She was excited to see what would happen next but she was also terrified. When they spoke on the phone Marc told her that this was normal and healthy and that he was terrified before every deal.
‘If you’re not scared then you’re not outside your comfort zone and that’s where the good stuff happens.’
But he hadn’t actually invited her back to Pudding Hall and she didn’t want to push in case Avian was still there. She could have a nice Christmas with Petey, but she felt sad that she couldn’t cook the meal she had planned.
Maybe she could volunteer, she thought, but Petey told her there wasn’t an actual sit-down Christmas lunch that he knew of, though he could ask around if she wanted.
‘Christmas is only two days away,’ she said. ‘This is why I want to create the dining hall one day. It would be wonderful.’
The doorbell rang and Christa, who was closest, went to answer it and when she opened it she gasped.
The twins stood tall in their puffy jackets, looking pleased with themselves.
She looked around for Marc and saw him in the car.
She hadn’t seen him since they had kissed in the kitchen and she felt a longing deep inside her.
‘Hi,’ she said. ‘Come in.’ She stepped back from the door for them but they shook their heads.
‘We can’t, we have to give you something,’ Seth said and he unzipped his jacket and pulled out a large envelope with her name written in a child’s writing on the front.
‘This is for you,’ said Ethan.
‘Thank you,’ she said and looked at Marc in the car, who smiled at her and she felt herself blush.
‘Open it,’ demanded Seth, so she did.
It was a large white card with a silver engraving of the Pudding Hall crest.
Below was printing in a beautiful seraph font in black ink.
Dear Christa,
You are cordially invited to Pudding Hall on 24th December to celebrate your birthday with cocktails and dinner and entertainment.
Dress: Formal
Time: 7pm
There was not a single mention of it being Christmas Eve or Christmas the next day. It was simply about her birthday. She looked at the boys and then hugged them both.
‘I can’t wait, thank you,’ she said, hearing her voice break with her emotion. She stood up and waved at Marc who waved back.
‘Thank you,’ she mouthed and he nodded and gave her a look that made her want to run and kiss him.
Rain started to fall and she looked up at the sky.
‘Scoot – into the car, both of you,’ she said as the rain began to fall sideways with more force than she had seen in a while.
The boys raced to the car and they waved as Marc drove away with a toot of the horn.
A formal dinner? She didn’t have a thing to wear.
Everything formal was back in London and she didn’t want to wear anything she had ever worn with Simon.
She wanted to be the new Christa, one that Simon knew nothing of.
She turned over the card to find more writing.
