Not Just for Christmas

Chapter 1

Chapter One

A ccording to Erin’s mother, a romantic couple’s retreat over Christmas was the height of indulgence.

“What better time to indulge in a dirty weekend away and spice up a relationship?”

Those were her mum’s exact words when she suggested it to Erin over coffee at the end of September.

“ In the Cotswolds, of all places,” her mum crooned while clicking onto the online advert.

Without a lot of thought, Erin agreed that the boutique hotel in the quaint village looked stunning. And that the programme of festive events did indeed sound lovely.

Stupidly, she’d gone on to echo her mother’s sentiment that it did sound like the perfect Christmas present.

If she’d realised her mother had her in mind as the recipient of the extravagant Christmas gift, she wouldn’t have nodded along so readily. She’d have made her reservations clear.

The first one being that she was single so a couple’s retreat was an inappropriate gift. Weirdly enough, she hadn’t felt it necessary to point that out.

Secondly, she’d have argued that she didn’t need guilt gifts just because her parents were choosing to spend the festive season in Australia while her newlywed sister spent Christmas with her in-laws.

Erin didn’t have a problem with a quiet Christmas this year. She absolutely didn’t need a five-day romantic retreat in a picturesque village in one of the UK’s areas of utmost beauty.

And yet, here she was on the 22nd of December, following a two-hour train ride from London, standing in the market square in Chipping Campden and feeling as though she’d stepped out of the taxi and into a scene from a greetings card.

The historic curved terrace street was made up of exquisite buildings in the famous Cotswold stone. Warm light radiated from the windows and twinkling lights dripped from the slate roofs. More lights adorned the Christmas tree in the patch of green beside the old open market hall, which made up the centrepiece of the square.

They really didn’t scrimp on fairy lights here. They weren’t the gaudy every-colour variety either, but gentle golden lights which complemented the caramel-coloured stonework of the buildings.

Her accommodation for the next five nights stood snugly in the row of buildings. From the photos, Erin had the impression that the hotel would be bigger and more imposing, but found it much more charming in real life. Deep red curtains framed the large bay window, and the stone columns which formed the portico entranceway were stylishly adorned with twinkling lights tucked into crawling ivy. The door had been trussed up with a festive wreath and the overall effect was gorgeous.

With her case by her feet, Erin was about to set off for the door when her phone distracted her.

Automatically, she did a quick calculation of the time difference before she answered.

“Isn’t it the middle of the night there?” she asked her mother .

“It is, but the jet lag has me all messed up. Besides, your aunt was being a bad influence and kept topping up the wine. I had no choice but to go along with it. She’s my big sister, after all.”

A joyful whoop in the background made Erin smile. “So the pair of you decided to drunk dial me? Should I be flattered?”

“I called your sister, but she just gave us a lecture about how we should act our age.”

Her aunt’s voice came shrill down the line. “I said we should call my fun niece instead!”

“Thanks.” Erin rolled her eyes.

“How’s your romantic break?” Aunt Laura asked, then howled with laughter. “I’m sorry,” she said, catching her breath. “I can’t believe your mum did that.”

“It’s a great present,” her mum chimed in.

“A great present for a couple, ” Erin said, smiling lightly at the absurdity of the situation.

“September!” her mum screeched, while her aunt laughed loudly in the background. “I told you about it in September.”

“You never said it was my Christmas present,” Erin said adamantly, even though they’d already had this discussion.

“My exact words were, would you like this as a Christmas present? I don’t know how I could have been any clearer.”

“I assumed it was a hypothetical question.”

“Why would I ask it hypothetically?”

Erin turned her face from the freezing wind as she smiled into the phone. “Because I’m single. Why would I think you were offering to treat me to a couple’s holiday for Christmas?”

“ September! ” her mum said again. “I gave you plenty of time to find yourself a man.”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for someone to share my Christmas present with.” It was only a few days ago, before her parents set off for Australia, that the booking voucher had been handed over and September’s miscommunication unveiled. “Also, you knew last week that I didn’t have a boyfriend. You could have mentioned this then. Or last month… sometime before it was too late to cancel.”

“I knew you didn’t have a boyfriend, but I assumed you’d got someone lined up to go with you.”

“Like who?”

“Someone from the internet. A casual fling.”

Erin felt as though her head might explode at any moment. “You thought I’d find a random guy to share my hotel room for five nights?”

“Christmas treat,” her mum said cheekily, setting her aunt off into another fit of the giggles. “Or you could have hired someone.”

Erin’s eyes widened dramatically. “Excuse me?”

“A male escort,” her mum said. “Women do it all the time.”

“Which women?” Erin demanded. “Who do you know that hires male escorts? I think you may be in with a bad crowd, Mum.”

“Not people I know,” she giggled. “But people in films.”

Erin sighed. “Of course.”

“I feel bad now,” Aunt Laura said. “If I’d known, I’d have bought you an escort instead of the bath set I sent.”

“It’s not Christmas yet, Aunt Laura, so I haven’t opened the present. Thanks for the spoiler!”

The pair of them cackled down the phone. With Laura living on the other side of the globe, it wasn’t often the sisters got to catch up in person. Whenever they did, it was pandemonium.

“Imagine if I’d sent you a man all nicely wrapped in a bow!” Laura sniggered.

“A bow and nothing else!” Erin’s mum shrieked.

“Is Dad around?” Erin asked. “Or Uncle Jim. I feel as though you two need adult supervision.”

“They’re in bed,” her mum said. “Pair of lightweights. They can’t keep up with us. ”

“I think it’s great that you’ve gone on this holiday alone,” Aunt Laura said, suddenly serious. “You enjoy yourself, love.”

“I didn’t have much choice,” Erin said. “It was too late to cancel.”

That wasn’t the only reason, though. When she’d read what was on offer during her stay, and seen the beautiful pictures of the hotel, her previous plans had paled in comparison. Not that she hadn’t been looking forward to eating her Marks and Spencer’s turkey dinner in her pyjamas, but five nights in a fancy boutique hotel, with meals prepared by a gourmet chef, was slightly more enticing. On top of that, the package included entrance to a bunch of local Christmas-themed attractions and it all sounded magical in the description.

“There’s no shame in being alone!” Aunt Laura called merrily down the phone.

“I know that, thanks.”

She fully intended to enjoy the hotel experience. She would eat the multiple course meals and go ice skating and explore the light trails in the gardens of the local Manor House.

Why shouldn’t she enjoy the romantic atmosphere, just because she didn’t have a significant other? She wouldn’t be discriminated against because she was single.

She’d have a fantastic time enjoying her own company.

With absolutely no shame at all.

Not one jot.