Love At The Headington Hill

CHAPTER 15 - Kisses and Christmas.

Valerie stared at the flustered looking Sebastian.

Hadn't they told her that it was his plan to arrange this whole 'Christmas Eve dinner'-thing? What had he been doing? Nova was already there so he wouldn't have been with her. She sighed, then drifted her eyes apart as he caught her gaze.

She was going to make this a great night.

The Davis twins had decorated their house perfectly. The chandelier had been covered with bells and fake tree leaves. A huge Christmas tree was set up beside the fireplace and beside it were little gifts and some had-knitten sweaters. There was no place to deny the fact that the place looked absolutely ethereal.

When Valerie had arrived, she had noticed that there were atleast a hundred little light-bulbs and decorative snowflakes. The third floor had a bunch of mistletoe growing through the nearby trees and doorways in its balcony. When she had gone up there this evening, she had felt like she could fly. The snowflakes had clung to her crimson head wearing a scarlet cap and were probably stuck up there still.

It was the lightest she had felt in weeks.

After they all settled down, Dahlia turned on the speakers. A familiar tune blasted from them, and before she could know what she was doing, her lips were mouthing along to the lyrics of Last Christmas.

Due to Sebastian arriving late, they decided to postpone the time of dinner from half-past eight to ten.

The rest of the evening was spent in a blur of wine and music as they chatted away. They talked about anything they could think of, avoiding all the serious talk

When it was time to finally have dinner, they all sat down at the table. Valerie was well aware about Trevor's culinary skills, so she didn't hesitate and started at once.

After finishing her first bite, she realised all eyes were on her.

"What?" She asked, swallowing the bits of beef.

Then they all burst out laughing. This day was too good to be true, but here it was.

"Nothing, you just look like a hungry pigeon." Julian said wiping the crumbs at her lips with a tissue. She tried to glare with all her might at the moment, but obviously failed which caused another chuckle to escape his lips.

"A hungry pigeon? Seriously Julian?"

"Yep" he nodded, beaming widely.

She focused on her food again. The cool December air blew in through the open window near the long table. She shivered slightly, her cheeks were stained red due to wine and the weather. Her lips chapped but never tired to strike up another conversation.

She had the sudden feeling someone was watching her. Her eyes snapped to Dahlia's left in the opposite direction of the table. She met his eyes. Saw his hazel irises seeing through her. A small smile playing at his lips. His dark hair ruffled and he had snowflakes in his eyelashes.

Her breathing hitched. Good lord. How could she hear her heartbeats?

She returned an uneasy smile, then focused on finishing her meal.

-

Valerie paced around the little balcony on the third floor. The town looked magnificent tonight, the trees surrounding the house looked like a pathway to the heavens. It was only a few minutes before Christmas could strike.

The door flew open. A man walked to her.

She kept her brown eyes at his face. His expression peaceful.