An Aussie Christmas Angel by Clare Revell Page A

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    “John?”
    He smiled at her. “I think it’s time to go.” He nudged Pip. “We’re going to start back to the car. We’ll miss the troublesome fans that way. And we won’t have to queue to get out of the stadium car park.”
    “Sure.”
    John took firm hold on Jo’s hand and headed towards the exit.
    Jo didn’t bother to hide her relief at the thought of being in the warm soon. Only when they were sitting in the car as John drove back to the house did she realize a far worse ordeal than a few fighting fans and frigid temperatures awaited her. Meeting John’s parents for the first time. The irony didn’t escape her. Like John, she too had rung total strangers on the other side of the world and asked if she could stay.
    Only she wasn’t merely meeting them as a stranger, but as John’s girlfriend.
    She looked up at the house as John parked the car. “It looks nice.” And well cared for. Even in winter the flower beds were well tended. The path had been swept, the snow lying piled against the side of the yellow brick house.
    John opened the door for her and took her hand, helping her out. “Let’s get you both inside, and I’ll come back for the bags and stuff.”
    She tightened her grip on his hand. Her whole body trembled on the inside. She tried to tell herself it was simply the bone-numbing cold and having been in the freezing air for two hours watching soccer, but if she were honest it was nerves as well.
    He looked at her. “Are you all right?”
    She took a deep breath. “It’s silly, but what if they don’t like me? I’m probably more outspoken than any English girl you could date. I don’t have that quiet British reserve of yours.”
    “That’s because you’re not British,” he said. “They’ll love you, just like I do.”
    John led her and Pip up the garden path and pulled out his key. Just as he was about to unlock the door, it swung open. An older couple stood there, beaming. The lady wore glasses and her hair was golden grey. The man had grey hair also and wore glasses. Both had warm welcoming smiles on their faces, and John resembled them both.
    “Mum, Dad, this is Pip.”
    John tugged her hand. “And this is Jo. Ladies, these are my parents, Vic and Liz Connington.”
    Jo held out a hand and smiled. “Hi, pleased to meet you at last.”
    Vic shook her hand. “And it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. John’s told us a lot about you and his time in Sydney.”
    Liz beamed at them both. “Come on in, and I’ll put the kettle on. Do you drink tea or coffee?”
    “Both, but tea’s good. Thank you.”
    “I’ll have tea too please, mum. Just going to bring these cases in.”
    “I’ll give you a hand.” Vic followed him outside.
    Jo hung her coat on the rack behind the front door and followed Liz and Pip through a large hallway into the kitchen. The delicious aroma of freshly made biscuits and cakes filled the air. Cooling trays sat on the side, covered in the baked goods. Jo took in a deep breath of the warm, sweet scent.
    Almost as large as the kitchen at home, the room even had a table and chairs. The table had a floral cloth and poinsettia on it.
    “How was your flight?”
    “The flight was OK. Just very long. We stopped for a few hours in Singapore, but didn’t leave the terminal. But worth it for the look on John’s face when he saw me at the airport.” She paused. “The soccer match, on the other hand, was…interesting.”
    Liz smiled. “I can’t believe he took you to a football match as soon as you got off the plane.”
    “It was awesome,” Pip said. “We saw a fight and everything.”
    Jo shook her head. “You have a strange definition of the word awesome . I can’t believe you stood there and took pictures. I was terrified.”
    “John was right there, you were perfectly safe.”
    “I didn’t want him hurt either. He might have decided to join the fray to protect us.”
    John’s arms folded around her and she breathed in his woody scent.