‘That doesn’t exactly answer the question,’ Blake pushed her.

‘Why do you care, Blake?’ Sue asked him. ‘What is it about a fusty middle-aged mother of many like me that interests you?’

‘I’ll tell you,’ Blake said, leaning forward just a little. ‘You interest me. I see you, and you’re so very purposeful, full of intent. And you aren’t fazed by all of this nonsense. You take it all in your stride and talk to me like I’m a regular guy, which I am, under all the money and fame. And talent and good looks.’

Sue couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Besides, I liked that you came up to my door and asked me to help you out with the whole Santa thing. I felt like a normal human being.’

‘You are a human being,’ Sue said. ‘But I don’t suppose you are normal. You might have been once, but now … Now you are as far away from the rest of us as if you were living on the moon.’

‘Sure.’ Blake picked up his glass of wine. ‘And sometimes it’s lonely living on the moon. Plus there’s no atmosphere.’

He looked up at Sue through his lashes and she laughed again.

‘You have a pretty laugh,’ Blake said.

‘A pretty laugh? What’s a pretty laugh?’

‘One that sounds like music.’

‘Anyway.’ Sue put down her cutlery carefully, her tiny Christmas dinner gone in a couple of perfect mouthfuls. ‘If you would excuse me just a moment. I have to make a call. I left my nanny in charge of the kids and the grotto and she’s a well-known psychopath.’

It was cold outside, as Sue made her way down to the wire fence that was all that separated her from the abyss beyond the cliff edge. With one bar of signal on her phone left she called Tamsyn.

‘What the hell are you phoning me for?’ Tamsyn greeted her.

‘How’s the grotto coming?’

‘Fine, there are no undead, the Christmas tree forest looks amazing, but why are you phoning me, are you really that controlling?’

‘I don’t like it here.’ Sue huddled against the chill of the wind whipping off the sea. ‘He’s far too nice to be with. I don’t know what he wants from me. He keeps talking to me. And making me laugh.’

‘Well, that is generally considered to be polite during a dinner date,’ Tamsyn said. ‘Sue, go inside and eat food and look at the nice man. He’s probably just lonely. Think about it, he spends his whole life hanging around with pert beauties, I bet he misses the conversation of a normal mature woman.’

‘Thank you,’ Sue said, dryly.