The Unexpected Holiday Gift by Sophie Pembroke Read Free Book Online

office. He might more usually work from one of the American offices these days, but if he was in London, Clara knew he’d be at work.
    But his work was going to have to wait. They only had a week and a half to put together a perfect Christmas. Two Christmases, if you counted Ivy’s, and Clara did. So she’d rushed across London to the imposing skyscraper of an office, only pausing long enough to explain to the receptionist exactly who she was, and then bustled along to Jacob’s office.
    But now, with the scent of coffee making her queasy, and Jacob’s sleep-ruffled hair looking all too familiar, Clara really wished she’d waited. Or even called instead.
    â€˜Anyway. If that’s all settled...’ She picked up her hat from the table.
    â€˜I wouldn’t call it settled,’ Jacob said and she lowered the hat again. No, of course not. That would be too easy. ‘We still need to discuss the particulars.’ Putting his coffee cup down, Jacob came around from the counter to sit beside her. The leather sofa was vast—ridiculously so, for an office—and there was a more than reasonable gap between them. But, suddenly, it wasn’t coffee she could smell any more. It was him. That familiar combination of aftershave, soap and Jacob that tugged at her memory and made her want to relive every moment. To imagine that this was that other life she could have been living, where they were together in London, still married, still happy.
    â€˜Particulars?’ she asked, shaking her head a little to try and stop herself being so distracted by his nearness.
    â€˜Like where we want it to take place, how many people, what the menu should be, timings... Little things like that.’ He was laughing at her, but Clara couldn’t find it amusing. It just reminded her how much there was to do.
    â€˜I’m assuming the timings are fairly self-explanatory,’ she said drily. ‘Christmas Eve to Boxing Day would be my best guess—I can’t imagine you wanting to take any more time off work than that, regardless of the circumstances.’ Even that was two days more than he’d managed for their last Christmas together. Two and a half if she counted him sloping off to the study for an hour or two after Christmas lunch. ‘Guests. I’m assuming just your parents and Heather, unless she has a partner she’d like to bring? Or you do,’ she added, belatedly realising that just because her love life was a desert didn’t mean his was.
    â€˜No, you’re right, just the four of us.’ He still looked amused, but there was less mockery in his expression. ‘Go on.’
    â€˜Location. you said the Highlands, and I happen to know of a very festive, exclusive castle that would be brilliant for your celebrations.’ And particularly helpful to her, since the client she’d originally booked it for had pulled out and she’d promised the owner she’d do her best to find someone else to take over the booking. If she didn’t find someone, thanks to a contract mishap Perfect London would be losing the rather hefty deposit.
    â€˜Sounds ideal.’
    â€˜As for the menu—traditional Christmas turkey dinner plus appetizers, puddings, wine and liquors, cold cuts and chutneys in the fridge, then smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with croissant for breakfast. Sound about right?’
    â€˜Yes.’ He blinked, looking slightly bemused. ‘How did you know all that?’
    â€˜It’s my job, Jacob,’ Clara said, irritation rising. He might not have appreciated everything she’d done to keep his nice little business gatherings and parties ticking over, but even he had to respect that she’d built up a successful business with her skills. ‘And it’s not like you’re asking for anything out of the ordinary.’ If she was lucky and used every contact she had, she could pull this off for Jacob and manage her