Page 29 of Confessions of a Christmasholic

She shivered and Gus noticed the blue tinge to her lips. It was time to get her out of the cold. He took her hand, tugged her around the car and opened her door for her. After Sutton climbed inside, he jogged around the car, slid behind the wheel and started the engine. Sutton immediately put her hands over the vents, waiting for the blast of hot air.

‘The esteemed Lady M thinks you are snorting coke,’ he explained.

She stared at him, shocked. ‘Whatdid you say?’

‘Moira, Lady Conningworth, thought you took a hit this morning.’

She waved his words away. ‘I heard you… Butwhywould she think that?’

Gus tugged his seatbelt over his chest. ‘You can thank my blabby-mouth daughter for giving her the wrong impression.’

‘I don’t understand any of this,’ she told him, utterly confused.

‘Sometime today, I presume this morning, Rosie saw you put something up your nose…’

‘Rosie was in the bathroom with me when I used my allergy spray.’

There you go.

He smiled. ‘Rosie informed Moira, in delicious detail, that you have special medicine for your nose. Apparently, it gives you energy and makes you feel good.’

Sutton covered her face with her hands. ‘I didn’t think she was old enough to explain my allergies.’

‘With Rosie, it’s always better to explain,’ Gus cheerfully told her as he put his car in gear. ‘She repeats everything, word for word. I told Moira how you came into our lives. I explained you’ve been travelling and how you ended up on my lawn, but maybe I was in a rush and didn’t give her enough information. After hearing you liked to shove stuff up your nose, she added two and two and came up with twenty-three. She thought I was harbouring an international drug mule.’

Sutton groaned again. ‘Holy Mary Mother of God!’ she muttered, closing her eyes.

‘It’s all sorted, Sutton,’ he told her, needing to reassure her.

‘I was hammered when I met you, and your mother-in-law, classy to the tips of her toes, thinks I’m an addict. Wow. I’m two for two.’

‘My friend, Angela, is going to be Mary in our Christmas play,’ Felix stated from the back seat. ‘I’m a donkey.’

‘And I’ll be an angel,’ Rosie added.

‘Thoroughly miscast,’ Gus murmured. He looked at her red, mortified face. ‘Look, I reassured Moira you are not working for Escobar, and she’s mortified at her mistake. She’ll apologise. Expect a call, or possibly even a handwritten note.’

Sutton nodded and stared straight ahead, still embarrassed. ‘The truth is that if I didn’t drink so much, if I wasn’t a backpacker, then she wouldn’t have thought I was a cokehead.’ Sutton tried to smile. ‘It’s okay, Gus, I can appreciate her being protective of the twins. They’re her grandkids, and in her place, I would have questions about a misfit traveller moving into your house too.’

She was sensible and generous. He appreciated both qualities.

‘Are you okay?’ he quietly asked.

She bit the inside of her cheek. ‘I didn’t mean to cause any trouble for you,’ she stated. ‘I know you are fond of Moira, and she adores the kids. I’m so embarrassed she knows what I did, how we met.’

He started the car and briefly squeezed her knee. ‘It’s fine, Sutton. She’s fine. It was a misunderstanding, that’s all.’

‘She’ll invite you for tea,’ Gus added, quickly reversing so they could drive out of the courtyard. ‘I’d take her up on it. Moira makes a mean chocolate cake.’

They passed Sunshine Cottage, Christmas lights blazing. ‘Thanks for defending me,’ she said. ‘But how could you be so sure that I didn’t indulge?’

He tapped his finger against the steering wheel, flicking her a glance. ‘You keep forgetting I searched your backpack while you were passed out on my couch, Sutton,’ he informed her, keeping his voice low-pitched and steady. ‘If I’d found anything, I would’ve kicked you out on your pretty arse. And called the police.’

Fair enough. ‘You did miss my blue bra.’

He darted a look at her. Was she teasing him? Flirting? Heat, and a hit of adrenalin, coursed through him. He shouldn’t respond, he should be sensible and play it cool.

But, just for one minute, he wanted to be a man, and not a widower, and not a single dad. He wanted to be a guy sitting next to a girl, someone who could still flirt. It had been so long.

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