I bolted upright and accepted the call.
“Everything okay?” he asked. “I got a late call from you last night.”
“Yes. No. My car broke down. We’ve been stranded in Snowsville all night. We need a lift. Or a tow or something. We had to stay overnight at the Black Swan.” I resisted the urge to over-explain.
There was only one room left.
We were forced to share.
I said I’d take the chair.
But why? Howard didn’t care, and Sebastian and I were both single. It just felt a little weird because in Snowsly, they’d only ever known me as Celia and Carl. And then just Celia.
“I’m on my way. I can tow you. We’ll get you back. See you in twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, Howard. See you soon.”
I turned to find Sebastian stretching languidly, like a big cat in the sun. “That was Howard.” I swung my legs over the bed.
“I guessed, seeing as you just called him Howard.”
“Did you just make a joke? My cup runneth over. But seriously, we’ve got twenty minutes.”
He growled, reached for me and pulled my naked body against his. He was a mixture of hard and soft, and his fingertips on my arse and his tongue on my neck threatened to pull me under. “It’s not long enough. I need you in this bed until at least New Year.”
I pulled out of his arms, feigning exasperation. The truth was, I wanted him too. I’d begun to worry that I’d never get enough, which was a problem, given he’d be gone by Christmas. I pushed the thought aside, determined not to fall into a panic spiral about a pattern of men leaving me on December twenty-fourth. “As much as that sounds like fun, I don’t want to greet Howard at the door naked. I’m getting a quick shower.”
“Need company?”
I grinned at him. “Yes, but we don’t have time.”
My phone buzzed again with a text from Keely. “And the hits just keep on coming. They’ve moved the Christmas Committee meeting to this morning at eight.”
Howard made it to Snowsville in eighteen minutes. I was barely out of the shower and Sebastian was barely dressed. It was like Howard had been waiting for my call. We crashed into the morning Christmas Committee meeting just two minutes late.
“Our wanderers return,” Ivy said, her eyes bright with questions. “Don’t worry, Howard told Barbara everything. It’s time you got a new car, Celia.”
“I’ll check it out,” Howard said. “You might just need some petrol.”
Had I mentioned to Howard that the petrol gauge read empty? Maybe Sebastian had. I’d been in my car while he and Sebastian had sat with Howard.
“Good job the Black Swan had vacancies,” Ivy said, a mischievous smile on her face. “So tell us, what’s our competition doing?”
Once we’d delivered our Snowsville debrief, Cindy on reception interrupted with a large square package wrapped in layers of brown paper.
“For Sebastian,” she said.
“Ahhh, I’ve been waiting for this,” he said. “If you checked your email this morning, you’d have seen I circulated a logo and branded graphics for the market. I’ve sent it to all the shops in the village to use in their newsletters and have requested they send something out today if possible. It will give them a good reason to contact their customers, which may well lead to increased sales either online or through in-person attendance. A win for everyone” He tore open the brown paper parcel to reveal a sign for Christmas in Snowsly. As he held it up, I couldn’t help but think how ludicrous it looked—not the sign, that was beautiful. But Sebastian, the man who hated Christmas, holding up a red, green, and white sign covered with elves popping their heads around the letters, and Santa feeding his reindeer at the bottom.
“It’s so festive,” Ivy said, clearly delighted.
“I love the vintage feel,” I said, peering closer. “It looks like it could have been from the fifties.” It was perfect for Snowsly—cosy and friendly and inviting.
“People don’t come to the Cotswolds for clean, modern lines. We’ve tried to keep it in keeping. Later today, smaller signs will arrive that can be put up on each stall. I want to run with Celia’s idea and have some of my marketing team coming up later today to set up a couple of Instagram points—picture stations—that will encourage people to post on social media and spread the word.”
Sebastian didn’t waste time. I had no idea he was so invested.
“Sounds like Snowsville were doing some exciting stuff,” Barbara said. “Have we any hope of holding on to at least some of our customers?” She sounded desperate.
“They have a lot of people from outside the village running stalls. We should consider that for next year, so we can attract an even wider audience with a bigger market. Vendors from outside the village have their own following, so we might capture the attention of people who’ve never visited us before.”