Page 63 of A Winter Wish

As a change of subject it left a little to be desired, but Lexie went with it. “Growing up, yeah, it was mainly me and Mum. She always made such an effort, and we played games, and on Boxing Day we’d always go and meet friends. It was nice.” The absence of her dad in that sentence seemed to hang in the air around them, after his story. “But, ah, then I moved away and I’m usually doing something to do with work on Christmas now—or spending it with people I’ve met through work that year. I stopped wanting to come home for it,” she admitted, though that made her feel guilty, because of her mum. She sighed. “I know it sounds stupid—it was so long ago—but it never felt the same after my dad left. I was always too aware that he was somewhere else, enjoying it with his new family, and I couldn’t shake the feeling of being…”

“Second-best?”

“Yeah.” She blew out a breath. “Something like that. It’s stupid, I know,” she said again.

“It’s not.”

She glanced around. It was tidy enough. “We should go. Ange said they were heading to the Lamb.”

They walked to the front door together. “So, we have an Irish trip coming up in August,” he said conversationally. “In Warrenpoint. Ever been?”

“No—do you know what? Weirdly, I’ve never even been to Ireland.”

“Well, you should come with me, then.”

She glanced up at him, as he opened the front door a crack. “You’re going? Thought you didn’t like going to Ireland.”

“I don’t hugely love going back near Dublin, which is where I grew up, but this is Northern Ireland. Besides, Mike hates this one, so he won’t go, but we have a tricky customer coming so one of us needs to be there.”

“One?”

His lip quirked up at the corner. “Or two. Our usual local guide isn’t available this year, and to be honest I could use your help, given I know Miranda is going to make life difficult.”

“I don’t know,” Lexie said slowly, still waiting for Theo to open the door wide enough for them to step out.

“Don’t trust yourself around me?”

She huffed out half a laugh. Though really—maybe there was something in that. “The others will be wondering where we are,” she said by way of deflection.

He opened the door all the way, then very deliberately looked up. Mistletoe was hanging there. Mistletoe she was sure she hadn’t hung herself. Where did you even get mistletoe this time of year?

Lexie gave him a suspicious look. “You put that there.”

His face was the picture of innocence. “Ange did.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep. She’s big on mistletoe. She met her husband under the mistletoe one year.”

“Really?”

“No idea. Wouldn’t put it past her, though.” He waited, one hand still on the door.

She told herself it was a silly thing, playing at Christmas, a quick kiss under the mistletoe—even if the thought that he’d hung it there just for her made her want to smile.

She thought she was prepared, as she pressed her lips to his. As his hands came up her arms, a soft caress. But he didn’t deepen it. She didn’t taste the hunger like in Spain, that gut punch she’d been ready for. Instead it was slow, and sweet, and she felt her body go loose and liquid as her eyes fluttered closed. Barely a whisper of a kiss, really. Still enough to bring the heat, still enough that she had to fight not to pull him closer. More than that, though, it was enough to make her heart stutter as he pulled away and took her hand to tug her down the stairs.

She did her best to ignore it. Told herself that it was a physical reaction, that was all. Because kissing Theo was one thing. Falling for him was not an option.

Chapter Twenty-four

Lexie stepped into the Cider House and spotted Rachel at the end of the bar, adopting the default position when you’re alone in a pub—scrolling through a phone. Lexie rushed over, hot from having legged it across the city. “I’m so sorry I’m late,” she said by way of greeting.

Rachel looked up from her phone, sliding it into the pocket of her black jeans. How was Rachel not boiling? But she looked perfectly cool in her jeans and pale lilac blouse, blue eyes bright. Whereas Lexie was sweating in her summer dress. “Don’t be,” Rachel said with a smile. “I’m chronically early. It’s a condition.”

The Cider House was packed with the after-work crowd, but even so Lexie could see why Theo had suggested this place. It had a distinctly “quirky” vibe with its multicolored bar, horizontal rainbow stripes adding a fun feel, and industrial pipes on the ceiling. But it wasn’t so trendy that you felt out of place, managing to create a welcoming, homey vibe, and the people behind the bar chatted as they pulled pints. Still, despite the positive atmosphere, there was a beat of awkward silence between Lexie and Rachel.

Lexie fixed a smile to her face. “So…cider?”