All the Romance You Need This Christmas: 5-Book Festive Collection - Romy Sommer

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you know the kind of thing.’

      ‘Hand-crafted by you?’ Zac asked, finishing off the last of his hot chocolate.

      I nodded. ‘I make everything from friendship bracelets to necklaces and earrings, greetings cards, photo-frames… If people want me to make something special for someone I’ll certainly have a go; it’s that kind of shop – friendly, a touch off-beat, a little bit bohemian… Mind you, I have had one or two strange requests for gifts. I was even asked to make a Ouija board once.’

      Zac raised an eyebrow. ‘And…?’

      I shook my head. ‘No. I won’t touch that kind of stuff. I mean, I’m quite a spiritual person but… I guess I’m just not comfortable messing with things I don’t really understand. There are lots of other ways of…’ I broke off, suddenly remembering those visits I’d made, just after Jase’s death, to Spiritualist churches, mediums, anybody I could find who I’d thought could try and help me make some kind of contact with Jase, so desperate had I been in those first few months after he’d left me. I’d spent so much time just needing to know that he was okay, needing to know that he was somewhere, that he hadn’t just disappeared and left me all alone without any chance of ever seeing him again. I’d needed something to hold onto. And, even now, it was still something I needed.

      ‘Listen, Jessie, I know this is crazy because we’ve only just met but… I really want to see you again. I mean, really want to see you again. And I’ll understand if you think I’m just some weird guy you don’t want to have anything to do with, but…’

      ‘I want to see you again too,’ I smiled. How could he possibly think any different? And there was me thinking I was the crazy one, the one who was giving out signals he might find just a touch too worrying for a woman he’d only just met. Yet here we both were, displaying the same feelings, and that had to be fate, didn’t it? Nothing was telling me this was wrong, nothing was telling me this was dangerous and I should back off. Nothing was telling me anything like that, so it had to be right, didn’t it?

      ‘Good. That… that’s great,’ he grinned, his face lighting up and my smile seemed to show no signs of disappearing any time soon either. ‘So, how about dinner then? Tomorrow night?’

      ‘That sounds great. I’d really like that… Zac? Can I ask you something?’

      ‘Sure. Of course you can.’

      ‘Do you believe in… do you believe in fate?’

      He looked at me, those green eyes of his staring right into mine. ‘Yeah, I do. Why?’

      I shook my head, pushing away my empty hot-chocolate mug. ‘No reason. I just wondered.’

      ‘Do you?’ he asked.

      I looked up at him, up into those beautiful eyes of his. ‘Yes. I do. I really, really do.’

       Chapter Seven

      ‘What’s happened to you, Jess?’ Matt asked as I ran around my room, frantically trying to find my favourite pale-green eye shadow that went so well with my dark hair. I’d never been one to wear all that much make-up, preferring the natural look, but this eye shadow had been a staple in my make-up bag. I’d always worn it whenever Jase and I had gone out anywhere, and that’s why I needed to find it now.

      ‘Nothing’s happened to me, Matt.’

      ‘Yeah. It has. For a couple of days now you’ve avoided hanging out with me, preferring to mooch around town for hours on end…’

      ‘I haven’t been “mooching” anywhere, as you put it. I just haven’t felt much like skiing, that’s all. And you know that’s not the main reason for me coming here anyway.’

      Matt leant back against the wall, folding his arms. ‘So, and I might be wrong here, Sis, but, I’m going to hazard a guess that all this effort you’re making tonight, well, you’re not dressed up like that just to have pizza with me and the lads, are you? Although, Gary’s always had a bit of a crush on you so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind copping an eyeful of you in that get-up.’

      I looked at myself in the mirror. Had I really made that much of an effort? Due to where we were, dresses weren’t the ideal thing to wear – heels weren’t exactly a safe or practical footwear choice in the snow – so I’d decided on skinny black jeans and an off-one-shoulder, loose-fitting, pale-green top, leaving my hair down because anything more elaborate would only go to waste anyway the second I stuck a hat on it, and there was no going anywhere without a hat in this place. Not if you wanted to feel your head for the rest of the night. It was an outfit that, okay, was probably a touch more “glamorous” than the kind of stuff I usually wore, but the skinny jeans meant I could wear boots other than my snow boots, and it was an outfit that wasn’t going to get crumpled or creased underneath my thick padded jacket. I just hadn’t been aware that I’d gone to any real effort. I’d just wanted to look nice.

      ‘You’ve met someone, haven’t you?’ Matt asked, a grin spreading across his face. ‘You have! You’ve met someone! That’s why you haven’t wanted to hang around with me, Gary and Jake. Good for you, Sis! I knew this holiday would do you good; it’s just what you need. A little bit of fun.’

      I turned away from the mirror and leant back against the dressing-table, noticing the almost relieved expression on my brother’s face. I couldn’t really lie to him, could I? It was quite obvious that I hadn’t got dressed up to go to dinner by myself, Matt had already sussed that. But, at the same time, he didn’t need to know too much about Zac either. Not yet. I didn’t want anything to spoil what I’d just found – another possible chance at a happiness I’d been convinced I’d never experience again.

      ‘Okay, yes, I’ve met someone,’ I sighed, trying not to let my smile get too big, trying not to let Matt see just how happy I really was.

      ‘I knew it!’ Matt whooped, before coming over and hugging me tight, swinging me round. ‘Believe me, Jess, it’s just what you need. After all this time… So, who is it then? You said you’d met someone – Mikku? That was his name, wasn’t it? A Sami guy?’

      I shook my head, resuming my hunt for the green eye shadow, breathing an inner sigh of relief as I found it nestled underneath a compact of pressed powder. ‘It isn’t him. He’s just a friend.’

      ‘So… who are you having dinner with tonight, then?’ Matt asked, watching me as I tried to apply the eye shadow, my hand shaking slightly. ‘And where did you meet him?’

      ‘Jesus, Matt, can we quit with the brotherly interrogation please? I’m not some teenager about to embark on her first date, I’m a grown-up, remember?’

      ‘I’m only concerned, Jess. Like any brother would be, especially after everything you’ve been through.’

      I closed the eye shadow compact and put it into my make-up bag, turning to look at him, smiling. ‘I know, I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a bit nervous, y’know? It’s been a long time since… since I did anything like this. Oh, and by the way, don’t you dare tell Mum I’ve met someone, okay? Not one word. It’s bad enough having you around trying to find out every last little bit of information without having her ringing up asking questions too. So keep this to yourself, alright?’

      He held up his hands, leaning over to kiss me quickly on the cheek. ‘Alright. I hear you. Okay then, I’ll leave you to it. Where’s he taking you?’

      I half-smiled as I opened the door, pushing him out of it. ‘Nice try, Matthew. I’ll see you later.’

      I shut the door behind him and leant back against it, closing my eyes for a second as a warm shiver of excitement ran right through me. Excitement. Another feeling I hadn’t experienced for so long. But, here I was, all dressed up and excited to see what the night

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