Page 11 of The Perfect Gift

Ed held up his hands to show her the stained palms. ‘And what about these?’

Kat winced. ‘I suppose you’ll have to wear gloves when you’re out and about. At least it’s cold enough that no one will think that’s strange. And I’ll do some research and see if there’s something we can use that will help it fade quicker.’ Her eyes unfocused as she caught sight of something over his shoulder. ‘Is that the time? I’ve got to run. I’ve got a meeting with the production manager before I set up for lunch and I can’t be late.’ Popping up on tiptoe, Kat brushed a kiss to Ed’s cheek. ‘Get that dye and we’ll sort it out.’

Harry followed her over to the table to help Kat gather her paperwork together and then walked her to the door. Only after he’d seen her out did he return to the kitchen.

‘Did she say she had a meeting with the production manager?’ Ed asked him. ‘On a Saturday?’

Harry nodded. ‘Yeah. We’ve been providing catering for them on set. It’s been a brilliant training ground for my latest batch of students and a great way to show them a different way they can make money from the skills they’re learning other than going to work directly in a restaurant. Like Kat said, it’s the last few days of filming, so everyone is under the pump to get it done in time. The budget is getting close to being maxed out because they’ve worked the last couple of weekends, so we want to make sure we’ve got accurate numbers. People are finishing their parts and leaving all the time, so we don’t want to over-cater if we can help it. Look, sit down and I’ll sort you out some breakfast.’

Ed sat at the now empty table. ‘Kat wasn’t kidding about this being important to you guys.’ And Ed could’ve ruined everything blundering in on Frankie last night and upsetting the star of the show. ‘I’ll make sure I apologise to Frankie when I see her.’

Harry nodded. ‘Avoiding her might be better. She’ll be gone before the end of next week so just keep your head down and keep out of her way.’ He stopped what he was doing to come over and sit opposite Ed. ‘She’s really nothing like the public perception of her. There was a nasty incident last year with some weirdo who was stalking her, so Kat and the others are really protective of her.’

Ed sat back in surprise. That bit of gossip hadn’t made it his way. ‘No wonder she freaked out last night.’ Guilt stabbed deep in his gut. ‘She must’ve been terrified to find a strange man in her house.’ He raised a hand and scrubbed it through his hair. ‘Jesus, I can’t believe I put her through something like that.’

‘It wasn’t your fault.’ Harry sighed. ‘And I didn’t help matters sharing that photo, even if it was just in our private family group. I know we can trust everyone to keep it between us, but Kat said Frankie was really worried about any of what happened last night getting out.’

‘She’s not the only one,’ Ed observed, drily. ‘You could’ve waited twenty-four hours before trashing my reputation with the entire family.’

‘Sorry.’ A telltale twitch at the corner of his brother’s lips suggested he wasn’t that sorry.

Ed rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got a hat and a pair of gloves I can borrow, have you?’

8

Feeling a lot better now he was on the right side of a bacon and egg sandwich and two cups of coffee, Ed headed off into the village. As well as the black knitted fisherman’s cap and a matching pair of gloves, Harry had insisted on lending Ed his padded winter jacket as the thin one Ed had been wearing was screwed up in the bottom of a bin bag, covered in red dye. As soon as he was back from his shopping trip, Ed would need to track Matt down and figure out what had happened to all the stuff he’d left behind at the cottage. Hopefully his cousin had it stored somewhere safe.

Trying not to worry that most of his worldly goods had ended up in a skip somewhere, Ed hurried along Harbour Road opposite the seafront then turned right into the heart of the village. Even wrapped up as he was it didn’t take long for the chill to seep into his bones. It was crazy how soft a few months in the warmth had made him, because this wasn’t even cold by the standards of some of their more recent winters. A colourful banner stretched overhead and he paused to read the bright, bold words.

Halfmoon Quay Christmas Fayre

Saturday 19 December

A list of events, games and types of stalls was written underneath offering everything from festive food to wreath-making and a gift-wrapping service. They’d never had anything like that in the village before and Ed wondered how many of his family were going to be involved with it.

All of them, probably.

If he’d been around no doubt Ed would’ve been roped in to help too. He felt a pang in his gut. If he had been around to get dragged into something he would’ve moaned about it the whole time while secretly enjoying every minute. It felt weird to be on the outside of everything when he’d always been at the heart of things when he’d lived here. The village had moved on without him, and it didn’t seem like anyone had missed him much in his absence.

There was a queue at the counter in the small pharmacy and Ed browsed the packed shelves while he waited for things to quieten down a bit. He located the area dedicated to hair products, but it was nearly all shampoo, conditioner and those gold cans of hairspray like the stuff Ma used. He finally found a couple of boxes of hair dye tucked away in the corner and he picked them up. The young women on the packaging grinned at him as though their lives had been made perfect thanks to their glossy locks. He frowned at the colour swatches on the top of the boxes, trying to decide which one of his limited options had more chance of covering the mess on the back of his head.

‘You all right there, Harry?’

Ed glanced up to find Sheila, the assistant who’d worked in the chemist for as long as he could remember, approaching him with a smile. She did a double take then quickly apologised. ‘Oh, Ed, I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t know you were home.’

He didn’t need to ask how she knew it was him – the tan he’d acquired while he was away only served to accentuate the white scar bisecting his eyebrow. ‘Hello, Sheila. I’m just back for a few weeks.’ He held up the two boxes towards her. ‘Now then, would you say I’m more a Frosted Chocolate or an Elegant Mink kind of guy?’

Sheila laughed. ‘What on earth are you wanting to dye your lovely hair for?’

Damn, Ed should’ve thought of a cover story before he’d asked her. Sheila had a heart of gold but, while she was always discreet when it came to anything to do with prescriptions and medical ailments, she liked a bit of gossip as much as the next person. Ed wracked his brain for a moment before settling on something that was just absurd enough to be believed. ‘I had this idea to surprise the family and dye my hair red for Christmas, you know, like a bauble.’

Sheila raised her eyebrows at him. ‘If I’d heard those words from anyone else, Edward Penrose, I might be surprised, but that does sound exactly like the sort of stunt you’d pull. I suppose it went wrong?’ For once Ed was grateful for his reputation for pranks and nonsense.

He gave her his best shucks-you-know-me-too-well look. ‘The pack said to do a test strip.’ Ed was also grateful he’d read the instructions on the back of the boxes he was holding while he’d been trying to decide between them. ‘Only the tube leaked and I got it everywhere and to add insult to injury it went a weird orange rather than red.’ He tucked one of the boxes under his opposite elbow and used his free hand to edge the cap up at the back to show Sheila his hair.

‘Oh my goodness, what a mess!’ she exclaimed. ‘Just as well you didn’t go any further with it.’

‘It’s stained my hands too.’ Ed heaved a sigh. ‘I thought it would be funny, but the joke’s on me.’ He untucked the box and held them both up. ‘So, what do you reckon? Frosted Chocolate or Elegant Mink?’