Love and Lies at The Village Christmas Shop: A laugh out loud romantic comedy perfect for Christmas 2018

‘Hello,’ I hear a man’s voice say in an attempt to get my attention.

I glance up from my book to see him standing in front of me – the mystery man, the athlete, the Henry Cavill-Jamie Dornan hybrid, (almost) all I want for Christmas.

‘I’m so sorry,’ I say. ‘Have you been here long? I used to do the exact same thing when I was younger, just sit here behind the counter, lost in a book while my mum did all the hard work.’

‘Am I in your living room?’ he asks with a laugh.

I pull a puzzled face as I close my book and place it down in front of me. It’s only as I do that I notice the brown sleeves of my reindeer dressing gown and I remember what I’m wearing.

‘Oh, God, no, sorry,’ I babble. ‘It’s a long story. This is a shop and we’re open. I run the place. I’m Ivy.’

I hope down from my stool and walk around the counter to shake his hand.

‘Nice to meet you, Ivy. I’m Seb.’

Seb holds my hand for a few seconds as he peers over my shoulder.

‘Are…are those antlers and a red nose on your hood?’ he asks with an impossibly cheeky smile.

I feel my cheeks flush the same colour as the nose on my dressing gown. ‘Yes,’ I reply with an awkward laugh. ‘I wasn’t expecting any customers yet and it was cold…’

‘No, I like it,’ he replies. ‘It’s cute.’

If it’s even possible, my blushing intensifies.

‘So, business is quiet?’ he asks, walking across the shop, picking up a snow globe from the shelf before shaking it up and watching the flakes fall.

I can’t help but stare at him – not watch him, really stare at him. Taking him in. Seb must be over 6 feet tall, and he’s so muscular that I feel like an elf next to him, my petite, 5’3” frame resulting in me not even coming up to his shoulders.

He has perfectly neat, swept back dark hair, and a thick but short beard – combined with his sexy blue eyes, his chiselled cheekbones and those gorgeous dimples when he smiles are probably the reasons why people so easily mistook him for a Hollywood actor.

‘It’s picking up for Christmas,’ I assure him.

‘It’s a strange thing, a Christmas shop that’s open all year round,’ he muses as he strolls around.

‘It’s not that,’ I insist, following him closely. ‘My mum opened the place up when I was a kid and it was always heaving back then. I took over, after she died, and we were busy for a while. It’s since satnavs became popular. This road used to be the main way into town, so tourists would always pass the shop on their way in or their way out. These days, satnavs lead everyone along the new road, so no one even knows we’re here. We get hikers, and other shops let tourists know we’re here, and they usually remember to stop by.’

‘Hmm,’ Seb says thoughtfully. ‘So, is it just you working here?’

‘You ask a lot of questions,’ I point out.

‘I do,’ he replies. ‘It’s been said before.’

‘What do you do for work?’ I ask.

‘At the moment, nothing,’ he replies.

I raise my eyebrows.

‘What?’ Seb laughs, and there are those dimples again.

I suddenly remember what I’m wearing and tighten the belt of my dressing gown self-consciously.

‘You do nothing?’

‘Nope.’

‘How does a man who does nothing afford a suit like that? And drive around in a Porsche?’ I ask suspiciously.

‘You’ve got me, I’m a drug dealer,’ he says sarcastically. ‘No, I’m just between jobs at the moment. Does this train work?’

Seb runs his hand along the track until he reaches the miniature steam train that used to run all around the shop.

‘Not anymore,’ I admit. ‘It needs repairing.’

‘Shame,’ he says. ‘I like it.’

‘So, you’re just taking a break in Marram Bay then?’ I ask.

‘Just having a look around.’

‘Well, if you need someone to show you the sights,’ I start, before my brain has chance to catch up with my mouth and reality hits me. What am I saying? This isn’t me; I don’t talk to men. Well, I do talk to men, most days in fact, but this isn’t Pete the postman, this is a man man. I don’t know what on earth I was thinking, saying that. There’s just something about Seb that is drawing me in. I quickly backtrack. ‘I’m sure you don’t…’

‘I might just take you up on that, Ivy,’ he replies with a big smile. ‘Do all your customers get this kind of special treatment?’

‘What customers?’ I joke.

Seb takes the snow globe from the shelf and brings it over to the counter. ‘Is this Marram Bay, inside?’

‘It is. There’s a local guy who makes them – I buy them from him.’

‘I’ll take it.’ He grins, placing it down in front of me.

I can’t help but wonder if he actually wants the snow globe, or if he’s only buying it because he feels sorry for me, for seemingly having no customers. I can appreciate that, to an outsider, a Christmas shop that is always open might not seem like the kind of place that would get much custom, but things will pick up in the run-up to Christmas. Either way, I appreciate him buying something. Along with his cheeky smile, Seb has a glimmer of kindness in his eyes, a glimmer that I can’t help but notice twinkling when I look at him.

‘That’s £9.99, please. Would you like me to wrap it up for you?’

‘That’s OK, I’m going straight to my car,’ he says, before furrowing his brow. ‘How did you know I drove a Porsche?’

‘What?’

‘You know what kind of car I drive…’

‘Oh, just a guess.’

Seb laughs. ‘Is that your party trick? Guessing what kind of car people drive?’ he asks.

‘Is it even possible for anyone to be able to do that?’ I reply.

‘Sure,’ he tells me. ‘Hold out your hand.’

I place my hand out in front me, which Seb takes in his hands, examining my palm. It’s amazing, just how warm his hands are compared to mine.

‘Let’s see…you drive…a Honda HR-V,’ he says.

Spooked, I snatch my hand back.

‘A gold one,’ he adds with a smug grin.

‘Ahh, you saw it outside,’ I say, suddenly self-conscious that he’s seen my 1998 plate Honda. It might be old, but it’s an amazing car that never lets me down. It’s no convertible Porsche though, that’s for sure.

‘How could I miss it?’ He laughs. ‘It’s the only car for miles.’

I step out from behind the counter and walk Seb towards the door. He stops in his tracks to say something to me, stopping when he notices the mistletoe hanging above us.

‘How seriously do you take Christmas tradition?’ he asks with an awkward laugh.

‘Pretty seriously,’ I say cautiously. ‘I pretty much live Christmas every day…’

‘Hmm,’ he replies.

There’s an awkward silence between us, but only for a few seconds. I glance around the room awkwardly until I notice Seb’s face just inches from mine. He plants a quick peck on my lips, immediately seeming surprised at himself for doing so. Maybe, as cool and as confident as he seems, he doesn’t do this sort of thing often. I guarantee this sort of thing happens to me even less.

‘OK, well,’ he says, a little flustered, but with a smile on his face. ‘See you around, Ivy.’

‘Bye,’ I call after him, running my fingertips over my lips, where Seb’s lips touched them even if it was only for a second. As I sit back down behind the counter, I look at my book. For the first time – maybe ever – something happened to me in real life that was fresh out of a romcom, and I can’t quite believe it.

He said ‘see you around’ when he left – it would be great to see him around, but what are the chances I’ll ever see him again? He’s not about to need another snow globe anytime soon, is he? He’s got a posh, southern accent, and we don’t have too many men like that in Marram Bay. We have farmers, fishermen – we even have a guy who makes snow globes, but no well-spoken southern men in flashy suits.

Nope, I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. But if I do, I really hope I’m not dressed as a reindeer.

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