‘Merry Christmas, monkey. Come and give us a cuddle.’
But Bea’s not interested in cuddles, because she’s seen the swollen stocking at the bottom of her bed. And so Miles grabs the stocking and we establish our pyjama-clad selves on the sofa while Bea oohs and ahhs over her stash.
‘Look!’ She holds up some glitter pens. ‘Fancy!’
‘Father Christmas has excelled himself this year.’ Miles winks at me. I, meanwhile, am clasping my knees and loving the magic of this moment. It’s been a decade since Clodagh was young enough to believe in Santa. There’s something wondrous about watching a little girl immerse herself in the sorcery of Christmas.
‘Look, Bea,’ Miles says when she’s done. He points at thefireplace. ‘It looks like he’s filled Saoirse’s stocking, too. D’you want to grab it?’
Bea runs over to fetch it, and I give him a look.
‘How did you do that?’ I mouth, but he just shakes his head smilingly.
‘You must have been averygood girl.’
‘Ha ha.’ I accept the stocking from Bea. ‘Thank you, pet.’
First thing out of it is a gorgeous-smelling, expensive-looking candle. Then some chocolates and a La Prairie skincare set. Wowsers. And at the bottom lies the softest, seriously sumptuous cashmere sweater. I unfold it. It’s a polo neck in a beautiful shade of scarlet.
I lean over and kiss Miles. ‘Wow. I wish I could thank Santa. He did good.’
‘I may have something for you myself, under the tree.’ He jerks his head. ‘Bea? Shall we see if there’s anything under the tree? I wonder if he brought your dollies?’
There is indeed a large box with a tag sayingBea, and when the recipient unwraps it, she lets out a whoop of joy.
‘It’s my doll! It’s Shonda!’
‘Is that her name?’ I lean over to look at the packaging.
‘No, I just want to call her that. Can you open her?’
Miles grabs some scissors, and we make quick work of all the American Girl packaging, so that soon Shonda is uncovered, fully re-dressed in equestrian gear, and astride her horse. As Bea gets to know her new friends, Miles slides two small, gold packages onto my lap.
‘I have some more stuff I want to get you, but we were short on time yesterday. This one’s a priority, though.’
I turn it over and rip open the paper with a force that makes him laugh. The first one is a Harrods flannel embroidered with holly.
‘I know you like flannels,’ he tells me with a straight face.
‘Oh my God.’ I cover my mouth with her hands. ‘You are a piece of work.’
‘We can try it out later. Open the other one.’
The second package feels like it could be lingerie.
Seriously?
Is he buying me sexy lingerie already?
The expectant smirk falls from my face when I find a red bikini.
‘Oh. What?—?’
‘Come to St Barths with us.’ He puts a hand on top of mine. ‘Please. I don’t want to leave you behind for a month when I’ve just found you.’
‘Are you serious? For how long?’ My mind is reeling.
‘Come for the whole month. We have a villa. I’ll be working some of the time, but Bea and I want you there—we’d be so miserable without you.’
