All the Romance You Need This Christmas: 5-Book Festive Collection. Romy Sommer
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pushed his hands through his hair, roughing it up, shaking it out, and Tyler watched in amusement from the comfort of the sofa as his friend ran around like some nervous teenager, getting ready for what Tyler could only assume was one hot date.
‘Y’know, mate, I can almost forgive you for deserting me yesterday afternoon because watching you right now is classic entertainment as far as I’m concerned. She must be one amazing woman to have you in this state.’
‘What state?’ Zac asked, stopping what he was doing for a second to look at Tyler. ‘I’m not in a state.’
‘Yeah. You are. Look at you! It takes you ten minutes to get ready when you come out with me and the guys, but tonight you were in that shower for half an hour.’
Zac ignored him, turning back to check his reflection in the mirror. If truth be told he was nervous, but that was only to be expected, wasn’t it? This was all happening really quickly, but at the same time he didn’t want to waste time taking things too slow because he didn’t want to risk messing things up. Meeting Jessie, it was something he’d never thought would happen, not after Evie. After Evie he hadn’t thought he’d ever feel this way again, but the fact that he did, and that Jessie seemed to feel the same way too, that was something he couldn’t ignore. Fate. Four letters that could change everything.
‘So, this mystery woman you’re meeting, then?’ Tyler went on, jumping up off the sofa. ‘She must be something really special. To have you running around like this.’
‘She is,’ Zac said quietly, staring at his own reflection for a few seconds, remembering everything that had gone on in the past, all those things that had helped seal his decision to come here to Lapland. Because he hadn’t just come here to ski, he’d come here to find something – and now he was sure he’d found it. ‘She really is.’
‘Do I get to meet her then?’ Tyler asked, cracking open a can of beer.
Zac turned around, grabbing his jacket from the back of a dining chair. ‘Come on, Tyler. It’s a bit soon for all that. I mean, I haven’t even had a chance to get to know her myself yet, have I?’
But even as Zac said that he knew, deep down inside, that he already knew everything he needed to know about her. He already knew.
*
The taxi dropped me off close to the restaurant in town, so I only had a few metres to trudge through the snow, the still-rising excitement I was feeling at the thought of seeing Zac again making me forget how cold it was.
Pushing open the double, glass-fronted doors of the restaurant I was hit with a wall of warmth as I stepped inside and stopped for a second, whipping off my hat and shaking out my hair as a smiling maitre d’ approached.
‘Let me take those for you,’ he said, relieving me of my outdoor wear, which was a relief. The sudden temperature changes you experienced in Lapland still took some getting used to – out in the freezing cold one minute, ensconced in the cosy warmth of a beautiful little restaurant the next. ‘We have a cloakroom, just over there, where you can collect your things when you leave.’
‘Thank you,’ I replied, surreptitiously scanning the room to see if I could spot him.
‘Are you meeting someone?’ the maitre d’ asked.
I obviously hadn’t been quite as surreptitious as I thought I’d been.
‘Erm, yes. I am. But I don’t think he’s here yet.’
‘You can wait by the bar,’ he smiled. ‘We have a seating area just over here, in front of the fire.’
‘Thank you, again.’ I walked over to a group of chocolate-brown and cream sofas dotted with red and silver cushions, a large, beautifully decorated Christmas tree taking centre stage by the window in the corner of the cosy seating area. As I sat down, sinking back against the soft cushions, an instant feeling of relaxation swept right over me and I closed my eyes for just a second, letting the events of the past few days sink in. For the past year I’d locked myself away almost, leaving the house only to go to the shop or to visit mum and dad, not wanting to go anywhere or do anything else because nothing felt right without Jase. We’d done everything together for over ten years, so doing anything without him just hadn’t felt right. And I hadn’t wanted to share things with anyone else, hadn’t wanted to dim the memories of our time together with new memories of someone else. But with Zac, things were different. With Zac, those memories would never be dimmed; they’d only be added to because, with Zac, there came hope. Hope that I could have another chance at happiness. And that was giving me the strength I needed to start living again. It had made me feel as though a lead weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Even though the guilt at betraying Jase still lingered, there in the back of my mind.
‘You look deep in thought.’
I opened my eyes and saw him, standing there. And even though it had only been a day since we’d shared a hot chocolate in Café Aurora, the sight of him took my breath away.
‘These sofas are just a little bit too comfortable,’ I smiled, standing up as he walked over to me, gently kissing me on both cheeks, and the second his lips touched my skin a shiver shot right through me and it was all I could do not to gasp out loud.
‘It’s so good to see you again,’ Zac whispered, shoving his hands in his pockets, glancing down at the floor briefly before lifting his head back up, his eyes meeting mine.
‘Yeah. It’s good to see you too,’ I said quietly, a sudden feeling of nervousness – awkwardness, almost – filling that small seating area with the magical Christmas tree and the fairy lights hanging in the window.
Zac shuffled from foot to foot, his hands still stuffed deep in his pockets. ‘I’ll go get us some drinks,’ he said, breaking the sudden silence that had descended over us. ‘Red wine? Or… would you prefer white?’
‘Red would be… red would be great, thanks.’
I sat back down, leaning back against those incredibly comfortable cushions as I watched him walk over to the bar. The sudden air of awkwardness bothered me slightly because, yesterday, in Café Aurora, I’d thought we’d moved past that, thought we’d managed to overcome – bypass, even – those initial shy moments that sometimes happen in the very early stages of a relationship. Was that what was happening here? Were we in the early stages of a new relationship? I hadn’t felt uncomfortable with him when we’d shared that hot chocolate, so why did I feel ridiculously shy around him now? Had I felt that way when I’d first met Jase? I couldn’t remember. I turned away from watching Zac at the bar and looked out of the huge picture window, focusing on the Christmas lights and the snow and the people in the restaurant opposite as they sat eating and chatting and laughing, probably looking forward to the celebrations that were almost upon us.
Letting my mind wander for a second I thought about how Christmas used to be, when Jase was here. How we’d always put the tree up in early December so we could make the most of it, because we’d both loved the build-up to Christmas Day almost as much as the day itself. We’d fill the house with old-school decorations, paper chains and hanging lanterns made out of that foil stuff that’d been the norm back in our childhood days of the 70s. We may not have had any kids but we’d both been big kids ourselves when it had come to the festive period, writing present lists that we’d leave lying about in the hope that the other would see it, baking Christmas cookies and mince pies to serve at our regular run of parties we’d hold most weekends leading up to the big day. Christmas had been all about making sure the house was filled with the smell of mulled wine, filled with people popping round to share our love of this special time of the year. Christmas had always been our time. Of course, we’d spend Christmas Day itself with both our families, but after tea we’d always end up back at our cosy little home in front of a roaring fire where we’d sit and cuddle while watching Christmas-night TV, sipping yet more mulled wine and eating chocolates. We never did anything extravagant; there was never any great amount of money spent, because we’d just never had it. Although, we’d saved up for so long for our trip to this beautiful