Page 74 of The Secret Holiday Kiss

‘Maybe,’ Daisy said. ‘Except …’

Sophie checked the contents of the drinks cabinet below the sideboard. ‘Except what?’

‘I really like him,’ she said quietly. ‘He was only supposed to be a … a holiday thing. While I’m here, while my flat is being repaired. We purposefully kept it casual, and—’

‘And it tipped into something else without you realizing?’

‘Almost,’ Daisy said with a laugh. ‘I did realize, though. I just couldn’t bring myself to be mad about it.’

‘So lean in,’ Sophie told her. ‘Worrying about why things are suddenly good, what you did to deserve it, when is it going to go wrong and blow up in your face – that’s all normal. But maybe this time it won’t.’ She shrugged. ‘Maybe, this time, things will be better than you hoped.’

‘My problem was I thought I was sorted, that things wouldn’t go wrong because I’d planned everything. It was all mapped out, organized, meticulous. And it went so, so wrong.’

‘So it’s time to try a different way of doing things.’ Sophie put a wine carafe on the table. ‘Embrace the unexpected. Enjoy every moment with wild abandon.’

‘Sounds good,’ Daisy said, even though she didn’t think it was that simple.

Today was Friday, Avery was in Norwich, and there was something going on there that he was keeping from her. But maybe she just needed to go with it? Believe he would tell her when he was ready. What they had was still so new: of course they didn’t know everything about each other yet. But she couldn’t ignore the voice that reminded her their time was running out, that she was due back in London in a few weeks, and she had to find out what Avery was dealing with, because if nobody else even knew about it, then how could they help him? The thought of going back to her old life and being none the wiser, leaving Avery here when he was clearly struggling with something, was too awful to contemplate.

When Avery and May turned up for dinner, Sophie was proved right.

Avery didn’t balk at the formal setup, and he looked utterly devastating, a sleeker brand of sexily scruffy in a black shirt and dark jeans. He handed Harry a bottle of wine, kissed Daisy full on the lips in front of their assembled siblings and siblings-in-law, and joked about Frank and Valerie’s Facebook posts, which everyone had seen and which had so clearly been put there to ramp up the rivalry between the two events.

‘Apparently the ball is an insult to the villagers, because it means everyone will have to buy two separate outfits. Nothing about it is sustainable, and Valerie’s worried the treasure hunt will be dangerous: that people could slip and fall off the cliffs in their quest to find the hidden hoard.’ He sipped the beer Harry had given him.

‘What did you do?’ Sophie asked. ‘Did you reply, or did you decide that would be Facebook suicide?’

‘Oh no, I replied,’ Avery said with a grin. ‘I told her that the ball food is pot luck rather than catered, and that you were hiring crockery and glassware, not getting plastic or paper in – you are, right?’

‘Course,’ Daisy said. Sustainability was a big thing for her too, and even with the fabrics she’d bought from Vea, she was planning to pass them on to Jazz and Imogen’s Am Dram society afterwards, so they could have a second life as stage dressing.

‘Exactly,’ Avery went on. ‘I also said nobody needed to buy a new outfit unless they wanted to, that I promised none of the sculptures would be within tripping distance of the cliff edge, and that if the residents of Mistingham didn’t have walking boots and waterproof clothing, they were living in the wrong place anyway.’

‘I think you were far too tolerant,’ May said.

‘Oh?’ Avery nudged his sister’s shoulder. ‘How would you have replied?’

‘I would have asked her what she would have planned for the festivities, if it was up to her, then made her take me through the entire project plan – risk assessments and contingencies, the lot.’

‘Savage,’ Sophie said with a grin.

‘I don’t think they realize how much effort goes in to planning these things, that a lot of people work really hard so that everyone gets something fun – for the cost of a bowl of potato salad or a tray of sausage rolls!’ May sounded appalled, and Daisy loved it. Avery had told her his sister wasn’t as meek as she seemed, and here, among the people she was closest to, it was as if all her unfiltered parts were allowed out.

‘There will be prizes for the treasure hunt, too,’ Avery said. ‘Ermin’s coming up with some swanky stuff for the winners – a Christmas hamper full of local produce and gifts.’

‘Let’s make Frank and Valerie organize the Easter events next year,’ Harry said, coming in from the kitchen.

‘You think they could handle it?’ May asked.

‘Nope. But if we have an egg hunt to fall back on, then it won’t matter, and they’ll have seen what it’s like to be in charge of something like this.’

‘Can’t believe the Easter bunny stole my idea of a treasure hunt,’ Avery said with a sad shake of his head.

‘So unfair.’ Daisy squeezed him around the waist, leaning into his warmth and his delicious scent. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she didn’t miss the way his fingers dug a little into her skin. She had noticed the dark smudges under his eyes, the way his laughter was a little too loud, as if he was forcing it. She vibrated with the need to ask him about Norwich, but she couldn’t do that now, and she didn’t want to risk ruining what they had. But still, if they were really doing this, however long they were doing it for, they needed to be honest with each other.

‘Dinner is almost served,’ Harry announced, and Sophie got up to go and help him.

‘You two are cute together,’ May said, when it was just the three of them. ‘I was so happy when Avery told me about you.’