Page 22 of A Very Crumbleton Christmas
CHAPTER 7
CAROLINE
They started in the kitchen - the pair of them scooping up armfuls of the printed and bound scripts that seemed to be balanced on every available surface.
Jack muttered an apology with every trip they made from the kitchen to the living room, but Caroline was thoroughly enjoying having something practical to do.
‘Just bung ‘em on the floor for now,’ said Jack. ‘I need to sort through them and get them into some kind of order.’
‘Okay,’ said Caroline. ‘Hey… do you want to do that while I grab the rest for you? You said there are more upstairs?’
‘You don’t have to do that,’ said Jack with a sheepish expression. ‘You’ve done enough already.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Caroline. ‘I’m having fun!’
‘But they’re in my bedroom,’ said Jack.
‘Doesn’t worry me,’ she said with a shrug. ‘As long asyoudon’t mind. I mean… how often will I get the chance to snoop around a film star’s house?’
‘Hmm… snoop around? See, you’re not selling me on this plan,’ said Jack. ‘Are you wearing a hidden video camera? Oh God, you’re livestreaming this whole thing, aren’t you?!’
Caroline glared at him in indignation… and then started to laugh. He was pulling her leg. Of course he was.
‘As much as I’m sure a livestream from inside Jack Jones’s house would go down a storm, there’s no way I’d do that to you – or anybody else for that matter.’
‘Good to know,’ he laughed.
‘I’m just nosy,’ she added with a shrug. ‘But don’t worry, I get it if you don’t want to set me loose!’
‘Have at it,’ said Jack easily. ‘I don’t mind. But I apologise in advance for the mess.’
‘You don’t have any skeletons up there, do you?’ said Caroline.
‘Have a look for yourself… though if youdofind any, I’d appreciate a heads up,’ said Jack. ‘I’m more of a rom-com guy than a horror fan.’
‘You know, it would bebrilliantif you made another romcom!’ said Caroline.
‘Not wooden and three-star?’
‘Stop digging for compliments,’ she snorted, clambering to her feet and heading for the door before he could change his mind about the whole thing.
‘Feel free to have a good look around while you’re up there,’ said Jack. ‘My bedroom’s the second door on the left across the hall. If you get lost, gimme a shout and I’ll come to your rescue.’
‘My hero!’
Caroline practically skipped out of the room and then made her way straight for the broad, sweeping staircase. She couldn’t quite believe that he’d agreed to her mooching around his house unsupervised… and she was going to make the most of it before he came to his senses.
‘I can’t believe I’m going to get to look inside Jack Jones’s bedroom!’ she breathed, jogging up the staircase and admiringthe beautiful light fitting at the top that dripped pendant bulbs in gleaming waves.
Before heading across to Jack’s bedroom, Caroline peeped inside a couple of rooms whose doors stood ajar. The first was set up as a little reading nook. The walls were lined with well-worn paperbacks, and there was a large, squashy-looking armchair and footstool arranged in front of the window. The second was clearly a guest bedroom – complete with a huge four-poster bed.
‘Wow!’ she whispered. If this was the spare bedroom, she could only imagine what the master one must be like…
Scuttling further along the hall, Caroline pushed her way inside Jack’s bedroom. It was just as large and airy as the room she’d just seen, but a whole lot messier!
‘Tut tut, Mr Film Star,’ she muttered, stooping to pick up a damp, slightly sandy beach towel from the carpet at the foot of the bed. Giving it a little shake, she draped it over the corner of the half-open wardrobe door so that it could dry off.
‘Right… scripts…’ she muttered, letting her eyes scan the room.
