Adore

Chapter 60!

The last few days leading up to Christmas Eve flew by in what felt like the blink of an eye. Mary and I were flat out busy at the shop and most nights ended up working later than usual in order to get the store stocked and ready for the next day.

I was so looking forward to a few days off while we celebrated Christmas. A light snow had started to fall around the town a few days ago and it got slightly heavier every day.

Tom and I were hanging out at his house one day when I saw the white flurry falling outside. I could barely contain my excitement as I ran into the backyard bare foot to experience my first English snowfall.

Tom stood in the doorway, a hand clutched to his rib cage as he laughed at my reaction. I caught some snow in my hands and looked it over quickly before it melted away, and I ran around catching more before my feet started to burn with cold and Tom called me back inside.

He poked fun at me the rest of the afternoon for how elated I was seeing the snow. I couldn't help the feeling of wonder and magic when I saw it falling to the ground.

After our shopping trip into London last week, we had confirmed our relationship online. Needless to say, there was a broad range of reactions from fans, other news sources and our friends and family. My parents had sent me a message via group chat warning me about dating someone in the public eye - as if they had any idea what it was like.

Tom had put together a post for Instagram, telling his followers that we were in a relationship and to treat each other with kindness. Most of the replies were out pours of love for Tom and wishing him happiness, others were not so nice but I tried my hardest to ignore them as much as possible.

My social media all blew up once I was tagged in the post, I had made sure they were all private except for Instagram, where I had actually taken to posting more myself.

I was finishing up my shift at work when Tom's car pulled up at the curb. I waved to him through the big bay window and headed to our break room to get my stuff.

"I'm off now Mary, Merry Christmas" I said, giving her a small hug. Little did she know I had snuck her a Christmas present onto her little locker space.

"Thanks sweets, Merry Christmas to you too, enjoy your time off" She replied, hugging me back.

I pulled my coat tight around myself before I excited the shop, knowing the night air would be freezing cold. Tom opened the boot for me as I put my overnight bag in. I shut the boot quickly and saw as he lent over the centre console to pop the door open for me, as I slid into the toasty warm vehicle.

"Hi" I said with a grin.

"Hi love" He spoke softly, leaning in to press a kiss to my lips. My insides all but screamed when he called me pet names.

It was Christmas Eve and most of the shops up and down the street I worked on had already closed for the evening. We pulled away from the curb and headed to his parents house.

Tom drove through the snow being careful with turns and corners in case the roads were slick. It took us about fifteen minutes to reach our destination.

When we pulled up, Tom handed back my house keys that I let him borrow so he could bring over Archie and all the presents I was giving to his family.

"You go on up, I'll get your bag" He said before getting out of the car. I hurried up the path to the front door and knocked, eager to get out of the cold. Tom was just closing the boot as the door was opened, Nikki standing on the other side.

"Hi honey, how are you" She said excitedly, immediately pulling me into a hug.

"I'm great, I'm so excited to be here with you guys" I said to her as she squeezed my slightly before letting go.