The Christmas Wish by Tilly Tennant

Author:Tilly Tennant [Tennant, Tilly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786815309
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

The bus was packed and they’d been forced to stand. Esme loved the way Zach reached to steady her with every jolt and slide with a gentle hand to her back or arm, and she had to keep reminding herself that there was nothing romantic in it, especially in light of what Inari had told her. But the bare honesty of earlier had turned to banter again. Zach’s box was still sealed tight shut, even if Esme had allowed him to peek into hers. Her own openness had shocked her more than anything – how comfortable and easy she suddenly felt with him now that the angst of repressed sexual tension could be put to one side. At least, the sexual tension she’d clearly imagined because she’d got that situation a whole heap wrong and then some.

Darkness fell quickly, like a cloak thrown over the town as they travelled. It was so hard to get used to the idea that the sun set almost as soon as it had risen here. It should have been a depressing thought, but it wasn’t – it just made everything about this place even more magical.

Zach nudged her. ‘We’ve just crossed into the Arctic Circle.’

‘Seriously?’

‘You’re at the North Pole. How does that feel?’

‘Weird. Unbelievable. Weird, unbelievable and cold.’

Zach laughed. ‘We’ll save that review for TripAdvisor.’

Esme smiled. She liked that Zach found her silly, mixed up thoughts funny instead of annoying.

‘I feel as if there ought to be some ceremony,’ she said.

‘For what?’

‘Crossing into the Arctic Circle. Like a special certificate or something.’

‘I think you can buy those.’

Esme blinked.

‘Honestly,’ he said, laughing. ‘I’m not joking. I think you can get them at Santa’s village. We’ll look for one if you like, so you can show the folks back home.’

‘I don’t think it would get them all that excited.’

‘No? I guess not all of them. Your boyfriend sounds like a real laugh a minute for a start,’ he said, and his smile had gone now.

‘I didn’t mean just Warren,’ she said.

‘Sorry, it’s just…’ He shook his head. ‘Ignore me – none of my business.’

‘You don’t need to apologise. He can be grumpy but it’s not his fault. He’s got a lot on his plate. Money troubles and everything.’

What she neglected to mention was the reason why Warren had money troubles. But if Zach didn’t think much of him now, the revelation that he’d been funding a double life, sharing a flat with both her and his wife Shelly in two separate locations would certainly not help Zach to change his mind. Not that it mattered what Zach thought of Warren, of course. Though, now that she thought about how it might sound if she said it out loud, she could see why Zach might not have approved. It did sound pretty bad. And, if she was honest, his opinion mattered. Not about Warren, but about Esme putting up with it. About how she’d forgiven the unforgivable even though everyone had told her she was crazy. It

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