Page 60 of Someone For Everyone

‘Sure? Only, I’m stronger than I look.’ She placed her hands on his waist, like he’d done with her, and tried to lift him. ‘Or, maybe not.’

Laughing, he climbed off the chair. ‘Nutter… Ready for the big reveal?’

‘Let’s do this. Hang on.’ She ran over to the main light switch and flicked it off. ‘So we get the full effect.’

Calvin switched on the socket and the tree lit up with flashing coloured lights.

‘Pretty,’ she said, coming over to admire their work. ‘It looks almost Dickensian.’

He stood next to her. ‘Is that a polite way of saying the decorations are a bit old?’

‘No, I love them. They have character. And besides, they’re better quality than you can buy in the shops these days.’

They stood like that for a few seconds, mesmerised by the lights and content to enjoy the silence, broken only by the tick of the grandfather clock. It was oddly calming.

Acting on impulse, she slid her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. She had no idea whether it was the right thing to do, but he’d been so kind to her during her numerous meltdowns so it seemed fitting to offer him some comfort in exchange. She imagined it wasn’t easy for him to talk about his feelings.

When his fingers closed around hers, she inwardly sighed. She hadn’t messed up. ‘I’m so sorry, Cal. You really haven’t had a great time of it, have you?’

He leant into her a little. ‘What a pair we are, eh?’

‘We could win a gold medal in who has the shittiest life competition.’

She felt rather than saw him smile. ‘Ah, but we did overcome the tree-versus-car battle.’

‘This is true. And if I do say so myself, we’ve done a sterling job decorating this tree.’

‘We have indeed.’ His hand squeezed tighter, and then he spotted his trainers lying on the floor. ‘What thef…?’

She tried to look innocent. ‘Something the matter?’

He turned to her. ‘You think you’re funny, don’t you?’ He caught her around the middle, before she could escape.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, squealing. ‘No, not tickling!’ She tried to wriggle free, but he wasn’t letting up. ‘That’s not fair. You’re cheating!’

‘How am I cheating?’ He tipped her backwards, so she was dangling over the sofa. ‘You sabotaged my trainers.’

He pulled her upright and she banged against his chest. She found herself looking into his smiling face, and both of them started laughing as she held on to him, loving the way his sadness had completely vanished… until a voice from behind said, ‘Wow! That tree looks amazing!’

They instantly jumped apart, like a conjuror’s trick, slicing his assistant in two.

‘Thanks so much for looking after Jacob,’ Natalie said, heading over to the sofa, oblivious to the heated atmosphere. ‘How’s he been?’

‘No problem at all.’ Calvin glanced at Kate and then looked away, his expression indicating that he felt as embarrassed as she did. ‘Feeling any better?’

‘A bit, thanks. Turns out I’m anaemic. The doctor’s given me some iron tablets. He said I should feel better soon.’ She picked up Jacob from the sofa and cuddled him. ‘I’ll take him upstairs for a lie-down. Thanks again for looking after him.’

‘Sure, no problem.’ Calvin picked up the empty boxes. ‘I’d better get rid of these.’

‘And I’d better get back to work,’ Kate said, her swift exit from the room failing to conceal her flustered state.

Quite why she was feeling so hot and bothered, she wasn’t sure.

It wasn’t like she had feelings for Calvin.

They were just friends… weren’t they?

Chapter Fourteen

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