Just for Christmas - Emily Harvale Page 0,20

until now.

‘What? No. No, I’m sorry.’ He gave her a foolish grin. ‘I was telling myself off for something. Sorry again.’

She smiled and nodded. ‘Girlfriend?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Is it something to do with your girlfriend?’

‘How did you know I’ve got a girlfriend?’

The woman laughed and shook her head.

‘A good-looking man like you? Of course you’ve got a girlfriend. Maybe more than one. Although I hope not. You look like a lovely young man and no one likes a cheat. You’re not, are you?’

‘A cheat? No. Not yet.’

‘Not yet?’

‘Not ever. I hope. I’m not the type. At least I didn’t think I was.’

He let out a loud, short sigh.

‘Love can make us do things we never thought we would.’ The woman smiled wistfully. ‘Believe me, I know. Would you like to talk about it?’

‘I don’t know what I’d say. I’m feeling somewhat confused. I think it’s just because I’ve being overdoing things and need a rest. I’ve recently moved back here from the States to be with my mum. My girlfriend’s still in New York. I’m supposed to be proposing when she gets here on New Year’s Eve. But now someone’s come back into my life and I’m feeling things I never felt before. Never expected to feel. And definitely not about her. She’s a pain in the butt. Or she used to be. But she’s … Sorry.’ He laughed awkwardly. ‘I don’t know why I blurted all that out.’

‘Perhaps because you needed to. I’m old and my husband passed away several years ago, but we were married for more than sixty years and one thing I’m sure about as far as Love is concerned is that you know when it’s real. I mean truly real. True Love. You feel it in your blood. You sense it in every breath you take. You see it in every look. If one of them makes you feel as if you can fly without wings, or that without her smile, your world would be plunged into darkness, she’s the one.’ She reached out and touched his arm, giving him a warm and friendly smile, until her mouth fell open and her eyes peered past him into the distance. ‘Good gracious. Is that your dog swimming in that icy pond?’

Chance knew it was Miracle without even looking.

‘In a manner of speaking, yes.’ He glanced over his shoulder. ‘He belongs to the woman I think I may have feelings for. It was lovely to meet you. And thank you for your advice. I’d better go and rescue her dog. Not that he looks like he needs rescuing.’

‘No. He seems to be having a whale of a time chasing those ducks. Good luck with everything. And Merry Christmas.’

‘Merry Christmas to you too.’

He’d almost forgotten it was less than a week away as he raced off towards the freezing pond where Beauty sat at the edge, looking as if she were grinning.

Eleven

‘You girls clearly had a good time.’ Chance eyed the number of bags in the back of Terry’s Land Rover. ‘Did you go too?’

Terry rolled his eyes. ‘No. Thankfully. Sarah just asked me to pick them up because they couldn’t get a cab and they had too many bags to carry on a bus. I couldn’t believe it when I saw how much they’d bought.’ Terry grinned. ‘I’m glad most of this is coming out of your pocket and not mine.’

‘Really? Oh joy of joys.’

‘Wait until you see what I’ve got for you,’ Molly enthused. ‘You’ll love me forever. Oh. In a friendly way. Not a romantic one. Obviously. Er. Have you changed clothes? You weren’t wearing those dark jeans and that Christmassy jumper earlier.’

Chance sighed. ‘Miracle decided I needed a change.’

‘Miracle? Oh dear. What did he do? He didn’t pee on you or something, did he?’

‘And you’re giggling because…?’ Chance raised his brows. ‘No. Your delightful dog didn’t pee on me. He took me for a swim.’

‘A swim?’ Molly bit her lower lip. She was clearly trying not to laugh. ‘Where?’

‘The partially frozen pond in Easterhill Park. It was … bracing, to put it mildly.’

Sarah laughed but suddenly became serious. ‘Is he okay? I may be allergic but I’d hate to think anything bad had happened to him. Where is he? I’m not sniffing at all.’

‘Oh God!’ Molly grabbed Chance’s arm. ‘Is he hurt? Has he–?’

‘He’s fine, Molly.’ Chance took her hand in his and squeezed it, abruptly dropping it and stuffing his hands in his pockets. ‘I left him curled up asleep beside Beauty, on an old duvet