breathing a sigh of relief when he put both hands back on the steering wheel. “Park on the drive, behind the Focus.”
“You sure?” He slowed down as we approached the house.
“Yeah.” I pointed at the CRV parked on the road in front. “That’s Clive’s car, he always parks there so they don’t have to swap cars all the time.”
Finn came to a stop behind my mum’s Ford Focus and turned off the engine. “Ready?”
“No. But let’s just go get this over with.”
Finn laughed as he got out of the car. “It’s Sunday lunch, not a walk to the gallows.”
I glared at him. “Easy for you to say.” I shouldn’t be taking it out on Finn—he was doing me a huge favour—but I felt all off-kilter. “Sorry.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. But then Finn’s arm was around my shoulders, warm breath near my ear.
“Trust me,” he whispered. “It won’t be half as bad as you’re expecting.”
It was Finn’s warmth wrapped around me more than his words, but I relaxed into his side. He dropped his arm as we reached the front door, and I sighed quietly, missing it already.
The door opened before I had chance to knock, the huge wreath on it swinging slightly.
“Jasper!” My mum pulled me into a hug, and I went willingly, thankful nothing fundamental had changed between us. We might be going through a rough patch at the minute, but she was still my mum and I loved her fiercely. Thank fuck she seemed to feel the same.
“And Finn.” She let me go and turned her big smile on him. “So lovely to see you again.”
“Thank you for inviting me.” He returned her smile and followed me inside.
My mum’s house was older than Finn’s, the proportions a lot more generous than his relatively new build. Her kitchen, where we usually ate, had room for an eight-seater wooden table that had a lovely view of the garden through her French doors.
As we walked through the hallway, I admired the fairy lights artfully twined around the bannister. Hopefully it’d be dark by the time we left so Finn could see her decorations in their full glory.
I was about to peek at the tree in the living room, but she shooed me along the hallway.
“You can see it later when the lights are on.”
“Fair enough.” I’d already seen it, but she probably wanted Finn to get the full experience.
As we followed her into the kitchen, I noticed Finn’s eyes widen. It really was a beautiful room. South-facing, it got a good portion of the sun, even in winter. As I glanced around, I noticed she’d swapped her usual ornaments for her purple Christmas ones. I’d not noticed much of anything the last time I was here.
A slender tree stood in the corner, wrapped in pink fairy lights, and a little purple bonsai tree sat alight on the worktop. More pink lights outlined the French doors, and a Christmas table decoration sat in the middle of the place settings.
“Did you make that, Mum?” I gestured to the tasteful holly, pinecone, and tinsel arrangement, knowing full well that she had. “It’s lovely.”
She beamed at me. “Thank you. And yes, I did, you know I like to have something handmade around the house.”
I did. And sometimes I’d helped her make them. I felt a pang of guilt that I’d not done anything like that this year.
As though sensing my thoughts, she ushered us to the table. “You boys sit down; food’s almost ready.”
“Do you want a hand with anything?” Finn said, ever the gentleman.
My mum waved him away with her spoon. “No, but thank you for offering.”
I kicked him under the table. “Stop it, you’re making me look bad.”
He shrugged a shoulder, smirking at me. “It’s not my fault you’ve got no manners.”
Before I could dispute that, my mum’s laughter interrupted. “I banned Jasper from the kitchen the year he managed to burn my best roasting pan. Which was no easy feat, let me tell you.” She smiled at me, then added with a wink, “I do let him clean up afterwards though.”
“Yeah.” I grumbled. “I’m allowed to do that bit.”
I got up to get Finn and I drinks, but it hadn’t escaped me that we were missing someone. “So, um . . . where’s Clive?” I guessed it was too much to hope he wouldn’t be here.
I immediately felt bad.
That wasn’t the attitude I needed to have.
“He’s just walked down to the shop for something I forgot.”