The Best Christmas Ever

by Karen King

Genres: Family Life; Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance; Romantic Comedy

Synopsis

A sparkling festive love story to warm your heart this Christmas.

Lexi Forde adores Christmas. She's especially looking forward to it this year as it's the first Christmas with her boyfriend Ben and her older brother is visiting from Canada with his family. They'll all be spending Christmas at her parents' house in Devon.

But when Lexi surprises Ben at work, she sees him kissing someone else and discovers he's been having an affair. Devastated, she travels to Devon alone.

She's determined not to let her break-up spoil her family Christmas. But when she arrives, Lexi discovers the council won't allow the Christmas tree on the green to be decorated this year; it's too dangerous and has to come down. Lexi is desperate to save their favourite family tradition and make this Christmas extra special.

Can she save the tree and mend her broken heart in time for Christmas?

(P) 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Release date: October 7, 2021

Publisher: Headline

Print pages: 352

Sample

Friday, eight days before Christmas

Well, that was school finished for a couple of weeks, Lexi Forde thought as she started up her car. She loved her job as a primary school teacher at Rudcup Primary but it was very demanding and, whilst the run-up to Christmas was rewarding and fun, it was crazily busy. She was glad to have a couple of weeks off now and was looking forward to catching up with her family down in Devon.

This is going to be the best Christmas ever! My first one with Ben, and the whole Forde family together again.

She waved to some pupils she passed walking up the hill with their parents, then turned right to head for the shopping centre. She wanted to get some new Christmas lights so that she could put up the tree at the weekend, and buy a couple more presents for her boyfriend, Ben. She’d already bought him a Ferrari drive experience – she knew he would love that – and a retro arcade machine, which her best friend, Fern, was keeping in her spare bedroom so that Ben didn’t stumble across it. There wasn’t much room to hide anything in their one-bedroom flat. And she had just finished the Christmas jumper she’d secretly been knitting while he was working late. She wasn’t sure if Christmas jumpers were Ben’s thing, but all her family would be wearing one so she hoped he would join in the festive spirit and don it for the day.

This Christmas was going to be so special, her elder brother, Jay, and his family were coming over for a visit. She hadn’t seen Jay since he went to work in Canada five years ago or met his wife, Sonia, and their three-year-old son, Toby. They’d video called, of course, which was great, but it wasn’t the same as seeing them in the flesh. Her younger brother, Ryan, would be there too, with his girlfriend, Nell. And Granny Mabe, who had moved in with Lexi’s parents a few years ago when Grandpa Huey had died. Luckily, Lexi’s parents’ sprawling four-bedroom detached house, with the garage conversion for Granny Mabe, was big enough to put them all up. It would be a fun-filled Christmas and Lexi was longing to see them all again. Especially after last year when she couldn’t travel to Devon because of the Covid restrictions. Unfortunately, Ben didn’t finish work until midday on Christmas Eve and he had to return the day after Boxing Day, but at least they would all be together for Christmas Day.

‘You go down at the weekend and spend some time with your family, Lex, I can come down on Christmas Eve,’ Ben had urged her as soon as he’d heard that there was going to be a gathering of the Forde clan.

Although she was tempted, Lexi was a bit worried that Ben might be too tired to drive down on Christmas Eve and would go to his mum’s for Christmas instead. He’d actually suggested this, but as it would be their first Christmas together, she didn’t want to spend it apart. So, she’d told him she wanted them to go down together and didn’t mind just having a couple of days with her family. She wanted Ben to experience a Forde Christmas. All her family were as crazy about Christmas as she was and, once the whole Forde tribe got together, the festivities really started. She knew that her parents would go overboard with the decorations, as usual, covering the outside of the house and the tree in the front garden with twinkling lights. There would be a Christmas tree in every room and in the porch, and Dad would have fetched his collection of inflatable snowmen, Santas and reindeer and placed them all over the house. Christmas jumpers and Christmas hats were a must. She smiled as she recalled how her parents had always dressed up as Santa and Mrs Claus for Christmas day when Lexi and her brothers were young.

She decided to meet Ben from work when she’d finished her shopping so they could go for a drink and have a catch up. They’d both been so busy lately they’d barely had time to mumble more than ‘what shall we have for dinner?’ or ‘do you want a coffee?’ Perhaps they could grab a bite to eat before they came home too, that would make the evening more relaxing. She knew that Ben was working a half day tomorrow, so she decided she’d put up the Christmas tree as a surprise for when he came home. Maybe she could get a small turkey crown and they could have their own Christmas dinner on Sunday – it would give them chance to celebrate as a couple. She could get a box of crackers too, and they could open one or two of their presents, have their own early Christmas Day. That would be so romantic.

The shops were packed with long queues everywhere. By the time Lexi had bought some new lights – she’d plumped for warm white ones that changed to multicoloured then back again – and a couple of stocking fillers for Ben, there was only half an hour before Ben finished work. I’ll get the rest of the shopping on Monday, she decided, as she headed for the car park.

It was bitterly cold. Lexi shoved her hands in her pockets, wishing she hadn’t left her gloves in the car, and glanced over at the entrance to the big office block where people were starting to trickle out. Ben should be out any minute now, he finished work at five thirty and it was twenty to six. Unless he was working late. He had worked late quite a bit lately. It was stupid of her to come and meet him on impulse like this, she should have messaged him first, she realised. She’d text him now, she could wait in the café around the corner if he was working late, or maybe he would be able to leave if he knew she was waiting for him.

She took out her phone then paused, a smile springing to her lips as the doors opened and Ben walked out, looking endearingly handsome as he buttoned up his long black overcoat, the grey-cashmere scarf she’d knitted for him wrapped around his neck. She always thought that there were two different Bens, the easy-going Ben that lounged around in jeans and T-shirts at home and the sales manager Ben who always dressed impeccably for work in a suit, shirt and tie. She loved both versions. She waved and stepped forward but Ben had turned back to the entrance. Has he forgotten something? A woman with short, dark hair, dressed in a long camel coat with knee-high, brown-leather boots, and a brown-leather handbag swinging on her shoulder, walked out and her face lit up in a smile. Lexi watched, stunned, as Ben stepped forward to meet her and the woman wound her arms around his neck and kissed him. Kissed Ben. Her boyfriend. And Ben was kissing her back. Then they were both walking off hand in hand and Lexi was watching them, too shocked to move. Ben and another woman?

Suddenly she found her voice and shouted ‘Ben!’ so loudly that other office workers leaving the building stopped and stared.

Ben turned around and she saw the surprise on his face as he registered her standing there, then quickly released the woman’s hand. ‘Lexi?’

He was walking back towards her now, swiftly composing himself and changing his expression to one of delight. ‘Lexi, darling . . .’

Here it came, the big excuse for why he had kissed another woman and was walking off with her. Did he think she was so gullible that she would accept anything he said? The look on that woman’s face when she spotted Ben waiting for her had said it all.

‘Rosa and I were just . . .’

Lexi folded her arms and waited to see what explanation would trip out of his mouth.

‘Just tell her the truth, Ben. She deserves that.’ The woman – Rosa, apparently – had joined them. She linked her arm through Ben’s, a smug expression on her face as she looked at Lexi. ‘I’m sorry you had to find out this way. Ben was going to tell you after Christmas, weren’t you, Ben?’

Ben opened his mouth but no sound came out.

‘Tell me what exactly?’ Lexi asked, fighting to keep the tears from her eyes and the wobble out of her voice. She would not break down in front of them. She damn well would not!

‘Lexi . . .’ Ben had found his voice now, his eyes were on hers, pleading for her to understand.

‘We’re in love. We’ve been seeing each other for a while.’ Rosa was looking at her with pity in her eyes. Lexi jutted out her chin, holding her head higher. She didn’t want this bloody woman’s pity. Nor Ben’s.

‘Is that so? Well, in that case, you’re welcome to each other.’ She fixed her eyes on Ben’s face, ignoring the woman. She held out her right hand, palm upwards. ‘I’ll have the keys to my flat, thank you.’

Ben looked shocked. ‘You’re throwing me out?’

Is he for real? ‘You expect to keep living with me when you’ve just told me that you’re seeing someone else?’ She wriggled her hand. ‘Give me my keys. I’ll pack up your things and put them outside the door of my flat at eight o’clock tonight. You can pick them up then.’

The colour drained from Ben’s face. ‘You can’t do that . . .’

‘I think you’ll find I can. The flat is in my name.’ She’d been renting it for two years before Ben had moved in and, thankfully, hadn’t got around to adding him to the tenancy.

‘I’ll give you the key when I’ve collected my things. I don’t trust you. You might throw them away in revenge.’

Lexi summonsed up the most contemptuous look she could manage. ‘Revenge for what? For you cheating on me? Don’t flatter yourself that I’m upset about it because I’m not. I was getting bored with you anyway.’ It was a lie but she was damned if she would let either he or bloody Rosa know how upset she was.

‘Don’t worry about it, darling, you can move in with me. Let’s go and collect your things now and take them straight over to my house.’ Rosa emphasised the word ‘house’ as opposed to ‘flat’, her eyes taking in Lexi’s short, grey faux-fur coat, red-and-black checked miniskirt, thick black tights and black over-the-knee boots. She obviously considered Lexi inferior to her.

‘Go ahead, but she isn’t stepping foot in my flat,’ Lexi told Ben firmly. ‘She can wait in the car.’

She turned on her heels and marched away, her head held high. It wasn’t until she reached her car and was safely sitting in the front seat that a sob wracked her body. Pull yourself together. You’re not going to do this in front of them. You don’t want Ben to arrive at the flat for his things and find you crying. Don’t give him the satisfaction. She took a few deep breaths, then started up the car. She would give Ben a quarter of an hour or so to pack his things and get out. Then she could give way to the devastation and shock his betrayal had caused her.

Lexi had been home just long enough to pour herself a glass of Sauvignon Blanc for Dutch courage – and shock – when the door opened and Ben walked in. He paused in the doorway and looked at her as though assessing whether he needed to duck from flying missiles. ‘I never meant this to happen . . .’

‘I don’t want to hear any excuses.’ She held out her hand. ‘Key.’

He shuffled his feet awkwardly. ‘Lexi, can’t we talk about this? Let’s not be hasty.’ He gave her his best puppy-dog look, the one that usually melted her heart. Well, not this time.

‘Talk about what? That you’ve been cheating on me for goodness knows how long?’ She glared at him. ‘There’s nothing to talk about. You want someone else. I’m not going to stand in your way.’

‘I don’t know whether I do. I still love you . . .’

‘Tough. I no longer want you. Now if you would please pack and go.’

‘I’m sorry, I never meant it to happen. It doesn’t have to end like this . . .’ He gazed at her imploringly.

‘It certainly does. We’re over.’ What was he on? Did he think she would just forgive him, beg him to come back? Lexi was a tolerant person and believed in giving people a second chance, or even a third, depending on the circumstances, but loyalty was the one thing that was non-negotiable in a relationship as far as she was concerned. Much as she loved Ben, she couldn’t – wouldn’t – forgive him for cheating on her.

He scowled. ‘Well, if that’s the way you want it.’ He dropped the key on the coffee table. ‘I’ll be out of your way in a few minutes.’

She took a long gulp of wine. How dare he act as if she was the one in the wrong? She wanted to scream and pummel him with her fists, throw his clothes out of the window, but she had no intention of doing either. She would remain calm and dignified if it killed her. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of any other reaction.

She sat on the sofa in the lounge area sipping her wine and pointedly ignoring Ben as he stamped about packing his things, then took them outside to where Rosa was waiting. Finally, he stood in front of Lexi. ‘That’s it then. Everything.’ There was a tragic edge to his voice.

She forced herself to calmly meet his gaze. ‘Goodbye, Ben.’

He shook his head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe you’re being so cold about this.’

She surveyed him over the rim of her glass. ‘What do you want me to do? Cry? Beg you to stay with me?’ She shook her head. ‘Not my style. Now let yourself out.’

‘You’re not the person I thought you were, Lexi. I thought you were warm, loving . . .’

She eyed him contemptuously. ‘Says the man who’s been shagging another woman behind my back.’

He flinched as if she’d slapped him across the face. Then he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

As soon as the front door closed, the tears that Lexi had been fighting back for the past hour spilled out of her eyes and poured down her cheeks. She put the now-empty wine glass down on the table, curled up into a ball, pulling her feet up underneath her and resting her head on her bent knees, and sobbed. She’d really thought that she and Ben were happy together, that he might be ‘the one’. They’d rarely argued, had rubbed along together so well. How wrong she was. She couldn’t believe that he had betrayed her so badly. How long had it been going on? While she’d been planning their first Christmas together, Ben had probably been plotting how to avoid spending Christmas Day with her, preferring to be with Rosa instead. No wonder he had suggested that she go down to Devon to spend time with her family by herself. She’d bet he’d been intending to say he was too tired to travel down to join them and would have Christmas dinner at his mum’s instead, only he wouldn’t have been at his mum’s, would he? He’d have been at Rosa’s. The two-timing rat.

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, poured herself another glass of wine and wandered into the bedroom. The wardrobe doors on Ben’s side were open. She walked over and looked inside at the empty space where his clothes had hung. The very clothes that he would soon be hanging up in Rosa’s wardrobe. Then she turned to the bed, her eyes resting sadly on the empty spot where Ben would no longer sleep. Tonight, she would sleep alone and Ben would be cuddled up to Rosa. A lump formed in her throat again and tears welled in her eyes. Her mother would tell her to cry it out. ‘Crying is good for you,’ she always said. ‘It’s nature’s way of getting rid of the sadness in your heart. Once it’s all out, you can start building your life again.’

Lexi kicked off her shoes, yanked back the duvet and lay down, then she pulled it around herself, buried her head in the pillow and cried out her sadness. It took a long time, but finally, she fell asleep.

Lexi awoke the next morning feeling exhausted but calmer. At least she had found out what a lying scumbag Ben was. Now she was going to pull herself together, go down to Devon and have a brilliant family Christmas. She certainly wasn’t going to spend it crying over Ben. And she could go down today instead of waiting for Ben to finish work on Christmas Eve. There was nothing to keep her here, she could take her laptop and do her lesson planning in Devon. She’d tell her parents that Ben had insisted that she come down without him as he had to work over Christmas. They were so excited about the whole family being together again that she didn’t want to put a dampener on it with the news that she and Ben had split up. Nothing was going to spoil this Christmas, she’d make sure of it. She’d wait until this afternoon before she set off, though, make sure the wine was out of her system. Lystone, the village where her parents lived, was only a couple of hours’ drive so she would get there before it started to get dark.

She made some toast, to give herself some energy, even though eating was the last thing she felt like doing, and a strong cup of coffee. The flat looked so dull and un-Christmassy, with only a couple of cards on the wall unit. Several of her pupils had given her cards yesterday, and presents too. She’d planned on putting up the Christmas tree today, placing the presents around it, hanging the cards up along the wall, draping fairy lights around the window – making it look festive for when Ben came home. She blinked back the tears. Well, Ben was never coming home again and it was a waste of time decorating the flat when she was going away for Christmas. She’d take the lights for her dad, he could always find use for a string of Christmas lights, and she’d return Ben’s presents after Christmas. She might as well take the Christmas jumper she’d knitted him with her, though, one of her brothers might want to wear it.

She took the shopping bags into her bedroom, and slipped the box of lights into her suitcase. Then she took the carrier bag containing Ben’s Christmas jumper out of the wardrobe where she’d hidden it and spread the jumper out on the bed. It was white with rows of red reindeer and green Christmas trees running across it. She had designed and knitted it herself. She’d knitted herself a long, hooded Christmas cardigan in the same pattern and Ben had remarked how festive it was, which had really pleased her. She loved creating original knitwear to either wear herself or sell on her own website – LexiKnits – and Etsy. Although Ben had teased her when he’d first seen her knitting, saying it was an ‘old lady’s hobby’ he’d been impressed with the grey-cashmere scarf she’d made him, saying it was classy, and she’d been so proud when he wore it to work. Ben had been so supportive of her, so kind and loving. She was sure he’d have been willing to wear this jumper when he saw everyone else wearing one – he might even have liked it!

She looked at the empty side of the bed, remembering her and Ben cuddling, making love, sitting up sipping tea and reading on Sunday mornings, the late breakfasts, the movie nights cuddled up in front of the TV, how Ben had made her a hot chocolate with marshmallows when she was crying at a sad romantic movie, or came back from work late with flowers or chocolates.

But they were ‘guilt presents’, weren’t they? Ben hadn’t been working late, he’d been with Rosa.

She thought of Rosa, so elegantly dressed, looking every inch the career woman, and imagined her and Ben discussing spreadsheets, sales charts, targets and contracts. Not like Lexi, who wore comfy clothes for her work at the school, spent her evenings marking or doing lesson plans or knitting while she watched the soaps. Ben had often teased her that she had no ambition.

‘Ambition is for people who want their life to be different,’ she’d told him. ‘I’m happy with mine exactly how it is.’

And she was happy – at least, she had been until today. But obviously Ben wasn’t. He wanted someone more ambitious, more glamorous, more exciting than Lexi. All those times he’d held her in his arms, told her he loved her, that she was perfect, he’d been lying. Did he say the same things to Rosa? she wondered, tears filling her eyes again. She blinked them back. She was done crying over Ben. She folded the jumper up, slipped it back in the bag, then put it in her suitcase. She grabbed her laptop and put that in too, then zipped the case shut. She did a final check of the flat to make sure all the taps and electric sockets were turned off and headed down to the car. In just a couple of hours’ time she would be in Lystone, back in the warmth of her family home, and then she could shut Ben out of her mind. She’d deal with her heartbreak after Christmas, when she felt stronger.

The roads were busy with Saturday-afternoon traffic and it was dusk when Lexi pulled up in the driveway of her parents’ home, which, as she’d expected, was ablaze with colourful fairy lights. Her father had strung lights on the tree in the front garden, and all up the drive, and around the guttering – just as he used to do when she, Ryan and Jay were all young. She was pleased she’d arrived a little later than she’d intended as she could now see the decorations in all their glory. She stepped out of the car and looked around at the sparkling Christmas tree in the porch, the colourful lights twinkling on and off around the windows, the huge Santa figure by the door, the reindeer and sleigh glowing on the roof – trying not to worry about her father climbing ladders at his age – and felt as if she’d been jolted back to her childhood, when life was simpler and she’d had no idea how falling in love with someone could crush your heart into tiny pieces.

There were no lights on in the house, though – her father had the Christmas lights on a timer so they came on automatically when it was dark. She guessed that her parents were still at work. They had run a small bakery and tearoom in the village for years, it was very popular, and it would be especially busy this time of year. She glanced at her watch: quarter to five. Her parents always used to close up at four on Saturdays, but maybe they had stayed open later as it was almost Christmas.

Perhaps Granny Mabe is in? she thought. You would think that her eighty-four-year-old granny would be safely tucked up at home at this time of day in the winter, but her mother frequently remarked during her phone calls to Lexi that Granny Mabe was always out and had a better social life than Paula and Craig, Lexi’s parents.

Suddenly, a car pulled up behind her. Lexi turned, thinking it must be her parents returning home, but it was Granny Mabe who stepped out of the car. She was small – Lexi had inherited her genes – and dressed in a thick, green parka jacket, black trousers, ankle boots and gloves. She had round-rimmed glasses perched on her nose and wisps of her silver hair peeped out of the green-and-red snowman-patterned hat on her head that matched the scarf around her neck, which she had . . .