The 14 Days of Christmas

“Sebastian can help Celia decorate the Manor this evening, can’t you, Sebastian?” Ivy asked.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “Whatever you need, Granny.”

“No need,” I said. “I can get it done.”

“Two pairs of hands will mean you’re home and tucked in bed early. Sebastian should definitely help,” Keely said, glancing at Peter.

“I agree,” Peter said. “We all need a good night’s sleep when we’ve got such a busy day ahead of us.”

I glanced up at Keely and then Peter. Why did they care if I had help decorating the tree? And if they did, why didn’t they offer their own assistance?

“Like I said,” Sebastian said. “I’m happy to help.”

“Great!” I said, not entirely meaning it. I needed to think straight and come up with solutions. I could already feel Sebastian’s presence blurring my focus, and that’s the last thing I needed. “I’ve pulled all the decorations out of storage, so I’ll show you what we need to do.”

The meeting dispersed, leaving just Ivy, Sebastian, and me in the sitting room.

“I’ll leave you two to catch up,” I said, “and make a start on the decorations.”

“No, no, no,” Ivy said, waving her walking stick in my general direction. “We’ve got plenty of time for catching up. We need decorations. Sebastian, go on with Celia and help her, if you would.”

Sebastian nodded and I led the way into the the reception area, where the decorations were all waiting. Life couldn’t get any better than decorating for Christmas, with an endless soundtrack of festive music piped through the reception speakers. Unless two extra Christmas market huts magicked their way onto the green overnight.

“Thank you for agreeing to help,” I said. “But I have to insist on having the final sleigh on the placement of decorations.” I beamed up at him, delighted at my joke, but his face didn’t register a glimmer of a smile. I was going to have to up my pun game.

I waved to Eve behind the reception desk, a phone tucked under her ear as she typed on the computer in front of her. She smiled, then her eyes slid to Sebastian and her cheeks bloomed pink. I glanced at Sebastian to find he wasn’t even looking at Eve. He’d spotted the boxes of overspilling decorations by the desk. Apparently, he could make a grown woman blush just by being in the same room as her.

It was hardly surprising. Now he was standing next to me, it was even more obvious how very tall he was. And his dark hair was just starting to curl at the ends . . . I had to stop myself from reaching up to feel how the glossy strands felt between my fingers.

I placed my palms on my cheeks, trying to register the heat factor on my own face. I’d just have to pretend it was windchill.

“I bet you’re excited to be in Snowsly for Christmas,” I said, keeping my gaze on the tree. If I didn’t look at him, I wouldn’t notice how handsome he was. It was unlikely to work, and I’d probably have to sacrifice sleep tonight to find a solution to the hut crisis. Sebastian wasn’t easy to ignore. “Ivy hasn’t stopped talking about how yule be home for Christmas.”

“Snowsly isn’t home.” He sounded like I’d told him he looked a little overdressed in his deliciously well-cut suit, rather than made one of the all-time best Christmas puns I’d ever thought up. It was some of my best work. Maybe he was tired?

“What do you do?” I asked, trying to get him to open up a little. He seemed rather stiff.

“I own my own recruitment business.”

That sounded impressive, though I wasn’t sure what to say in response. I settled on, “That must be fun.” I bent to figure out what had been pulled out of storage. “Oh, look.” I pulled open the cardboard box full of the Snowsly Annual Christmas decorations. “This is like leafing through Snowsly’s Christmas history.” Each year, Keely designed a Christmas decoration for the Christmas tree on the green. Ivy placed the ornament on the tree every year at the opening of the Christmas market. A couple of years ago, we’d started to sell replicas at select market stalls. I pulled out a glass snowman bauble. “2018. A lovely one. So festive.” I placed it back in his cardboard holder. “2019 was my favorite though.” I scanned the decorations, lifting corners of tissue paper, trying to find the glittery elf that encapsulated Christmas for me—he was merry and bright and everything that Christmas should be.

“Shall we focus on the present rather than the past?” Sebastian asked from behind me.

I grinned, delighted at his joke. “I like what you did there. I get it—Christmas present. I love a good Christmas pun.”

He gave me a look like I’d completely lost my baubles. “I can assure you that I will never make an intentional Christmas pun. Not ever.”