Page 72 of The Best Little Christmas Shop
‘Joseph.’ Mum gave him a warning look.
‘What? I’m just saying. First a billionaire wants to marry you and you say no –’
‘Actually, I said yes,’ I pointed out, pedantically.
‘Yeah,but then you said no.’
‘It was complicated.’
‘Whatever. And then Cal asks you out – a bloke who, by the way, half the women in this village would trample your body to get to – and you dump him after one date!’
‘We didn’t have any dates, which technically means I did not “dump him”.’
Joe cocked an eyebrow. ‘Are you still seeing him?’
‘No.’
‘So you dumped him.’
‘No! It was a mutual decision,’I said, shifting in my chair. At this statement, everyone at the table looked at me.
‘All right! Not exactly mutual but it’s … complicated.’
‘Everything seems to be complicated with you.’ Joe rolled his eyes at me.
‘Leave her alone, Joe,’ Dan said. ‘Sometimes things are complicated.’
I threw Dan a grateful glance and made my excuses to leave the table, telling Mum to give me a shout when shewanted a hand clearing up. She told me not to worry tonight and that Joe would be helping her. Joe sighed without looking up and I left the house.
A little while later, a knock on the door was followed by Dan’s voice.
‘Oi. Grouchy Pants, can we come in?’
‘If you must.’
Claire and Dan grinned as they entered the room holding coffee mugs. Apollo bounded up the steps behind them and steered hisbody past to get into the warmth as soon as possible.
‘I guess you can come in too,’ I said to him as he went straight to the radiator, turned around three times, and curled up on the dog bed I’d put there.
Dan and Claire took a seat and cosied up on the sofa. I gave Claire a glance under my lashes.. She’d been looking pale and tired ever since I got home and I’d made a comment about it to Danbut he’d assured me she was OK. Knowing that this man would move the moon for her if she asked him, I took some comfort from this, but it didn’t stop me feeling a little concerned. She was still helping out at the shop although more than once I’d taken over a task from her, under protestation, and sent her home. Swamped in a jumper that looked big enough to fit her husband, Claire snuggled intohim as she caught my eye and smiled.
‘We just wanted to check you were OK,’ she said.
I flapped a hand. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. Takes more than Joe’s particular brand of bluntness to upset me.’
Usually.
‘You know he doesn’t mean it,’ Dan said, giving his coffee a slurp.
‘I think he means what he says. He was just towards the back of the queue when tact was being handed out,’ I said, rolling my eyes.‘Honestly, I’m all right. And to be fair, he does have a point. You lot have all managed to find the right person without too much drama. Even Joe’s found someone prepared to put up with him,’ I teased. ‘So I’m not sure what that says about me.’
‘He just wants to see you happy. Just has a funny way of showing it.’ Dan shrugged. ‘Besides, it’s not that people aren’t willing to put up with you,is it? So, don’t give me that.’
‘I don’t think my particular choices have helped. As far as Joe’s concerned, he could have had a sister married to an F1 driver and had free entry to races for life. And now with Cal … well, I know everyone’s very fond of him so hurting him like I apparently have was never going to go down well. I’m just hoping screaming hordes of women aren’t going to come storminginto the shop to tar and feather me!’
Claire giggled and Dan smirked. ‘I should think they’re actually breathing a sigh of relief. So far as they’re concerned, Cal Martin is now back on the market again.’
I frowned at him. ‘He was never off the market.’
