Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Read Online Free PDF

mirrors, crocheted blankets and ethnic ornaments Laurie would never have let anywhere near her own front door.
    Laurie walked through into Siobhan’s kitchen, briefly turning to make sure her friend was behind her. ‘Can I?’ she asked, opening the fridge without waiting for an answer and taking out an open bottle of wine. ‘Thanks.’ She got jewel-coloured glasses from the wooden shelf and started to pour.
    As the wine hit the sides of the glasses, Laurie recalled the day she’d moved into the block, four years ago.
    ‘Imelda Marcos has nothing on you,’ Siobhan had said, surveying the shoeboxes that covered almost every inch of the entrance hall. She was only a fraction taller than five feet, but with long fiery-red hair and a loud, Irish-accented voice, she was hard to miss.
    ‘Regretting it now,’ Laurie had laughed wryly. She didn’t have much furniture to speak of – during her twenties she’d moved from one furnished rental to another, upgrading with each pay rise – but her accessories collection was unrivalled. The removal men she’d hired had unceremoniously dumped her boxes of shoes and clothes in the hall and then left her.
    ‘Come on,’ Siobhan had said. ‘If you give me a pair I’ll help you out. Got any spare size threes?’
    Together they’d lugged all the boxes upstairs, and when they’d brought the last one up Laurie opened a bottle of red wine, filling mugs – the only things she could find – for them both.
    ‘Here’s to your new flat – welcome to Goldhawk Mansions,’ Siobhan said, chinking her mug of wine with Laurie’s. And there – in her new place, the first four walls she’d ever owned, with a new ally and drinking buddy, Laurie had felt truly at home.
    ‘Whoa, there,’ Siobhan said now, stepping in to put her hand over one of the glasses to stop Laurie filling it right to the top. ‘It’s a school night for some of us.’ Back then, Siobhan had been a newly qualified teacher at the local comp, now she was Head of the Art Department, her evenings more often filled with parents’ evenings and marking than nights at the pub. She had a few fine lines around her bright green eyes these days – one for each OFSTED inspection, she liked to say.
    ‘She can’t be more than twenty-five,’ Laurie said, still fixated on the girl downstairs. ‘Can she?’ She took a large sip of wine and walked through into Siobhan’s living room, taking a seat on her antique, green-velvet sofa.
    ‘I haven’t seen her up close,’ Siobhan said, shrugging and taking a seat on the fifties armchair opposite, raking her hands through her wet hair to pull out the tangles.
    ‘She was going up to Jay’s flat, you know. Again.’
    Siobhan sank back into her seat. ‘Look, I hate to say it, Laurie, but Jay’s a free agent.’
    Laurie glumly took off her boots and brought her knees towards her, hugging them.
    ‘I know. To be honest, it’s not just that,’ she said, memories of her humiliating exit from the office returning. ‘God, it’s just been a really crappy couple of days, Siobhan.’
    ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
    ‘Work,’ Laurie said, biting her lip. ‘It’s bad.’
    ‘Go on,’ Siobhan prompted her, ‘elaborate.’
    ‘Big mistake,’ Laurie said, tears springing to her eyes. ‘A really stupid one.’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘I messed up the design on our most important new bag. The Navajo – you know the one I’ve been talking about since the summer?’
    Siobhan’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Oh no! I mean, sorry – God, that’s awful. You’ve been working so hard on that.’
    ‘I know. So now Danny wants me to have some time off. Two months, he said, “To get my focus back”. He texted me to confirm it this morning – I’m off on full pay, but he doesn’t want me back until the first of February. I’m lucky he didn’t sack me. I mean, I deserve it, Siobhan. I’ve really let him down.’ She tried to stop the tears that were building. ‘Out in China – I don’t