She smiled, and he traced the curve of her lips with his thumb. “I liked kissing you,” he said almost absently, studying her mouth as if lost in the memory of it. “And I would like to kiss you again. Many, many times.”
She inhaled at the thought. “Really?” she said dreamily, wishing they were alone and she could just lie back and let him kiss her senseless.
“Really. I would like to kiss you here.” He brushed her lips. Then he moved his hand around to her neck, and ran his fingers lightly up to the tender skin behind her ear. “And here.” Traced around to the nape of her neck and stroked it. “And here.”
Eva closed her eyes and dropped her head a little, revelling in his gentle touch. “Rudi…”
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No…”
So he continued to touch her, and she knew that to an onlooker, although it would appear intimate—far too intimate for two strangers—there was still something innocent about the caress, that it wouldn’t have attracted attention, and would have just looked caring and tender.
Onlookers could not have known how her heart was thundering, how that light, gentle caress was arousing her, how he was almost sending her into a trance as he circled around her ear, traced the line of her jaw, followed her cheekbone up to her temple and then slipped his hand into her hair.
“I wish I could kiss you now,” he whispered, his voice sounding husky.
Eva lifted her head and opened her eyes to look into his. She would never have thought such bright blue eyes could be hot, but his blazed with passion, heating her up from the inside out as if she’d swallowed a huge mouthful of brandy.
“Oh God, me too…” At that moment, she wouldn’t have cared if he’d swept her up into his arms in front of the whole restaurant. She wanted his lips on hers more than anything in the world.
At that inopportune moment, Oscar bowled into her, and Rudi hastily dropped his hand as Isabel walked up and announced tearfully, “Oscar trod on my foot,” prompting a suitable distraction for them both as they inspected her foot and fussed over her, carefully avoiding each other’s eyes as they prepared to leave.
As they walked back to the cabins, Eva’s mind raced. Guilt, fear, excitement and confusion all wrangled for prominence, as well as a quiet desperation and a certain measure of misery at the thought that this was pointless—she had an energetic three-year-old racing around her; what hope was there of finding romance until he was at least eighteen?
But in that, someone above must have been smiling on them, because as they neared the cabins, Isabel pulled a leaflet out of her pocket and said something in Finnish. She quickly corrected herself and said in English, “I nearly forgot. Look, Daddy. There is a club here in the afternoons. I thought…um…Oscar might enjoy it. And perhaps I could go with him to look after him, so he doesn’t get lonely?”
They stopped at the bottom of the path and inspected the leaflet. It was called the Little Elves Club for children of all ages up to fourteen, run by half a dozen elf helpers, and they met for two hours every afternoon in a room at the back of the Exhibition Centre. The leaflet declared they carried out all sorts of activities, including arts and crafts, music and dancing, and other games to keep the children entertained so parents could have some quiet time.
Eva held the leaflet with a slightly shaking hand. Unable to meet Rudi’s eyes, she said to her son, “What do you think, Oscar? Would you like to go to this club and play some games?”
Oscar—permanently over-excited and likely to agree to anything—jumped up and down and declared he wanted to do it more than anything in the whole world. Eva nodded gravely and said that of course he could go if Isabel would agree to look after him. The girl’s eyes lit up, although she accepted the job demurely and stated she was only doing it so he didn’t get lonely.
So they agreed to meet up just before two and walk the children down to the Centre.
“Do you mind me going, Daddy?” Isabel said as they went to part. “Perhaps you can do some work while I am gone.”
“Or you can play with Mummy,” Oscar suggested helpfully.
Rudi tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, and Eva gave in and erupted into giggles. The two children looked confused, and she fought to get it back under control and smiled at them. “Of course. I saw a Monopoly box in the cupboard.”
Rudi snorted and steered Isabel towards their door. “See you at two,” he called over his shoulder, giving her a parting, semi-scolding glance and mouthing the word Behave!
She waved and backed into her own cabin, shut the door and leaned on it as Oscar raced off to bounce on the bed.
Her heart hammered as the reality sank in. Two whole frickin’ hours with no children, no mother-in-law, no need to think about anything except herself and the handsome Viking.
Oh. My. God.
Chapter Nine
Rudi’s brain refused to function.
Isabel settled herself in front of the TV and got out her colouring books, and he sat in front of his laptop at the table and pulled his folders towards him, but the figures swam before his eyes, and after ten minutes of staring at the screen he pushed it away and walked over to the windows overlooking the forest.
His heart raced, and a prickle of excitement descended his spine.
Don’t be ridiculous, his brain told him. Nothing’s going to happen. She’ll have changed her mind by then and you’ll end up looking a fool if you turn up all eager.
But his heart refused to slow, and his mind played through the images of Eva it had recorded so far—the moment when he’d first turned around to see her standing there, eyes wide with surprise; the warmth and beauty in her face when she cuddled her son; the way she lit up when she laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling and her straight white teeth gleaming; and the glorious moment when he’d kissed her. She’d obviously wanted him to, her eyes had told him that, plus her amazingly open statement, Don’t you just wish, sometimes, that things didn’t have to be complicated?
He supposed he should have been turned off by her forwardness, but in truth something had lit inside him at her honesty. He understood what she was trying to express because he felt the same way. Being single again after seven years of marriage, as well as passing thirty, had proved to be a challenge. He had never liked the dating game, although he’d forced himself to take part and had managed to have a few girlfriends before Vanessa came on the scene. But the thought of asking a girl out again, getting to know her, and then trying to broach the subject of taking her to bed, filled him with a wary hesitation he had not expected.
So Eva’s statement, and her obvious desire to just have some human contact, to love and be loved, even for a short time, made perfect sense, and it appealed to him greatly. And ultimately, what was so terrible about two almost-strangers coming together for some mutual pleasure? They were both single, consenting adults, in the similar position of knowing that a new long-term partner would have to be comfortable with taking on their child, which was bound to put a lot of people off. Why shouldn’t they take advantage of this precious fleeting moment in their lives, like the conjunction of planets that only happened once every thousand years?
Rudi looked out at the snow, remembering how he’d stroked Eva’s neck in the restaurant, and the sensual way she’d dipped her head and leant into his caress as he’d traced around to her nape. Such a brief, innocent touch, but he’d watched her eyes dilate and her lips part, and had felt the answering surge of desire in his own body, which had hardened at the thought of taking this woman in his arms and making love to her.
Would she change her mind over the next few hours? Or would she still be as excited at the prospect of sharing herself with him as he was with her?
He wouldn’t know until he saw her again. But until then, perhaps he should take the chance and pretend that it might—just might—happen.
So he took a long shower, even though he’d only had one a few hours before, had a shave, splashed on his most expensive aftershave,
and chose his newest boxer-briefs to wear beneath his clothes. Pulled on his jeans and a white shirt, then tugged on a light blue jumper over the top, which Frieda always said went well with his eyes.
Put on a tie.
Took it off again.
Ran his fingers through his hair, checked his teeth, clipped his fingernails, wondered whether to trim his sideburns, worried about that for a while, then finally walked out of the bathroom, exasperated with himself and determined not to think about Eva until two o’clock.
He made Isabel some lunch and had a small sandwich himself, poured a mug of coffee and sat at his laptop. Forced himself to concentrate and send a few emails.
But it was no good. With only half an hour to go, he couldn’t sit there any longer. So he picked up his mug and took it over to the sofa, and sat beside Isabel where she was curled up, watching the end of the old black and white movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
“Wow, I haven’t seen this in years.” He lapsed into Finnish as they often did when they were alone and he forgot he was supposed to encourage her English.
“It’s so sad.” Isabel pressed her fingers to her lips as George Bailey and his family welcomed their friends into their house. “Everyone’s come to help him. He was going to throw himself off the bridge and commit suicide, but the angel came down from Heaven to stop him.”
“Clarence,” Rudi remembered with a smile.
“Yes. And Clarence showed him what a terrible place the world would be without him in it, and that’s why he shouldn’t kill himself.”
“It’s true. We all affect many more people than we realise.”
She watched the ending where the bell rang to indicate the angel had got his wings, and then she moved closer to Rudi, so he lifted his arm, and she snuggled up to his side.
Was she getting nervous about going to the Little Elves Club? Although she went to school, she was a very shy girl and didn’t go to many after school activities.
“How are you feeling?” he asked her. “Are you looking forward to the club?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“You don’t have to go,” he said gently. “If you really don’t want to.”
“It’s okay, Daddy, I want to go. I think Oscar will enjoy it, and I’d like to have a go at the crafts. I could make us a Christmas decoration for our tree.” She pointed to the small tree that stood in the corner of every cabin.
“That would be nice.” He planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Do you mind that I’ve brought you here for Christmas? I’ve realised that I didn’t really ask you—I just told you we were going. Would you rather have spent it at home, with Grandma?”
She shook her head. “This is fun. Don’t worry, Daddy, I know I upset you because I said I didn’t believe in Santa, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like Christmas. Eva said that even though Santa isn’t real and reindeer don’t fly, Christmas can still be magical, and I think I know what she means.”
Her little face looked so serious that Rudi’s throat tightened. Thank you, Eva. “That was a nice thing to say,” he said huskily.
“Yes. I like her. She’s pretty.”
“Yes, she is.”
“I like her dark hair.” She fingered her own braids.
“Blonde is beautiful too.” He smiled.
“She’s funny with Oscar. She doesn’t tell him off, but she doesn’t let him have his own way either.”
“I know.”
“She must have been embarrassed in the shop, when he screamed.”
“Yes, she must have. Do you think she did the right thing?”
“At the time I didn’t. I thought she should have picked him up and taken him out. But afterwards I thought maybe it might have made him worse. Where’s Oscar’s daddy?”
“He died,” Rudi said softly.
“How did he die?”
“In a car crash.”
“Does Oscar know?”
It was a strange question, one he hadn’t considered. “Well, Oscar is only three, and his father has been dead for eighteen months, so he was very much a baby when he died. I would think that Eva has probably tried to explain why he doesn’t have a daddy like the other children at the kindergarten. But I don’t know. Maybe she is waiting for when he grows up. So it’s probably best not to say anything.”
“So when poor Oscar grows up he will discover that Santa isn’t real and his father is gone.”
Rudi sighed. “I suppose.”
“That’s so sad.”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
She looked up at the clock on the wall. “The big hand is nearly on the two, Daddy! Come on. It’s time to go.”
He stood, his mind whirling, and went through the motions of getting dressed for the cold. Eva wasn’t just a beautiful young woman out looking for a good time. She’d been through a terrible trauma, and he had to be careful not to make things worse, not to complicate matters.
And then he opened the front door and saw her standing there waiting, and all thoughts flew from his head as he saw the hopefulness on her face, and the way her expression lit up as he came outside.
“All ready?” she said, a beautiful flush stealing into her cheeks as she met his gaze. She looked away quickly, as if worried he could read her thoughts. “Oscar is very excited.”
The boy wore an adorable woolly hat with two tiny antlers, and he was bounding around in the snow, clearly eager to get going.
“I like your hat,” Isabel told him.
“I’m Rudolph!” Oscar beamed.
“No, you are not, I am Rudolph,” Rudi said.
Oscar thought that was hilarious and burst into gales of laughter. His giggles were so infectious that soon they were all laughing as they walked along the pathway towards the Exhibition Centre.
“Isabel is going to make us a decoration for the Christmas tree,” Rudi said.
“That sounds fun,” Eva said. “Will you make one for me, Oscar?”
“I’m going to make a hundred-and-one decorations,” he said, skipping along in the snow.
“That’s his favourite number at the moment,” Eva explained with a quick glance up at Rudi. The blush returned, and she looked away again. “How many presents do you want for Christmas, Oscar?”
“A hundred-and-one!”
Rudi laughed. The boy was a treasure, full of life, a handful to be sure, but he wasn’t bad really, just lively and full of energy.
And it was nice to see some of that energy rubbing off on Isabel. She joined him in skipping along the path, and it was only when she laughed at something the boy said that Rudi realised how little she laughed usually.
“You look sad,” Eva said. “Everything okay?”
He glanced across at her and smiled. “Yes. It is nice to see Izzy enjoying herself.”
Eva nodded, met his gaze, and held it for a brief moment before looking down. What was she thinking? Was she regretting her decision? The way her face had lit up when he came out of the cabin suggested otherwise. But surely she was feeling the same nerves that fluttered in his own stomach at that moment?
They crossed to the Centre and took the children through to the room at the back. There were already about a dozen children there—all seated around a table filled with coloured paper, glue sticks, glittery stars and cut-out shapes.
One of the elf helpers came over to Izzy and Oscar with a smile. “Hello! Have you come to play with us for a while?”
They both nodded solemnly, and the helper led them over to the table and found them a seat. Within minutes they were sticking glitter onto a large cardboard angel shape to make a decoration.
Another elf took their names and cabin numbers and said they would telephone if the children wanted to come home, but promised that that rarely happened because they had lots of things to do and there wasn’t really time for them to get bored.
So Eva kissed Oscar, and Rudi kissed Isabel, and then they waved them goodbye and went outside.
The snow was falling again, small dry flakes t
his time that danced in the breeze and made it look as if everything was dusted with icing sugar. The buildings around them glowed in the semi-twilight and the snowflakes sparkled beneath the lamps, reminding Rudi of the glitter the children had been playing with. There was an air of magic about the place, of waiting, of anticipation.
“Two more sleeps…” Eva said.
So she could feel it too?
They walked a little way down the path, then slowed to a halt.
Eva turned to look up at him. She’d jammed her hands in her pockets and hunched her shoulders a little. Her large brown eyes were bright, her pale cheeks still touched with a light blush.
He hesitated for a moment, not sure what to say. He didn’t want to put his foot in it if she was about to say, Actually, on second thoughts I’ve been thinking…
He cleared his throat and looked across at the shops. “So, we have a little while on our own. What would you like to do? Um… Shall we go shopping, or maybe have a drink in one of the restaurants?”
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, the same way she’d done when she’d asked him, Don’t you just wish, sometimes, that things didn’t have to be complicated?
Then she moved a bit closer to him. She took her hands out of her pockets and rested them on his chest. Then she reached up on tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.
They were cool and soft, and he closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the smell of her perfume, the warmth of her skin next to his.
Then she pulled away and looked up at him again.
He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and gave her a smile that held all of his hope and pleasure and excitement. “Okay.” He took her hand in his, and they walked along the path back to the cabins.
Chapter Ten
Eva’s heart raced as they walked up the snowy path. The further they got from the busy village centre, the quieter it became. Families tended to spend the day in Santa’s Playground and visiting the other attractions, and so the park was peaceful, the cleaning van moving away as they neared, the staff having tidied the vacated cabins and the afternoon arrivals not yet checked in.
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