Free The Night Before Christmas by Scarlett Bailey Page B

proudly.
    ‘I wrote the jokes,’ added Jake.
    ‘Are the cracker jokes funny, Jake?’ David asked, winking at the boy as he pulled out a chair for his wife.
    ‘Really hilarious,’ Jake told him seriously, bagging the seat next to Alex, who looked first at him, grinning up at her, and then longingly at the forbidden wine. Lydia hung back, standing in the doorway as she watched her friends chatting and bustling about, picking chairs around the long table. A natural order soon emerged: all the girls would be seated at one end, with all the boys at the other, the need for a good catch-up far outweighing any boy, girl, boy, girl protocol.
    ‘Excuse me.’ Lydia jumped as she heard Jackson’s voice in her ear. Hurriedly, she stepped out of his way as he walked into the room followed by Joanna, herfriend wearing a chic, backless little black dress that stopped just about mid thigh, to make the most of her long slender legs.
    ‘Chop, chop, Lyds, I’m ravenous,’ Joanna said, eyeing Jackson. ‘Go and sit with the men, Jack, darling. You boys can bond while we girls catch up.’
    ‘Enjoy it while you can.’ Stephen grinned at the newcomer in their midst as he obediently took a seat where he was told. ‘Once this lot get together, it becomes impossible to get a word in.’
    Jack chuckled, revealing the dimple under his chin, the one Lydia used to kiss and put her finger on as they lay in bed, face to face, talking, laughing. He seemed utterly at ease, taking his banishment to the boys’ end of the table in good spirits, sitting, much to Lydia’s horror, next to Stephen. Covertly, she watched the two of them as Stephen offered to fill Jackson’s glass, and they exchanged a few friendly words.
    It wasn’t fair to say that Jackson was better-looking than Stephen, he wasn’t, not really. If anything, he was maybe a couple of inches shorter, and his cheekbones weren’t quite so perfectly cut. Stephen was too busy saving the world to work out, which Jackson had to do in order to maintain the six-pack that Lydia had run her fingers over more than once, although, in the brief time she’d known him, she never saw him go to a gym. Stephen was funny when he wanted to be, and sweet sometimes. And when the moment was right,which it admittedly hadn’t been for many months, he could be a thoughtful, careful lover. He was loyal, steadfast, honourable and reliable. He’d never skip the country, or at least pretend to, in order to get rid of her. And yet, as she watched the two of them make polite, manly conversation, she knew it wasn’t the sight of her boyfriend that was making her heart thunder in her chest.
    ‘Come on, Lyds, stop hovering,’ Katy ordered from the head of the table. ‘Jim will be arriving any minute with the food. Come and sit down.’
    Of course, there was only one chair left vacant at the table, positioned with Joanna on the right and Jackson on the left.
    Jackson smiled at her politely as she took her seat, betraying no flicker of recognition. Had he truly forgotten her? Lydia wondered. Maybe he told all the women he got into bed that they were his one and only. He looked at her now with the same polite interest that a stranger would, before turning to ask David about what sort of history he taught, prompting friendly groans from Stephen. Jim arrived with a large dish of steaming lasagne in his oven-gloved hands, and Lydia’s stomach rumbled in spite of its current state of turmoil, as the rich scent of tomato and garlic filled her nostrils.
    Now seeming much more relaxed, Katy reminded Tilly that the silver star confetti liberally scattered on the table was not to be inserted into noses, and Jakethat he had to wait until he was eighteen before he could try wine, no matter how much he pleaded, as she piled food onto every one’s plates. Lydia looked down at the sumptuous – if homely-looking – feast, but didn’t know if she could take a bite. How was it possible that Jackson – her Jackson, despite