I can’t help but notice his close proximity, and my heart quickens in response. I can almost feel the warmth of his body soaking into my skin.
“See, Christmas isn’tallbad, now is it?” I ask.
“No. I guess not,” he replies, not taking his admiring eyes off the children in front of us.
Romeo pushes his head between our legs and barks a couple of times at the children outside and I stroke his head to calm him down.
“I used to be a carol singer when I was little. I loved it. I loved singing and watching people’s faces light up with the sound of our voices.”
“I bet you were a beautiful singer,” he says.
“Well,Ilike to think so.” I laugh, catching Royce chuckling quietly beside me. “Dance with me?” I ask, extending my hand out to him.
He shakes his head. “I can’t dance.”
I tip my head to the side. “Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.”
“Then we’ll have to rectify that, won’t we?” Despite his protests, I take his hand, which is soft but firm as it engulfs mine, his touch sending sparks through my skin.
I lead him out onto my front porch and with his hands resting on my waist and my palms against his chest, we sway to the soft sounds of the carol singers as they slowly work their way down the street.
“How can you hate Christmas when you get to experience all this? Carol singers, the music, the snow… It’s magical. It’s the stuff of dreams and fairy tales.”
“You’re gonna make it your mission to change my mind about Christmas while I’m here aren’t you?” he asks with a grin.
“Maybe.” I shrug with a smile and he laughs softly.
We continue to dance until the sound of the singers’ voices fade into the distance, before returning inside and I shiver from the cold as we make our way back into the toasty warmth from the log fire in my living room.
“I should probably head up to bed, it’s been alongday.” Royce yawns before he picks up his wine glass and finishes the contents.
“I’ll show you where to go.” Royce follows closely behind me as we make our way upstairs. “That’s your room right there,” I say, pointing to the door just ahead of us, “the bathroom is just next door and that’s my room down the hall.”
“I’m going to take a quick shower, if that’s okay?”
“Absolutely! Oh! The shower might take a while to get warm, it’s been on the blink for months now.” I roll my eyes, forcing a laugh. “Well, goodnight, then.”
“Goodnight,” he says and I turn towards the stairs. “Lorna.” He catches my hand in his, and the sound of him saying my name has my heart expands in my chest. “Thank you for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”
“Well, I wasn’t gonna let you sleep out there in the cold, was I?”
“Most people wouldn’t think twice about it.”
“That’s because a lot of people are selfish, and I’m not like most people.”
A soft smile plays on his lips as he holds my gaze. “No. No, you’re not.”
4
The next morning, I pull open the curtains to reveal a three inch thick layer of fresh snow covering every surface for as far as the eye can see and I groan. I don’t know what I expected to have changed overnight, but the sight of snow still irritates me.
I sit back down on the edge of the bed and unlock my phone to a series of messages wishing me a happy Christmas and usually, I’d ignore every single one, but today I feel compelled to reply, which is exactly what I do.
I scroll through my Facebook feed like I do every morning, something I don’t even think twice about doing, it’s just a part of my morning routine. I scroll through countless Merry Christmas messages and photos of friends and colleagues enjoying the excitement of Christmas morning, a feeling I definitely don’t share.
I stop when I come across a photo that I never expected to see, and white-hot anger surges through me. It’s a photo a friend took at a party back home last night, my ex is tagged in it, and she’s in the arms of a man I don’t recognise. I’m not too surprised that my ex-best friend is nowhere to be seen, my ex-wife is clearly not one for loyalty and so throws herself at the first sign of male interest. I scroll past it, forcing my mind to forget seeing her face in that picture. Seeing her flaunt her love life over social media shouldn’t bother me, but it’s hard when that same woman claimed to love me once before it all went to shit. I guess you could say I dodged a bullet with that one.
