Page 31 of The Secret Holiday Kiss

‘All over charming tradesmen? Really?’

Daisy felt warm everywhere. ‘I have two, Mo and Pete, managing the disaster that is my London flat as we speak.’

Avery’s smile slipped and he sat up, putting his mug on the treasure chest coffee table that Daisy remembered as something dusty in their cellar, and which Harry must have somehow got up the stairs and restored. ‘What’s happening there, then?’

Daisy waved a hand. ‘Not important.’

‘Except this was the reason for me coming today. A long, boring story that is tragic only to you.’

‘I know. But you don’t need to—’

‘I want to.’ The way he said it, so firmly, with no room for argument, sent emotions careening around Daisy’s body like a pinball. She wanted to ask him why. Why did he care about her, when all she’d done was ask too many questions about his project then muscle her way into it? Was this a way of finding out her weaknesses, so he could sabotage her – either stop her getting involved with Winnie and Mary’s house, or beat her in the Christmas event battle that she’d joked about at the meeting but it turned out was actually real? But no. When she looked at him, his grey eyes suddenly serious in the firelight, she couldn’t imagine he was doing this out of malice.

Daisy sighed, thought of the update she’d had from Pete that morning, and told Avery all about it. The leak, the building manager’s ineptitude, how lucky she was to have her friends there to help manage things so she could escape.

‘If I hadn’t had them to look after it, I would have needed to stay in London, which would either have meant another huge expense, or begging my ex-husband to let me move back into our old house for a bit.’ She laughed, trying to make light of it.

Avery leaned forward. ‘Ex-husband? Would you have wanted that?’

‘God, no. It was a joke. One of those dark humour jokes you have to make otherwise you’d fall into a pit of despair.’

He left a beat, then said, ‘What happened?’

Daisy stared into her coffee. ‘He cheated on me. After a decade of what I thought was a blissful marriage. We both worked away a lot, he helps hotels improve, and I had some projects at boutique chains in mainland Europe. It’s how we met, and it suited us both – or I thought it did. I thought it made the times when we were together really special. But he found ways to entertain himself when he was home and I wasn’t, and everything fell apart.’

‘Shit, Daisy. That’s awful. Your home?’

‘It was as big a loss as Stefan, which makes me sound like I’m downplaying my love for him, but I’m not. I spent so much time on our house, on making it the perfect sanctuary, somewhere we could come back to. And he took her there. He had more access than most to basically any hotel room he wanted, and he slept with her in our bed. I couldn’t face being there, so I let him have it.’

Avery shook his head, his eyes no longer focused on the fire, but on her. ‘Now you’re back in your childhood home.’

‘Harry and Sophie were so kind to let me stay.’

‘That may be, but I remember what happened. Before I was sent away to school, I remember your mum getting sick. I remember how hard it was for Harry, not just then but afterwards, when your dad was so stricken. And May has filled in the bits I didn’t remember. Neither of you stayed. You both left as soon as you could. Now you’ve been forced back.’

‘I wouldn’t say forced.’ Except that was exactly how it felt. She sighed. ‘It’s complicated, but Harry’s updated this place, he’s happy here with Sophie, he’s changed a lot. It’s made me think I might be able to love Mistingham again, too.’

‘And make it your home?’ Avery raised his eyebrows.

Daisy laughed. ‘No way. I’m going back to London as soon as I can. But I do want to be closer to Harry and Sophie, to have a better relationship with them. It’s not been too awkward so far.’

‘I’ve not hung out with Harry as much as I’d like to, but I know he wanted to see more of you too. He was glad you were at the wedding.’

‘I wouldn’t have missed that. I’m just gutted I didn’t get to see you in a suit.’ The moment it was out, she wanted to rewind ten seconds. Was there a more obvious sign that she’d been checking him out?

‘Hey.’ Avery laughed. ‘I’ve made an effort this morning. I put on clean jeans and everything.’

‘Don’t think I didn’t notice.’ Her mouth, it seemed, was intent on destroying her.

The silence that followed was loaded, and Daisy felt Avery’s eyes on her like a weighted blanket. Warm and heavy and … other things that related to electricity but that her brain was too scrambled to put into a proper metaphor.

‘Anyway,’ she went on, too perkily, ‘I’ll get a chance to see you in a suit at my ball.’

‘And I’ll get to see you in mud-covered jeans while you tackle my treasure hunt.’

‘Let the best Christmas elf win.’ She held up her coffee mug, and Avery clinked his against it.

‘Did you say you were working on a project in Norwich while you’re here?’