Chapter 31
Ed woke early on Christmas Day, feeling as excited as he had when he was a kid.
His parents had always gone out of their way to make it a special occasion and he knew how much they’d be looking forward to having all their boys under their roof again, even if it was only for a few hours.
It would be the first time they’d all had a partner with them, Ed realised, although technically Frankie didn’t count, as theirs was only a temporary arrangement.
That didn’t mean they couldn’t make the most of the day.
For someone who’d said she wasn’t fussed about Christmas, she was certainly throwing herself into things.
They’d agreed in the garden centre they wouldn’t get presents for each other, but he had a couple of little surprises for her hiding in his bag.
He glanced down at the lump beneath the duvet next to him and wondered if he could slip out of bed without disturbing her.
Frankie was a burrower and whenever he woke to her grumbling in the night it was because the covers had shifted and something more than the top of her head was exposed.
She woke up a lot, he’d come to realise in a short space of time.
Not to full consciousness but enough to disturb a light sleeper like himself.
Sharing a bed with someone always took a bit of getting used to, but he was already becoming attuned to her patterns and had discovered the easiest way to get her to settle was to spoon himself behind the little ball she curled herself into.
His bladder decided to make itself known and the decision to get up was taken out of his hands.
He managed to get out of bed without disturbing her and after using the bathroom and cleaning his teeth, Ed poked his head back into the room.
The light from the landing gave him enough illumination to see she hadn’t moved, so he decided to head downstairs and put the kettle on.
Five minutes later he was back with two steaming mugs of coffee.
Frankie preferred tea during the day but always had at least one cup of coffee to kickstart her mornings.
He set them down on the bedside cabinet and had just eased under the covers when she stirred for the first time. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s early,’ he assured her, bending down to kiss her cheek. ‘Go back to sleep if you want to, or I’ve made a coffee.’
‘You smell minty,’ she mumbled, still not fully awake.
He laughed. ‘That’s because I just cleaned my teeth.’
‘That’s cheating.’ Frankie wormed around in the bed until she was flat on her back, head on her pillow. ‘I’m awake.’
‘Are you sure about that?’
She made a noise that was half grump, half chuckle and flopped a hand onto his chest. ‘Coffee.’
‘Sit up, then.’ He flipped on the bedside lamp while Frankie struggled up to a sitting position with her pillows propped behind her.
Her hair was all over the place and she had one eye screwed shut against the light he’d turned on.
If her fans could see her now… Ed thought she looked beautiful and he loved how relaxed she was in front of him.
He’d had a short-lived relationship with a girl a few years ago who’d set her alarm to make sure she always got up before him.
He’d never seen her without a full face of make-up and it had bothered him that she didn’t feel able to show him her real self.
She’d been a lovely person, but he hadn’t missed the smudges from her foundation on his sheets nor that odd biscuity smell of fake tan.
He picked up one of the mugs and handed it to her. ‘Merry Christmas.’
Frankie’s screwed-shut eye popped open as wide as the other one. ‘Oh, of course! Merry Christmas!’ She took a tentative sip from her mug then made a happy little sighing noise. ‘You make a good cup of coffee.’
‘I’m a man of many talents.’
She gave him an amused smile. ‘You have your moments.’ She took another drink then set her mug on the cabinet on her side of the bed. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Ed took advantage of her absence to retrieve one of the presents he’d bought her and tuck it out of view under his side of the bed.
He was in two minds about the other thing he’d got for her, so he decided to wait and see how the day went before he made up his mind whether to give it to her or not.
For now it could stay in the pocket of his rucksack.
When she returned a few minutes later, she’d tugged her hair into a soft band and secured it in a twist. She’d washed her face and as she slid under the covers beside him, he caught the faint scent of the wildly expensive moisturiser she used.
Once she’d settled in again, Ed leaned to the side and retrieved her gift.
‘I know we said we weren’t going to bother, but I had to give you something,’ he said as he placed the large wrapped package on her lap.
‘What’s this?’ she asked, her face lighting up.
‘Open it and find out, just don’t get too excited.’
Instead of opening it, Frankie leaned over to tug open the drawer in her bedside cabinet.
She turned back to face him with a sheepish smile, holding a small package wrapped in red and gold paper he recognised from the other presents she’d placed under her tree.
‘I might have got you a bit of something too.’
Ed laughed as he accepted the gift. It was small and soft and he squeezed it gently as he turned it in his hands, trying to figure out what it was. It was too small for a pair of socks – a hanky maybe? Frankie laughed. ‘If you want to know what it is, why don’t you open it?’
‘I will in a minute, but you have to enjoy the squish and feel first.’
Frankie picked up her own parcel and began to fiddle with it. She lifted it up and shook it gently, even went as far as raising it to her ear. Ed grinned as he watched her. ‘Go on, then, open it.’
‘You first,’ she argued.
‘Why don’t we do it both together? After three, two, one…’ He ripped into his parcel, tearing the paper in one swift movement and dropping the contents onto the bed. He frowned at the unassuming black pouch with an extendable strap. It was a bag of some sort but he had no idea why she’d chosen it.
Beside him Frankie was carefully peeling back the tape he’d used to seal her parcel.
It was on the tip of his tongue to tease her for being slow but she was so absorbed in what she was doing that he kept quiet and let her take her time.
After what felt like an age she opened the flap at one end and peered inside.
She raised her head to grin at him. ‘It’s red!
’ She noticed the bag lying on his legs and her smile faded. ‘You don’t like it?’
Ed snatched it up. ‘I don’t know what it is yet.
I was watching you.’ He turned it over, the material feeling strange, almost rubbery in his hands.
The other side didn’t give him much more of a clue, although it had a flap to open it.
The Velcro seal was a lot stiffer than he’d expected and it made a satisfyingly loud noise as he separated the two halves.
Beneath the flap was a roll of the same material as the rest of the bag.
Still confused, he opened it up and the pouch came open to reveal a central section and several slots as a wallet might have.
There was something else inside the pouch and he shook it out. ‘A phone case?’
‘A waterproof one,’ Frankie said. ‘And the bag is waterproof too. I thought you could use them when you’re back on board your ship.’
‘In case I’m stupid enough to drop my phone into the sea again?’ he asked her with a laugh.
‘The thought might have crossed my mind. I spotted it in the garden centre and it seemed like just the thing.’
‘It’s brilliant.’ Ed leaned over and kissed her. ‘I mean it, it’s really great.’
‘And now you won’t have any excuse not to keep in touch.
’ Their eyes met and Ed felt his breath catch because it was the first time she’d indicated that she might be interested in extending their friendship beyond the immediate time they had together.
His excitement was instantly undercut when she broke his gaze and said, ‘With your family, I mean.’
Ed hid his disappointment behind a smile. ‘Mum’ll be thrilled to bits when she sees this.’ He nudged her elbow and nodded at her half-open gift. ‘Go on, your turn.’
Frankie slid her hand under the paper flap and slowly pulled out the contents. ‘It’s a jumper,’ she said as she unfolded the bundle of red wool. ‘A Christmas jumper,’ she added with a laugh as she held it up to reveal the snowman design on the front.
‘Not just any old Christmas jumper,’ Ed declared as he leaned down and reached under the bed. He raised his arms to display an almost identical jumper in a larger size. ‘A matching Christmas jumper! We can wear them today.’
Frankie let out a squawk of laughter. ‘You’re not serious!’ Her eyes widened. ‘You are serious.’
‘I promised you the full festive experience, remember?’
She frowned at him. ‘Will anyone else be wearing them?’
Ed hesitated, not sure what to say. It had started as a suggestion of Liam’s when they’d had a beer the other night – the four of them showing up in matching jumpers to make their mum and dad laugh – and the idea had spread from there.
He didn’t want to spoil the surprise, but he also didn’t want Frankie to wear something she wasn’t comfortable in.
‘If you don’t want to wear them, I won’t mind. ’
She held the jumper to her chest as though checking it for size and then her face lit up with a broad smile.
‘It’s too cute not to wear it, and who cares if it’s only us?
’ She leaned across and kissed him. ‘Thank you, Ed. This is already the best Christmas Day I’ve had in a long time because I get to spend it with you.
’ The words struck a chord somewhere deep inside him.
He closed his arms around her and pulled her closer.
‘It’s my best so far too, because you are the most delightful, most unexpected gift.
’ Their mouths met, a long, slow exploration that gradually grew in intensity as he found that spot that turned her into liquid fire.
As they came together, it felt like he couldn’t pull her close enough to match the need to hold her, to show her how special she was and how much she meant to him. It had never been like this before.
Afterwards, Ed lay on his back with the familiar weight of Frankie’s head resting on his chest. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed inwardly as he admitted the truth he’d been ignoring. He was in love with her.
He’d always known it would happen one day, and it was just his luck it was with someone who’d made it clear she wasn’t looking for anything serious or long-lasting.
Ed had always been the one with an exit strategy and he supposed he deserved to be on the receiving end for a change.
Cupid or fate or whatever power drove humans to enmesh their lives together was having a right bloody laugh.
It was enough to make a grown man cry.