The Christmas Swap, стр. 29

“Oh, so this is their first Christmas as a married couple! That’s awesome.” Chloe hadn’t mentioned that, but an idea started percolating in Jules’s mind and she wondered if she could pull it off.

“Oh, that’s right, I didn’t think of that. Christmas is even more special now. Too bad you don’t make bubbles, Matt.”

“Now I believe you didn’t crack open the Christmas case.”

Ash’s mouth dropped open. “You didn’t.”

“I did. Of course, I did. Special occasion.” He sat back in his chair casually, as though what he’d done was no big deal.

But apparently to Ash, it was. She “squeed”, then leant over the table and gave Matt a smack of a kiss on his cheek. Jules looked between them, waiting for the explanation, Ash’s delight making it impossible for her not to smile too.

“You are the best!” Ash added, beaming at Matt.

“I aim to please.”

“Matt went to Red Rock,” Ash finally explained. “It’s my favourite winery—except yours …”

“Uh-huh.” A wry smile appeared.

“And he bought my fave bubbles, lovely, lovely bubbles.” Ash was sing-songing, and Jules’s grin grew.

“Only four, so pace yourself.”

“Well, we can start with those and move onto the ones I got from Naked Wines.” She pressed her lips together until they disappeared, as though she’d said something bad.

Matt laughed. “I know you buy from Naked Wines. It’s not like I think you only drink my wine. For a start, I couldn’t afford it. I have to sell some to actual customers, you know.”

“Ha, ha. Hilarious.”

“Seriously, though,” he turned to Jules, “you’ve met Chloe. This one’s exactly the same.”

“Are you calling me a lush? On Christmas Eve Eve? I change my mind, you suck.”

Jules watched the banter play out across the table. They’re like siblings. She smiled to herself, letting her thoughts turn to Will. She had totally lucked out with her brother; she knew so many people who weren’t close to their siblings. She couldn’t even fathom that. Will was one of her best friends, and she didn’t have many of those. Three to be precise.

Maybe she was stuck in a time warp, only getting close to people she’d known since childhood. She’d had this conversation with herself before and she knew that if she dwelled on the thoughts too long, she’d end up in a labyrinth, going around and around, trying to self-psychoanalyse why she’d never been in love.

Now was not the time. Besides, she had a lengthy “to do” list to start on.

“So, I know I’m supposed to be making cookies, but do you think we could go to the beach first? You said Port Melbourne wasn’t far.”

Matt scoffed good-naturedly. “Don’t be like that,” Ash scolded.

“What? What did I miss now?” Keeping up with the shorthand between them was beginning to hurt her brain.

“Matt’s from Torquay.”

“And?” Jules pressed.

“And he’s a beach snob.”

“I’m not a snob.”

“What would you call it?”

“Well, it’s like this,” he faced Jules, “Port Melbourne is on the coast, but it’s a bay and really, if you want to go to a proper beach, like a real beach,” Ash rolled her eyes and Jules sniggered, “then Port Melbourne is not it.” From Ash’s exasperated sigh, it was obviously not the first time he’d made the same point.

“I see,” said Jules, attempting diplomacy. “Well, I’m from a landlocked state and I’m one of those unfortunate Coloradans who loves saltwater, so you see where I’m going with this, right?”

“She doesn’t care, Matthew. Take her to the frigging beach.”

“O-kay, Ashley,” retorted Matt playfully.

Jules grinned. “She is right, though. I don’t care. But what about you?” she asked Ash. “Do you want to come?”

“Meh, I’m from Melbourne. I’ve been. Plus, I’ve got a million things to do.” Jules doubted that but didn’t press. Besides, she would get to spend some time with the hot winemaker and maybe even see him in less than jeans and a T-shirt.

*

“I’ve taken the long way.” They had just turned onto an esplanade and the bay stretched out in both directions on the left side of the car. The bay was a lot larger than Jules had imagined and she could only just make out where the coast curved around on the far side.

She’d been watching the street signs and from what she could tell, they’d just left St Kilda and were heading towards Port Melbourne. Throughout the whole journey to the coast, she’d been mesmerised by the streets of Melbourne, especially the main streets, which were lined with stores and dozens of coffee shops. She wondered how people ever chose a favourite when there were so many.

“In case you were wondering,” Matt added.

“I was actually. You said it was close.”

“I wanted to show off Melbourne a little.”

“Well, you’ve done a good job. It’s a gorgeous city. I adored that suburb with the narrow houses.”

“Oh, the terraces? Yeah, most of them go back quite a ways. Some are even heritage listed, and you would have seen some with two storeys?” She nodded. “A mate of mine has one and he and his wife have done it up beautifully. It’s a lot bigger than it seems from the street.”

“Very different from Boulder. We like big houses and condos and not much in between. No, that’s not true, there are some cool converted warehouses. Anyway, I like the terraced houses. And the marinas. Seriously, how many do you have here?”

“Personally, zero.”

“Ha, ha.”

“I’ve never even thought about it, but I guess Aussies just love the water. We do have a lot of it, you know.” He was teasing her. She liked it. “But we don’t have the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains—”

“You’ve got Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef!”

“We could probably have a really good argument about whose country has the best scenery.”

“But don’t you think it’s like what you said about the marinas? When you live somewhere, often things just recede into the background.” He seemed to contemplate the idea. “I think that’s why I like to travel so much—so that when I get home, I see it with fresh eyes, you know? A