The sounds of a dog barking and the happy squeals that could only be from a child greeted Jack as he walked down Emily's driveway and going inside he was amazed how many Christmas decorations seemed to have taken over Emily's house. He had wondered why she didn't have any up yet but the last couple of days he was stuck at work had given her the time to turn the home into a Christmas wonderland. Green and red tinsel was draped over each doorway and a Merry Christmas banner was now hung up over her window with the waist height artificial pine tree set up in the corner by the TV with multi-coloured fairy lights twinkling from the branches.

Rosemary followed him, admiring how homely and sweet Emily's house was. It was just as inviting as the owner and as she followed Jack into the kitchen the movement of Sookie from her bed made her jump.

"That's Sookie" Jack introduced the pair as Emily came in, instantly smiling and moving in to hug Jack before greeting Rosemary.

"Come through, we're all out the back" Emily left Jack to put his beers in the fridge and the gifts under the tree and went out to introduce Jack's Aunty to her own family. Paul was with her Dad and Bryan at the barbeque, the few kilos of mussels they have picked up that morning sizzling on the hot plate. Heidi was running around with Nancy who was being kept away from Sookie and sitting under the ceiling fan everyone was already sipping on wine and picking at the nibbles on the table.

Thankfully the heat wave from the week had finally broken, and although it was still thirty four degrees after dealing with the forties it was a welcomed cooler change. Finding a Christmas cd, Emily turned on some carols and before long the food was ready for lunch.

"I tell you what, I don't miss the cold at Christmas" Rosemary commented, picking at her salad.

"But what about the snow?" Emily asked imaging how lovely a white Christmas must be.

"Over rated. Unless it's fresh it's just slush and too cold to go out! Don't envy you Jacky!" The conversation filtered out then to silence as they were all aware Jack was leaving in a couple of days. It just hadn't been mentioned and feeling awkward for bringing it up, Rosemary stared at her plate and offering her a smile Emily quickly picked up the conversation again knowing what everyone was thinking and she didn't want the mood to sink.

"Well in that case neither do I. Especially going from this heat! How does your Christmas go?" She asked Jack, generally interested. Emily imagined somewhere classy, on an estate or in a palace with a large fireplace while they all sat around an enormous, living Christmas tree like she had seen in movies and with Jacks family being well to do it had to be a lavish affair.

"Horribly. My parents host a cocktail party Christmas Eve where it's a case of who can kiss the most ass and show off the years achievements and bitch about what ever scandals happened" He muttered bitterly, remembering Heidi was there he cringed at swearing in front of her. "And Christmas is spent listening to Mother complain about her hangover, Dad goes to the club with the other members of the board and my brother and I are sent off to whatever charity Mum has arranged for us to help out at"

Now that killed the conversation and everyone went quieter than before.

"But it's not all bad. I enjoy that part and its some time off work and I get to hang out with my brother" Jack smiled at the table which stared uncomfortably at him.

"And that's why I stayed out here!" Rosemary laughed and a nervous round of laughter followed but as the conversation changed to cricket it was all forgotten and Jack helped Emily clean up the dishes and put away the food.

"Wow, sounds like you're in for a treat back home" Emily teased, loading up the dishwasher she smiled as Jack struggled with the plastic wrap over the bowl of leftover salad.

"Yeah I know. I thought I got out of it all this year but I have been called back to the slaughter" He half-heartedly joked. Emily took the bowl and put it away, grabbing the corners of his shirt she pulled him closer, reaching up to kiss him he rested his arms over her shoulders and enjoyed their moment.

"Well, at least it's only for a couple of week's right?" She smiled at him encouragingly and he considered faking an illness to stay or simply miss his flight.

"Right"

"But Jack, what will happen in a couple of months?" His stay here was never a permanent arrangement and her question was the start of a conversation they had both been putting off.

"Well, I'm going to talk to my father about that" He kissed her again, enjoying the light floral scent of her perfume. "I'm going to extend the project and look at something more permanent over here"

"Would you have done that if you hadn't met me?" The thought of him changing his plans because of her weighed on Emily's mind. She couldn't deny her attraction or feelings towards him but was it too soon to start something like this? His going away could only be a good thing, giving her time to think and have some alone time. She had always had that with Greg coming and going and had often wondered how it was with a full time partner. The times he had been home for longer than a few weeks had left them both short tempered with each other which should have been another sign they were over long ago but she could see Jack every day and still not get enough of him.

Would that ever change?

"Maybe. I don't miss home, but I've been travelling for the last couple of years anyway so it's hard to know where that is. Being here felt right from day one and I certainly don't miss the weather" He kissed her forehead before taking a left over sausage to Sookie as a treat and the dog quickly made it disappear, wagging her tail the whole time she ate it.

Emily watched, feeling nervous all of a sudden but taking a deep breath she asked anyway. "What if we don't work out? Then what? Will you regret staying here?"

"Well then we don't work out but I won't regret a second of being here" He could see her worry all over her face and he couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't feeling the same. The thought made him feel sick. "Are you ok? With us?"

"Of course" She answered quickly, going back to his side.

"Then what's wrong?" Emily was the most open and honest person he knew and had no idea why she suddenly seemed so hesitant, like she was holding something back. But it didn’t last long.

"Are we moving too fast?" She blurted out, instantly regretting it. She knew Jack had kind of asked her the same thing only last week but with him now going away, she was feeling confused. And what would people think, not that she really cared but she knew what had already been going around about them and didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.

"If you need time Em, you can have as much of it as you want. If you feel it's going to fast, we can slow down. I. Want. You" He held her tightly, feeling her relax in his arms. "And I'll do whatever you want to keep you"

"Seriously where do you come from?" It was as if he stepped right out of a romantic holiday movie, the only thing missing was a Parisian setting or a white horse for them to then race away into the sunset on.

"I ask myself that question all the time" He joked, but really as much as he did love his family it wasn't much of one. With the air between them clear, they were more at ease and as everyone came inside to open presents everyone felt the shift in the mood.

Carla was eager to talk to Emily about it but with the awkward moment outside she’d wait till it was just them and as Anna held her arms out to Jack, he obliged and held her against his chest as she grabbed the silver chain he had around his neck. Emily and Carla shared a look and words weren’t needed to see how mushy Carla had become towards Jack, especially when it came to how he was with kids. Getting too far ahead of themselves was what she was worried about and the way Carla was looking at her didn’t help.

“Ok who’s ready for presents?” Emily grabbed Heidi as she ran past, putting on her Santa’s hat. “Want to help me hand out the presents?”

“Yes!” The little girl eagerly ran to the tree while her eyes were scanning for anything with her name on. The majority of the gifts would wait there for another few days but a couple had been bought over for everyone to open, just so none of the days usual activities were left out.

While Emily had Heidi passing the gifts around Jack couldn’t help but watch her. Her shorts showed off her legs which looked even longer thanks to how much of them were revealed and glancing in his direction she caught his gaze and smiled. That smile was what he wanted to be the cause of every time she did it and surrounded by her family and friends, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. He had never felt like this about anyone and as scary as it all was, he loved it as much as her. He only focused on work, the need to succeed bred into him yet weekends were now spent being social, enjoying the sun and relaxing with his new friends rather than pushing at his overseas counterparts to do more. His standards weren’t slipping, he still put in the hours during the week but now if you rang the office, it wasn’t diverted to his mobile and whatever you wanted waited until Monday. Unless it was his father, but even he found it harder to keep the pressure on his son. He was still doing the same job, he just didn’t stress like he used to and he wasn’t sure if he liked the change or not.

“And finally, this one goes to Jack Heidi” Emily handed the brightly wrapped box to the little girl who practically ran it over to where he sat by Sookie.

“Thank you Heidi” She giggled, still amused by his accent and eager to open her own small pile she went back to her Mum and sat between her legs, waiting patiently for the ok to start opening them.

“Merry Christmas everyone” Emily raised her glass of champagne and every cheered before the rustling of paper being torn filled the room above the happy singing of the Christmas carols still on the stereo outside. Emily sat beside Jack, patting Sookie as the dog reached out to lick her face. She was starting to put a little weight on, slowly but the nutrients were there that she needed and once the pups were born she’d be able to recover even more.

“Merry Christmas Em” Jack kissed her cheek and rather than open her gifts, Emily leant against him as Sookie tried to sit on her lap.

“Merry Christmas to you too boyfriend” She winked and kissed the dogs nose, frowning as from outside Nancy started barking.

“She doesn’t usually bark” Bryan wondered out loud, trying to get up off the sofa where his wife sat between his legs on the floor helping Heidi open her presents.

“Stay there Bry, I got it” Emily got up, going to the back door Nancy was at the gate barking and from the posture she had, whatever was on the other side of the gate, she didn’t like. “Nancy, come here”

Nancy stopped seeing Emily, wagging her tail before the sound of the car door closing had her barking again. Even when Emily had been fostering her the dog had never barked much and never like this. “Who’s here girl?”

Emily headed over to the fence; peeking over the top she swore seeing the all too familiar car on the driveway. ‘What does he want now?’ She thought bitterly, slipping out the gate she held Nancy back. She didn’t want him ruining the day and hopefully could get him to go away quickly. The dog whined but silenced, her nose pressing into the dirt as she tried to watch under the tiny gap at the bottom of the fence.

“Hi Em” Greg greeted as he stood by his car, glancing over the car park her front yard had become with everyone’s cars there. “Having a party?”

“Yeah. Why are you here?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring at him. He was not ruining today and besides, shouldn’t he be over in Sydney by now?

“I just wanted to see how you are? We didn’t exactly part on good terms last time” Emily’s mouth dropped open in disbelief as the same anger of that afternoon began to return. “I want to say I’m sorry, I miss having you around”

Greg rubbed his chin uncomfortably; the short growth of his beard left him looking dishevelled considering he was always clean shaven. He only had on board shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, something Emily thought he had outgrown since he had his image to uphold and he couldn’t show off his Prada business shoes and suits that cost more than some people’s weekly wage. It was almost like old Greg, before things started to go bad for them but she didn’t have it in her to care.

“You’re looking good” While all of that was going on through her mind, the silence had only built between them and Greg couldn’t read what she was thinking. His words snapped her out of it and the look in her eyes was one he had never seen before.

“Go home Greg. No go to hell” She turned to back inside but he chased after her.

“Please, give me a chance to explain” He begged, reaching out to grab her arm she turned and kept it out of his grip.

“No! Why the hell should I? I owe you nothing and all you’re doing now makes you look sad and pathetic” Greg knew he had lost her, but he couldn’t just leave it. She had every right to curse him, she could hit and scream at him until she was blue in the face and he wouldn’t care. He just wanted some emotion from her. So far her voice had been flat, hinted with the venom he wanted her to unleash and her eyes that were usually so bright were just as empty.

“Em, please” Her hand came up before he could process it, the slap heard from the front door as Emily’s Dad and Jack came out to see what was going on after hearing the yelling.

“You took my shop. You had EIGHT years of my life and for god know how much of that - it was more of a lie than I even thought possible. You, you, asshole! We have nothing left Greg! I was serious last time about calling the police if you don’t leave” She threatened, the sting on his cheek offering some of the pain he had been seeking.

“Greg? What are you doing here?” Greg looked over to Emily’s Dad and seeing Jack glaring at him made it clear what was going on. It was nice to see he was so easily replaced and she could play happy families with someone else.

“I was trying to talk to your daughter” He stared back at Jack knowing full well all their problems only really started when he came into their lives.

“I think you’ve done enough son, how about you leave?” Greg laughed, a bitter forced sound that had Jack coming off the veranda and walking towards them.

“Guess you know Jack then?” Greg asked rudely, not bothering with keeping his manners around her parents.

“I think it’s time to go Greg” Jack warned, stopping by the cars.

“I’ll go when I’m ready. Emily you need to listen to me, whatever he has been telling you…”

“Greg you don’t get it do you? You broke whatever slim chance we ever had of getting back together; you ruined any chance we’d have at being friends. You want me to forgive you? Give you a hug and say it’ll be ok? It’s not happening and you can tell everyone I was cheating on you, you can tell everyone I am the biggest bitch out and it’s ok. You do that if you need to, but Jack and I know the truth. My family know the truth. They’re the only ones that matter to me; you just never saw what you actually had”

“But I do now. I can change; we go back to how we used to be. If you just give me that chance….”

“I pity you. Maybe one day you will find some kind of closure, some kind of happiness and I honestly hope you do but it sure as hell won’t be here and it won’t be with me” Emily sighed waving her hands in frustration. Breeaking up was hard, change is scary but she still held some kind of love for him like the way she loved Carla and Paul. Eight years doesn’t make it all go away but then he broke her heart. He took everything she loved and now tried to act like he was the one who was suffering the most.

“Please Em” His voice was breaking and Jack realised like Emily did, everything Greg did was just an act. He had to have the exterior of knowing and having it all and the thing was, it hadn’t been an act. He did have it all he just wanted more and of the wrong things and now he knew that, pity was all he could muster for him. Jack would never take Emily, her family and kindness for granted. It’s what he loved most about her, that ability to be so positive about everything, so keen to live life and experience it and he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes Greg did.

“Goodbye Greg” While he had tears running down his cheeks, Emily remained stone faced and gave him that final hug. He clung to her like she was a life source, her empathy was limited but she rubbed his back in comfort until he finally let her go. She didn’t look back as she took Jack’s hand, taking him back inside where the crowd had gathered by the window witnessing the finale of Greg and Emily.

The only one not affected was Heidi who ran to Emily as soon as she walked inside. “Look Em I got Barbie!”

“Wow sweetheart that is so cool!” Emily enthused, ignoring the looks everyone was giving her as they tried to subtly go back to their seats. “Did you open all your presents?”

Heidi shook her head and Emily sat in the middle of the lounge with her, helping her unwrap the box as the adults all shared their own looks. Emily’s Dad patted Jack on the shoulder, glad it hadn’t gone badly. He had known Greg since he was a kid and he hadn’t been devastated to hear the news about them breaking up but as part of growing up, kids needed to learn their own lessons.

“It’s funny how you can think you know people” Paul stood by Jack in the kitchen, taking a sip of his beer while they watched Carla play Anna who had the wrapping paper from Heidi’s presents in her hand and waved it around like it was the greatest thing in the world. Emily made faces at her as she did sending her into a fit of giggles while Heidi patiently waited for Emily to get her Barbie out of the box. “Knew he was a bit of a prick but cheating on her? She deserves better than that”

“I know” Jack mumbled, but his anger was disappearing as really – what did Greg matter now? She was moving on, he was the one making her happy now and with that he couldn’t help but smile.

Jack stayed at Emily’s after everyone left and tired from the big day they sat in front of the tv. Emily was laying with her head against his chest with Sookie between her legs and as the afternoon turned humid they were in the perfect spot under the air conditioner.

“Are you ok?” Jack finally asked, while their silence was comfortable he had been wanting to ask her since it happened but with everyone around he never got a chance too.

“Yeah. I really am” She looked up at him and smiled, more than happy with where she was.

Everything happened for a reason.

“Did you like your present?” He teased, reaching down to kiss her knowing full well it was still unopened on the dining table. Her face fell, feeling rude for not even looking at anything after Greg came. It hadn’t killed the mood but it was definitely the elephant in the room.

“Oh my gosh! I never even opened it! I’m sorry!” She carefully got up, laughing as Sookie groaned her protest at the change in arrangement.

“Don’t be sorry” If anything he preferred it to be just them.  Finding the pale pink box she took it over and sat on his lap, resting the present on her own she kissed him softly, gently and pulled away before they got too carried away in front of the dog.

“You didn’t have to get me anything” She laughed at the look on his face and shook her head, “Ok, I love presents! So thank you”

She took off the gold ribbon and lifted the lid, carefully peeling back the tissue paper than had been folded over what she guessed to be a book. The hardcover was an aqua blue and the gold scrolling was embossed onto the cover with a delicate printing of ‘Emily – baker extraordinaire’ inside the square.

“Jack, what is this?” Her excitement was clear in her voice and her smile had grown in size if that was even possible, as she opened the book and the creak of the binding being opened for the first time met her ears. It was freshly printed, the smell of the paper one of her favourite weird things she loved and again the same scrolling gold frame with her name in took up the front page. Turning it over there was a picture of her old shops cabinet full of all the cakes she had been up early baking. She already missed it and her smile faltered slightly but turning the papers she gasped.

All her recipes were there in a simple neat font in the same aqua and gold colours of the cover and finding the end the pages were now blank lines pages. “For whatever you come up with next”

“How did you do this?” She asked in disbelief. Closing the book her hand traced over her name, amazed at seeing her recipes in a rather professional printed format.

“I stole your cook book, typed it up and sent it to a friend back home who does this. I hope you don’t mind but I also had it all copyrighted” Her mouth dropped open, her eyes going wet she refused to keep being one of those crying girls in front of him. Again.

“This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever given me” Emily kept staring it, getting up and going to the spare room where her things had been hidden away from the shop. Sure enough the book now sat on top rather than towards the bottom, worn and tattered she’d never throw it out but to have something so thoughtful had her falling him so much more than she already was. “Wow, my gift seems so lame now”

“It’s perfect” He met her at the doorway, the bag she had packed him full of his favourite Australian items like Tim Tams, Vegemite, Milo and Cadbury chocolate. He wasn’t going to be losing weight while he was away. The best part was the picture of them she had put in an Australia shaped photo frame and the other little bits and bobs she had clearly put a lot of thought into getting it all for him.

“You don’t have to lie” She teased, moving back to where Sookie was watching them and wagging her tail. Emily sat back beside the dog and Jack took his place beside her and she leant back against him to how they were before.

“I’m not, this is all perfect”