‘So two more will be fine. Oh, and make sure you take a turkey dinner away for Adam’s gran too. You can call and visit her, see how she’s doing. I wouldn’t like to think of her on her own all day for Christmas. What do you reckon?’

‘I think that would be amazing.’ She gave Em a big hug. ‘I’ll ring Adam straight away. Are you really sure?’

‘Absolutely, the more the merrier.’ It’d be a busy day cooking, but hey, she’d have plenty of helpers and wasn’t that just what Christmas was all about?

49

‘Merry Christmas!’ Max was sitting beside her; he’d managed to prop himself up against the pillows and had a big cheesy grin on his face.

‘Merry Christmas, Max.’ She smiled, and moved carefully across, remembering his injuries, to plant a kiss on his cheek.

So, it was real, not some Christmas wish she’d been running in her mind. He was really here, his arm in a sling, and apart from the broken collarbone and cracked and bruised ribs, he was okay, though no doubt sore.

Last night had been interesting. She had offered to sleep on the sofa to give him the chance to get some uninterrupted rest, but he insisted she stay with him, that he’d be fine. But she was frightened she might roll over or starfish and bang into him in the middle of the night, so kept herself tight to her side of the bed.

It was Christmas Day. She had a turkey to cook, presents still to wrap for James and his family – she would have done them last night, but then she’d had her last-minute trip down to Morpeth – and they’d be arriving all too soon. Holly, Adam, James, Chloe, the twins, all to feed and entertain. She had invited her parents too, but they had already made plans to have lunch with close friends. They were going to call in and see her late afternoon on Boxing Day. But hey, it would all come together, there was no mad rush. For now, what she really wanted was to just cherish a few quiet moments with this gorgeous man beside her.

‘Surprise!’ Max bellowed above her head.

Or maybe not so quiet, then.

‘Now, I can’t quite reach it,’ he continued, ‘but there’s something wrapped up for you under my side of the bed. Do you mind getting it out for me?’

Emma sat up and got out of bed. She was just about to lean under the bed, when she realised she was totally starkers and thought better of it – that particular position might not look very elegant, so she slipped on her satin dressing gown.

‘Spoilsport.’ He grinned from his nest of pillows.