Free Two Christmases by Anne Brooke Page A

anyway. And from the sound of what he’d written, it didn’t seem like he’d be giving up on this one so easily either.
    My own fault. Again. If I hadn’t dumped him like I had just after I met Jake, then maybe he wouldn’t be doing this now. Because I hadn’t been nice. I’d been a class one bastard about it, so I was probably getting what I deserved. I’d been drugged up at the time then too; that was the only thing that could explain it. I didn’t usually make a habit of being cruel to my exes. Now, though, all that crap was coming back to haunt me.
    I should go. No time for moping.
    Scraping back the chair, I sprang to my feet and gathered up the scraps of paper, stuffing them into my jeans pocket again to get rid of them later. It felt like they were burning a hole through the denim. At the same time, Jake’s office door swung open, and his PA, Miranda, marched in, all high-heeled shoes and executive calm.
    Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she stood stock still, holding her PDA a little closer to her chest as if I might be about to leap over the desk and mug her for it.
    Mind you, I couldn’t blame her reaction. Next to her, I must have looked like a tramp. Second-best jeans, jumper, unbrushed hair and the beginnings of stubble I hadn’t got round to shaving yet.
    “Hi.” I stumbled sideways, banging my knee on the table edge as I did so and trying not to swear. “Didn’t expect you yet. Sorry to startle you. Just thought I’d give Jake a surprise, leave him a message, you know? But then I… I decided against it….”
    Even I realized how pathetic that sounded. How very unlikely.
    Miranda glanced ’round the room, presumably to check I’d not taken anything I shouldn’t. She then pursed her lips and tried to smile. Almost as if she’d decided to be generous to the no-hoper street life that had just crawled out of her boss’s office. Snooty bitch. She’d never liked me.
    Still, I couldn’t blame her for that now. I didn’t like me much either.
    “Hello, Danny,” she said, somehow making my name sound like a newly discovered crime. I wished I had that talent. Could come in handy when I next saw Marty. “You should have spoken to me first. I’m sure I could convey any messages you might have far more easily.”
    “Yeah, sure. I’ll remember that for next time, thanks, Miranda.”
    I swaggered to the door with all the self-confidence I didn’t feel, gave her my brightest smile, and left. I could feel the steely fire of her gaze on my back all the way through the open-plan office, past the enormous gaudy Christmas tree, and toward the lift door. I was only glad I didn’t knock into any other ruddy piece of office furniture. I’d have bet a good couple of tenners that she was busy planning to disinfect Jake’s desk and chair after I’d gone. The cow.
    As it was, I only just made it to the corner of the street before seeing my boyfriend himself arrive. He was frowning, mobile clutched to his ear, and didn’t see me. But I would have given anything to kiss that frown away, smooth down that glorious fair hair, and take the both of us back to the middle of last week when everything was fine and life was good.
    I didn’t do any of those things. Instead I walked to work.
    On the way, I rang Marty. His voice mail clicked in.
    “Look,” I said, struggling to keep my voice calm. “What happened between us on Thursday. I’m sorry for it. And I’m sorry for the way I treated you earlier in the year too. It was appalling, and you’ve got every right to be angry. But there’s no need to involve Jake. We… we need to talk about this. Ring me. Please. For God’s sake.”
    I ended the call and kept on walking, trying not to think too hard. The heat on my skin in spite of the crisp air told me this wasn’t over. Not by a long, long way.
    Twenty minutes later, I was opening up the office for the small catering suppliers I worked for. Not much of a job and I spent most of the time on the