‘In that case, here’s a little something for being such a good girl so far this year.’ He took a gift from the large sack next to him and handed it to her and she danced out of the grotto.

Bella couldn’t tear herself away as he dealt with the last few children and then closed the grotto door behind them. He was so kind and caring. So gentle and thoughtful.

Pulling off his hat, Nick said, ‘I’m absolutely roasting in this.’ He went to tug off the beard, but the elastic had stuck behind his ears. Feeling the need to be near him again, Bella reached out and unhinged it, easing it down. Nick reached up too and his fingers reasted on hers. He looked down at her, a little flushed from the heat of the Santa suit, with eyes bright and clear. She wished he would kiss her and for a second his eyes dropped to her lips and his head tilted a fraction. He drew nearer. Was he thinking about it too? Time seemed to stretch out before them but was over all too soon as he cleared his throat and inched away.

Bella stepped back and he finished removing the fake beard and jacket that he’d worn over his jumper. ‘Thank you for helping us out,’ Bella said. ‘Sounds like you did a brilliant job.’

‘No problem. It was fun actually.’

‘Mr Whittaker’s back now so he’ll take over this afternoon and Nina’s going to call in on Mr Tomlin tonight. Hopefully he’ll be back tomorrow.’

‘Okay. Where’s Freddie?’

‘He’s in the volunteers’ hut with Hazel having some lunch. I thought you two might want to head off and spend some time together as you’ve been doing this all morning.’

‘Only if you’re sure? We don’t mind sticking around.’

As he’d decided not to kiss her, she needed some space. She didn’t know whether to be happy that it had appeared he’d wanted to or sad that it didn’t happen. She kept her voice level. ‘It’s fine. You guys should go. You’ve done so much for us already.’

‘Okay, then. I did promise him a games tournament before the parade tonight. Are you still coming? Tonight, I mean.’

A spark of hope reignited. ‘Yeah, definitely. I wouldn’t miss it.’

‘See you at seven then?’

She nodded. ‘Seven. Meet you at the gate.’