If she was surprised at Archer’s confession about wanting to kiss her, she was even more so to find him waiting for her after the fair, casually perched on a low wall next to the now-empty field and holding a tall narrow gift bag.

“Hello, you,” he said, smiling at her.

“Hello to you, too,” she replied as she sat next to him.

“This is for you.” He handed her the bag and she peeked inside.

“Oooh, bubbles!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry it’s, er, a bit, er, ordinary. I didn’t actually plan on meeting a gorgeous woman two days before Christmas.”

Chloe grinned, both at his thoughtfulness and at being called “gorgeous”. “It’s lovely, thank you. You really didn’t need to get me anything. But to be honest, even though I’m only a few days in, I’ve drunk my fill of sherry. This will make a nice change for Christmas lunch tomorrow.”

He chuckled. “I’m fairly certain it’s a village custom for women of a certain age.”

“Oh, Cecily too?”

“Yes, that’s why I nipped down to the off-licence in Watlington this afternoon to stock up on some wine—and to pick that up for you.” He seemed shy about the gift, endearing him to her even more.

“Well, thank you again.” She absentmindedly twirled the gift tag attached to the bag, only then noticing that he’d written on it.

To Chloe

Happy Christmas

From Archer x

Her breath caught and an unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, warmth wound its way through her as she stared at his words.

“So, Chloe, I never asked. How long are you here for?”

“Uh …” Chloe shook her head to clear it of her tumbling thoughts. “Oh, I fly home on the twenty-ninth.” Archer sucked his breath between his teeth and he grimaced. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that we shall have to make the very most of the next few days.”

“Oh.” It was all she could think to say.

“Come on, I’ll walk you back,” he said, standing and reaching for her hand. Yes, it was a two-minute walk, but it was the gesture that counted, and Chloe slipped her hand into his. Archer Tate was turning out to be one surprise after another. One lovely, wonderful, breathtaking, romantic surprise after another.

*

Chloe woke on Christmas Day feeling more refreshed than she could remember being in ages.

Maybe it was sleeping in Lucy’s childhood bed, which was so snuggly it was like being enveloped in a giant hug. Or it could have been the long but satisfying day as Co-chair of the Christmas Fair; she usually slept soundly after a large and successful event.

Most likely, though, it was because she’d drifted off to sleep with the thought of Archer’s kiss on replay. She stretched dreamily under the doona and luxuriated in the memory once more. Their rescue mission to retrieve Mrs Capel. The Capels’s romantic reunion when they returned to the village. How Archer had whispered in her ear and she’d turned to catch him watching her intently.