‘Oh, it’s him alright.’ Funny, the novelty hasn’t worn off, but when it’s just the two of us, it’s easy to forget the man is a movie star.
To me, he’s simply Nate now.
‘You do realise you’ve been Holly’s celebrity crush since we were like fifteen?’ Savannah informs him with glee.
‘Thanks, Sav.’ My eyes roll skywards.
‘She did sort of mention it along the way.’ He flashes that Hollywood grin.
‘So how long are you planning on hanging around?’ Ashley, the ever-sensible one of the three of us is already trying to ascertain Nate’s intentions.
Intentions we’ve already discussed. We’re both aware, however much fun we have in December, we lead very different lives outside of Ballybowen.
Nate clears his throat and glances between me and the phone. ‘I, er, I’m not sure. We have just under two weeks of filming left in Ballybowen. I wriggled out of my commitments in the States so I can spend Christmas in Dublin with my family…’
Christmas in Ireland? This is a new development. I bite back the ridiculous ball of hope growing in my chest. He said Christmas withhis family, not Christmas here in Ballybowen with a Mariah Carey wannabe.
‘Well, girls, it’s been lovely chatting.’ My pointed stare is enough to wrap up the conversation.
‘Of course, don’t let us keep you from whoever you’re doing.’ Savannah nudges Ashley. Both of them have their noses pressed against the screen. ‘I mean,whateveryou’re doing.’
‘We’re about to erect something big and hard and it’s going to be messy,’ Nate sniggers, pulling me into a one-armed embrace.
‘That sounds promising.’ My hand falls to the curve of his ass, grabbing a handful of denim-clad iron buttock. I could squeeze all day long and never tire of it.
‘I bought you a Christmas tree.’ Pride hangs on his every word.
‘A real one?’ I gasp.
‘A real one,’ he confirms.
‘Bye, girls.’ I blow a kiss to my friends.
‘You guys are so cute together!’ Savannah squeals.
I blow them one more kiss before hanging up.
I’ve never had a real tree in my life. No one had time to go and pick one out. It was easier and more efficient to use a fake one.
This really is shaping up to be the best December ever. If only I could pause it and stay in this moment forever because Christmas is coming, and a life without Nate in it already seems duller than a year of January days.
ChapterTwenty-Four
HOLLY
‘They seem nice,’ Nate comments, while dragging a six-foot Christmas tree through Savannah’s living room, leaving a path of fresh pine needles in his wake.
‘Nice doesn’t cut it. They’re my best friends. My ride or die, you know.’
‘Yeah. Hard to find friends like that. Hang on to them,’ Nate huffs, positioning the base of the trunk into the huge ceramic pot, resting the tree against the wall as he begins to fill the pot with gravel.
‘Do you have a friend like that?’ It occurs to me that I’ve seen endless amounts of pictures of him with a string of women, but never with any men.
Frown lines bracket the corner of his eyes, and he flinches. ‘My closest friend these days is my agent, Jayden. I had a best friend from school but…’ he trails off.
Curiosity piques, but I don’t pry. ‘So a man of your calibre really does get lonely?’
‘Sometimes. Which is probably why I stayed with Celeste for longer than I should have, even though I knew it wasn’t right. I like having someone ask about my day, and actually understand the pressure of the film set and the industry.’
