‘Yeah. No. It didn’t.’ I fumbled with the strap of my bag, the embarrassment burning my cheeks.

‘We couldn’t find anything closer than Glasgow.’ Henry spoke for the first time. ‘Bea is concerned about the increased risk of me having to drive up through the snowstorm before picking her up and then heading back south again.’

‘I have to be somewhere Christmas Eve night.’

‘With your loved ones, I’d hope!’ Melody smiled sympathetically, showing a smear of red lipstick on her tooth, and the tension in my shoulders dropped a couple of inches.

‘It’s the first Christmas I haven’t worked in years and my parents would be devastated…’

‘So you don’t have anywhere to stay?’ she asked Henry.

‘Not unless there’s room for one more in the stable.’

‘Again, far too close to the elves.’ Melody checked the iPad, jigging up and down slightly as Betty started to stir. ‘Okay, so I don’t know how to ask this discreetly, but we have quite a few people who bring staff with them, and they are more than just staff, if you know what I mean, so maybe I should just be up front about it because we haven’t got any extra rooms.’ She looked up. ‘Are you happy to share a double room? As in, the same bed?’

‘No, definitely not!’

I spoke way too loudly as Henry politely replied, ‘That wouldn’t be appropriate in this case.’

Melody ducked her head, and for a moment I thought she was trying to hide a smile.

‘Right, let me think… I could do a swap and put you in a twin, Bea, so Henry can have your room. There’s another candidate about to arrive, so she won’t know that she was supposed to be on her own. Ooh, hang on.’ She peered at the screen. ‘I think you must know her!’ She gave a couple of taps, beaming now. ‘Perfect timing!’

Melody hurried over to the front door, presumably alerted by a security camera. I tried to figure out who the other job candidate could be. I was friends with a few fellow forecasters on social media, but surely that depth of information wasn’t stored on Melody’s iPad.

Unless…

As the door swung open a horrifying revelation dropped into my head, nearly knocking me over.

‘Hi, please come in.’

‘Thank you, and I’m so terribly sorry I’m a little late.’

I swung around to face Henry. The panic must have shown on my face, because a tiny crease appeared between his eyebrows.

‘I can’t share a room with her.’

‘Why not?’ Henry bent his head closer as Melody chatted to the new guest.

‘I’ll explain later, but I would honestly rather share with the elves.’