a deal.’

His grin was back. He let go of her hand and gave her the thumbs up. ‘I must grab lunch. I forget to lift it when I leave. Then I go back to work. But lessons start soon.’ He winked and tapped her arm. ‘And I won’t forget.’

Holly nipped into the house and slumped onto the sofa opposite the Christmas tree.

‘I thought I had a perfectly normal and well-planned life,’ she told the gleaming silver baubles. She’d believed that before. Six Christmases ago. She was skating on the tip of an iceberg again. Just don’t fall off the edge into chaos this time.

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