Page 38 of A Very Crumbleton Christmas
‘The one and only,’ said Caroline, doing her best not to look too smug.
‘The one you called Captain Woodentop in your last film review?’ said Milly, raising an eyebrow.
It really was decidedly inconvenient having friends who read every single word you wrote – especially when they quoted the annoying bits back at you!
‘Yes. And… Imayhave been a bit harsh,’ she conceded.
‘Caroline Cook, you’re blushing,’ gasped Milly.
‘Am not,’ muttered Caroline, mentally cursing the flush that was spreading over her cheeks.
‘Ooh, this is getting interesting,’ said Milly. ‘And you only managed to drive back this morning?!’
‘Yep,’ said Caroline. ‘And for the record, it was horrible! The marshes were a slushy nightmare, but I swear the worst part was walking up the high street. Andy’s not back, and whoever they’ve got covering for him hasn’t finished gritting the cobbles yet – it’s lethal out there!’
‘That’s an understatement,’ said Milly. ‘I bet it was terrifying in your little car - the only reason I managed to get in is because of Murray’s four-by-four.’
‘Ah, the joys of shacking up with the marsh ranger!’ said Caroline.
‘Enough about him,’ said Milly, waving a dismissive hand. ‘I want to hear all about your night with a movie star!’
‘Again – SHHHH!’ said Caroline.
‘Caroline and Ja-a-ck sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S—’
‘Nope. There was none of that!’ said Caroline, cutting her off quickly. ‘He was a perfect gentleman. Plus, he’s still completely jetlagged so he disappeared to bed at toddler o’clock, leaving me to fall asleep on the sofa.’
‘I can’t believe he didn’t have the good manners to offer you his bed!’ said Milly.
‘Dude – he offered me a four-poster of my own,’ said Caroline. ‘I just never made it upstairs. I fell asleep in front of the fire, and then he covered me up with a duvet in the middle of the night so that I didn’t get cold.’
‘So romantic!’ sighed Milly, clutching the roses to her chest.
Caroline desperately wanted to agree and let out a soppy little sigh of her own… but she didn’t dare. She was already regretting the fact that she’d told Milly this much. She knew she should stop… but she had to tell someone before she burst!
‘Not romantic,’ said Caroline, lying through her teeth. ‘Practical and… kind.’
‘What I want to know is what you were doing there in the first place?’ demanded Milly. ‘Were you working on a story? Some kind of festive fix-up?!’
‘As if I would!’ said Caroline. ‘And you have to promise not to spill the beans if I tell you.’
‘You know I won’t,’ said Milly impatiently. ‘Hurry up before Jo gets back!’
‘Okay, okay… so I’ve found our special guest for the Crumbleton Christmas lights,’ said Caroline.
‘That’s epic! Only you could rustle up a film star when you couldn’t find anyone else,’ said Milly. Then she started to giggle. ‘Shame you had to spend the night to convince him, though!’
‘Spend the night with who?’ said Jo, appearing in the doorway with a tray of coffees clutched in her hands.
Caroline winced and widened her eyes at Milly. She could swear Jo had the hearing of a bat – which was a complete nightmare when combined with Milly’s excitable exclamations.
‘No one!’ said Milly, doing her best to sound innocent.
Caroline shook her head furiously. If Jo cottoned on to the fact that they were talking about Jack, it would be all over Crumbleton by lunchtime.
‘Fine, be like that,’ said Jo, plonking the coffees down in front of them and wandering through to the back room, clearly deciding that it couldn’t be very interesting anyway.
Caroline let out a long, low sigh of relief.
