Page 49 of Hope and Hot Chocolate on Mistletoe Lane

‘Did you do this?’ I asked, looking at one tree that was sparkling gold and then another that was in rich reds and traditional tartans, followed by one that sparkled with icicles and silver ornaments.

‘With Willow, yes,’ Holly said. ‘This was our sentimental tree…’ She gestured to one that was covered in the kind of ornaments you collect through the years as a family, Disney ones, felt animals and decorations that looked like they were homemade.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more festive space in my life,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘This must have taken you hours.’

Holly nodded. ‘It was worth it, though. I want people to gasp when they walk in.’

‘They will,’ I promised her, confident that would be the case.

‘Come on,’ she said, eagerly leading me into the next tunnel. When we’d walked through it, I stopped and smiled as I looked around. The kid in me woke up with a sharp jump.

‘You like it?’ Holly asked eagerly. She stepped forward and gestured, her arms wide. I followed her as I took it all in. The tunnel was decorated as a snow walk leading the way to the North Pole. Fake snow covered the floor and there was a snow machine blowing snowflakes all around us. They floated through the air like feathers. We hadn’t had snow in Birchbrook for a couple of years and even though I knew this wasn’t real, it did feel magical anyway. I would have adored this if I had walked through here as a child. I followed Holly slowly, not wanting to miss anything.

We passed penguin statues and a polar bear that Holly said they found at a Christmas warehouse. There was a sign pointing towards the North Pole. And there was another photo set-up with a snowman and snowwoman couple.

I chuckled. ‘Why do they look like my parents?’

‘Oh my God, they do! We have to have a selfie with them.’ Holly pulled out her phone and we ducked down, laughing as we stood with the snow couple. I slung an arm around her, immediately feeling better for being able to touch her again. It was over too soon, though. ‘I’ll send it to you,’ she promised as the scent of her perfume washed over me.

‘I can use it as this year’s Christmas card; they’ll think we’re posing with my parents,’ I said.

She giggled again. ‘Stop it or I’ll tell them that!’

I smiled, pleased I’d made her laugh. ‘This is my favourite tunnel,’ I declared.

‘Just wait,’ she said, dropping me a wink. I laughed then and she looked pleased. God, why did being with Holly make me feel young again? No, that wasn’t quite right.

It made me feel alive again.

A big smile played on her lips as she led me into the final tunnel. A sign declared us to be in Santa’s grotto.

‘Oh no, these two,’ I said when I spotted Willow’s two Shetland ponies, Blossom and Jasmine. They were in a small enclosure beside the giant red sleigh that Willow had made, which had fake presents piled in it that glittered in the glow from the fairy lights. There was also a shed with a red door and a wreath over it that Holly told me kids could go inside and write a letter to Santa then post them in a red postbox.

‘Someone is going to be dressed as an elf so people can have photos with the ponies,’ Holly explained. ‘Willow hasn’t found a Santa yet but if we can’t, I hope people won’t miss him with all this instead.’

‘They will love it. I just hope the ponies behave; they are known to be naughty,’ I remarked, going over to pat them. They had always been cheeky but I knew the kids loved them.

‘Don’t say that!’ Holly said. She straightened a bow on the roped-off section. ‘Do you think people will enjoy it then?’

‘Of course,’ I assured her. ‘Show me the rest before everyone comes over here.’ I wanted to keep Holly to myself for a little bit longer.

‘This is the end of the tunnels then people will leave through here to go out to the rest of the wonderland,’ Holly said, pausing at the final archway. It was a larger arch and along with the décor that matched the other archways, there was a large sprig of mistletoe hanging down here, tied with a red bow.

I paused too and looked up. Holly was stood directly underneath it. Slowly, I moved my eyes down to meet hers. She stared back at me, her eyes wide. I looked down to her pink lips, slightly parted. Did she have any idea how much I longed to kiss her right now?

‘It’s tradition,’ I said gruffly as I stepped towards her. ‘What do you think?’ I asked, hoping she wanted to kiss me too.

She exhaled loudly. ‘I guess it is tradition, and I don’t need any bad luck…’ She trailed off and bit her lip.

That did it. I leaned in, placing my fingertips gently under her chin, tilting her face up to meet mine. I kissed her gently, savouring the feel of her lips on mine. But she stepped close and murmured so I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in to my chest, deepening our kiss. She matched my eagerness, her lips pressing against mine with more passion than I’d expected. This wasn’t just a quick mistletoe peck; this was deep and hungry. I let out a contented noise and then I backed us up, pressing Holly into the archway. She gasped as I touched her tongue with mine and she clung to my shoulders while I leaned in, enjoying the feel of our bodies against each other.

‘Holly! Paul! You guys in here?’ Willow suddenly called out.

We both froze. I pulled back to see Holly’s lipstick was smudged and her hair tousled as she straightened herself upright. I wiped my lips, smeared with her lipstick, and took in a breath as my body tried to calm itself down.

‘Sorry, I don’t know what happened…’ Holly said breathlessly as I reluctantly dropped my arms from around her. She moved past me, ducking quickly under the archway and out into the fresh air.

‘Hols, wait,’ I said, quickly darting after her. We couldn’t kiss like that then just pretend it hadn’t happened.