Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
CAROLINE
‘ O h!’ said Caroline, staring at Jack in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting him to voluntarily bring the subject back around to her supremely cheeky request so soon! ‘Sure, what do you want to know?’
‘Well… what would I have to do?’ he said before sipping his coffee with obvious relish.
‘It’s not hard, Jack,’ laughed Caroline. ‘I promise even you’ll be able to manage it!’
‘Even me, eh?’ said Jack, with a broad smile.
Caroline pursed her lips. She really had to stop insulting the poor guy. It wasn’t his fault that she was still busy overcompensating for her enormous crush by being an even more enormous cowbag!
‘The lights have been on for a while now,’ she said, ploughing on and doing her best to ignore the way his wide smile was making her stomach turn somersaults. ‘So I’ll turn them off, and then you turn them back on. Ceremonially.’
Jack let out a snort of laughter and Caroline frowned. ‘What? It’s tradition!’
‘Okay – so I’d ceremonially turn them back on,’ said Jack, his eyes twinkling. ‘Then what?
‘Then you’d need to say a few words,’ said Caroline, bracing for his reaction. She had a feeling that this was where he was going to put his foot down and tell her to sling her hook. If Jack was here to lay low, there was no way he was going to agree to make a speech in front of the whole town, was there?!
‘So… when’s this little shindig meant to be happening?’ said Jack.
Caroline blinked. He still hadn’t said no… not outright anyway.
‘It’ll have to be soon,’ she said.
‘Yeah, I gathered that much!’ laughed Jack. ‘What with Christmas being just a week away!’
‘I know,’ said Caroline. ‘Total nightmare. It’s not usually this late – I had to cancel the first time around because of a storm, and I haven’t dared to set another date until I can find a willing victim… erm… I mean… volunteer.’
‘Well, that makes sense, I guess,’ said Jack, taking a thoughtful sip of his coffee. ‘You know, I’ve always thought the night before Christmas Eve is magical – and perfect for this sort of thing. Everyone’s in full-on festive mode, but they haven’t started to retreat into their little family groups yet.’
‘I’d be up for doing it that night… if you fancy the job?’ said Caroline, crossing her fingers under the table.
‘Mmm…’ said Jack, turning his coffee cup in little circles on the table. ‘I’m not sure…’
‘What’s holding you back?’ said Caroline. ‘Because if I can fix it, I will!’
‘Well… I guess I’m worried I might be a bit of a distraction to the main event.’
‘Jack,’ laughed Caroline, ‘you kind of would be the main event!’
‘And there lies the rub!’ said Jack. ‘It shouldn’t be about me. I’ve been pretty careful not to let anyone know I’m here… so I don’t want everyone to think I’m just doing it as some kind of publicity stunt. Plus, if I’m honest, I could really do without a bunch of press turning up and camping outside the house while I’m trying to enjoy a quiet Christmas. That’d suck.’
‘Yeah, that would suck,’ Caroline nodded. ‘How about… if I promise not to publicise the fact that you’re going to be there? I won’t even mention it. You can just rock up on the night and give everyone the surprise of their lives!’
‘You’d be up for that?’ said Jack, looking surprised. ‘I mean, whenever I’ve been asked to do this sort of thing before, it’s always been about making as big a splash as possible. Maximum buzz. Maximum mudslinging in advance in the hope of receiving more inches in the celebrity rags.’
‘Of course I’m up for it,’ said Caroline. ‘I could just bill you as “home-grown talent” or something like that.’
‘Oh, so you do think I’m talented, then?’ said Jack, with a cheeky grin.
‘It’s not about what I think,’ said Caroline, rolling her eyes. ‘I love Crumbleton – I want everyone to have a nice time and give them a Christmas surprise… and you’d definitely fit that bill.’
‘That’s really sweet,’ said Jack.
‘So, you’ll do it?’ said Caroline, looking hopeful.
‘I’ll think about it,’ said Jack.
‘How long for?’ said Caroline. ‘I hate to rush you here, but you were the one who pointed out Christmas is just a week away!’
‘Well… I reckon I’ve got tonight at the very least,’ said Jack. ‘You’re not going to be organising much this afternoon either way.’
‘Why?’ said Caroline.
Jack simply pointed over towards the window.
Caroline peered over and gasped. In the short time they’d been chatting, the snow seemed to have re-doubled its efforts. There was a positive flurry of white flakes swirling just beyond the glass. She climbed to her feet and wandered over to take a look out across the garden.
‘Even the beach is turning white!’ she said.
She’d never seen anything like it. Not only had most of the garden’s features been softened under a ridiculous amount of snow, even the salty, golden sand beyond was busy turning into a blank white canvas.
‘Am I caught in some kind of time warp?’ said Caroline. ‘I have only been here about half an hour, right?’
‘Uh huh,’ said Jack, looking amused.
‘And this has happened in that time?’
‘Yep,’ said Jack.
‘Shiiiiit,’ breathed Caroline. ‘How the hell am I meant to get back to Crumbleton?’
‘Maybe it looks worse than it is?’ said Jack. ‘Let’s have a look at your car.’
Abandoning their coffee cups on the slate island, they both trundled out of the kitchen towards the front door. Opening it, Caroline was met with a blast of icy air. Snowflakes found her face and settled on her nose and eyelashes.
‘My car…?’ she gasped.
‘I’m sure it’s out there,’ chuckled Jack. ‘Somewhere!’
The movie star at her side seemed to be missing the seriousness of the situation. Her little car was nothing more than a snowy white bump on the driveway.
‘How on earth am I meant to get home?’ she said. ‘Have you got anything I can use to dig it out with?’
‘Erm… I don’t know,’ said Jack. ‘Even if I did, you know that’s a terrible idea, right?’
‘I’m stronger than I look,’ said Caroline. ‘I can totally clear a path down to the road.’
‘And then what?’ demanded Jack. ‘Even if the main road is clear enough – which I doubt – there’s no way the road across the marshes is going to be passable… not if the stuff’s literally settling on the beach!’
‘But—’ said Caroline.
‘No buts!’ said Jack, suddenly sounding more than a little bit stubborn. ‘It’ll be feet deep by the time you get out of the driveway. You’re just going to have to stay put with me until it clears up.’
‘You…?’ Caroline turned away from the white mound that was her car to stare at Jack.
Jack Jones, Hollywood’s golden boy, had just invited her to stay safe with him at his house. Jack Jones, the guy she’d torn to shreds in the paper on multiple occasions.
No… not Jack Jones. Just Jack.
‘You don’t mind?’ she said, re-finding her voice with an effort.
Jack shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t have asked you if I did,’ he said. ‘And… I’m not sure I have that much choice in the matter. Nor do you, come to that.’
‘Well… okay, thanks,’ said Caroline.
‘Can we go back inside now?’ said Jack with an exaggerated shiver. ‘I think I’m starting to get frostbite.’
‘That’s your own idiotic fault for leaving a perfectly lovely, warm house to go swimming in the snow!’ laughed Caroline, following Jack back inside and breathing a sigh of relief as he closed the front door.
‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,’ said Jack, shooting her a wicked grin. ‘I’m going again in a mo, and this time you’re coming with me. I’ve got a guest wetsuit upstairs.’
‘You’re joking?!’ gasped Caroline. ‘Not on your nelly!’
For one thing, she had absolutely no desire to dive into the ice-cold waves while a snowstorm whipped around above her. For another… there was no way she was going to show Jack Jones what she looked like in a skin-tight wetsuit. Not on their first date.
Not that this was a date, of course!
‘Okay… you need to breathe,’ chuckled Jack. ‘I’m joking, so you don’t need to look like you’re going to pass out from shock!’
‘Don’t exaggerate,’ huffed Caroline.
‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ said Jack, shooting her a wink as he led the way back along the hall, this time heading for the living room. ‘I only speak the truth.’
Staring at the beautiful, tiled floor as she went, Caroline did her best to pull herself together. Part of her wished she could just make a break for it and head back to her little flat in Crumbleton. She’d said her piece and now she just had to wait for an answer… and she didn’t need to do that here. It looked like Jack had a bit of a knack for pressing her buttons, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted them pressed!
Who was she kidding?! Jack could press any button of hers he liked!
Nearly giggling out loud at the thought, Caroline quickly pulled in a deep breath and gave herself a little shake. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve it, but it looked like Christmas had come early. She was going to spend the afternoon with Jack Jones, for heaven’s sake! Jack Jones… who’d told her to call him just… Jack!
Weird!
This was basically a dream come true – an all-access pass to her monster crush!
No. She shouldn’t even think those words while she was in his house !
The poor guy probably had to put up with girls swooning all over him left, right and centre. She didn’t want to become one of them. She’d keep control of herself and do her best to remain professional about the whole thing.
‘Feel free to curl back up on your favourite sofa!’ said Jack with a cheeky smile. ‘I’ll grab our drinks from the kitchen’.
Huh, so much for professional!
Caroline nodded and sank down into the cushions. Instead of leaning back and curling her feet up underneath her like she really wanted to, she remained bolt upright, her ankles crossed in a ladylike fashion.
Her nerves zinged as she glanced across at the windows, but there wasn’t really much to see. It was practically a whiteout by this point as a winter wonderland developed beneath its cloudy blankets.
The wood burner crackled, pulling her attention back into the room, and she fought a yawn that did its best to body snatch her. Caroline was caught somewhere between wanting to relax into the weird turn of fate that had literally stranded her in Jack’s house, and not daring to in case she did or said something completely mortifying.
More mortifying than what she’d already done and said, that was!
‘Here!’ said Jack, shuffling back into the room bearing their two steaming mugs in front of him. ‘I took the liberty of making us a fresh cup… the other ones had gone cold.’
‘Oh!’ said Caroline, surprised at his thoughtfulness. ‘Well, thanks.’ She took the jaunty painted mug from him and balanced it on her knee.
‘So… here’s a question,’ said Jack. He was still standing in front of her, looking adorably awkward - about as far from a swaggering Hollywood actor as he could get. ‘Are you any good at decorating Christmas trees?’
Caroline blinked, taken by surprise at the unexpected question.
‘Erm… I wouldn’t say good,’ hedged Caroline, ‘but I’m definitely enthusiastic!’
‘Excellent,’ said Jack, ‘because I keep trying to finish off this whopper, but I keep getting distracted.’
‘Who gets distracted decorating a Christmas tree?’ laughed Caroline.
‘Someone who’s half in a different time zone, who’s still living out of suitcases, and whose house is in a bit of a wreck because he hasn’t dealt with unpacking yet?’ said Jack.
‘Good answer,’ said Caroline, scrambling to her feet and doing her best not to spill her coffee in the process. ‘I guess I should warn you – I haven’t had much practice. I’ve just got one of those little artificial tinsel trees at home. If you’re expecting some kind of designer styling, I’m not your girl.’
‘Hey – zero expectations here,’ said Jack, shooting her an easy smile. ‘I just want to use up all my tinsel.’
‘Who said you’re going to be in charge of the tinsel?’ demanded Caroline.
‘Oh, I see how it’s going to be!’ said Jack, laughing as he led the way over to the ginormous tree in the corner. ‘Something tells me you like to be in charge?’
‘Ah good,’ said Caroline, grinning at him, ‘you figured that out nice and fast!’
Jack rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
‘May I?’ she said, eyeballing a large cardboard box that looked like it was still stuffed to the gunnels with baubles, tinsel and fake holly.
‘Be my guest,’ said Jack. ‘Which you are… obviously!’
‘Awesome,’ said Caroline, kneeling down next to the box and then staring up at the tree with its puny smattering of baubles dotted half-heatedly here and there. ‘See… I’d say you’ve already made a rookie mistake.’
‘Oh yeah?’ said Jack.
‘Uh-huh,’ said Caroline, reaching into the box. ‘Everyone knows you need to start with these!’ She pulled out a long, tangled string of multicoloured lights and waved them at him. ‘Come on, grab an end - we’ve got some untangling to do!’