‘Snow.’
He turned the corners of his mouth down. ‘You might have to give that one a miss. It never snows on Christmas Day.’ He leaned
down to kiss her. ‘Would be nice, though. Waking up with you on Christmas morning, snow on the ground outside, Jack asleep in bed, dreaming angelic dreams for an hour…’ He grinned. ‘Not going to happen, is it?’
‘I doubt it. But whatever happens will be perfect.’ Beth laid her hand on his chest, unable to take her eyes off the ring. ‘I can hardly believe your gran wore it for so long. It looks almost new.’
‘The best bit about it is that it’s on your finger.’ He laid his hand over hers. ‘Now, what about some champagne? I put a bottle in the fridge, just in case.’
‘Why don’t we save it for when your mum and dad get back with Jack? Where are they, by the way?’
‘Goodness only knows. I asked Mum if she could get Dad and Jack out of the way for a couple of hours to give us some time together. Before I could draw breath they were both in their coats and in the car.’
Beth giggled. ‘Does she know, then?’
Matt shrugged. ‘Well, I didn’t tell her, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s worked it out. She’s probably got Dad up a ladder in the back garden with a pair of binoculars, trying to see through the back windows, as we speak.’
The front door slammed and they both jumped. Kate’s voice sounded in the hallway, calling to Jack to come back immediately, seconds before the door flew open and Jack rushed into the room and flung himself at them.
‘Dad, come on—it’s snowing. We were on our way over to Gran’s and we had to come back, because Grandad said it was a blizzard and that we’d get stuck if we weren’t careful.
Grandma wasn’t very pleased, but he said we had to. It’s really thick, come and see.’
Matt swung Jack upwards, his arms around both him and Beth, hugging tight. Kate’s head popped nervously around the doorway.
‘Sorry, dear. If the weather hadn’t been so terrible we would have been much longer than this…’ She broke off as she saw the ring on Beth’s finger. ‘Ah! Well, that’s all right, then. Wait till George hears about this, he’ll be so pleased. He’s just putting the car in the garage.’
Jack slithered down from Matt’s grasp and stamped his foot impatiently. ‘Come on, Dad. Tell Gran to stop kissing everyone and come and see the snow.’ He tugged at both Matt’s and Beth’s hands, pulling them both into the front porch. Beth danced out into the thick, swirling flakes, dragging Matt behind her, reaching up towards an almost luminescent sky which was banked thick with cloud.
‘What’s so funny, Gran?’ Jack was wide-eyed, watching Beth and Matt hugging each other and laughing together in the snow, which had already covered the front path.
‘Gran. What’s so funny about snow?’