Page 48 of A Very Crumbleton Christmas
‘Total fanboy!’ laughed Caroline. ‘So – have you finished your game with Brian?’
‘No… that’s why I came over!’ said Jack, suddenly remembering that he’d abandoned his friend mid-game. ‘I need help!’
‘Brian giving you a hard time?’ said Caroline.
‘Something like that,’ said Jack, not wanting to admit that it was actually the sight of her in her beautiful dress and antlers that had him on the back foot. ‘Pretty please come over and be on my team?’
‘Let me at him!’ said Caroline, hopping off her stool and grabbing Jack’s hand so that he could lead the way through the crowded bar back to Brian.
At the feel of her warm hand wrapped safely in his, Jack promptly lost the power of speech… but that didn’t matter.
‘Here we go!’ said Caroline, as Brian handed her the darts, a look of amused surprise on his face that she was Jack’s chosen teammate.
Caroline threw the three darts in quick succession.
‘Well,’ said Brian, his eyebrows shooting up. ‘There’s our ringer! Fifty-three. My goodness, you’ve been hiding your light under a bushel, Miss Cook!’
Caroline turned to Jack and shot him a cheeky wink.
‘Good game, good game!’ cheered Brian, positively beaming at the pair of them.
‘Only because you won,’ laughed Caroline.
‘My bad!’ said Jack with a sheepish smile.
Caroline’s stellar scores hadn’t quite been man enough to bring their team average up enough to beat Brian – not when Jack fumbled with nearly every turn he took. It turned out Caroline was even more of a distraction when she was standing close enough that he could smell her perfume.
‘I’d ask you guys for another game,’ said Brian, ‘but I think it’s getting a bit too full in here to be safe!’
Sure enough, the minute they’d come to the end of their game, the no-man’s land around the board had instantly started to fill up with festive revellers again.
‘You’re right. Plus, it’s getting hot in here,’ said Caroline, fanning her face.
‘Fancy a breath of fresh air?’ said Jack.
He still needed to tell her his news, but somehow, he didn’t think the crowded bar of the Dolphin and Anchor wasquitethe place.
Caroline nodded, smiling up at him.
‘Thanks for the game, Brian!’ said Jack.
‘Anytime,’ said Brian, grinning at him as Trish sidled over. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. ‘I hope you hang around these parts long enough for a rematch!’
Jack was about to answer when he felt Caroline’s fingers lace through his own and tug him towards the door. He just had long enough to register the look of delight on Trish’s face before he found himself being pulled through the crowd by Caroline. Theydidn’t stop until they were through the door and standing on the cobbled street.
‘That’s better!’ sighed Caroline, dropping Jack’s hand so that she could stretch her bare arms out wide. She sucked in a deep lungful of chilly air before letting it out in a long plume of foggy breath.
‘You’re going to freeze!’ said Jack, rubbing his palms together.
‘Hardly!’ said Caroline, turning her flushed face towards him, her red dress sparkling under the Christmas lights. ‘But if you feel cold, you could always put your Christmas tree bonnet back on.’
‘Good call!’ said Jack, and with a broad smile, he pulled the monstrosity back out of his pocket and pulled it onto his head, making Caroline giggle.
‘There he is, ladies and gents,’ Caroline announced to the empty street. ‘Jack Jones – international heartthrob!’
‘Oh… so you think I’m a heartthrob, huh?’ said Jack, with a sly smile.
‘There he goes again, fishing for compliments,’ giggled Caroline, still playing up to an invisible crowd. ‘So… were you hounded for your autograph the whole time you were carolling?’
