Page 75 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
‘You’re not allowed up here!’ Ollie sat up and pulled the sheet against her chest.
‘It’s possibly not his fault if you left the stair gate open when you went to make coffee,’ Max said, folding his arms behind his head.
‘I’ll get up in a minute,’ Ollie told her dog sternly, then turned to Max. ‘What were you going to say?’
‘It can wait until later.’ When she pouted, he laughed, leaned up to kiss her, then swung his legs over the side of the bed. ‘If we’re going to fit all these films in before dinner, we’d better make a start.’
‘I seem to remember you having a go atmefor being too organised about relaxing,’ Ollie said, following him to the bathroom.
‘The woods out back will be decimated by all the Yule logs the two of us are going to need.’ Max pulled her into the shower with him and turned it on, the ice-cold water making her squeal. He wrapped his arms around her until it warmed, the gentle steam circling them until Ollie was cocooned by it, and by the man who, she had already come to realise, she was hopelessly in love with.
The four of them sat around Liam’s sturdy dining table, Henry lay in front of the fireplace, and their talking and laughter drowned out the classical Christmas music in the background. Liam had decorated the table with sprigs of holly from the tall tree behind the farmhouse, and candles flickered gently down the centre, their berry-scent thickening the air.
Ollie cradled a glass of mulled wine, the heat warming her palms, while Liam dished out huge helpings of shepherd’s pie from an orange terrine that was still sizzling from the Aga.
‘It’s not very festive, but it’s the one thing I know how to do well,’ he said, as he handed Max a full plate, and Marion added a spoonful of broccoli and green beans.
‘It smells delicious,’ Max said. ‘Thanks for inviting me.’
‘It’s good to see you again, son.’ Liam served himself last and sat down, pulling his chair close to the table. ‘Especially as Ollie’s been going on about you so much. You’ve been a ghostly presence here anyway: much better to have you in the flesh.’
Ollie dipped her head, hiding her smile. She couldn’t even be annoyed at Liam’s teasing, because it was all true.
‘Is that so?’ Max held his arm out, across the table, and Ollie took his hand. ‘I expect everyone in Sea Brew feels the same, except that Ollie turns up at least once a day, so they get to see the object of my affections.’
‘You’re the talk of the town,’ Marion said, spearing a broccoli floret with her fork. ‘The wordbesottedhas been used on more than one occasion.’
Ollie didn’t want Max to feel awkward, so she changed the subject. ‘Liam, I spoke to Melissa earlier, and she told me she was going to be in Portugal for Christmas. Will you see her mum?’
‘Briony’s in Edinburgh with her husband,’ Liam said. ‘I had been hoping to see Colm, Melissa’s brother, but he’s delayed his flight again.’
‘Is he still in Australia?’ Ollie had met Melissa’s younger brother a few times, years ago, when she and Melissa had been getting to know each other in London, but then he’d moved to Sydney. He’d been there for close to a decade.
‘At the moment,’ Liam said. ‘He’s moving back to the UK, but I don’t know if he’ll come back to Cornwall, or if he’s planning on living somewhere else. Briony says he’s told her very little, and I think I mentioned before, I haven’t spoken to Colm myself for several years.’
‘That’s so sad.’ Ollie remembered Liam saying he regretted what had happened between them, and wondered how serious it was. ‘Maybe you’ll get to see him in the new year?’
‘Possibly,’ Liam said, but from the sad droop of his mouth, Ollie got the impression he didn’t think it was very likely.
‘I need help,’ Max announced, breaking through the pall that had fallen over the table. ‘From all of you.’
‘With what, my love?’ Marion asked.
‘Next week at Sea Brew,’ he said. ‘I need to decide whether to be Santa, or a snowman. I’ve got both outfits, I just need to choose one. If I’m Santa, will that confuse the children who come in? The snowman onesie’s quite warm, but the temperature’s expected to drop tomorrow, and stay properly cold until after Christmas.’
‘Snowmanonesie?’ Marion said sharply.
‘Snowman onesie,’ Ollie repeated, unable to hold back her laughter. ‘Oh God, Max, it has to be that one! Aside from making your young customers question why Santa Claus is working in a café when he should be preparing for his annual around the world trip, everyone needs the joy of you in a snowman onesie.’
‘You think?’ he asked, his eyes twinkling.
‘Absolutely.Ineed that, anyway. And I would put money on me not being the only one.’
Marion sipped her wine and said, ‘And what, may I ask, does one wear beneath a snowman onesie?’
Max opened his mouth to reply.
‘I’m rather concerned, Marion,’ Liam cut in, ‘about your sudden obsession with underwear. Let us refrain from telling each other about our choice of delicates.’ He shook his head, as if clearing some unwanted image, then looked between Ollie and Max. ‘I want to hear which legends you’ve been researching.’
