Page 50 of A Very Crumbleton Christmas
Merry Christmas! Gone down to the beach for a dip. I’ll be back to make you breakfast before you know it!
Just Jack x
P.S. Waking up next to you = best present ever!
‘Soppy git,’ she murmured, grinning down at the words as the perfect dream she’d been having merged with reality.
Because… it was all real.
After heading back inside the Dolphin and Anchor to continue celebrating with the rest of the town, it hadn’t taken Jack long to realise that his ride back to Crumbleton Sands wasn’t going to happen. Brian had got his wires crossed, thinking Jack had somewhere to stay in Crumbleton for the night, and had been indulging in the fortified mulled wine with abandon.
Caroline had been more than happy to swoop to the rescue, and the pair of them had held hands all the way back to her little flat. After demonstrating quite how tiny and cramped her sofa was – and the fact that it really wasn’t a suitable spot for a Hollywood star to spend the night – Caroline had offered an alternative arrangement which was far more comfortable… even if it had produced a great deal of giggling.
On Christmas Eve morning, the pair of them had dashed around the town for some last-minute supplies. Then Caroline had driven Jack back to his beautiful seaside home… and simply never left.
‘I can’t believe I’m here for Christmas!’ she whispered, still in shock about the fact that this was real rather than some delicious dream.
Jack’s scruffy, motheaten sofa had been proved to be a far more comfortable spot than her own. The pair of them had spent most of the previous afternoon tangled together in its depths, laughing, sipping chocolate and kissing as the wood burner crackled merrily in the background. Caroline knew for a fact that she’d remember those hot chocolate-flavoured kisses for the rest of her life.
Giving a delighted wriggle in her festive PJs, Caroline turned her attention to the little wrapped present. Should she wait for Jack before she opened it? Surely not… considering he’d left it on his pillow for her?
With a shrug, Caroline promptly tore into the wrapping paper to reveal an ornate box. Light blue with a familiar monogram - the kind of box that came from a seriously posh jewellery shop. She swallowed nervously. Surely… surely it was a bit too soon for something like this?
With shaking fingers, Caroline popped open the lid… and let out a loud snort of laughter. Nestled on a bed of duck-egg blue velvet was an ugly, yellow plastic bracelet – complete with several glittering “diamonds”. Next to it was a scrap of paper.
To go with your engagement ring!
Caroline promptly took it out of the box and pulled it onto her wrist. It was… perfect.
Scrambling from beneath the cosy covers, she hurried over to the window and pulled the curtains back. It was snowing again. Not a heavy flurry like the storm that had stranded her here in the first place – but soft, delicate flakes fluttering from a silvery sky.
Could there be a more beautiful sight to wake up to on Christmas morning?
Caroline’s eyes drifted beyond the dunes to the sea. She could swear she could just make out two tiny dots of colour – a Santa hat and a swim float cutting through the chilly waves. She watched for a long moment… and then jumped into action.
Scuttling over to the foot of the bed, Caroline pulled her warm, fluff-lined boots onto her bare feet. Then she grabbed Jack’s giant sweatshirt from the trail of clothes he’d discardedthe previous night and pulled it right over the top of her pyjamas.
It was time to head down to the beach. After all – how often was she going to get to spend Christmas morning by the sea with a hunky Hollywood actor?
The thought made her heart sink. She didn’t ever want this dream to end… and yet, even if Jack wasn’t going to be filming in New Zealand, he was bound to leave for another job before too long, wasn’t he?!
Shaking her head, Caroline put the thought to the back of her mind as she pelted down the stairs towards the front door. She was here now, and she was going to make the most of every second of this magical Christmas.
Cutting around the corner and hopping over the spot in the fence Jack had shown her the previous day, Caroline made her way across the dunes and onto the beach. As she approached the frothy shoreline where the gentle waves rushed in to greet her, Jack turned and started swimming in her direction.
Caroline wrapped her arms around herself, snuggling deeper into her pilfered sweatshirt and wishing she’d thought to grab a hat as the breeze swirled dancing snowflakes around her.
‘Hey, Mr Film Star!’ she called, as Jack hauled himself out of the sea and came dripping towards her in his wetsuit, Santa hat still perched on top of his head. ‘Merry Christmas!’
‘You too!’ said Jack, grinning at her as he approached. ‘Fancy seeing you here – but you didn’t have to come down to freeze just because I’m an idiot.’
‘It’s not often I get to walk to the beach in my PJs on Christmas morning,’ said Caroline.
‘Yeah – I do see your point,’ said Jack. ‘Though I’m looking forward to making it a new tradition.’
‘What, back in California?’ said Caroline, doing her best to rein in a little pout and failing miserably.
Jack shook his head. ‘Here. I’m staying put.’
