‘Tis the Season to be Single: A feel-good festive romantic comedy for 2018 that will make you laugh-out-loud!. Laura Ziepe
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and just go with the flow a bit more. Rachel was the type of girl that planned every single outfit for her two-week holiday. She kept up to date with her washing and ironing, she labelled jars for miscellaneous items in her house (spare buttons, safety pins, elastic bands), everything had a place in her home. There were no junk drawers.
‘You don’t have a junk drawer?’ Amber had asked in shock when she’d visited for the first time.
Rachel had looked slightly dazed, squinting her pale blue eyes and cocking her head to the side as she asked, ‘What’s a junk drawer?’
She didn’t even know what a junk drawer was for goodness’ sake! It was kind of self-explanatory. Amber recalled the weekend she’d gone away to Rome with Grace and Rachel several years back. Amber’s jaw had almost hit the floor when Rachel’s alarm went off at 7 a.m. on their first day.
‘What’s going on?’ Grace had groaned as Rachel had opened the curtains allowing the sunshine to blind them.
Amber had been too tired and confused to speak.
‘We need to get up!’ Rachel had enthused, much to their disgust. ‘There’s so much to do and see. I’ve printed off an itinerary for both of you so if we quickly go downstairs to breakfast we can head straight to the Colosseum to beat the crowds. Then there’s the Vatican museums and this gorgeous little place for lunch I’ve seen that has excellent reviews on TripAdvisor…’
Amber’s lip curled upwards as she thought back to it. The trip had been fantastic despite the early starts. Sometimes you needed a friend like Rachel. The planner. The organized one. Amber was the complete opposite. She hated planning. If it had been down to her she would have laid in bed most of the morning and wouldn’t have seen half of the amazing sites they’d managed to in the short time they were in Rome. Amber was impulsive; she liked excitement and to not know what was coming next. She loved having fun and letting her hair down. But at times she was reckless, wild even, not doing herself any favours. How many times had she lost her mobile phone on a night out because she was drunk and careless? She couldn’t seem to help it though. It was just the way she was.
Amber wrapped her scarf tightly round her neck as she made her way to the coffee shop. She exhaled, watching her breath form in a cloud in front of her. It was freezing and she wondered if it might snow soon. She hoped so; there was nothing better than snow at Christmas time to get you in the mood. That, and a nice hot chocolate, which she vowed she was going to order as soon as she met Jack.
Jack was already in the coffee shop, punching away on his mobile while he waited for her. Amber smiled fondly as she spotted him; he was so familiar and comfortable, yet she always felt excited to see him. Jack was part of her happy childhood memories. She was completely at ease in his presence. She felt like she hadn’t seen him in a while because he’d been busy before she went to Thailand. They hadn’t seen each other in just over two and a half months because he’d been away before she had. It was too long.
‘Hello stranger,’ she grinned, bending down to give him a big hug. ‘Ooh nice aftershave,’ she complimented him.
‘You look well,’ he grinned back at her revealing his straight teeth. ‘Nice tan. How was Thailand?’
‘Amazing,’ Amber replied. ‘You should have come. We’ll have to go another time together as I’d definitely go back. There’re some islands I didn’t have time to visit, but my favourite was Ko Tao; scuba diving there was out of this world. You would have loved it.’
‘I’m jealous,’ he said, standing up. ‘Let me get the drinks. What do you want?’
‘Large hot chocolate with cream please.’
‘That sounds good. I’ll make that two,’ he responded as he walked to the till.
Amber noticed a couple of girls sitting on a table close by look in Jack’s direction and then over to her disappointedly, obviously mistaking them for a couple. Amber couldn’t deny that Jack was incredibly handsome. If he wasn’t like a brother to her, she would most likely be checking him out too. It wasn’t just his dark hair, olive skin and blue eyes, it was his confidence along with the fact he was completely unaware of how attractive he was, which was incredibly appealing. Not only that, but he was a nice guy. He had a great sense of humour and didn’t take himself too seriously. He had respect for women. He was a loyal boyfriend; though it was very rare he was ever in a serious relationship. He liked to be single just like she did. They both agreed life was easier that way. Amber knew that someday a girl would be very lucky to have him. He was a keeper and they were both very protective over each other.
‘Thanks,’ Amber said, spooning some of the sweet, fluffy cream into her mouth as Jack brought over the drinks.
‘So, are you all depressed now you’re back home in the cold?’ Jack asked.
‘Not at all. You know how much I love Christmas,’ she replied honestly. ‘I’ve missed you too. We need a night out soon. With alcohol instead of chocolate.’
‘I think you’re coming over to us this year on Christmas Day, aren’t you?’ Jack enquired.
Amber nodded. Their families took it in turns every year and they always had such fun. They usually had a big breakfast together and played games all afternoon before watching a nice Christmas film. ‘Yes, I’m sure that’s what Mum said. I’ll be buying you fake tan this year seeing as you’re so pale next to me,’ she giggled, holding out her tanned arm.
Jack laughed good-naturedly. ‘I’ve just been busy with work. You know I’d have gone with you if I could have. Drinking and partying with you in Thailand sounded a lot better than staring bored out of my office window.’ He looked up at her, ‘Meet any nice men while you were away?’
Amber grinned mischievously. ‘A few. I met one guy I really liked, but he was from Perth in Australia. Not exactly around the corner.’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘I’ve always wanted to go to Australia though. It’s definitely next on my list.’
‘Shame,’ he said genuinely, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
Amber turned up her nose. ‘Not really. He was a nice guy, great body too, but I wouldn’t have met up with him again. You know me. I’m not after anything serious.’
‘You don’t give people a chance,’ Jack pointed out, ‘and you should. You deserve to find someone to make you happy.’
‘Coming from you,’ Amber replied with a light-hearted laugh. ‘You’re the same as me. You never give girls a chance. What about poor Jenny?’
Jack raised one eyebrow curiously. ‘Jenny?’
‘See, you don’t remember her,’ Amber said in mock outrage. ‘She was such a sweet girl. Pretty in a girl-next-door type of way, medium height, always wore a denim jacket. She was in love with you, but you brushed her off. Remember?’
‘The girl I met at that London conference last year? That Jenny? There was no spark between us,’ Jack defended himself.
‘You never allow a spark to develop, that’s why,’ Amber told him, trying to prove that he was exactly the same as her. ‘You’re seeing a new girl every time I see you.’ Not that Amber ever liked any of them. None of them seemed good enough for Jack. Jack was a catch; he had a great job in the City working in banking and she knew he was earning a very good salary. Most girls seemed to latch on to him the minute they found that out.
‘That’s another reason why I wanted to meet you today,’ Jack half-smiled, but became serious suddenly.
Amber’s heart plunged, taking her by surprise. She frowned. ‘Why’s that?’
His face exploded into a smile and his eyes sparkled. ‘I’m getting married Amber. I’m engaged.’
Amber felt dizzy suddenly as though she was dreaming. ‘What? Engaged to who?’ She felt breathless, like someone had punched her hard in the stomach. How was Jack engaged and she didn’t even know about it?
‘Her