Page 28 of Christmas Romance Galore!
I trembled to my core, but still managed to smile at Sophie and walk casually out of the shop. Even though every bone in my body wanted to sprint out of there at 100mph.
Holly was sat at her usual table with a few of her workmates when I walked in. The bar was jam-packed as I knew it would be on a Friday night after work, but that was perfect as it took my mind off what had just happened.
“Hey!” Holly got up and pulled me into a hug. “One of my all-time favourite people — let me get you a drink!” She disappeared to the bar and reappeared in record time with a piping hot mulled wine for me. “You okay? You look weird.” Her face was flushed and she was peering at me up close.
I shook my head and smiled. “I’m fine — just been a long day. But this,” I said, holding up the wine, “is just what the doctor ordered.”
Holly grinned. “Just call me Doctor Holly!”
Holly shuffled her work colleagues around the table so I could squeeze in. I knew them all pretty well with Holly being the team leader, and they were a friendly bunch. I was glad of their warmth tonight as this was exactly what I needed — to be cocooned and shielded from the mad world outside these walls. In this pub, with these people, I was safe from Nicola Sheen and everything she represented.
“So how was Ivy the other night?” I asked Holly. “You said it was okay on text, but I want the juicy details. Was she creepy? Stained green?”
She smiled at me, but it was in black and white. “She wasn’t creepy or green. It’s a bit early to tell if we’re going to exchange rings and get married any time soon, but you know, it was an okay first date.”
“Did you kiss?”
Holly went all coy. “A goodnight kiss — nothing major. But we’re going out again tomorrow night, so who knows?” She took a sip of her beer, and looked away briefly. “How about you?”
I shook my head and laughed. “Spanish Vixen was yet another of my disaster dates that I’m thinking about starting a blog about. Perhaps a book too, then a mini-series. I think it’d go down well. A bit like her.”
Holly raised an eyebrow. “What happened this time?”
“Let’s see,” I said, spreading my hands. “She tried to sell me life insurance, and then if I bought it — and only if I bought it — she promised me the best orgasm of my life.”
Holly nearly spat her drink out. “That’s a unique sell,” she laughed.
“It’s only a matter of time before she’s on The Apprentice,” I replied, exhaling. After what had just happened in the bridal shop, thinking about Max was light relief.
“You’ve got her number, right?” Holly was smiling her lopsided smile. “Just in case I have a life insurance emergency.”
“On speed dial, of course.”
We both smiled at each other.
“And any more dates in the pipeline?”
I shook my head. “I’m a bit dated out, to tell you the truth.”
Holly frowned. “But you’re on a schedule — you’ve got to get a girlfriend by Christmas.”
I shrugged. “Yeah well, that might have seemed like a good idea initially, but now I’m not so sure. I’m exhausted and not getting anywhere fast, so I might give it a break for a bit. See where life takes me and stop chasing my own tail. I could do with some peace and quiet.”
“This is a change of pace,” Holly replied. “I thought this was do or die, nobody moves until this project is complete?”
“It was, but now I’m a bit over it. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world. I’m cool with it.”
Holly frowned. “Well I’m not okay with that. You’re going to get a girlfriend by Christmas. It’s my personal mission.”
I took another sip of my mulled wine and gave her a look. “Have you been drinking already?”
She giggled slightly. “Only a couple.” Then she put her arm around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
The world always felt like a safer, warmer place with Holly’s arm around me and I was glad that with the likes of Nicola, Jenny and Max in the world, it was Holly I came home to, Holly who was always there to talk.
I could rely on Holly in ways I could never dream of with anybody else in my life.
Saturday December 10th
