Harper's POV

It was finally Christmas Eve, and for the first time in a while, I was looking forward to Christmas, the only downside was that I still hadn't bought Angelo a Christmas present.

I'd made up my mind a few weeks ago that I would buy him one, but the question that was gnawing away at my mind was what I was going to get him. I wanted to get him something that symbolised our friendship and I only had a few more hours to do It.

Rolling out of bed I threw on some jeans and a woolly jumper , the weather had turned almost sub-zero and if I was going to be spending the rest of today last minute shopping I didn't want to end up freezing to death while I was doing it. 

Thankfully apart from getting Angelo a present I only had to worry about getting my nan a gift which was sorted out almost a month ago , I'd spent the majority of the tips I got from November on getting a photo that my nan had taken of her and my grandad restored and framed professionally to preserve it. 

The whole ordeal had been stressful as when she found out the photo was missing the whole day consisted of the house being turned upside down looking for it, I felt terrible for putting my nan through that, but I knew her reaction would be worth it.

Walking down the stairs I was happily surprised to find that my usual breakfast was waiting for me at the kitchen table along with my nan sat in her usual chair at the table.

"Morning nan , I've got to pop out for a bit today I shouldn't be gone too long. Do you need anything while I'm out?"

"Just some sugar for the morning dear that's it, I forgot to pick some up on my way home yesterday".

I was grateful that she didn't quiz me on where I was going, I don't think I could explain my relationship with Angelo to her even though were only friends, it would only open up room for questions that I couldn't answer without telling her about Opal.

After shrugging on my coat and grabbing my bag I made my way into the town , the weather was horrific to say the least. Even though the sun was out the wind was making it bitterly cold, and not even my coat could protect me from the bone-chilling temperature. 

The weather made me wonder why I never invested some of my money in driving lessons , but then my mind reminded me that I was deathly afraid of getting in the driver's seat of a car so my only options of transport were walking or catching a taxi and currently I was regretting not calling one.

20 minutes later I was surrounded by what seemed hundreds of people doing some last minute shopping , I was slightly overwhelmed by it all I'd never actually bought a present for someone other than my nan and due to the fact I was now in the middle of town attempting to buy a present for the Angelo Deluca , it was enough to make anyone's head spin. I went to the nearest coffee shop and decided I'd spend my first half an hour here contemplating what I would buy for Angelo. The heat from inside the shop immediately warmed me up , ordering myself a toffee latte I went and found a table to start making a list of possible gift ideas.

15 minutes later I was ready to pull my hair out , I had nothing absolutely nothing. I had no idea what to buy a man for Christmas especially when the man In question had enough money to buy the whole of London twice over and still have some spare change at the end of it. 

I knew from the type of man Angelo was that he wouldn't want anything flashy as a gift , he had money but the man didn't flash it about. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and pulled up mine and his text messages.

To: Angelo

From: Harper

Meet me at our coffee shop at

5 o'clock, I need to talk to

You about something, It's important.

I sat back and chuckled; I knew that he'd get flustered at my vague text and it would be even more satisfying to see the look on his face when that 'important' talk I needed to have with him was a Christmas present. I took a long gulp of my drink, savouring every drop of the warm liquid. A few moments later, my phone vibrated, a smirk plastered itself across my lips.

To: Harper

From: Angelo

I'll meet you at our regular table.

Is everything okay? Where are you?

I almost snorted, over the past few weeks after the whole visiting each other's dead relatives and the entire Angelo getting drunk and nearly smashing his penthouse up I'd made it my mission to wind Angelo up, he gave as good as he got and we both needed the laughs we got from winding each other up. Unlocking my phone, I typed out my reply.

To: Angelo

From: Harper

I'm okay. I need to talk to you, that's all.

I looked at the clock on my phone; it was noon. I had just over 4 hours to decide what I wanted to get Angelo, get it to gift wrapped and then make my way to the coffee shop. Finally, I had an idea; my mind drifted back to one of the first times me and Angelo sat in Opal together and spent the night talking, the night that I thought he'd come to take back the money he and his business partners had left for me as a tip.

Dalmore whisky, the thought brought a smile to my face, we'd spent the night drinking it and talking to each other about our lives, a few months on and we were now friends, and I was nursing what most people would class as a massive crush on him. 

Thinking about it now I think it was always there from the moment I met him I knew Angelo was something special, the way his presence demanded the attention from everyone in the room and the way every time his eyes locked with mine they sent deep shivers through my body. Ugh damn me and my infatuation with that man.

Pull yourself together Harper , you have a gift to buy. For once myself conscious wasn't being a condescending bitch , must be due to the holiday season. Thankfully I knew where the best place in town to get top-shelf whisky was, Jack ordered a few bottles from the same small shop once every month as the bottles in the club were only used for special occasions or when they were explicitly requested by the men.

Thankfully the shop was only a 15 minute walk away from the coffee shop , I'd been with Jack a few times to pick up the liquor, despite the trip being tedious with Jacks constant rambling, on how much easier it would be for him if the shop could deliver the booze instead of him having to pick it up. 

I now valued the trip more than I thought I would as I could finally sort Angelo's gift out. By the time I get to the shop and find the nearest taxi, to take me back to my nan's I'd have just enough time for a quick shower and a freshen up before I play the role of Santa's little helper.

The liquor shop was a small box like building who's shelves were piled high with all manner of bottles containing different types of liquor. The man who owned the shop was a little man who I could only describe as being the same shape as a house brick and had a constant look of severe constipation plastered on his face; he was a dick of a man who was only remotely pleasant if he knew you were buying something from his shop.

"How much is your Dalmore whisky?" I ask as I walk over to the counter where the little man was perched reading a tattered old book. "£200" he answered without even lifting his eyes from the dog eared pages of his book. The one thing that annoyed me the most was when people were ignorant, hmm I wonder how he'd feel if his best customer stopped spending his hard earned cash here every month. " I'll be willing to pay £150 and next time if you could acknowledge me when I'm speaking to you that'd be great."

"what would a silly little girl like you know about liquor" his beady little eyes raised slightly to scrutinise my appearance undoubtedly.

"Well, this silly little girl might not know much, but I'm quite sure that my boss knows quite a bit about all things whisky and it would be an awful shame if he stopped getting his liquor from you if he found out how rude you were to one of his best workers". I was never this confrontational, but this man needed to get taken down a few pegs, and it looked like it was down to me to do it. "Who might your boss be , girl" the constipated house brick was now sniggering at me, HA we'll see who has the last laugh.

"Jack Wilson", the man's face paled slightly. I've got you to know you little shit.

"o -oh I'm sorry miss, what size bottle would you like", oh so I was miss now. Name dropping was a beautiful thing. "Large please, do you do gift wrapping?" I asked casually; I had him right where I wanted. Ten minutes and a lot of apologising from the constipated house brick later, I was making my way to the nearest taxi rank with my prize safely wrapped and placed in my bag.

Angelo Deluca's POV

It was five minutes to five, and I was already seated at mine and Harpers usual table, the coffee I ordered was untouched. When Harper's text came through earlier on today it took all of my self-control for me to not walk out of the meeting I was in and go and find her, I had no idea what was wrong with her and the text she sent me was about as vague you can get.

My head continuously snapped towards the door every time the little bell above the door chimed, hoping it was Harper. At 5:01, she walked through the door, just the sight of her put my mind at ease. 

My eyes roamed over her body as she walked towards me, there wasn't anything physically wrong with her that I could see, but it was what was going on in her mind that concerned me the most. My one hand reached to the box that I'd placed in there before coming here.

The image of the small silver necklace that was in the box flashed through my mind; it was a delicate little thing with a small H charm studded with tiny diamonds. To most people, it would be a pricey gift you'd buy for a loved one, but to me, it was the least I could get for the girl that changed my life in so many ways.

"Hey, how's your day been?" her voice was like honey, and it soothed all of my built up anxiety, her eyes were sparkling, and I only then realised that this was probably another one of her little jokes. I'll get you back, you wait.

" Tedious, to say the least, what's wrong you seemed stressed earlier?" I tried to keep my face as straight as possible to try and keep up with the game she was playing. A sly smile spread across her face, and I had to look away, the mischievous glint in her eye only made me want her more and I couldn't, not yet not without knowing how she felt about me first.

I watched as she unzipped her bag and pulled out a black rectangular box decorated with a purple ribbon.

"Merry Christmas Angelo" her voice held none of the confidence it did moments before, she sounded shy as I looked at her a light blush spread across her cheeks. I wanted nothing more in than moment to tell her how beautiful she looked but I couldn't.

 After tearing my eyes away from Harper, I looked down at the box she had placed on the table; I could feel myself smiling. This was the first Christmas gift I'd received in a long time, and the fact this was from Harper made it even better. " Can I open this now?" I asked , I hoped she'd say yes. I wasn't usually a curious person, but I wanted to know what she'd bought me.

"Of course" she laughed " it's your present knock yourself out". I carefully untied the ribbon and lifted the lid off the box; the contents made me smile immediately. Dalmore whisky, the same whisky we drank the night I went to see her after she hosted my meeting the night before. "You remembered?"

"of course" a smile broke out across her face " this was the first bottle of whisky we ever shared, sorry it isn't much I didn't know what to get you" she tried to hide the nervous smile behind her hair.

" I suppose it's my turn to give you your gift" I was looking right at her, watching her reaction. "Gift, what gift? you didn't need to buy me anything, Angelo."

I pulled the box out of my pocket and slid it across the table to her, " Open it, I want to know what you think". I watched as she cautiously lifted the lid on the small black jewellery case, there were hundreds of other pieces of jewellery in that shop but when I saw this one I knew it was perfect, It was beautiful and elegant just like the owner.

"A-Angelo, what the fuck I can't accept this it looks like it's worth more than my nan's house." I knew getting her to accept the gift was going to take a lot of persuasion on my part, but I was prepared. "Do you like it?" I asked curiously.

"Of course I do, I more than like it, Angelo, I love it. It's the most beautiful piece of jewellery I've ever seen, but I can't accept this it's too much".

I stood up from where I was sat and walked around to where Harper was sat and picked the necklace up. " Move your hair" I murmured just low enough so she could hear me. It took her a few moments before she did as I asked. I placed the necklace around her neck and fastened it. My hand skimmed the skin on her neck; I felt her shudder slightly at the sudden skin contact. 

I walked back to my chair and sat down; Harper looked stunned. She was a stubborn girl and didn't let things go easily, but apparently, I'd just won this little battle, and she had some trouble processing it. "Beautiful, just like the owner" I murmured.

A/N

Sorry for the late update, I've had a busy week, but I stayed up late just so I could get this up ❤️ sorry for the filler chapter, but the next few chapters will be more interesting I promise you !x

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