Page 20 of Christmas All the Way

‘Very,’ she said.

‘In that case, I’ll leave this here,’ he said, placing the half-full bottle of champagne on the table. ‘If you pop a stopper in it, you can finish it together some other time.’

‘Thanks,’ Keeley said. ‘I’ll be in touch about briefing the volunteers in the next few days.’

He nodded. ‘No problem. And I’ll put together a campaign for the tours – obviously I’ll run it past you before I go live with anything.’

‘If you wouldn’t mind,’ Keeley said, her tone dry. ‘I’d hate for the team to find out what’s coming from our own social media accounts.’

‘No, that wouldn’t be ideal,’ he conceded, then smiled at Grace. ‘Good to meet you. Hope to see you again.’

‘Me too,’ she replied, because in spite of Keeley’s issues with him, there wasn’t much she didn’t like about Xander Jones. ‘Have a safe journey home.’

Once he’d left, Keeley carefully extinguished the candles and set about removing the greenery from the mantelpiece. Grace watched her in silence for a moment. ‘I liked him,’ she said, when it became clear her friend was not going to speak. ‘And you have to admit the cottage looked great in his videos.’

‘Mostly thanks to us,’ Keeley said, her arms full of leafy strands. ‘Can you pass me that garden bag, please?’

Grace did as she requested, holding it open so the leaves could be dropped inside. ‘A collaboration, then. Although obviously I’m only a temporary helper.’

Concentrating on filling the bag, Keeley didn’t reply.

‘But clearly the two of you work well together,’ Grace went on, determined to make her point. ‘I know you’re worried that he’s going to undermine your role here but that wasn’t the vibe I got from him. He seemed… nice. Laser-focused on the job. From where I’m standing, you make a good team.’

Her friend huffed. ‘He has too many ideas.’

‘Better than none,’ Grace countered. ‘And I have to agree that he’s very easy on the eye. I can see why you think he’s a lot younger than us but I think that’s just because he’s so chilled out. I bet he’s older than he looks.’ She paused. ‘Any idea if there’s a Mrs Jones back in Chiswick?’

Keeley stopped in the act of removing a candle from one of the silver candlesticks. ‘No. Grace Murphy, if you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking—’

‘I’m not,’ Grace cut in quickly, raising her hands in mock surrender. ‘I promised not to matchmake, remember?’

‘I do remember,’ Keeley said pointedly. ‘I just wasn’t sure you did. So it doesn’t matter if he’s in a relationship or studying to join the priesthood, for that matter. I don’t care.’

Grace bit her lip; it seemed to her that Keeley was protesting just a tiny bit too much. ‘Okay. Got it.’

Keeley puffed out her cheeks. ‘Now, we’d better get the tree down and packed away, or it really will be a late night for you.’

They worked efficiently together and it wasn’t long before Juniper Cottage had been restored to its pre-Christmas state. Keeley’s thanks were effusive as she helped Grace load the tree back into her car, reiterating her offer to stay over whenever she needed to.

‘Thanks,’ Grace said, as she returned her friend’s hug. ‘I’ll definitely take you up on that.’

‘Make sure you do,’ Keeley said. ‘And text me when you’re home, okay?’

It wasn’t until Grace had left Freezy Tye and was navigating the narrow country lanes in the fading light that her thoughts returned to Xander. She could see why Keeley might feel intimidated by his arrival at Juniper Cottage but he hadn’t been anywhere near as annoying as her friend had claimed. From where Grace stood, Xander had been friendly and charming, with a great eye for what might make a winning social media hook, and she couldn’t help thinking that he and Keeley made a perfect couple. There was still the small matter of establishing his relationship status; she wasn’t sure how she was going to find that out, short of a direct question, but she’d caught him glancing at Keeley throughout the evening, when her friend wasn’t looking, and thought she’d detected more than just professional interest. There was the small matter of the promise she had made not to matchmake, but it wouldn’t hurt to chip away a little at her friend’s armour. Because for every time she’d noticed Xander watching Keeley, she’d observed her friend stealing glances at him, and it seemed to Grace that the obvious spark that flickered between them wouldn’t need much encouragement to catch light. Then perhaps Keeley’s reservations about workplace romances would burn away too.

Grace smiled to herself as she changed gear to ease around a tight bend and accelerated into the empty lane. It might just be worth a try.

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘Opportunity, Mrs Gladstone! It wears many disguises so you must be ever on the alert.’

Where the Wind Blows, ELIZA NORTON

‘Good morning, everyone.’ Keeley surveyed the assembled volunteers, gathered on rows of hastily arranged folding chairs in the library an hour before Juniper Cottage opened its doors to the public. She summoned what she hoped was a reassuring smile. ‘Thank you for coming this morning, especially to those of you not due to work today. As always, I really appreciate your dedication to Eliza’s legacy.’

Several faces were wreathed in anxiety, she noted. She knew from Jenny that some of them were fearful the meeting heralded bad news. Rumours of imminent closure had begun to circulate and Keeley was keen to nip those in the bud first. ‘I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve brought you all together. As many of you know, the trustees are looking for new ways to bring visitors in to the cottage. Some of you have met Xander Jones, who they’ve appointed as creative director to help promote Eliza’s work and increase footfall here.’

Whispers broke out and Keeley saw looks being exchanged. ‘One of the things Xander and I have been exploring is the possibility of creating an exciting new event for Christmas,’ she continued, steeling herself for the inevitable grumbles that would follow once she laid out the plans. ‘Winter has always been a quiet period here, with significantly lower visitor numbers than in the warmer months. So, we propose a different approach this festive period. We’d like to turn our opening hours on their head, closing during the day for most of November and December, and offering guided evening tours instead.’