One Perfect Christmas by Paige Toon Read Free Book Online

don’t give you hell about
that.’
    ‘What?’ I splutter. ‘I’ve known Jessie for years!’
    ‘So? I lost count of the number of times he hugged you and ruffled your hair yesterday…’
    ‘Please don’t tell me you’re jealous of
Jessie
!’ I interrupt, outraged. ‘He’s just got married!’
    ‘Yes, and how do you think Emily feels about your touchy feely relationship?’ he asks.
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ I snap.
    God,
does
she mind? Jessie and I have
always
had a very tactile relationship. Okay, so we lost that a bit when Lukas came on the scene, but I’ve been so happy to be close
to him again. I’ve never even considered that it might bother Emily, but maybe it does. Maybe I need to be more sensitive.
    I stand there at the kitchen counter in horrified silence as these thoughts go through my head. The kettle boils and Joe makes me a cup of tea.
    ‘Does it really bother you how Jessie and I are with each other?’ I ask, slightly astounded.
    ‘A little bit,’ he admits.
    ‘You really are quite a jealous person, aren’t you?’ I can’t keep the surprise from my voice.
    ‘Only when it comes to you,’ he replies, flashing me a smile. ‘I never used to be.’
    ‘Well, you don’t have to fret about me.’
    ‘And please don’t fret about
me
,’ he begs, pulling me into his arms.
    I go willingly, but my heart sinks at the thought of him kissing Michelle Bleech, tongues and all. Suddenly I hate the fact that he is an actor. How the hell am I going to cope when that movie
comes out and I have to watch them getting naked and steamy together on the big screen?
    ‘I hate her,’ I say in a muffled voice.
    He exhales loudly and holds me at arms’ length. ‘You know, this would all be very different if you and I went public.’
    I look up at him.
    ‘Alice, I know you’d be sad to leave your job, but you could try something else?’ he says in a pleading voice. ‘We could go travelling for a year, spend some proper time
together.’
    ‘Travelling?’ I say with confusion. ‘But what about your filming schedule.’
    ‘I don’t have to agree to anything.’
    ‘But won’t Nicky be pissed off?’
    ‘Who cares?’ he says simply. ‘It’s not up to him.’
    ‘So you wouldn’t do the film? With Michelle?’
    ‘No. Not if you don’t want me to.’
    My heart soars. ‘Really? You would do that for me?’
    ‘Alice,’ he says firmly. ‘I would do
anything
for you. Remember?’
    I do remember. I do remember him telling me that a year ago in Dorset.
    ‘You could still do one film,’ I say, thinking for a moment. ‘I could definitely cope with that.’
    ‘How about an action film? I’ve read the script. There’s no kissing.’
    ‘Really?’ My heart threatens to burst, but I keep myself in check. ‘You can’t avoid sex scenes forever.’
    ‘I can if I want to.’
    I snort with laughter. ‘I’ll probably get used to them eventually,’ I muse aloud. ‘But if you could avoid them for the foreseeable future, it would be very much
appreciated.’
    ‘Done.’ He laughs and squeezes me hard. ‘Now. What about your job?’
    It’s with a heavy heart that I go to work on Friday morning. It’s the last day of school. My pupils will return after the Christmas break. I sadly, will not. On
Tuesday I told the head teacher of my decision to leave. I explained – to his bewilderment and absolute astonishment – what was going on. I think he was worried I’d lost my mind,
that I’d invented a relationship with Joseph Strike the movie star, but I managed to convince him that it was fact, not fiction. He agreed to line up a temporary teacher for the next term. We
both knew that we couldn’t put the children at risk by allowing me to stay.
    I say goodbye to my class with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I know that I will treasure their cards and gifts forever, given to me by the last children I will ever teach. I
can’t stop crying once I reach my car. I sit there at the