Nick looked at me, holding my eye contact like he was hoping I’d understand without him needing to spell it out. But I didn’t know what it was that I was missing here.

“If that’s how you see it.” He ran his hands around the wheel. “Elle will be back tomorrow, so I’m sure she’ll be a lot more fun. A lot more festive.”

Yup—he really, really hated me. Just as I’d finally figured out I really, really liked him. And it was all my fault.

“Well, at least she won’t do a double take at this.” I pulled at today’s Christmas jumper. “And songs like that…” I was cross with me but taking it out on him. “The little bits—they all add up, y’know? They make people happy. And if you ask me”—he wasn’t, in fact he was hardly saying anything—“they make Christmas Christmas.”

Nick tilted his head as if I was the one not understanding.

“And you don’t think there’s something more than that?”

“Nope. Actually I don’t.”

“Cool, then…” He nodded.

“Cool,” I said back.

“Oh.” He reached into the back seat and grabbed his rucksack. “Meant to say, this morning I stopped by the station and picked this up.”

He was holding something I never thought I see again—my notebook. “Holly’s Book of the Best Christmas Ever.” Had he really managed to track it down?

“Th…thank you.” I couldn’t believe he’d found it. Although something about it felt like it was written from another time.

“No problem. Now…” He flicked on the indicator. “Are you coming?”

But I had to say no. Because being around him was just making my head hurt.

I thought me and my book had the perfect Christmas all figured out—but nowhere in my plan had there been anything about meeting a boy like Nick.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Elle

I was wearing a onesie and looked like a total mess, but Little Marsh was just going to have to deal with it. I’d needed to speak to Nick—in private.

I’d shouted to Sophie that I was taking Colin out, so my disappearance wasn’t quite so bizarre. I’d almost tripped on a twin, I ran out the door so fast. Colin-human saw I was upset, and I gave him the “pretend not to notice” look, which, after a discreet double thumbs-up in my direction, he did admirably. He really wasn’t anywhere near as bad as Holly had made him out to be. But twenty-five missed calls later, and I’d still had no answer from Nick.

By my thirtieth attempt, I was getting stressed—so stressed, I took desperate measures. I messaged Logan to ask if Nick was with him. But his reply just made me even more confused.