“Anyway, common sense finally prevailed after the supervisor called his supervisor at home, and she gave him permission. The passport was bad enough, but that’s the bag with all the presents in it.”

“You brought presents?” The smile broke across Jules’s face.

“Of course. It’s Christmas.”

Ash grinned. “I love presents.”

“Chloe mentioned that,” she teased. “Actually, I should put them under the tree,” she added. It was a nice thought, but her body refused to budge. Instead, she glanced at the Christmas tree.

She’d only noticed it after she’d returned with her carry-on. It was beautiful, but it would be Jules’s first Christmas with a fake tree. And it wasn’t even fake, as in, “I’m pretending to be a fir tree.” It was made from silver and white tinsel and decorated with blue ornaments—only blue. Even the Christmas lights were blue.

“So, what did you bring for Matt?” Jules couldn’t decide if Ash had emphasised “Matt” on purpose. Was she getting at something?

“You’ll see,” she deflected. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“But how did you know?”

“What gifts to get?”

“Yeah.”

“Chloe told me who was coming on Christmas Day and I ran some ideas past her and, of course, I know you, so …”

“Seriously, no hints?”

“No!” She laughed. “Chloe said you would ask.”

“Oh, really?”

“Uh-huh. She also told me where she hid her present to you, so you wouldn’t find it before Christmas and peek.”

Ash’s mouth popped open, hung there for a moment, then snapped shut. She lifted her chin and, saying nothing, topped up their wine glasses.

“Well, it’s very nice of you to bring presents for all of us. You didn’t need to.”

Jules shrugged. “You’d have done the same.”

“Matt’s a good guy, by the way.” It was an extremely unsubtle change of topic—so Ash had been hinting at something earlier.

Jules pretended she didn’t get it. “He is. He did not need to do all that for me today. I mean, at that point when the supervisor said no to me retrieving my own bag … let’s just say, I was not my best self. I nearly gave up. But Matt was great—awesome, actually. It was his idea to escalate the whole thing.”

Matt was a good guy and an extremely good-looking guy. She wondered if he and Chloe had ever … She let the thought trail off as she sipped her wine.

“He had a rough time a little while back but, you know, he’s probably ready …” Ash left the rest of the thought unsaid.

Regardless of Ash’s intentions, Jules wasn’t up for contemplating Matt’s readiness for a romantic entanglement. “Ash, this wine is great, but I am beyond exhausted. I think I’m going to have to call it a night.”

“No worries. You did well. Look, it’s nearly eight o’clock.”

Jules glanced at the large clock on the wall in the kitchen. “They say it’s the best way, right? Staying up as long as you can to get on the right time?”