The 14 Days of Christmas

Then it struck me what was happening. She was giving me the field. A place to build a home. “Granny,” I said, unable to find the right words.

“Like I say, you might not want to build anything. In which case, congratulations you got given a shitty field for Christmas, but—”

“It’s perfect. And Celia and I—she’s a special woman from a special place, and I’m planning to spend a lot more time in Snowsly. To be with her. With you. To be home.”

Granny pressed her palm to her chest. “You’re a darling boy. You know you’re always welcome at the Manor, but . . .”

“But now I get to build my own home. And I get to be next door to you.”

She glanced up at me. “Is that okay?”

I pulled her into a hug, being careful not to knock her off her feet. “It’s more than okay. It’s the best present I could have hoped for.”

“You’ve always had a place to call home in Snowsly. And you always will.”

“Thank you, Granny.”

“Thank you for making me so proud.”

Snowsly was like one of those friends that you hadn’t seen since school but picked up like you’d seen them yesterday. It was constant. Familiar. It was everything I needed from the place I wanted to call home.

It was almost midnight by the time we got back to Delphinium Row from the Manor. I finally let go of Celia so we could get through the gate.

“I’m surprised our breath didn’t freeze in the air and then fall to the ground and shatter,” she said. “It’s so cold.”

“You know we need hot chocolate.”

She unlocked the door and I followed her as quickly as possible so I didn’t let any more cold air in than I had to.

“Or sex,” she said, checking her watch. “By the time we’ve gotten all these layers off, it will technically be Boxing Day.”

“And Boxing Day is now officially Sex Day?” I toed off my boots and unbuttoned my coat.

“Sex and Leftovers Day. Though preferably not at the same time.” Celia pulled off her Santa hat and hung it on the coat hook, like she might get one more wear out of it tomorrow. It was going to be Sex Day, after all.

I wasn’t sure I’d heard of anything so bloody fantastic. Cold pigs in blankets and sex with Celia? I might have died and gone to heaven. “Oh, and there’s something else we need to do.”

Celia turned to me, scrunching up her nose in protest.

“I’m hoping you’re going to be excited.” I pulled out the papers from my inside pocket, hung my coat on the hook, and then followed Celia into the kitchen. “Granny gave me the meadow next to the Manor, and all the necessary permissions to build a house.”

“You’re going to build a house?”

I nodded. “In Snowsly.”

We had talked about logistics of me juggling my work in London with being in Snowsly, but we hadn’t talked about where I was going to live. It was still early days in my relationship with Celia, but there was no need to prevaricate. The house I wanted to build on the meadow was for us.

“I thought we could think about what we might like that house to look like. Number of bedrooms, whether we want a formal dining room, an orangery, that sort of thing.”

She tilted her head. “What we want the house to look like. Isn’t that up to you?”

I tossed the papers on the dining table and pulled her toward me. “I hope it will be our house. That we’ll live there together when it’s done.”

She glanced around at the kitchen as if she was considering whether or not she was prepared to give it up. An instant later, her face lit up in a smile. “Yeah, I think I’d like that. On one condition.”

“Name it.” I’d take her on whatever terms she offered.

“I get to go full throttle Santa’s grotto on the Christmas decorations.”

“I would be disappointed with anything less.”

This year’s festive season wasn’t at all how I’d pictured. It had been a thousand times better. I was already looking forward to next Christmas. With Celia. In our new home. In Snowsly.

* * *

Three months later

Celia

A fizzle of excitement bloomed in my chest as I glanced around Ivy’s sitting room at Howard, Barbara, Jim, Keely, Ivy, and of course, Sebastian. “It’s so good to see everyone,” I said.

Howard frowned. “You see us all the time. I said hello to you this morning when I was out for milk and yesterday when you were walking across the green and—”

“I know, I just mean, it’s good to be meeting as a committee again,” I said. “It means Christmas isn’t that far away.”

“It’s March,” Sebastian barked. “The spring equinox to be exact. Christmas is almost as far away as it can be.”

I couldn’t dampen down my grin even if I wanted to. I enjoyed this grumpy side to Sebastian as much as I enjoyed the joyful side and his downright sexy side.