And A Partridge on Pear Street: A Brother's Best Friend Christmas Rom-Com by H.R. Lloyd

Author:H.R. Lloyd [Lloyd, H.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“We could all use a little Christmas spirit all year round.”

NEL

What the hell is happening right now? Jake kissed me. Twice! I mean, what am I meant to do with that? He kissed me under the mistletoe last night and then gave me a completely platonic massage—if that’s even a thing. He’s flirting one minute and then drawing boundaries that keep me firmly in the best friend’s little sister zone the next. I’m both letting my excitement soar and trying to talk it down from the ledge. Jake Partridge does not have deep feelings for me. He’s obviously swept up in some Christmas fantasy and thinks a bit of holiday fun would make the weekend better. I can’t go down that road or my heart would be shredded like the wrapping paper on all those boxes under Harry’s tree, then thrown out with the rest of the recycling on Boxing Day. To Jake, I may be a fun distraction. But to me, he's always been the one guy no one could ever live up to.

After he kissed me—the second time—we didn’t have time to discuss anything as we both realised we had to hustle to catch the 11:48 back to the Surrey suburb and Pear Street. So, rather than asking him a tonne of questions about what his lips on mine actually meant, we hauled-arse back to the tube. It was positively heaving on this delightful Christmas Eve, then we battled the crowds at Waterloo only to be packed in like sardines on the train. It’s a bit difficult to talk about anything without twenty other people hearing it as we’re crowded in the vestibule. I’m pushed up against the wall by the doors and Jake is plastered to my front, his arms braced either side of my shoulders. In an empty room, it would be a compromising position. In a crowded train carriage, I get the overwhelming sense that Jake is being the buffer between me and the other bodies bumping and stumbling against each other. He’s protecting me, throwing cold glares to anyone who knocks into him and subsequently me.

When we get into his car that he’d parked at the station, I think he’s going to say something but then his phone rings; his mother calling from Australia. He’s on the phone the whole way to Pear Street where the road has been cordoned off. We’re able to park at the hotel and then start on foot to the Christmas Eve fair that’s been set up. Lisa has been working with some kind of committee and the local school to organise the Christmas Eve fair where anyone from the local area can set up a stall. Then tonight—according to the all-important itinerary—we are attending a holiday party at the Old Orchard Village Hall. Mulled wine, Santa, and reindeer included.

The fair is nearly as packed as the city. Families in big puffy coats with bobble hats and fingerless gloves roam amongst makeshift stalls. Some look professional with gazebos overhead while others are just fold out tables with handwritten signs on A4 paper.

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