Runaway Christmas Read online

  Swati Sharma

  www.dreamworldpublications.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Swati Sharma is born and bred in Delhi. Swati is the author of Fashionably Yours and several coffee-table books. She has extensively written for a lifestyle magazine. She is also the Festival Director of Noida International Literature Festival.

  Drop by her Twitter (@Author_swati) or Instagram (@Author_swati) and say hi!

  This book is dedicated to R. You are always in my heart.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter One

  I hadn’t planned to drive through the narrow, twisty lanes of Sprinklefield on a dark, snowy day just in time for Christmas while repetitively listening to the 90s music in my mini cooper. In fact, I should have been in my apartment and should be worrying about not eating too many canapés from Mrs. Robinson’s bakery next to my office till the wedding day because it’s no joke how expensive my wedding dress was and I couldn’t risk to not fit into it. In all honesty, I was doing my level best to avoid accidental binge eating and had been extra careful to not try my dress again and again and twirl like a little girl in front of the mirror because I didn’t want to trip and spoil it but despite my best efforts, five days back I ended up spoiling it with my mascara. I had cried in it for two days straight after I had been dumped by my fiancé because apparently, he had come to his senses and realised that he was just not prepared for the wedding. As the memories of the day came back to me when I received a WhatsApp message from him saying that he can’t do it, my eyes welled up and I fought to push back the tears. Swallowing the gulp in my throat, I slowed down my car and ran my gaze along the road I was driving on and tried hard to find a house, a car, a human or a random signboard at the very least so that I could assure myself that I had not lost my way and stranded in the snow desert because no matter where I looked, there were just canopies of snow-encrusted trees stretching over miles and miles over the streets. As I drove little further, I noticed a massively huge blanket of snow rolling down all over the fields. The cute little cottages with circular chimneys and white picket fences suddenly came in the view but were barely visible in the hard and fast falling snow. I craned my neck to get the panoramic view of the supposed town which was slowly vanishing somewhere under the thick sheets of snow but I failed to see anything other than a few chimneys spiralling smoke in the grey clouds and huge rustic light post by the bank of the frozen river in the far distance.

  “What have I got myself into?” I thought to myself while pulling the hood of the parka over my warmest of the warm beanies and scrabbled in the dashboard for the packet of Marlboro. Pulling over my car on the side I lit a cigarette and wistfully thought what I had done to deserve being here, in middle of tundra when everybody else had been preparing for the Christmas over the globe. For a brief second, I wondered how amazing my Christmas would have been only if everything had gone by my plan. I would have been married to the only man that I had ever loved so truly and deeply that I had gone and bought a flat with him and had taken a huge mortgage even when my parents advised me to slow down and think through before making such a big financial decision but nope, I preferred to stay blindly in love with a man who dumped me over a message. A bloody message! I had not taken an off or a vacation in last two years because I had been saving every single penny for this wedding, I fought with my parents and I had been paying hefty loan installments and EMIs and that man had no balls or decency to come to me and say it to my face. A message? Seriously?

  Christmas wedding was all I had been obsessively thinking about day and night for the whole time and when he called it off just like that, I wanted to hang him on the tree, wrap the tinsel around his neck and set him on fire but instead I decided to be sensible and brave about it. Mustering all the courage and dignity that I was left with, I called my parents to tell them that I was going to spend the Christmas with them, just like the old times aka as if nothing had happened but my parents had the complete meltdown when they learned that their daughter had been jilted. Getting control over their emotions, they suggested that we should all go to India and ring in the New Year with my father’s family. Though I declined their generous offer, I encouraged them to go on with the plan because now that the wedding was off and they had nothing to keep them back. Honestly I was not ready to be looked upon as the poor jilted bride by the large army of my extended family whom I hadn’t seen in past ten years and not even remember their faces and if it’s not a reason good enough then I refused to be force-fed intolerably spicy Indian dishes, shockingly buttery curries, and ghee laden rotis by my grandma who loves me to the bits and literally shoves the food in my mouth with her fingers out of pure love, bless her but I was just not up for it. And now, when I had no option other than spending Christmas in my studio apartment on my own while pity-partying for one over vodka and takeaway, I thought that it would be better if I could just get away from all the mess and concentrate on my work. I was tired of crying and mourning because I had done only this since I got that message and it was even worst telling everyone that the wedding is off, the florist, baker, wedding planner, friends and everyone I had known since my existence. I was desperate for a retreat, desperate to get away. Hence I took up the assignment to refurbish the rustic, charming cottage in the tiny post-card village tucked safely in the south of Wiltshire, Sprinklefield. I was so excited at the prospect of going to this pretty, little village that I had decided to come a few days early instead of waiting until after the holidays.

  Now when I was here, I wondered if I had taken the right decision because it’s 5 o’clock in the evening and I couldn’t see anybody on the streets or hear any sounds. It was like a ghost town.

  Puffing over the last of the cigarette, I tapped in the GPS on my iPhone for the directions but as soon as I jabbed on the screen, the phone died in my hands. Instinctively I reached for my handbag on the passenger seat to retrieve the phone charger but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I emptied the bag upside down and there was everything that I had packed; a dozen of lip glosses, three different mascaras, tampons, iPod, my house keys, the cottage keys but no charger. “Merry fucking Christmas Mia” I wailed.

  Fifty minutes and five cigarettes later, when I finally reached to my destination with the help of the barely visible signboards under the layers of snow; I was shocked to realize that how remote this area is compared to the rest of the village. There was just handful of cottages scattered through the vast landscape. Passing through one of the cottages, I noticed how Christmassy it looked with perfectly tied wreaths on the front door, green and red ornaments in the window and a huge Christmas tree in the front garden with blue and golden decorations and star shaped fairy lights. Honestly this year I would miss having my own tree and as I realised it I felt terribly sad but nonetheless, I kept on driving and when I spotted one particular cottage on the far end of the road, my heart sank at the sight of it. I knew it’s the one. It was disguised behind the overgrown snow-dusted tree. It looked sad, cold and horribly deserted. Turning off the engine in front of the cottage, I stepped out from the comfort of my car into the fresh, soft snow which was not so bad compared to the blast of cold wind which made it difficult for me to stand straight. Trudging through the snow, I reached for the boot of the car and unloaded my suitcase as fast as humanly possible. Taking off the gloves, I retrieved the keys from the depth of my handbag. It was bitterly cold out here and I was struggling to get the key into t
he lock on the battered front door with chipping yellow paint which was coming off from all the directions. “Calm down for fuck sake” I yelled at my hand which had started to turn blue. “Oh my god, I had to get in fast or I’ll lose my hand,” I thought to myself and then just like magic, the lock clicked and the door went flying open.

  “Holly shit! This can’t be it” I muttered under my breath. In my career of seven years as an interior decorator I had seen several bad cases of old, empty houses in need of refurbishing but this cottage was the worst of them all. I kid you not but it was literally crumbling. The dust lays over every surface, cold seeps in from the broken window frames, rays from the street light streams through the holes in the shredded curtains, mouldy wallpapers were coming off the walls and the floorboard creaked even if I breathe. ‘Oh my god this cottage would need a hell lot of work’ I thought to myself. Reaching for the light switches on the wall, I successfully found the switch to the only working light in the cottage. Keeping myself strong I walked the length and breadth of the cottage and made the mental notes about where I would be starting my work from the next morning but first I needed to find myself a decent B&B because god knows I needed a good soak, decent meal, and a warm bed before I would get into complete work mode. Ready to leave, I turned on my heels and reached for the door but as I pulled it open, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My car had been completely covered by the snow leaving just the rooftop in the view. The wind was so crazy that I struggled to open my eyes and the snowfall was so thick that I could barely see the street lamp across the road. Quickly I shut the door tightly behind me “how will I ever get out of here” I thought to myself and as I realised that it could be very long before I would get access to the warm, comfortable place, I went into the panic mode.

  Two hours had past and the blizzard had gotten only worst. I was hungry, tired, angry and very close to getting hypothermia. After combing through the entire cottage I was convinced that I was going to die cold, alone and starving. There was nothing here other than the dirty sofa, a rusty bed, dusty sheets, a saucepan sans handle and a chipped coffee mug. No way to get any heat or food. For a moment I considered reaching out to the neighbors and taking a shelter there but then I realised that I was practically in the middle of nowhere and the last cottage I had passed in my way to here was not quite so close. It’s better to try then to die here without anyone knowing, by the time I had made up my mind to venture out and seek the refuge in the closest house something even more amazing happened. The door had nearly frozen in its frame and refused to open more than an inch.

  Since I couldn’t do anything but to wait for the snowstorm to pass, I got my arse off the sofa and dragged my suitcase to the upper floor of the cottage where there was a bed in one of the two bedrooms. Placing the suitcase by the window I reached for the bed and as I stripped off the sheets from the mattress a huge cloud of dust engulfed the room. “Brilliant” I screamed and before I could get hold of myself I furiously started to beat the dust out of the mattresses with my hands until there was nothing left. It definitely felt good. Opening up the suitcase, I took out my shawl and spread it on the bed before slumping on it with a thud and as if on a cue it had gone pitch dark inside the house. The street light which was doing the fine job of lightening the room had gone out. “Fabulous! Lights out is all I needed” I screeched while looking towards the mouldy ceiling. Pulling the beanie over my eyes, I willed myself to sleep and not to think about the possible ghosts on the loose lurking in the abandoned house just like they show in horror movies. “What have I got myself into?” I asked to the walls before breaking into sobs and eventually getting to sleep.

  Chapter Two

  I was not sure but it must have been past midnight when I felt the super bright lights in my eyes. Struggling to open my eyes, I saw a slight glimpse of someone hovering over my face. ‘Jesus, it’s ghost!’ my heart fell into my stomach and a loud scream escaped from my mouth as I got off the bed and blindly ran for the stairs. “Hey listen to me” the ghost called out behind me in very husky voice but I kept on running down the stairs and suddenly I tumbled down and everything went blurry.

  “Are you alright?” as I opened my eyes I saw a man in puffer jacket with stunning blue eyes kneeling over me with the water in a chipped mug and was looking at me with the mixture of concern and confusion. He reeked of beer.

  “Who are you?” I asked while unashamedly glaring at his chiselled jaw and mass of dark hair peeping from underneath his beanie and slightly curling at the nape of his strong, muscular neck. His stubble made him look sexier and rugged rather than ill and gloomy like my ex-fiancé. It was probably for the first time in my life I had seen a man as handsome as him in flesh and blood.

  “That’s what I should be asking you. Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” he asked as he helped me to get up from the floor and lead me towards the sofa. My skin tingled where his hand touched. It was quite strange!

  “What do you mean by your house?” I said as I slumped on the sofa and tried to make the sense of it all.

  “I am Connor O’Brien and this is my house,” he said as he searched my face for answers. He looked exhausted and sexy.

  “Oh my god! So you are Connor O’Brien. Well, I am Mia Kapur and I am your interior designer. You have hired me to refurbish this house” I beamed and now he looked even more confused.

  “Right!” a look of recognition was apparent of his face. “But weren’t you supposed to be here after the holidays? And how on earth did you get in?” He asked as he took the seat next to me. The smell of his aftershave mixed with that of beer was intoxicating. I liked it…a lot!

  “Umm…Well..err…. It would be safe to say that I just decided to come early” I grinned. “And about me getting in, remember you sent me these in the mail a few days back?” I took out the keys from the pocket of my jacket. He turned his head from side to side to get the better look at it as if he was trying to remember before muttering under his breath “Oh yeah! Totally forgot about them”. Ok. That was strange. How could you send your house keys to someone you had hired over the emails and hadn’t even met and then totally forget about it? I jumped out of the train of my thoughts when I realised his eyes on me. They were not only beautiful but intense and unnerving.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop. “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” I said before mentally kicking myself for being such a big mouth in front of such a handsome man.

  “I am wondering why you were sleeping in that dirty, old bed. Do you know nobody has slept in it in last two decades and besides that why would you be here in the time for Christmas? Don’t you have anything better to do or places to be?” he asked but when he saw me struggling to string a sentence he changed the subject “why didn’t you call on the number in my email I would have surely arranged something for you” as his lips moved I found it hard to concentrate on his words.

  “umm…..Actually, I came here in a bit of a hurry so I didn’t get the time to book a room for myself in a decent B&B and trust me if I had had any idea that the snow was going to be so bad here than I would have come a lot prepared. And as far as it’s about calling you then honestly it d..d…di..didn’t occur to me” It was difficult to look at him and talk at the same time.

  “What was the rush?” he threw his head back and closed his eyes which were struggling to stay open and before I could answer he fell asleep. Just like that. I got up from the sofa and helped him lay down which was no joke but after a lot of tugging and pushing, I did it.

  I spent the entire night in tossing and turning in the bed while the most exquisite man I had ever laid my eyes on slept on the sofa just a few yards away from me. It was surprising that I actually made it through the night without getting out of the bed and sitting on the floor next to the sofa; sniffing his smell and looking at his handsome face till the dawn. It wasn’t long when I realised that morning had arrived and the snowfall had finally come t
o the halt. I raced straight down the stairs and found Connor sitting on the sofa with his head hanging down.

  “Good morning,” he said without looking at me.

  “Morn….” I opened my mouth but he cut me short “I am sorry” he said, as he got up from the sofa and came to where I was standing. He looked at me and for a moment I thought my heart stopped beating.

  “I think I should be the one saying sorry. After all, it was me who came to your house without giving you any prior information. I am so sorry” I said as I carefully avoided looking directly into his eyes.

  “Oh, it’s alright” he tried to muster a smile but failed. “I am sorry because now I don’t need your services” he added with the hint of guilt and anger in his eyes.

  “Excuse me?” I was sure I didn’t hear it right.

  “I am sorry for the inconvenience I have caused you but now I don’t need this house to be refurbished. I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am but I am so sorry and I’ll make sure that you get out of here safe and sound. I have seen your car outside, right now it’s almost under the snow but I’ll get it out and will get its engine running” he said. No.No.No.No.No. It couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t just go back home, go back to all those painful memories and go back to spending Christmas on my own for the first time in several years.

  “Listen I am not sure what you are on about but I can’t go back just like that and you can’t pull the plug like that!” I could feel the anger rising inside me. What had I done to make him fire me before I had even started my job? I hadn’t been here for a day and I was already told to leave. What was going on here? “If you are angry or upset that I had come here without letting you know well in advance then I am so sorry but please don’t fire me” I heard myself pleading. My emotions were getting better of me. I was on the verge of crying.