The Kiss Before Midnight

by Sophie Pembroke

  “Fine. But I mean other stuff too. If you’re unhappy in London—”

  “Why would I be unhappy?”

  “Maybe you’re lonely.” Dory gave her a half smile. “I know I was, when I first got to New York. But it got better.”

  “Of course it did! You met Lucas. And his crazy but crazy-rich family.”

  “Anyway,” Dory said, dragging them back on track. “You can talk to me. If you need to. That’s all I wanted to say.”

  “Okay.” Molly knew she wouldn’t take her sister up on the offer – admitting all her failings to her perfect sister? Not a fun way to spend the holidays – but it was still nice to know she was there. “Now, come on. We have a snowman to build!”

  The veg was all peeled, the wrapping paper tidied away, and the house still littered with presents. The turkey was in the oven, Dad was having a nap and Mum was reading her new book in between dealing with dinner, so the rest of them had been kicked out into the snow like troublesome children.

  Well, actually the going outside part had been Tim’s idea.

  “I got it!” Tim announced proudly, brandishing a large carrot overhead. “She never even noticed.”

  Molly had a suspicion that her ever-organised mother had bought the carrot with this very eventuality in mind. It looked far too much like the perfect snowman nose to be eaten with dinner.

  Outside, Lucas and Jake were deep in conversation. Molly flashed a suspicious look at Dory. Had her sister asked Lucas to talk with him? And if so, what about? But if anything, Dory looked even more suspicious.

  Since when had Christmas Day involved so much secrecy?

  “When was the last time we built a snowman?” Tim packed snow tightly between his hands until he had the perfect ball.

  “Last time it snowed at Christmas, I guess.” Bending down, Dory began sifting through the snow on the patio to find perfect stones for the eyes.

  Tim began rolling his snowball through the fresh white powder, building it up to snowman body size. “Molly, you do the head?”

  Nodding, she grabbed a handful of snow herself, carefully shaping it. But before she could roll it, temptation overtook her.

  “Ow!” Tim looked up and glared as she scored a perfect hit on his arse. As he scooped up snow to retaliate, Molly ran for cover behind the first suitable object she saw. Which just happened to be Jake.

  As snowballs pelted them, Jake turned to wrap his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground, striding towards the end of the garden and the shelter of the rhododendron bushes.

  “Us against them?” Molly asked, breathless, as Jake began lobbing snowballs back over the bushes. A shriek suggested he’d hit Dory rather than Tim.

  “Looks like it.” Jake’s gaze locked with hers and Molly forgot all about the snowballs landing harmlessly around them. “That okay with you?”

  Molly bit her lip. “I think I can handle it,” she said, but the way her breath caught at the words betrayed her doubt. Hell, she didn’t even know what she was trying to handle. A one-night stand had seemed like the limits of her options, but all of a sudden she had a snowflake bracelet and Jake looking at her like he might kiss her again, right here behind Dad’s prize rhododendrons, and not give a damn who caught them.

  “So do I.” Jake’s voice was warm, and Molly knew instinctively that he wasn’t talking about himself. He believed that she could handle it, even though he had to know she hadn’t got a clue what it was.

  It didn’t matter because he had faith in her.

  And that meant the world.

  -

  Another snowball flew over the bushes and landed smack between them on the ground. Molly scrambled to grab it, add a little snow and toss it back. This time there was a manly yelp from Lucas. Jake had to admit, the girl had great aim.

  “Hey, what were you and Lucas talking about before?” Molly asked as she gathered more snow. “Dory looked very suspicious.”

  Jake chuckled. “She should. That guy has plans.”

  “What sort of plans?” Molly pestered, sounding more like her twelve-year-old little sister self than she had for a while. He’d almost forgotten how much she hated not knowing everything.

  “You’ll have to wait until after dinner to find out.” Jake tossed another snowball out, and responded to Tim’s latest jibe with the sort of language he wouldn’t want Philippa hearing.

  “Dinner’s hours away,” Molly whined. “Just tell me.”

  “Patience is a virtue.” He couldn’t help himself. She was just so much fun to tease.

  “I’ve been patient for almost a year now,” Molly muttered, probably to herself. But Jake heard, and the thought froze him halfway through preparing his next snowball.

  “Yeah?”

  She rolled her eyes. “What do you think? I haven’t seen you since last New Year.”

  “Yes, but…” Did she mean she’d been thinking about him all year, the way he’d been thinking about her? Or did she mean she hadn’t been with anyone else since? Or even both?

  She fixed him with a level gaze. “You’re not that easy to get out of the system, it turns out.”

  “Neither are you,” he admitted. It wasn’t quite a full confession – she didn’t need to know how many work hours had been lost to daydreaming about what might have happened if Tim hadn’t walked in when he had. Especially since most of them had been followed up by mental chastisement, knowing that it was for the best that they’d been interrupted, or they might have done something they’d both regret.

  But things were different now. One way or another, if he got Molly alone again, Jake was certain he’d never regret it.

  And he’d make sure she didn’t either.

  Chapter 14

  By the time they’d called a ceasefire, finished Tim’s snowman, and all retreated back inside, it was almost time for Christmas lunch – and Molly was still thinking about Jake. In fact, it seemed like that might be a permanent situation – at least until she found a way to get him out of her system.

  She had a list of great ideas for that, just as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

  Molly changed out of her soggy jeans and sweater and, in a fit of festive optimism, slipped into some of the lacy lingerie she’d packed. Just in case.

  Of course, she couldn’t be too obvious. So she pulled out the deep red knitted dress her parents had bought her for Christmas and tugged it over her head, pairing it with some thick black tights. Perfectly Christmassy and respectable. No one would guess a thing.

  Except, hopefully, Jake.

  And with that thought, she skipped down for lunch.

  Three courses later, Molly was stuffed. As her dad loaded the dishwasher, she made a mental promise to clear up every day between Boxing Day and New Year, just as long as she didn’t have to move from the table for at least an hour.

  “Well. I think this has been a highly successful Christmas.” Philippa leant back in her chair, surveying the remains of the Christmas pudding. “Fifteen sorts of mince pie, some lovely presents, and a lovely lunch.”

  “And it’s not over yet,” Dory pointed out. “We’ve still got the Doctor Who Christmas Special to watch.”

  “Actually, before that, I’ve got one more present to give you.” Lucas got to his feet and held out a hand to Dory. Molly looked for Jake, but he’d disappeared.

  This must be what he’d meant when he said she’d find out after dinner.

  They all followed Lucas and Dory back through to the lounge, curiosity outweighing the need to digest. Molly stopped at the doorway and smiled. Jake stood by the tree, holding Tim’s iPod speakers. As he pressed play, the sound of Wham!’s Last Christmas started playing.

  Dory raised her eyebrows at Lucas. “Is this supposed to be a musical clue?”

  Smiling, Lucas dropped down to one knee, and Molly gasped. “This might be a better clue.”

  Eyes wide and one hand at her mouth, Dory nodded.

  “I have no idea why you like this song,” Lucas sta
rted, and Dory laughed. “It’s not romantic, and George Michael has really weird hair in the video. But you love it, and the thing is… last Christmas, you changed my life. You took all the things that were screwing me up and you, I don’t know. Made them not matter any more, I guess. You showed me what I really wanted – needed, even. And it turns out, what I need most in my life, is you.”

  Molly caught Jake’s eye, and knew he was thinking the same thing she was – that their own last Christmas story didn’t have quite so romantic an ending.

  Maybe she could change that tonight.

  “I wanted to ask you this question here, with your family, on your favourite day of the year,” Lucas went on. “Partly because I figured you might have had enough wine at lunch to actually say yes, but mostly because… this is who you are. This family made you the woman I love more than anything.”

  Behind her, Molly heard her mum sniff. Mum loved Lucas. She loved Jake too, of course, but in a different way. Molly looked down at the bracelet on her wrist. What would Mum say if she and Jake suddenly stopped sneaking around and kissed in front of everyone?

  Actually, never mind Mum. What the hell would Dad do?

  “Dorothea Mackenzie. Will you do me the incredible honour of being my wife?”

  “Of course I will!” Dory dragged Lucas up to his feet and kissed him, as the rest of them applauded. Leaving the music playing, Jake found his way across to Molly, and she grinned up at him.

  “This is what Lucas was talking to you about earlier?”

  He nodded. “And, I think we can all agree; this Christmas is officially memorable.”

  “That it is.” Molly ran her fingers across her snowflake charm. “And like Tim said, it’s not over yet.”

  She caught Jake’s gaze with her own and swallowed at the heat she saw there. Tonight, one way or another, they were going to settle things between them. She couldn’t take the anticipation any longer. She needed to know.

  “Oh!” Dory yelped, and Molly tore her eyes away. “It’s time for Doctor Who!”

  -

  “I still don’t understand what happened with the aliens,” her mum said, as the credits rolled. Dory started to explain, but Tim interrupted.

  “Never mind them. I’ve got a much more important question. Why do we have to have sprouts every year when no one actually likes them.” Tim was still wearing his cracker hat, although it had slipped over one ear at some point when the Doctor had been saving someone, and his wine glass was empty again.

  “It’s traditional,” her mum said. “It wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Just like it wouldn’t be Christmas without my family around me.”

  Molly smiled at the sentiment but, when she glanced up, she caught her dad and Jake exchanging a loaded glance. Tim was staring at his hands, and Dory had her lower lip between her teeth as she looked at Lucas.

  Suddenly, it struck Molly. This was the last Christmas it would be this way, all of them together. Dory and Lucas were going to want to spend at least some years in America – especially once they were married. Tim would be leaving for Switzerland in a few days and who knew if he’d be able to get home every Christmas. And she… well, she’d still be coming home. At this rate, it would be her and Jake at the dinner table every year.

  Which didn’t sound as awful a prospect as it would have done, a year ago.

  “Well, I think Lucas and I are going to bed.” The smile on Dory’s face would have been totally inappropriate for family time, if she hadn’t just got engaged.

  As everyone wished them goodnight, Molly caught Jake’s eye again. Two down…

  Mum was next, pleading tiredness after all the cooking. She reminded them all about the leftovers that needed eating, then disappeared upstairs. Two to go…

  Molly felt a tightness growing in her belly with every passing moment, and her brain had taken to chanting, soon, soon, soon, over the soundtrack of whichever James Bond movie they were watching.

  Tim fell asleep on the sofa half way through the film. It took Dad a moment or two to notice, but once he did he prodded him in the side. “You awake there, Tim?”

  “Wha…?” Tim’s eyes opened briefly, then closed again.

  Dad looked up at Jake. “Think he’s ready for bed, too. Help me get him up there? I don’t fancy trying to pour him up those attic stairs.”

  “Of course.” Jake hoisted Tim up and slung his arm over his shoulder.

  “Want me to pause the film?” Molly asked, because she couldn’t exactly say, ‘are you coming back?’ in front of her dad.

  “That would be great.” Jake’s smile told her he knew exactly what she was doing. Still, she didn’t see him objecting.

  “Think I’ll head up too,” Dad said, stretching. “Don’t you two stay up too late now, will you?”

  “Yes, Dad.” The knot grew tighter in Molly’s middle as she watched them process out of the room. Once they were out of sight, she stared at the frozen image on the television, counting down the seconds until Jake came back.

  She hadn’t thought this through at all. What the hell was she going to say? Or do? Beyond putting on some fancy knickers, she’d barely considered what happened next.

  Well. That wasn’t entirely true. Back in London, late at night, she’d imagined the scene a thousand different ways. She’d just never bothered thinking about the conversation they needed to have before they got to the good stuff.

  Footsteps on the stairs and then, too soon, Jake was back. He stood, watching her from the doorway and Molly bit her lip under his scrutiny. One of them was going to have to say something, to start the conversation…

  Slowly, deliberately, as if giving her time to object, Jake closed the lounge door, and they were completely alone.

  “Jake, I know we need to—”

  “Shhh.” Stepping closer, he bent down and put a finger to her lips. “Let’s talk… later.”

  Mutely, Molly nodded. He was right. How could they talk when every feeling they’d been trying to suppress for the last year was coursing through them, trying to break free?

  And when Jake pressed a kiss to her lips, it definitely felt like freedom.

  -

  Oh God, this woman would be the death of him. How could one kiss, one simple, soft kiss, render him so incapable of thought? His only priority when she was near was keeping her there; his only wish to be allowed to touch and kiss her some more.

  And for the first time ever, there was no one there who would want to stop him. Especially not Molly.

  Her hands reached up around his waist to press against his back, pulling him down towards her. Without breaking the kiss, Jake got to his knees, kneeling between her thighs as she sat on the sofa, bringing himself down to the same level.

  “Hi,” Molly said, pulling away just far enough to look into his eyes. “I missed you.”

  “I’ve been right here.” His words came out hoarse, and he knew she had to be able to hear his desperation. His need.

  She shook her head, just enough for her hair to tickle his cheek. “Not here, here you haven’t.” She pulled him closer and kissed him again. “I missed you right here.”

  “I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.

  Molly’s smile turned wicked. “Oh good. I so hoped you would.”

  Jake felt a moment’s loss for the thought of his king-sized bed at home looking out over green fields, and the pleasures he could give her if they were there and truly alone. But it had already been so long, he knew neither of them were willing to wait.

  He stripped off her dress and laid her out on the sofa before him, all lace and loveliness, her flushed skin glowing in the firelight. “God, you’re beautiful.”

  “And you’re still clothed,” Molly pointed out, wriggling her tights down over her hips, revealing the matching knickers he’d last seen strewn across the driveway.

  “Sorry.” Jake yanked his jumper over his head, ignoring the part of his brain that reminded him that there were still other people in the house. People
who could walk in and find him debauching the baby of the family any minute now.

  But God, that debauching would be worth it. Worth everything that might happen next.

  “Do you have…” Molly trailed off, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

  “Of course.” Jake pulled the condom from the back pocket of his jeans and placed it on the arm of the sofa. “But we don’t need it just yet.”

  At her frustrated look, he flashed her a smile and lowered his mouth to her breasts. After all, just because they didn’t have the luxury of privacy, a bed, or anything else, didn’t mean he couldn’t make this a night she’d never forget.

  And hopefully one she’d want to repeat.

  Chapter 15

  BOXING DAY

  Molly had lost all track of time – and her underwear – but it had to be after midnight. Lying naked on her parents’ sofa, her head resting against Jake’s bare chest, covered only by the fleecy blanket her mum kept thrown over the back of the sofa for cold nights, wasn’t exactly how she’d intended to spend Christmas Day evening.

  But God, she didn’t regret one moment of it.

  “We need to do that again, in a bed,” she said, almost without thinking.

  Jake hummed his agreement, already half asleep as far as she could tell.

  Did he snore? Molly had no idea. He’d been in her life since before she was born, but there was still so much she didn’t know about him. Was she going to get the chance to learn?

  And did she want it?

  She wanted to sleep with him again, that was a definite. The man had given her the best sex of her life on a sofa with her parents upstairs – not really the ideal sort of conditions for these things. Imagine what more he could do if he had her alone, in a bed, for as long as they wanted…

  If he wanted it. What if it hadn’t been so fantastic for him? No, that was stupid. She’d seen his face the moment before he finished inside her. It had been awesome for him too. She had been awesome.

  But fantastic sex and ridiculous chemistry weren’t everything. He might have this every day of the week with his string of elegant brunettes. And even if he didn’t… she still wasn’t confident he wanted her for the right reasons.