“I don’t mind talking to him if he wants to interrogate me a bit more.”
“Maybe some other time.” Or never. Either works for me. I yawn suddenly and Pete frowns again. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“You’re sure about this, yeah?”
I meet his gaze, letting him see I mean it. “Yes.”
“Okay, then. Let’s go.”
He starts the car, soft music from a local radio station filling the silence. We’re just pulling out onto the main road when Pete glances over at me. “So... you’ve mentioned me to Seb then?”
Gonna kill him. “I may have mentioned you in passing.”
He hums. “Now or before.” He glances over at me. “You know, after New Year’s Eve.”
“I knew when you meant.” Is it hot in the car? It feels hot suddenly. “Fine.” I let out the heaviest sigh and Pete laughs. “I told Seb that I met you outside the pub on New Year’s. And that I saw you again that morning when Hailey spilt tea on you.” I look out the window so he can’t see me blushing.
“I see.”
I can practically hear the smugness in those two words and I hide my smile with my hand. I’m not sure what we’re doing here. Itfeelslike flirting. To be honest, the whole evening felt like that, like we were leading up to something that neither of us dared to acknowledge. Especially after that kiss the other day.
But for the next week, we’re going to be living a whole lot closer, and I don’t know if that changes anything.
I’m still chewing on that as Pete slows the car down and turns off the road onto a driveway. It curves around, then comes to a stop in front of a large, detached house. It’s bigger than I was expecting. I let out a low whistle. “This looks lovely.”
It does.
As expected, the small garden out front is neat and tidy, and I can see a hint of a larger garden at the back of the house. There’s definitely something missing though. “I’ve gone from wall-to-wall Christmas decorations to living with the Grinch.”
Thankfully, Pete laughs, then runs a hand over his jaw. “Yeah, it’s not a great advertisement for someone who spends their workday selling Christmas, is it?”
“It’s still early,” I offer.
“It’s really not. December first was Monday.”
“That’s true. You better get a move on, then.”
He rolls his eyes, then taps the steering wheel. “I got all my stuff down from the loft; I just need to put it out.”
“Good job it’s the weekend, then.”
His smile turns rueful. “While that might mean a rest day for you, I’ll be at the tree farm all day tomorrow and Sunday. Traditionally, it’s one of our busiest weekends.”
“What about the rest of the week? Will you have time then?”
“Maybe.” His gaze catches mine, and I really want him to ask me to help him decorate.
I love Christmas. If I were at home, I’d be getting my own tree this weekend.
He doesn’t, though. Instead, he turns off the engine and unclips his seatbelt. “Come on, let me show you where you’ll be staying.”
We get out of the car and Pete opens the boot. Between us, we manage to grab everything, and I follow him around the side of his house to a building that’s far nicer-looking than what I was expecting.
What was clearly a huge double garage now has windows and a front door, and warm light spills out from all of them. Someone’s obviously been in and turned everything on.
Sadie, I remember.
I wonder if she’s still there. Selfishly I hope she’s not.
