Gull huffed a laugh, the sound reverberating through his chest. ‘I think your brother is fairly well along that path. Talking of which, I got the feeling he wasn’t being totally upfront with his job description. Am I right?’ He shook his head. ‘On second thoughts, I don’t care. I know everything that’s important, for right now. The rest of it?’ He dipped and kissed her neck. ‘I’m sure I’ll find out in good time.’ He tightened his hold on her waist. ‘Unless, of course, I’ve seriously misjudged and you’re actually a serial killer, stalking unsuspecting, gullible men and luring them to a luxurious, tinsel-wrapped end.’
‘Do you look good in tinsel?’ she asked, her lips tweaking into a smile.
‘Have you got any? We could always find out.’
She shook her head. The Harringtons, or more precisely Brigitte, didn’t ‘do’ tinsel.
‘You’ll just have to unwrap me as I am then, and make do,’ he said.
Madeleine toyed with her shot glass, then set it down on the table. Rose, sitting at the opposing end of the sofa, sipped at a black coffee.
‘Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?’ Madeleine said. ‘Caffeine after 9 p.m.? Recipe for disaster in my world. But then, you know that already.’
‘It’s Christmas Eve, I never sleep much.’
‘Too worried about a random bearded man in a red suit making an unsolicited visit to your room?’ It was possible Madeleine had downed a few too many shots of génépi. She felt foggy and warm, fluffy around the edges. Uninhibited.
Clara, drying the last of the pans for Tom while he packed away the crockery, laughed. It was a soft chuckle, rather than a guffaw, but Madeleine was happy that someone appreciated her sense of humour, because Rose looked unimpressed.
‘What?’ Madeleine kicked at Rose’s foot with her own. ‘It was just a joke.’ She reassessed. Maybe now was the moment to mention the Icelandic book tradition. She was halfway through the explanation when Clara joined them, easing herself onto the other sofa.
‘That sounds like fun,’ she said.
‘I’ve always wanted to try it. I’ve just never had someone to do it with. I’ve always wanted to share a bed with someone, you know, and spend all night reading together.’
‘And now you can?’
Madeleine began to nod before she realised the implication of what Clara had said. She glanced at Rose, her cheeks spiking with colour.
‘For what it’s worth, I think that’s the best news I’ve heard for quite a long time,’ Clara said.
‘Do you?’ Rose’s words were quiet, barely audible. But they were there, and Madeleine sat a little taller in her frame.
‘All I want is for my best friends to be happy, Rose. I want you to be happy. That’s all that matters.’ Clara smiled. ‘And I think you are. Am I wrong?’
A moment passed, a pause in which Madeleine held her breath. Then Rose clunked her coffee cup onto the table and returned Clara’s smile. The tight lines evaporated from her face. ‘No, Clara. You’re right. I’m very happy. I just wasn’t sure how to …’
‘Explain?’
Rose nodded.
‘There’s nothing to explain.’ Clara climbed to her feet. ‘Continue to be happy, that’s all that really counts for anything, in the end. I’m going now. I’ll leave you two to it.’
‘See you in the morning.’
Clara didn’t reply. Instead, she thanked Tom for a great meal and wished him a good night, then scooped up the bag of Scrabble tiles from the table before she headed down the stairs. Rose slid across the sofa until Madeleine could loop an arm around her shoulders. It was a landmark moment for Madeleine, even if nobody was paying them any attention, and they stayed like that, body to body, while Tom continued in the kitchen, prepping food for Christmas Day.
‘I’m sorry it took so long,’ Rose whispered. ‘Maddy, I think I love you.’
‘Well, that’s good, because I know I’m in love with you.’ Madeleine had to spill the words quickly, unspooling them in a fervent whisper directly into Rose’s ear. It felt good to have finally said them, even better when Rose took her free hand and squeezed. They sighed into one another, and she allowed her eyes to flutter closed.
Madeleine was jolted back to conscious thought– maybe she’d even fallen asleep– by loud footsteps on the staircase. Lysander’s tousled blond hair bounced into view as he took the stairs two at a time. He appeared so rapidly that there was no way he hadn’t seen the two of them lying arm in arm on the sofa, even if Rose did go to pull away a touch too quickly.
‘Oh shit …’ Lysander eyed the pair of them, his gaze settling on Rose. ‘NowthatI didn’t expect … But I suppose it does explain a thing or two, doesn’t it?’
Rose’s frame tightened as she drew away from Madeleine, the pinch back in her features. ‘Not that it’s any of your business, Lysander.’
‘Maybe not.’ He frowned. ‘But you always were the one I couldn’t ever quite work out. Now I know why.’
