Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
CAROLINE
I t was still relatively early in the evening, but Caroline could see that Jack’s eyelids were getting heavy. Every blink had a bit of a delay, and he was struggling to keep up with the conversation too.
‘Hey,’ she said gently, as his head nodded right into the palm of his hand, ‘I don’t want to play mum or anything, but don’t stay up on my account. Feel free to head to bed – I totally get it.’
‘You sure?’ said Jack, his voice a mumbled garble. ‘I don’t want you reporting the fact that I’m a lightweight who has the bedtime of a toddler!’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ said Caroline. ‘Besides… I think if you leave it any longer, I’m going to have to carry you up the stairs. As much as I’m game for giving it a try, I’m not sure my insurance covers me carrying film stars to bed!’
‘M’not film star,’ murmured Jack. ‘M’just Jack.’
‘Alright, just Jack,’ said Caroline, getting to her feet in the hope that he might follow suit. ‘Whatever you are, you are definitely still jetlagged.’
‘Can’t argue, too tired,’ yawned Jack, sliding to his feet just like she’d planned. ‘What about you, though? I feel bad. I’m a rubbish host!’
‘You’re definitely not,’ said Caroline. ‘Anyway, don’t worry about me, I can look after myself.’
‘Okay,’ yawned Jack, clearly too far gone to put up any kind of a fight. ‘Help yourself to any of the spare bedrooms. Trish has got them all aired and the beds are made up. No idea why. It’s always just me.’
Jack paused and a confused look crossed his face, as though he realised he’d just been super-vulnerable… but then he shrugged, clearly lacking the energy or brain space to worry about such things until the morning.
‘It’s all good,’ said Caroline, taking pity on him. She almost wanted to gag the poor guy before he managed to blurt out anything more personal.
Caroline had already had a peep through the rest of the closed doors upstairs earlier on in the evening, and there was a clear winner…
‘So… it’s okay if I help myself to the epic four-poster, then?’ she said lightly.
‘Have at it!’ he said with a sleepy smile. ‘Wait – you haven’t got PJs or anything. Need something to kip in?’
Caroline shook her head. She wasn’t about to make him run around after her in his state of half-snooziness.
‘I’m fine,’ she said.
She’d just sleep in her tee-shirt and undies and worry about the consequences in the morning. She was pretty sure she had her gym bag in the car – and that had a spare tee shirt and leggings in it. With any luck, she’d be able to sweep the snow off in the morning and grab it.
‘By the way - thank you,’ said Jack, trudging towards the door, looking very much like he was dragging his feet with every step.
‘What on earth for?’ said Caroline with a little laugh.
Goodness, he was even cuter when he was half-asleep!
‘For getting stuck in the snow. And for staying. And for agreeing to marry me, of course!’
‘My pleasure. All of it. I mean, I couldn’t exactly turn you down considering you gave me this whopper!’ she said, holding up her hand so that the giant plastic gem sparkled under the lights. ‘Good night Jack, sweet dreams.’
Jack nodded sleepily. Then he opened his mouth to say something… paused… closed it again and promptly disappeared.
‘Weirdest evening ever?’ whispered Caroline to the empty room as she cocked her head and listened for Jack’s soft footsteps making their way up the stairs.
As soon as she was sure he was safely on his way to bed, Caroline made her way over towards the window. Twitching back the heavy curtains, she peeped out. The snow was still swirling in enthusiastic flurries, and it was hard to make out the beach. The moon wasn’t anywhere to be seen – clearly tucked up behind the heavy blanket of clouds – but she could hear the waves lapping at the edges of the snowy beach.
With a little shiver, Caroline carefully closed the gap in the curtains. Then she turned to admire the Christmas tree. They really had done a brilliant job – despite their near-constant squabbling over the best bits of tinsel and the sparkliest ornaments. The lights twinkled at her, reflecting off the baubles and the giant star at the top.
Caroline grinned at the sight. Getting that star up there had nearly brought the entire tree down on their heads. Still – it had been worth it. In fact, she was starting to think it might be time to retire her tatty tinsel tree and treat herself to a real one.
‘Maybe not, though,’ she sighed. Because nothing was ever going to come close to decorating a seven-foot Christmas tree with her celebrity crush, was it?!
‘You’re in big trouble, my girl,’ she muttered, turning her attention to the wood burner, which was still crackling away merrily.
A crush on Jack Jones had felt relatively safe when he’d been on the other side of the world – a random celebrity she was never likely to meet. He was just someone she could fantasise about at arm’s length while tearing him to shreds in the newspaper – just to balance out all the mushy feelings she had in private. She’d never considered the chance that she might actually meet him one day.
Now… he was Jack. Not Jack Jones – film star. Just Jack. The funny guy who made ridiculous speeches when he got flustered, and fake-proposed with large, plastic rings. He was Jack, who let her borrow his bathtub and made sure she didn’t just eat Pringles for tea. He was Jack – who went swimming with the snowflakes and smelled like a combination of cinnamon and saltwater.
Blowing out a long breath, Caroline tried to shake some sense into herself as she knelt down on the hearthrug. She’d quickly make sure that the fire was safe for the night, and then she’d head upstairs to her fancy-pants borrowed bed and go to sleep. With any luck, that would put a stop to all these dreamy hopes that seemed to be floating around in her head. She was under no illusions - there was only one place they could lead… disappointment.
But… well… she wasn’t ready to turn in just yet. She was wired, and giddy, and ridiculously happy. She’d just spent the perfect evening with a lovely man… and she wasn’t quite ready for the dream to come to an end. By the time the morning came, this would all be over. As soon as the snow melted, she’d have to head home.
‘And then I might never see him again,’ she sighed, glancing down at her plastic engagement ring, still glimmering on her finger where he’d placed it.
Caroline swallowed as a wave of emotion rushed through her, and she let out a little sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
‘Pull yourself together, woman!’ she muttered, rolling her eyes at herself, even as she gave a great sniff.
Besides – she would see him again, wouldn’t she?! Because, against all odds, Jack had said yes to her insane request. He was going to swoop in and save the day and turn on the Crumbleton Christmas lights. Or… turn them back on, she should say.
With a broad grin, Caroline opened the door of the wood burner. Instead of putting it to bed for the night, she added a large log from the stack on the hearth. She was going to make herself comfortable and re-live every single second of the best day she’d had in… hell, the best day she’d ever had!
Settling into the corner of the motheaten, cosy sofa, Caroline tucked her feet up underneath herself and let the warmth of the beautiful room wash over her. Then, realising that she didn’t have to curl up into a tight ball like she did at home, she stretched her legs out luxuriously and snuggled even further into the cushions.
Turning to stare up at the ceiling, she watched as the fire threw swirling shadows across the plaster rose. She let out a long, happy sigh. The tide must be coming in beyond the windows because the sound of the waves seemed to be getting closer. The house was blissfully still, and the crackling fire was singing her a lullaby…
Caroline woke with a start. She was lying under a heavy duvet that smelled… different. Turning over, she nearly hit the floor.
‘What the…?!’ she gasped, wrestling with a couple of cushions that had just tried to follow her.
Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and peered around, trying to get her bearings.
Of course. She was at Jack’s house… and she was still on his sofa.
‘What a waste of a four-poster!’ she yawned, cuddling the fluffy duvet to her chest.
The fire was still crackling away… but judging by the fact that daylight was creeping in around the edges of the curtains, she’d been asleep for hours.
If she was being honest, it was the best sleep she’d had in years – which was ridiculous, considering it had been on a tatty old sofa rather than between the Egyptian cotton sheets that had been waiting for her upstairs. Even so, her dreams had been full of glimmering plastic jewels, warm smiles, reading glasses, and the scent of saltwater and cinnamon.
As though she was still searching for the scent, Caroline sniffed the air. It was heavy with pine and…
‘Coffee!’ she whispered. Staring around for the source of the deliciousness, she spotted a steaming mug on a little table just out of reach.
Jack had clearly been in while she’d been asleep - maybe more than once, judging by the lovely warm duvet, the still-steaming cup of coffee and the merry, dancing flames inside the wood burner.
Please tell me I wasn’t snoring the house down?!
Caroline grabbed the cup of coffee and took a restorative sip. She sniffed the air again. It wasn’t just coffee and the scent of the Christmas tree that tickled her nose. She could smell something wonderful… something that might mean… breakfast?
Jack Jones - celebrity… early bird… chef?
Scrambling to her feet, Caroline made her way over towards the window, clutching the coffee cup to her chest like a comfort blanket. Opening the heavy curtains just a crack, she peered out. At some point during the night, it had stopped snowing. The tide had reclaimed the beach and there was no sign of its snowy blanket from the night before.
Well… that had to be a good sign, didn’t it? Either that or a really bad one. It depended on how you looked at it. On one hand, it meant that she had a good chance of getting back to Crumbleton if the roads had cleared as fast as the beach had, but on the other hand…
Caroline let out a long sigh. She couldn’t help a little twinge of disappointment that it looked like this fantasy of hers was almost over.
If the roads were clear, there was nothing to keep her there.
Well… that being the case, she’d better go and find Jack to say thank you and goodbye.
Patting her hair with her free hand, Caroline gave her eyes a quick wipe on her cuff. It was about as much as she could do, considering she didn’t have a mirror, a brush… or a makeup bag come to that!
‘Right… time to return to reality, I guess,’ she murmured.
Even if she didn’t want to.