The Office Christmas Party: A fun, feel good Christmas cracker of a romance!. Aimee Duffy

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СКАЧАТЬ with Tom’s friends and family after. I’ve even invited the girls from the shop and their families, but all in all there won’t even be thirty people. Even if you bring a date.’

      There was no way she’d take a date. Even spending Christmas day watching the scariest horror films, she could never hide the puffy eyes from all the crying. She’d look a mess on Boxing day. She always did. ‘There’s more chance of me swimming the channel than that.’

      Rose frowned. ‘Would you prefer if we moved the wedding to spring, maybe? I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this if you don’t feel up for it.’

      Natalie shook her head. ‘I’m not going to be the reason you delay your wedding. Anyway, it’s meant to snow this year – how romantic will that be for the photos? I usually put it all away by the 26th anyway.’

      If you could call wrestling with her guilt and grief until she felt halfway normal, putting it all away.

      ‘I wish you didn’t have to.’

      ‘Me too,’ Natalie said, then sighed. ‘Anyway, let’s talk about less morbid things, okay?’

      ‘Okay then. What were you going to say before?’ Rose asked, startling her.

      Great. They’d gone from discussing Natalie’s unresolved issues with her mother’s death and Christmas, to talking about her insecurities. Well, she supposed it was now or never. The sooner she knew the answer, she supposed the sooner she could be proactive about the situation. ‘I was worried that the reason you were so down was because you were engaged, wanting to live with your fiancé and were too nice to ask me to move out, even though you wanted me to.’

      ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Nat. Of course, I want you to stay!’

      Rose looked horrified she’d even suggested otherwise.

      ‘It’s going to be different when you’re married though. I don’t want to be a third wheel and you and Tom have a life to start living. I’m going to have to go at some point.’ She just wished she’d had a chance to start up her own business first. Now it looked like her savings were going to go on security deposits and be frittered away paying the surplus in rent. God, and furniture. She’d have to start from scratch since everything in the flat belonged to Rose. Unless she could work up the courage to use her mum’s things. But that was too depressing a thought.

      As if reading her mind, Rose said, ‘You can stay in the flat as long as you like and keep our stuff. I think when we do move in on our own, it’ll be to Toms place anyway. And Tom has plenty at his house. I’d just take some of my utensils. I could even find you a roommate if you’re worried about paying my parents the rent on your own.’

      ‘Thanks. The idea of moving so soon is scary. And don’t worry, I’ll deal with the rent.’ She was determined to stand on her own two feet, and that meant demanding a wage rise from Mick the Dick. If she could work up the courage for that, then maybe, just maybe, she’d be brave enough to face sorting out her mother’s things.

      ***

      Dean slipped away to pay the bill after his mother threw him a pointed look. Tapping the company credit card against the bar, he waited for the bill to be tallied and thought again about the interlude with his little thief.

      The way she’d said his name, layered with feigned disgust made him smile. He was going to make it his mission to find out hers.

      Jeffrey appeared next to him. ‘Listen, I’m sorry about last week. That was a shitty thing for me to say.’

      Dean shrugged. ‘I wasn’t exactly acting like the best brother either.’

      His brother laughed. ‘Nah, you were acting like an arse.’

      With a grin, he replied. ‘Always.’ He knew by the way his brother clapped him on the back that the fight was over.

      ‘So who was the cute little blonde that wouldn’t go near you with a ten -oot barge pole?’ Jeffrey asked.

      Where to start with that one? ‘Not sure what her name is. We’ve crashed a few of the same parties and as far as I can tell, she goes by the name Nicole.’

      Jeffrey raised an eyebrow. ‘It looked like she wanted to rip your throat out with her nails, after she kicked you in the balls.’

      He chuckled. ‘Yeah, she probably did.’

      Then his brother got serious, studying him with a look Dean had never seen before. ‘You like her.’

      ‘She’s sexy and I want her, but that’s all there is to it.’ Christ, where did all this attentiveness come from? His brother looked like he was examining a specimen in a petri dish – Dean being the object of his scrutiny.

      Jeffrey grinned. ‘You’re a shitty liar, my brother. But I’m not going to say any more about it. Well, maybe one thing.’

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