“Oh Sebastian,” I said, sad for him. “How much you miss.” I exhaled. “Anyway, you’re right. We need to get on. I’m just being sentimental because these are a beautiful reminder of happier—I mean, happy times.” I had to focus on the good stuff. Not every Christmas would be ruined just because last year had been so difficult.
Sebastian didn’t respond. He just stared at the boxes, his mouth set into a hard line and a sadness in his eyes I didn’t understand.
“Let’s start with the tree,” I said, pulling out the oversized red duffle bag. “So . . . where is home if Snowsly isn’t it for you?” I asked.
“London.”
“Oh, I’ve not been to see the decorations there in forever,” I replied. “The Bond Street lights are always my favorite. What’s the theme this year?”
He frowned. “How would I know?”
I had to force my smile a little. How could he not know? “Ahhh, I bet you do all your Christmas shopping online. I like to go out to the shops and drink in the atmosphere, but you must be very busy running your own company.”
Sebastian sighed, ignoring my invitation to elaborate. “The tree is in this bag? It’s big enough to store a couple of corpses.”
“What a unique way to measure volume,” I said, giving him a sideways glare. “Perhaps you could investigate another storage solution for any bodies you may have. We reuse this bag every year.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. Finally! He did have a sense of humor, but one suited to jokes about murder rather than puns about Christmas.
“Lucky for us the lights are all on the tree, so we just have to do the fun stuff.”
Sebastian snorted and his stern expression replaced any hint of a smile. “None of this is fun.”
“What do you mean?” I unzipped the bag and dragged out the bottom third of an artificial tree. The ones either side of the entrance were potted and real, but it was much easier to keep reception neat and tidy if needles weren’t falling on the floors constantly. And then there was the incident with a resident’s dog the year before last that no one wanted to relive. “We get to put on the baubles, the felt reindeer, the candy canes. We get to arrange them all and make everything look perfect. We’re going to have a whole mountain of fun.” We just needed the scent of mulled wine and mince pies and I’d be in Christmas heaven.
“Doesn’t the incessant Christmas music drive you completely crazy?” Sebastian asked as I passed him the plug for the lights on the tree, which he put into the socket I indicated by the side of the reception desk.
“Crazy happy?” I asked. “I’ve been known to sneak on a bit of Bublé’s Christmas album as early as August.”
He rolled his eyes. “What’s next?” he said, glancing between the duffel bag and the stand I’d placed on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. The light from the windows would make sure the baubles glittered day and night. It was going to be spectacular.
“The bottom of the tree needs to go in first.” I strained to lift it before Sebastian, getting the gist of what was going on, pulled it from my arms and unceremoniously dumped it into the stand. “Right. Thank you.”
“Next section?” he asked.
“I learned my lesson last year that you need to fluff before plugging in the next piece of trunk.”
“Excuse me?” Sebastian said.
“Like this,” I said, pulling down the branches and fluffing them up so they came to life. Almost.
Sebastian sighed and began working on the other side of the tree.
“You know, you might find it more comfortable if you changed out of your suit.” Presumably he had a change of clothes. He looked a little out of place in such formal attire.
“And into my Christmas jumper?” He nodded toward the cardigan I was wearing, which was my second-favorite Christmas jumper. It had Christmas puddings on each of the pockets and the buttons were tiny Christmas wreaths. It had held the number-one slot until last September, when I’d found the most darling jumper, which had a circle of reindeer around the hem, looking into the night sky. The rest of the jumper was covered in stars that actually lit up. I was saving it for Christmas Eve. Maybe I’d actually get to wear it this year for the first time.
“Absolutely” I said. “I can hold the fort here while you change if you like.”
He rolled his eyes and I winced. He’d been joking. “I’m good. Can we slot the next section in?”
I glanced at his side of the tree. It wasn’t quite how it needed to be. “Hmmm, just a second,” I said, shuffling around the tree. “Why don’t you check my side and I’ll do yours. Two pairs of eyes are better than one.”