As soon as I stepped into the office, I called out for Alexa to bring me the Christmas tunes and made my way through to the kitchen. After making my second cup of coffee for the day, I sat at my desk and sighed, looking back at the house.

Before I was forced to isolate, I had planned to book these days off work. This was what I looked forward to all year. Messaging Mum a daily update photo of me crossing off a countdown to Christmas on my calendar. Henry hadn't been impressed when I tried to recreate it with his very fancy embossed leather desk calendar. What was the point of a calendar you didn't doodle on anyway?

With limited ways to entertain myself and Henry still needing to work, I quickly decided to take back my days of annual leave and work to fill my time.

It wasn't like I was short of things to do. There was always something needing organising or to be prepared ahead of an event. After a quick check of my emails confirmed that nothing urgent had come in, I glanced back at the house.

I had no idea how Henry would react if he knew what I was currently doing, but I knew in my heart, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to help him mend his relationship with his parents.

When I was sure Henry wasn't going to come down to the office to surprise me, I began an intensive Google search. With Henry's relatively well-known name and the awards he had won, there were articles written about him and research was surprisingly easy. Within a few minutes, I had found the first names of his parents. It didn't take much longer to track down where they lived. If they were still at the same address, then they really didn't live far away at all.

Was that a reason Henry had chosen to live here? Or had he already bought this place when they cut contact with him? I shook my head to rid myself of the questions. I needed to focus. This could be the thing that helped Henry and his parents reconnect. It had to be perfect.

Noting down the address on an envelope I loaded up a word document and began writing the letter

Dear Robert and Denise,

You don't know me, but I know your son, Henry. I know it has been awhile since you spoke to one another and from what I've heard; I don't know if either of you will make the move I think Henry is hoping for. In a way, I hope my letter can help open that connection for you all.

I know that the situation with Penny was what drove a wedge between you initially and I can't imagine how painful that was. My mother is a cancer survivor, but I remember how awful it was to even try to picture life without her.

With so much time passed now perhaps it is time to start thinking about mending your relationship with your son, so that you didn't lose both children in that awful time?

Henry is still deeply affected by the loss of his sister, a loss he had to deal with alone. He made the choice he did because it was what Penny wanted and he put her needs before his own. I hope that you can maybe see that given the benefit of time now.

Despite everything he has been through, Henry has become an incredible man. He still visits the hospice that cared for Penny and takes art supplies in her memory. I was fortunate enough to see him interact with people there and seeing how fond both the staff and patients are of him tells me just how amazing he is.

Christmas is the season of giving and meant for spending time with family so I ask you to please give Henry a chance and spend some time with him. I can assure you that you would be proud to know the man he has become. I know I am!

I hesitated over how to sign if off. I wanted them to reply to Henry, not me. In the end, I decided not to sign it at all. Who it came from was not as important as the information it contained.

Merry Christmas.

I added the reminder of the holiday to the end before reading back through it a couple of times. My cursor hovered over the print button. Was this the right thing to do? Or was I interfering in something best left alone?

I had to believe that Henry's parents would be willing to welcome their son back into their lives. The very worst that could happen would be that they didn't want contact and didn't reach out to him.

The idea hurt my heart a little.

Packing the printed letter into the envelope, I tucked it into my coat pocket and with a small sigh, returned to my desk.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on, even the radio presenter I had switched to after lunch agreed that this felt like it was the world's longest wait for Christmas.

When evening finally came, I hurried back to the house, excited to see the Christmas lights were already on and Henry reclining on the sofa.

I paused for a minute at the door, watching him. He had a book in one hand and the other arm draped along the back of the cushions. A perfect spot for me to just slip in and snuggle up to his side. His head was cocked to one side, clearly deep in thought. Was he aware how attractive it made him look?

He shifted, as though sensing someone watching him. I opened the door quickly before he could catch me staring and think I was a complete weirdo.

"Hey! You're home." Henry smiled over his shoulder at me, placing the book down next to him.

My stomach did a weird little flip at that statement. Home? As much as I wanted it to be, it wasn't, not really. I smiled anyway, unzipping my boots and shrugging off my coat.

"I put pizzas on for dinner. Is that ok with you?" He asked as he returned the book he had been looking at to the shelf.

"Anything with melted cheese is always going to be ok with me." I laughed as I stepped out into the hallway and hung my coat up.

"Duly noted," Henry chuckled, "Had a good day?"

I patted the pocket of my coat containing the letter. "Yeah, it was really productive." I called back, "How was yours?"

"Same old, same old. We have tons of applications for that Deputy Director job you wrote for me. I wasn't expecting much this close to Christmas if I'm honest." Henry confessed.

"My writing skills are just that good." I shot him a wink as I crossed the room and sat down beside him.

Henry pulled me into his side and handed me the remote. "We both know you're going to just repeatedly suggest Christmas movies until I give in, so let's skip that preamble." He grumbled good naturedly.

I tucked my feet up under me and focused my attention on the tv. "Hey you put the Christmas lights on tonight, don't pretend you're not enjoying this!"

It only took me a minute to quickly scroll through the options and select a Netflix own movie about a Christmas Prince. It looked predictable, cheesy, and utterly perfect.

"I am enjoying it, you know." Henry said softly, "For the first time in years, I'm not completely dreading this whole season."

I tilted my head to look at him and reached a hand up to cup his face, "Everyone deserves to enjoy Christmas time. Whether they celebrate it or not."

"What I enjoy is having my very own holly jolly Christmas Elf of an employee by my side." Henry replied, placing his hand over the one I still had on his cheek and turning to press a kiss to my palm.

My responding giggle soon turned to a moan as he ducked his head to claim my mouth and began kissing me. Every kiss with him was so intense. So intimate. Every part of my body seemed to light up under his attention.

His usually soft face was rough with a light stubble that I had hated whenever I kissed anyone else. With Henry, it was different. The pressure of it scratching on my chin actually had the opposite effect and heat pooled in my body, remembering the feel of it on my legs when he tasted me.

"Henry," I whispered into his ear.

"Yes, love?" The deep timbre of Henry's voice vibrating against my neck, sending a thrill through me.

"We're missing the movie."

This time when Henry laughed, it was a deep throaty sound. "Sorry ma'am, but I can't help it if you're so fucking delicious and distracting."

I pressed my thighs together, "I think you'll find that you are the distracting one." I scolded breathlessly.

The timer broke through whatever he had been about to say. "Dinner?" I said hopefully.

"Dinner," Henry agreed with a shake of his head, as though trying to dispel his dirty thoughts.

Pizzas plated, we returned to the living room and I placed my food on the coffee table, relaxing on the floor beside it, my back pressed against the sofa.

"We are going to have to start the movie again. We've missed too much of it now." I huffed, sending Henry an accusing look.

Henry reclined back on the sofa behind me, "Totally worth it."

Movie restarted, we began eating in comfortable silence and I found myself lost in the movie in no time. When Henry had finished, he leaned over me to put his plate on the side and then stepped so I was now sat between his legs.

His hands found my shoulders and began massaging the tight knots of tension he found there. A low moan escaped me and my head lolled forwards. "Susie." Henry said in a warning tone.

"What?" I moaned again, tilting my head to one side to allow him better access.

"You keep making those noises and we are absolutely not watching the rest of this movie." Henry told me, his voice thick with lust.

I considered that for a second and then tilted my head back so I was looking up at him and let out a small breathy moan.

"That's it." Henry scooped me up like I weighed nothing and began running up the stairs as I let out a shriek of laughter, "The movie!" I protested.

He dropped me on the bed and started shedding his clothes, "The movie can wait. I, on the other hand, have been imagining all the different ways I can enjoy your body all day. If we start now we might have time to explore at least half of them."

My eyes widened, but then he claimed my mouth again and I let the moment sweep me away.