I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day - Milly Johnson Page 0,76

chest. Who could ever hope to fill Charlie’s huge, solid, perfect footsteps?

Charlie lifted the phone from Robin, put it down on the bed, took his hand; it was shaking like a frightened bird.

‘I want you to find someone who makes you happy.’

‘I have and he does. Mostly.’

‘You’re a young man, Robin.’

‘I feel ancient. Fifty-five isn’t that young.’

‘Fifty-five is spring chicken age. I was forty-seven when we got together romantically, if you remember. I won’t stand for you moping around covered in cobwebs like Miss Havisham, do you hear me?’

‘White’s not my colour.’

‘I know, it makes you look bleached.’ Charlie felt the weight of Robin’s big hand in his own. Solid, strong, tender – this hand stood for the whole of him. ‘Find someone that makes your heart sing, my darling, you aren’t meant to be lonely. Someone should have the gift of you after I’ve gone. I shan’t rest easy knowing you’re being maudlin and crying yourself to sleep.’

‘Don’t kid yourself, I’ll be clubbing every night. Off my tits on cocaine.’

Charlie let loose a froth of laughter at that. ‘Don’t be frightened of falling in love. Just be careful and don’t let anyone love the money more than you. I don’t have to tell you this, you’re sensible, but you might just be a bit vulnerable. What about Reuben’s friend, the architect? He’s very good-looking.’

‘Ugh. He smells of yeast. I just couldn’t.’

‘What about Daniel, Sol’s widow?’

‘Daniel bores me rigid. He has three topics of conversation, himself, himself and politics. I imagine Sol threw himself into the grave head first to escape.’

‘Find someone gorgeous who’d love you if you were rich or poor, like I found you. There are lots of diamonds out there waiting to be discovered.’

Robin broke down then.

‘Charlie, how do I live without you?’

‘For goodness sake, don’t go all LeAnn Rimes on me.’

Robin snorted involuntarily. ‘Oh look, tears and snot. What a mess you’ve made of me.’

He stood up to get some loo roll to clean himself up, came back into the bedroom to find Charlie sitting, smiling like a beatific Mother Teresa.

‘Thank you for this Christmas present. It means the world.’

‘I love you,’ Robin blurted. ‘I never said it enough. I hardly ever said it at all, but I hope you know I do and I will always love you.’

‘LeAnn Rimes and Dolly Parton. I’m impressed.’ Charlie stopped joking then. ‘I know you do, my dearest Robin and—’

‘But you needed to hear it more, Charlie. You’re my soulmate, I don’t feel worthy enough for you. You’re the kindest, most beautiful man in the universe and I don’t know what I did to deserve you but whatever it was, I’d gladly do it again. The thought of being without you—’

Charlie reached over to his bedside drawer, pulled something out. A ring box. He placed it in the centre of Robin’s palm. Robin opened it to find a stunning thick platinum hoop studded with yellow diamonds. It was beyond exquisite.

‘Something to remember me by. Something to remember this perfect moment by,’ said Charlie.

‘It’s never real is it?’ Robin half-gasped.

‘I don’t do fakes. You know it’s real.’

Robin put it on; the diamonds twinkled like sunshine as he moved his hand around. Of course it fitted, because Charlie had designed it and he was a master at his craft.

‘Merry Christmas, Robin. You have made my life happier than I could ever have thought possible and whatever your future holds, and whoever it is with, I will be looking down on you with my love and wishing you well.’

Robin crumpled against Charlie, who held him and they both savoured the closeness of each other, pressed it and shaped it like a diamond, to be kept for a treasured memory.

Chapter 24

‘Disappointed with your Christmas present?’ asked Bridge, taking logs out of a hessian sack to put in the basket next to the fire. She had been deliberately watching Jack’s face as Mary opened up her present and he seemed keen for her to like it.

‘No, it was lovely,’ said Mary with a fixed smile, the two rows of her perfect neat teeth butted together, like soldiers defending the untruth.

‘A voucher for a snog in the woodshed would have been better though, eh?’

‘Shh,’ said Mary, checking behind that Jack hadn’t chosen that moment to walk into the bar lounge.

‘To be fair to Jack, it was a tough call finding something around the inn that would be suitable as a present. I mean’ – Bridge gave a little laugh – ‘I got a tin of