Read The Perfect Christmas for Free Online

Maggie, raising an eyebrow.
    ‘Sadly, you’re right,’ Zoe sighed.
    Inside the suite, Maggie pulled out the tickets and the beautifully written letter on the red handmade paper.
    ‘You’re more meticulous than me, so you fold them and put it all in the envelope.’
    Zoe took the items and carefully folded them on the table, then slipped them into the envelope reading Att: Mr Jack Frost.
    ‘Okay, what now?’
    ‘Now we wait,’ said Maggie, walking to the lounge and picking up her book.
    ‘Is that it?’ Zoe asked. ‘I thought we’d have more clandestine work to do.’
    ‘That will come, now shut up and let me read my book.’
    Zoe sighed and went into her bedroom. Maggie counted under her breath. ‘One, two, three.’
    ‘Where’s my laptop? Someone’s stolen my laptop,’ Zoe cried from the bedroom.
    ‘No one has stolen it,’ said Maggie, not looking up from her book.
    ‘Then where is it?’ Zoe was now standing in front of Maggie, her hands on her hips.
    ‘It’s somewhere safe, you’ll get it back on the plane,’ she answered.
    ‘You’re a pain in my butt,’ said Zoe as she stomped away.
    ‘You’ll thank me when you don’t die of a work-related stroke,’ Maggie called to Zoe’s retreating figure.
    The sun set and Maggie settled in, ordering her and Zoe room service; treating herself to a steak, fries and wine, loving the freedom of being able to order what she normally only dreamed about.
    When she knocked on Zoe’s door, she didn’t hear anything.
    ‘Stop sulking,’ she said and she opened the door to see Zoe fast asleep on the bed.
    She looked so peaceful, Maggie thought, and she draped an angora rug from the armchair over her.
    ‘Oh, hey,’ Zoe murmured. ‘What time is it?’
    ‘Seven,’ said Maggie. ‘I’ve ordered dinner if you want it, should be up in half an hour.’
    She closed the door behind her and smiled to herself.
    It wasn’t that Maggie had hidden the laptop or confiscated the phone because she needed undivided attention. She worried about how much Zoe worked. The woman was always ‘on’, always thinking about her clients and their business, to the point of exhaustion. A daytime nap could only be a good thing, she thought.
    ***
    The women ate their dinner and laughed a lot. They reminisced, retelling hilarious stories and catching up on gossip about people in the industry. They talked about silly things and Holly and Jack, but they didn’t discuss Will or Elliot. Tonight was for fun, not heartache.
    Close to ten-thirty, they got ready for their mission. Maggie pulled on her trench coat and gloves and made a face at Zoe. ‘If I get pneumonia but they get together, at least I will die happy.’
    ‘Let’s go,’ said Zoe, and they left the envelope and Maggie’s new cashmere coat in plain view on the table.
    ***
    Downstairs, they saw Jack chatting to a valet and Holly pretending to flick through some paperwork at her position near the front desk while she watched Jack. Maggie and Zoe quickly slipped out onto the front steps and the doorman hailed them a black cab.
    ‘St Paul’s, please,’ said Maggie.
    The cab pulled out and Maggie and Zoe sat back, trying to relax but each more nervous than the other.
    ‘We should be there in half an hour, so that will make it eleven. We’ll ring Holly for the coat just after, she’ll give the letter to Jack and then leave the hotel. She’ll get here just before midnight.’
    ‘And hopefully Jack will follow,’ said Zoe, crossing her fingers.
    The cab pulled up at the front of the cathedral.
    ‘There are so many people,’ said Maggie.
    ‘It’s very popular,’ said the driver. ‘If you don’t have seats, you have to stand up the back, that’s if you can get in.’
    Zoe was already out of the car. ‘Wait here,’ she said to Maggie and she walked into the magnificent cathedral, light flooding out of its huge doors.
    Ten minutes later, Zoe was back and she opened Maggie’s side door.
    ‘Come on then, I got us the