Poppy's Christmas Wishes

by Annette Hannah

Genres: General Fiction

Synopsis

'A heartwarming read, full of friendship and fun' Heidi Swain

What would you wish for if you were granted three wishes?

For the first time she can remember, Poppy is dreading Christmas. Unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend after moving across the country for him, there's nothing cheery about the festive season this year.

Dragged to a Christmas ball by best friend Layla, Poppy meets gorgeous actor Gabe, who stars as a genie in a play. When he asks her what three wishes she would make, she realises it's quite simple: love, a job she's happy in and, just once in her life, to do something extraordinary.

Gabe and Poppy make a pact to help each other make their dreams come true. As they tick off their wishes, their friendship blossoms... But, as they discover, sometimes, what you want for Christmas isn't necessarily what you need...

A delicious romance to snuggle up with this festive season from the author of Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Café and The Cosy Little Cupcake Van.

Release date: December 2, 2021

Publisher: Orion

Print pages: 336

Sample

Breathlessly, they pulled away from each other. He exhaled loudly, adjusted his clothes and helped her dismount from the table.

‘So that’s the kitchen christened, which I believe is a full house.’

‘Oi cheeky.’ She slapped him playfully on the arm and slipped back into her robe, her heart still racing. ‘I don’t think we’ve done it in the airing cupboard yet.’ She laughed.

He gave her a cheeky wink and kissed her on the cheek, raising his arm behind her to check his watch as he did so. ‘I’ve probably got time for a quick coffee before I head off.’ He patted her on the bum on his way past to get his overnight bag.

Poppy had been hoping for a bit of an afterglow moment before normality kicked in, but she knew he needed to get back to Liverpool as he was back in work the next day. She filled the kettle and rinsed out his flask.

‘I wish you didn’t have to go back. It’s so unfair, we should have been moving in together.’

‘I know, I’m sorry but it just couldn’t be helped, they need me up there for just a little while longer. But it’s only a few weeks and it’ll fly by.’ He pulled her over to the living room window and cuddled her from behind, kissing her cheek. ‘Look at that view of Market Square and the amazing fountain.’

‘It is gorgeous, isn’t it? The quaint little shops, a pub on the doorstep, just a stone’s throw away from the river… and so handy for the station so I can get the train home whenever I want to.’ She laughed. ‘I’m beginning to sound like the estate agent now, extolling the virtues of the historical market town of Bramblewood.’

‘I think you’re going to be very happy here.’

‘Don’t you mean we?’ she replied.

‘Yes, of course.’ He walked away from the window, gulped down his coffee and got ready to go.

Poppy’s heart sank.

‘I’m going to miss you.’ She wound her arms around his shoulders and lifted her face to him. He kissed her passionately.

‘You too. Good luck with the new job.’

‘Thank you. Well, it’s the training course first in London. I’m a little bit nervous but I’ll be counting down the days until you join me and then it’s Christmas in New York here we come. I’m so excited for that, it’s going to be amazing.’

‘You’ll be great and I’m sure the time will fly. Bye then.’ He kissed her and went to walk away but came back and pulled her into his arms. ‘I do love you, you know. Always remember that no matter what happens.’

‘Are you OK?’ she asked.

He took a deep breath as though he was about to say something important but then shook his head. ‘I’m fine. Apart from the fact that I’ll miss you a lot.’

‘Aw, I’ll miss you too. Bye then, have a safe trip and text me when you get home.’ After closing the door, she went into the main bedroom, picked up the framed picture of the two of them from the bedside table and hugged it to her chest as she curled up on the sofa to watch a film.

A few days later after completing the training course, she arrived at the office bright and early following a short bus ride from Bramblewood. A lady called Tania showed her to her desk and introduced her to a young man called Dan; the three of them sat next to each other in the corner of the office. Tania showed her where the facilities and the stationery cupboard were and Dan got her a coffee. Poppy had spoken to them both on numerous occasions when she worked at the Liverpool branch, so it was good to finally meet face to face. As she unpacked her bits and pieces into her desk and drawers, she felt that she might like it here after all. She would miss her best friend Layla, with whom she’d worked for years and who had cried buckets when Poppy had left but she’d promised she would visit lots.

‘I can’t believe it’s lunchtime already,’ said Poppy, as Tania invited her to the canteen.

‘Hopefully that means you’re enjoying it so far then if it’s going quickly.’ Tania handed Poppy a tray. ‘So, what was it that made you move two hundred miles away from home?’ she asked as they moved their trays along the counter past displays of sandwiches and glass screens showcasing various hot meals.

‘Oh, my boyfriend Ed was offered an amazing job opportunity down here that was simply too good to turn down. It was a huge promotion. He’d been bypassed for the directorship at our branch which he’d been working towards for years, so he was really disappointed about that – devastated, in fact, as it was his dream job. However, this job was a close second. He wasn’t keen on moving but asked me to come with him. I wasn’t so sure as I loved my job and have great friends there. But he eventually managed to persuade me especially when he told me about the New York proposal he had in mind. He suggested this job, so I applied for it and, lucky for me, I got it.’ She placed an egg and cress sandwich on her tray and a cup under the spout of the drinks machine, which after a bit of fiddling around with, soon filled with coffee.

‘Oh, that’s worked out perfectly for you then,’ said Tania. ‘So, when’s he moving down?’ She chose a jacket potato and thanked the lady behind the counter for adding tuna.

‘Well that’s just it, he was meant to move down the same time as me, but his job was delayed until the new year. So as soon as he breaks up for Christmas, we are off to New York to get engaged and then after Christmas, he starts his new job here.’

‘What lovely news and how exciting for you,’ replied Tania.

‘I know, I can’t wait, in less than a month I will have a fiancé and we’ll have moved in together.’

‘What’s his new job?’ asked Tania as she paid for her food.

‘He’s going to be the financial controller,’ Poppy said, her heart bursting with pride.

‘No, he’s not,’ interrupted a woman who pushed Poppy’s tray along the shelf whilst she searched for her purse in her bag. Poppy only just managed to catch the tray before it fell off the end of the counter. The unsmiling woman continued. ‘David Bimble is the new Financial Controller; he starts next Monday.’

‘Well, that’s not true. You must be mistaken?’ said Poppy, her voice caught in her throat as a feeling of nausea washed over her. ‘I was only with Ed the other night; he was saying how much he was looking forward to moving in with me.’ He did say that, didn’t he? She wracked her brains to see whether he had said anything of the sort and realised he’d actually worded his answers very carefully.

‘I can assure you if it’s Ed Casey you’re talking about then he turned the job down last minute and caused me a lot of extra work in admin.’

‘But why would he do that?’ she asked, more to herself than this smug woman.

‘I heard he had a better offer.’ She pushed past Poppy and paid for her food.

‘I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding,’ said Tania, shooting the woman a look as if to say shut up.

Poppy gathered her tray up along with her feelings of confusion and joined Tania who was waiting for her by the till.

‘Britt likes to cause problems, watch out for her as she’s not the nicest. Are you OK? You look a bit pale.’

‘I’m not too sure?’ answered Poppy honestly as prickles of unease crawled down her back.

Three weeks later.

Poppy expected the weather to be much colder at the top of the Empire State building, especially this late in December. But the sun was joyful, beating down, caressing her skin and bathing her in a warm glow of happiness. She looked down at Ed as he knelt before her holding the most beautiful ring. Sparkling rainbows dazzled her as the sunlight danced on the exquisite diamond. Her heart thumped against her chest as she was about to hear those special words she had waited so long to hear.

‘Poppy Kale, will you marry me?’

This was it; this was the moment. Her heart was singing.

‘Yes,’ she replied and held out her perfectly manicured hand to her new fiancé.

As he tried to place the ring on the ring finger of her trembling left hand, he accidentally dropped it on the floor, and they could hear it rolling away.

‘Oh no,’ cried Poppy as she got down on her hands and knees to join Ed in the search.

‘It’s OK, I’ve got it,’ shouted a man from behind them.

Eyes shining with relief, her hand on her chest, Poppy turned to the man to thank him. On closer inspection she realised it was her grandad. How thoughtful of Ed to invite him to the proposal she thought. The old man smiled lovingly at her and closed his hand tightly around the ring. Poppy had a strange feeling that something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t quite grasp what it was. She turned back to Ed when she felt him tugging on her hand and was astonished to see him pushing a doughnut on her finger, it wasn’t even a ring doughnut it was filled with jam and was now looking quite messy. Suddenly everything went dark, the sun wasn’t shining anymore, and she felt shivery.

That’s when she realised what was wrong; her beloved grandad had died two years before. She could hear a buzzing noise and her mind felt fuzzy. She tried to eat the oozing doughnut, but her hand couldn’t seem to find her mouth, it looked so delicious but so messy.

There was that buzzing noise again, it vibrated through her head. She slowly opened one eye and then the other and with a sinking heart she realised it was her doorbell that was making all the noise. She wasn’t in New York enjoying a Christmas proposal from the love of her life. Instead, she was alone in her tiny flat, no grandad, no boyfriend, no ring and no bloody doughnut. She whimpered as the events of the last few weeks came flooding back to her.

It was an understatement but life for Poppy wasn’t exactly going to plan.

After the high of looking forward to an exciting new start down south with her boyfriend Ed, she had fallen back down to earth with not so much a bang but more like a head-on collision without the protection of an airbag.

The dream had really knocked her, especially seeing her grandad again. He had looked so well but it tore her heart apart to wake up and realise all over again that he wasn’t here anymore.

Her grandad had never liked Ed, although it was more a distrust than a dislike, but he always said it was important to let Poppy make her own decisions in life and he supported her in her choices, no doubt hoping that Poppy would eventually come to her senses and realise that Ed simply wasn’t good enough for her. She wished she’d listened to him.

She had never seen herself as one of those girls who crumbled without a man in her life. Yet whenever she thought about the breakup, tears of humiliation stung her eyes, and her stomach sank. He had driven her mad with frustration, being dishonest, ignoring her calls and uprooting her life. She thought after all that he would consider her worth more than this.

After the conversation with Britt, she’d left messages on his answerphone, and it was only when she’d threatened to get the train back up to Liverpool that he’d eventually called her back.

‘I’m so sorry, Poppy, I wanted to tell you, but I felt so bad.’

‘You felt bad,’ she shouted, her body tensing. ‘How do you think I felt when some strange woman told me that my boyfriend isn’t in fact coming down to live with me despite moving me away from my home, my job and my friends for him. But he has changed his mind and didn’t think I was important enough to be told.’ Her lip quivered and her voice shook with a mixture of anger and despair.

‘Poppy please don’t get upset. I was all set to join you but then the guy who beat me to the director’s job got sacked – he couldn’t hack it apparently. Harvey offered it to me, and I just couldn’t refuse. Even though he’s made it quite clear that his expectations are sky high. It’s a hell of a lot of pressure but it’s also what I’ve been working towards my whole life.’

‘Your whole life, your job, your relocation it’s all you, you, you. What about me? You persuaded me to give up my job that I was very happy with, and I had prospects and I gave it up for you. Well, more fool me.’

‘Look I’m really grateful that you gave up your job but try not to be so negative. Look on the bright side it might be good for you to have a change of scenery, you always said that you wanted to do something exciting, and it is a beautiful place. I think you’ll love it there.’

Poppy felt she would burst as the blood rushed to her face, ‘Try not to be so negative,’ she repeated. ‘Who even are you? Look why can’t you relocate the director’s role, I’m sure you can do it from down here.’

‘You know what Harvey’s like, he likes his team around him and I really tried to get your job back for you, but it was too late. It’s all happened so quickly.’

‘But when will you come down next?’

‘Well, that’s the thing, Poppy, it’s going to take up all of my time and every ounce of energy I’ve got to prove myself in this role. And, well, the thing is I just don’t see how a long term relationship will work. I think we need to take a break.’

What?’ she shrieked. ‘Are you serious? But what about New York? We’re supposed to be getting eng—’ she hesitated as her mind went into overdrive. ‘Oh wait, I get it now. That was just a ploy to persuade me to move away with you. Wasn’t it?’

‘No, it wasn’t. I was going to propose but it’s all about priorities. This job will take everything out of me. Maybe one day in the future when I’ve made a success of it we can get back together again?’

‘But I want you now not in the future.’ She felt deflated.

‘I feel like an absolute bastard and a coward for what I’ve done, but I hope we can still be friends.’

She’d never forget those words. How could she when they were etched on the inside of her eyelids? They couldn’t have hurt her more if they were engraved on her heart with a Stanley knife. But he was a coward, and he was a liar. She’d given him everything and the only thing he’d given her was a fully paid up membership of the broken-hearted club.

She fitted the bill perfectly, ticking off the requirements one by one on an imaginary list: shoulders slumped, tick, surrounded by empty chocolate bar wrappers, tick, mascara all over face, tick, watching boxsets of Sex and the City alone every night, tick, although she had to admit that she did that anyway as it was her favourite programme, feelings of shame at having been so foolish, big tick.

She had really thought that Ed was the one; he was tall and handsome and quite arrogant with some people but not with her and she got butterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him. He had a great job at Recharge Accountancy Ltd and was really going places. He was also her boss and as inter-office affairs were frowned upon they’d had to sneak around to see each other for the first few months of their relationship, until it became serious and Ed had okayed it with one of the partners.

Those first few months were thrilling and naughty, all secret smiles and winks. Touching hands slightly whilst passing each other in the corridor would send tingles through every nerve in her body, not to mention the sheer indecency that took place in the stock room every now and then. Ed made her feel so special and wanted.

The only little niggle she’d had about him was his reluctance to spend; he was a typical accountant and liked to take care when it came to relieving himself of any cash. He was ambitious though and knew exactly what he wanted. He’d filled Poppy’s head with hopes and dreams of what saving up could achieve: the huge house in the countryside, filled with children, fancy holidays and anything else she wanted. Poppy didn’t really mind as she saw herself as an independent woman who was earning a good living so didn’t think anything of paying for the odd meal. Poppy didn’t care about material things, so this hadn’t bothered her whilst they were together. It would wind her best friend Layla up whenever she told her about it, though, because she thought Poppy deserved so much better.

She would have done anything for Ed, which is why she hadn’t hesitated to apply for the job down south when he asked her to. Knowing that he would be joining her soon had filled her heart with happiness.

When Ed had driven her down to Bramblewood with all her possessions, they explored the small market town and loved it. The flat was situated in the market square above a characterful little shop called ‘Odds’n’Sods.’ The name had made them laugh at first, but they quickly came to realise how apt it was, as the owner Mr Ives sold practically everything you could possibly need. He and his wife would ensure that if they didn’t have something you needed, they would order it in. The market square was surrounded by other quaint shops, cafés and restaurants, a small B&B and The Flamingo’s Leg, a pub which backed onto the river with tables and chairs outside.

The historic market town of Bramblewood featured shops which were hundreds of years old with original black Tudor beams peeking out through white exteriors. The other buildings were a lot more modern but had been built in keeping with the original architecture.

A beautiful working fountain stood resplendent in the centre of the square, which was lit up at night. According to Mr Ives, market stalls would fill the area every Monday and attracted quite a crowd.

The river Bram, which meandered through miles of beautiful countryside and eventually led into London, was on their doorstep. A large village green, a church and a charming old, converted signal box all hundreds of years old added to the quaintness of the town. The place was picturesque. They’d spent the weekend exploring it together but now that Ed wasn’t coming it had all dulled for Poppy. The enchanting brightly coloured lanterns that were strung up along the shops in the high street and round the market square were a welcome sight for most people, including Poppy when she’d first arrived. They’d heralded the fact that Christmas would soon be here, but now they were a sad reminder of the Christmas she should have had.

The doorbell rang again. Poppy jolted awake from the half-asleep state she was in and rubbed at her eyes. Feeling more disappointed that the doughnut wasn’t real, rather than the proposal, she flumped down the hallway of her tiny flat in her onesie and fluffy bunny slippers. She opened the door to a flurry of shopping bags, the sound of bottles clinking together, a bright purple suitcase and a very excited best friend wearing a sparkly red Santa hat with a flashing bobble on the end of it.

‘Merry Christmas,’ Layla sang, as she kissed Poppy on both cheeks. ‘I’m so glad I’m here at last what a long journey. I had fun on the tube, it was like a party, everyone squished up against everyone else. A hot guy insisted I wore his hat and I thought you said no one talks to each other? Practically the whole carriage was singing Christmas songs, it was a lovely atmosphere.’ She dropped her bags in a heap on the living room floor, shook off her coat and threw it over the arm of the worn leather armchair. She looked around the cosy room.

‘Hey where’s your tree? Where are your fairy lights? You love fairy lights. I thought you were joking about cancelling Christmas, but you must be serious if you haven’t got fairy lights. Oh, come here, give us a hug.’ Layla stopped to draw a breath and Poppy allowed herself to be swallowed up in a long-awaited cuddle.

The soothing arms of her friend caused her to have a mini-meltdown. Poppy wept huge hot tears into Layla’s shoulder leaving mascara trails on her expensive cream top, whilst wailing about how lonely she’d been and what a double-crossing bastard her ex was. Layla let her get it out of her system until eventually Poppy took a deep breath and offered to make her a nice cup of tea.

Layla shook her head, ‘Look, a cup of tea might solve everything in the soaps, but this is real life and it’s a celebration.’

Poppy put her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. ‘No celebration, I told you I’m not doing Christmas.’

‘Who said anything about the C word? The celebration is because I’m here and I’ve brought your favourite rosé, and some flavoured vodka.’ She smiled as Poppy opened her eyes wide. Layla grabbed Poppy’s wrists and gently pulled her hands away from her ears. ‘Come on, you’ve been working all day and I’ve travelled two hundred miles to be with my best. . .