Page 76 of Under the Mistletoe with You

‘You English people love to talk around the houses.It’s exhausting.And yes, it was what me and my dad bonded over when I was a kid, before all the acting stuff kicked off.He used to do up classic cars and sell them on for profit, so there was always some half-built banger in our garage.’

‘That sounds nice.’

‘Yeah, it was.And I used to drive a bit as a teenager.Like, I got my licence and then the seizures came right after.’

‘Do you miss driving?’

‘Yeah.I miss the independence.I miss not having to wait for someone to pick me up.It’s probably the most annoying part of it all, if I’m honest.Well, apart from the seizures.’

‘Yes, I can imagine they’re quite irritating.’

They share a smile, but then Nash closes off the conversation with a glance at his phone.‘Sorry, I just have to check my emails for a minute while I’ve got signal.’

He’s not quite sure what he feels.Dropped?A little sad for Nash?But ultimately glad he let him in a little.But Nash was quick to close the door, too.There are things he wants to know about Nash, and not because he is a fan.It’s normal to want to know the man you’re sharing your bed with, right?

Chapter Seventeen

Nash

It’s not that he didn’t want to talk about it, though.Well, hekindof didn’t want to talk about the way his disability disables him at ten o’clock in the morning when he’s about to have a long day of talking to people.

But also, he really needs to decide what he’s going to tell Kurt.

He does genuinely open his inbox.There are a few more back-and-forth emails between Kurt and the execs that Nash has been cc’d into.Requests for more time, and clarity on some clauses in the contract, like whether they’ll be wanting to show-pony him as the face of the network.

Tomorrow – that’s the deadline he gave Kurt, wasn’t it?

The other thing playing on his mind is whether someone is going to leak that he’s here.You never know who is submitting toDeuxMoithese days, though Nash has got quite good at spotting people trying to take a sneaky photo.He doesn’t mind those so much – it’s kind of funny how subtle they think they are being and yet are absolutely failing to be.But if word reaches Kurt that he’s stuck in some village in North Wales before he can tell him, that would bereallybad.

No, that would suck.And it would probably hurt Kurt’s feelings.

He has two options it seems.Either he’s honest with Kurt and tells him that he can’t discuss anything until after Christmas because he’s fled the country, or he just makes up some reason as to why he can’t talk about it.He’s an actor, andyou’d think that lying would come naturally to him, but this is different.

At Myffy’s, Priti lets them both in while she goes to get her things, and they find Myffy tucked up in the front room with a stack of romance novels next to her.

‘I’ve ranked them in order of smuttiness,’ she announces with a cheeky smile.‘Good to keep a bit of heat in my bones, isn’t it?’

‘Do you need anything else today?’Christopher asks after he’s finished chuckling.‘We’re just in the area knocking on doors for the next few hours so we can be back pretty quickly.’

‘I’m good for food, thanks to you lovely boys.Polly, my PA, is doing much better now – but do you think you could whizz her over later?I’ll get Shaz to coordinate if you two are out and about.’

‘Sounds good to me.’

Independence.That’s what Christopher had been asking Nash about earlier, and now that Nash is in Myffy’s house, he can’t stop thinking about it.Relying on other people to look after you is tricky.There was some time a few years ago, when he was luckily out of contract fromParental Units, when his seizures went wild – the neurologist had tried him on a new medication, and it had done the opposite of what was intended.He’d been so ill and felt as if his brain was on fire all the time.There’d been so many seizures that he’d been in and out of hospital and wasn’t safe to be home alone.It had been his friends who’d taken up looking after him in the gaps.Cooking for him, washing his clothes, helping him get around the house, picking him up after he’d had seizures.In the last decade, he’d lost touch with some of those people, but you never forget that care and love.He’ll never not be grateful for it.

Not everyone could be relied on to love someone in

that way.

‘Have you heard anything from Mohan?Has he managed to get out of London yet?’Nash asks.

Myffy shakes her head sadly.‘No trains.He keeps camping out at Euston; that’s the big station where the trains to North Wales go from.He’s hoping for the best, but nothing is running still.’

‘Damn,’ sighs Christopher.

‘It’s a pity he didn’t drive down as he’d probably have chanced it by now,’ she adds.‘Anyroad, I’d rather he’s warm and safe in his hotel.’

‘That’s one thing, at least,’ Nash says, wishing there was a way they could bring Mohan home for her.If he was the kind of extremely rich feature-film star with Marvel money then maybe he’d be able to get him on a private plane; not that anything is flying and he’s pretty sure there’s not a suitable airspace anywhere nearby anyway.The point is, maybe he coulddosomething, rather than just wish he could help.