Christmas Under a Starlit Sky

by Holly Martin

  Adam helped Ivy back towards the snowmobile and helped her on. She was a lot shorter than he was and very petite, like a little doll with bags of attitude. He sat behind her, bracketing her arms with his as he held onto the handles and took off towards the hotel.

  When they got there, Adam helped her off the snowmobile but when she seemed unsteady on her feet, he scooped her up again.

  ‘I do not need to be carried like a baby,’ Ivy protested.

  Adam sighed and put her down and supported her by holding her arm instead. They walked into the reception area and up the two flights of stairs to his temporary bedroom directly above his office. Gabe had promised him use of one of the lodges after Christmas but for now he had a bed and his own bathroom and he was happy with that.

  He left her standing in the bedroom and went into the bathroom, turning the shower on so the water was warm, not hot. Then he walked back out and found her exactly where he’d left her, still shivering like crazy.

  ‘I’ve got the temperature of the shower turned down low, you need to turn it up slowly. It’s not good for your body to go from extreme cold to extreme hot very quickly. When you’re used to the warm, you can turn it up slightly then. I’ll put out some clean clothes for you and send some food up. I’ll be downstairs in my office if you need me, it’s the first door on the left.’

  ‘I might need some help getting out of these clothes, my fingers are numb.’

  Adam’s feet were welded to the floor. She was incredibly pretty and there was something about her that he felt drawn to, but there was also a vulnerability that she was determined to keep hidden and it felt like he’d be taking advantage of her to undress her, despite the circumstances.

  He swallowed. ‘I’ll send one of the girls who work here up to help you, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to—’

  ‘Adam, it’s just a body. I’m sure you’ve seen lots of naked women in your time, and I’ve been poked, prodded and examined by so many doctors over the years that I’m certainly not embarrassed by being seen naked any more. I’m freezing, will you please help me? You can keep your eyes closed if you are that repulsed by me.’

  Adam quickly moved in front of her and started to undress her.

  ‘Believe me, being repulsed by you is not the problem here,’ he muttered.

  He pulled her t-shirt off and swallowed down the groan when he briefly saw the black lacy bra, edged with pink ribbon, before he looked away.

  Adam pulled down her tracksuit bottoms, feeling like he was some kind of pervert as he knew he shouldn’t be enjoying this. When he revealed matching black knickers and a sparkly belly button stud shaped like a snowflake he knew it would be a while before he forgot that wonderful image. Away from the horse and all that mud there was an amazing scent to her, a tangy sweetness of clementines.

  He didn’t think it was necessary to take her underwear off too, so he guided her into the bathroom and waited until she was under the shower. She started rubbing her body, trying to get warm, and he watched her for a moment. When he spoke, he knew his voice was strangled. ‘Can I help you with anything else?’

  She turned to look at him, flashing him a brilliant smile. ‘Are you offering to scrub my back for me?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ he lied, wondering if she would need help with any other body parts too.

  ‘I think I’ve got it covered.’

  Adam quickly left the bathroom and got changed. He laid out some clean clothes for her on his bed and then went back downstairs to his office. He closed the door, sat down at his desk and let his head fall into his hands.

  Getting involved with someone here was not part of his plan. He was here for three months and then he would be going back to the bright lights and prestige of working as deputy manager in one of the best hotels in London. Getting involved with anyone, anywhere, was not part of his plan at all. But Ivy lived and worked down in the village and he worked up here in the hotel. It would be quite easy to avoid her. So why did he feel disappointed by that fact?

  Chapter 4

  So much for holding back. Oakley was stretched out the length of the sofa and Neve was lying on his chest as he played with her hair. She didn’t have any recollection of getting into this position, they had been too busy talking for her to notice, but he had clearly used his superhero powers and arranged it by stealth. Right now, in their little bubble of pretending that everything was fine between them, she couldn’t be happier so she was disappointed when there was a knock on the door.

  ‘Just pretend we’re not here,’ Oakley whispered, theatrically, and she laughed as she got up.

  She opened the door to find her brother Gabe and his girlfriend Pip standing on top of the steps. They were holding hands and Neve couldn’t help but smile at how sweet they looked together, despite only really being together for a little over a week.

  ‘Is Oakley still here?’ Pip whispered and Neve nodded, knowing the man himself was only a few feet away and could probably hear what was being said. ‘We didn’t want to interrupt but we just wanted to make sure you’re OK.’

  Neve smiled and reached out to take Pip’s hand. She had missed her so much while she had been away and now Pip was back for good, Neve was looking forward to rekindling the sisterly relationship they’d had before. She lowered her voice. ‘I’m fine, thank you. I don’t know what the future holds for us but right now I’m actually really happy he’s here. You don’t need to worry.’

  ‘If you would prefer that he stayed in the village we can put him in one of the spare lodges down there,’ Gabe said.

  She shook her head. ‘That’s not necessary, me and Oakley have a lot to talk about and we’re not going to be able to do that if he’s all the way down in the village. I appreciate your concern, but I promise you we’re fine.’

  Both Gabe and Pip’s eyes lifted upwards and Neve knew Oakley had come to stand behind her. He moved to her side, a huge smile on his face as he slung an arm around her shoulders in a sign of togetherness that they hadn’t quite reached yet.

  ‘Hello, we didn’t properly meet before. I’m Oakley,’ he said, offering out a hand to Pip.

  ‘Pleased to meet you, I’m Pip.’ She shook his hand.

  Oakley’s eyes glanced down to Gabe and Pip’s joined hands and he smiled too. ‘Do you work in the hotel?’

  ‘Pip is our official photographer, she has an incredible talent,’ Neve said, warmly.

  ‘Oh that’s cool, I can never take a decent photo. Mine are always blurred or have a big finger across the middle of it. You’ll have to show me some of the photos you’ve taken of this place. It looked great when I flew over the top of it.’

  ‘I’d be happy to show you, if you’re still here after Christmas,’ Pip said, pointedly.

  Neve suppressed a smile at the sudden protective streak from her. Growing up, it had always been Neve who had looked after Pip.

  ‘Well, we just wanted to make sure you were both OK,’ Gabe said, awkwardly. ‘You know where we are if you need us. Will you both be coming to Christmas lunch tomorrow? We’re having it in my house and then we can do presents and games afterwards. The whole family will be there.’

  ‘Of course, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ Oakley said.

  Gabe smiled. ‘OK, well, we’ll see you tomorrow, around one.’

  He flashed another look of concern at Neve and she smiled at him reassuringly as they turned to leave. She closed the door and turned to face Oakley.

  ‘Gabe got a new girlfriend?’

  ‘An old girlfriend, to be precise. Pip was Gabe’s first love. We all grew up together and I adored her. Then a horrible accident and a terrible misunderstanding led to Pip running away. They met up again for the first time about a week ago and fell in love all over again. She’s so good for him, she makes him so happy. She’s great with Wren too. I think this is forever for Gabe. I imagine they’ll get married really quickly and Wren will probably want to wear an Elsa dress if she’s bridesmaid.’

&n
bsp; Oakley laughed. ‘I’m happy for him. And if they can get back together and fall in love again after all those years apart, maybe there’s still hope for us.’

  He threw himself down on the sofa, stretching out along the full length of it, and indicated to her to resume where she had been lying before they were interrupted.

  ‘You need to see her photos, the ones of Stardust Lake Hotel are incredible,’ Neve stalled. Now their little bubble had burst, she wasn’t sure if she should lie with him again when they were supposed to just be friends.

  ‘Maybe you can show me around and I can see the resort for myself,’ Oakley said, snagging her hand and pulling her gently towards the sofa.

  She was slightly annoyed at how little resistance she put up as she lay down on top of him again.

  ‘I’m going to be busy over the next few days with the preparations for the New Year’s Eve ball.’

  ‘A ball?’

  ‘Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to dance with me. I know that isn’t really your thing.’

  ‘I’d love to dance with you, Freckle. I’m not very good at it, but I promise you I’ll dance with you at the ball.’

  ‘It’s a masked ball.’

  ‘If I’d known you were having one of those, I would have brought my superhero mask.’

  Neve laughed. ‘I don’t think that’s the kind of mask we imagined when we came up with the event, though I suspect some of the kids will be wearing Batman masks.’

  ‘Now that is something I definitely want to see. And I totally understand if you’re busy, I don’t want to get in the way of your work. I can certainly show myself around.’

  ‘I can take some time to show you around. We can take the horses out, I’m sure they would appreciate the run.’

  ‘You have Shadow and Knight here? I might have known you would never leave them in London.’

  ‘I couldn’t. I never rode them enough when I was in London, I was hoping that might change now I have somewhere beautiful to ride them. Gabe wants to offer horse rides in the summer, so I’ll be taking small groups out when the other horses arrive.’

  Oakley smiled fondly at her. ‘I bet you’ll love that. Horses have always been such a big part of your life.’

  ‘I love them. I can’t ever imagine not having one.’

  ‘What about your job? Are you happy here? You always wanted to work with horses, do you think you will stay working for Gabe for the foreseeable future?’

  Neve hesitated before she spoke. It was true that she couldn’t say she truly loved her job. She was good at it and there was something almost comforting about going to work and knowing what was expected of her and how to do it. It was only supposed to have been a temporary thing to get her back on her feet, raise enough money to pursue her dreams, but here she was some eight years later, having worked her way up from receptionist to hotel manager with no plans to ever move on.

  ‘You told me that you always wanted to open up your own riding school and offer lessons to disabled children. That was your dream. Do you not see yourself pursuing that one day?’ Oakley said. ‘I’d hate to see you settle, to drift through life doing something you are good at, that perhaps pays well but isn’t something you love.’

  ‘Gabe needs me here.’

  ‘What about what you need?’

  Neve smiled. ‘Everything is simple in your world, isn’t it? If you have a dream, pursue it—’

  ‘And if you love someone, never let them go. Simple rules, but very effective.’

  Her breath caught in her throat and he caught her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

  ‘What are you afraid of, Freckle?’

  For the longest time she didn’t answer but she had always been able to talk to Oakley about stuff she had never talked about with anyone else.

  ‘That dream seems tainted somehow.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘I told you that Zander, my ex, was an Olympian who slept with everything that moved.’

  ‘He broke your heart.’

  ‘He did but he also took that dream from me too.’ She played with a stray thread on the sofa. She didn’t want him to think less of her because of the mistakes in her past, but she wanted him to know where her fears came from and that she was scared of making the same mistakes again. ‘When my grandad died, he left us all a shedload of money. My parents sold their farm, bought a caravan and used their share of the money to travel the world. Gabe invested in hotels, Luke bought a house and I bought my own farm with a plot of land to build the riding school on. My dream was in my grasp. But I was so in love with Zander, well, I thought I was. I was dazzled by him. And his dream of going to the Olympics was in his grasp too but he needed funding, sponsorship. He persuaded me to loan him the money he needed. I took a huge loan out against my house, gave him the money I intended to use to build the riding school. He promised he’d pay it all back.’

  Oakley looked furious. ‘And he didn’t. He betrayed you, took your money, broke your heart and dumped you. No wonder you were so reluctant to get involved with me. But why didn’t you tell me this before?’

  ‘I was a fool. And that’s not something I wanted anyone to know. I was so young and naïve and so in love, I would have given him the moon. Then I found out he was sleeping with one of the girls on the team. He’d played me and I only realised afterwards that he had only started showing an interest in me after I’d inherited the money. That had been his intention from the start. We broke up and I demanded that he give me my money back but he just stopped taking my calls and refused to see me. In the end I gave up as I just felt so humiliated every time I tried to get in touch. I couldn’t afford the loan on my house and had to sell it to pay it back. I ended up with nothing and that’s when Gabe gave me a job and somewhere to live. I could have had my dream and I gave it all away.’

  ‘So you just gave up on your dream? You tried once and you didn’t succeed so you’re not going to try again?’

  ‘It’s not as simple as that,’ Neve protested.

  ‘Yes, it is. If it’s your dream then never let it go, you keep fighting for it. By giving up on your dreams, you’re letting Zander win. And that asshole doesn’t deserve to win anything. If we ever got back together, I’d never stand in the way of your dreams. I’d help you to realise them.’

  Neve smiled. ‘I’d never want to stand in the way of your dreams either.’

  ‘See, we’re perfect for each other.’

  She smiled. He was right, she had been holding back from her dreams for too long. But leaving her job and going after them was going to be easier said than done. She decided to change the subject. ‘So, tell me about the movie, how’s it been?’ she said, as he took her hand.

  She watched the smile spread across his face and her heart soared because of it.

  ‘It’s been amazing, everything I ever hoped it would be and more. The days are long and it’s hard work and sometimes there are hours in between takes. But every day I get up and go to work in Warner Brothers Studios, working with some of the biggest names in movie history. I put on this incredible costume, and sometimes the only thing I’m acting against is a green screen with a football on a stick, but I love it. I count my lucky stars every single day that I’m doing this. I thought I had made it when I was filming on the streets of London for almost a year, but this is a whole other story. I’ve always wanted this.

  ‘When I was six years old and went to see Superman in the cinema, I asked my mum if Superman could really fly. She told me he was an actor, that it was just a film and that the film studios made it look like he could fly. I knew then this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to fly like Superman, fight dragons and travel through time and space. Last week we actually filmed a scene where I flew. It was ridiculous, I had a harness, we did the whole thing in a green studio with a huge fan blowing wind in my hair, and I could not stop smiling the whole time we were shooting it. They had to keep stopping filming because I was grinning so much and I was supposed to be angry. I’
m having the time of my life and I never want this journey to end. Getting this job is honestly the second best thing to ever happen to me.’

  Neve couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm and love for his job. ‘I’m so happy for you, I couldn’t be more excited that you’re living your dream. You deserve this success, you’ve worked so hard to get here... Wait, second best thing to happen to you? What was the first?’

  He grinned. ‘Meeting you.’

  She laughed. ‘Oakley Rey, you’re such a charmer.’

  ‘It’s true.’

  She shook her head, smiling fondly.

  The smile faded from his face as he grew serious. ‘When I met you, I knew that you were the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, the other half of my heart. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. We have to work out some way that we can be together because I can’t even begin to think about my life without you in it.’

  ‘I don’t want to lose you either but...’

  He placed his fingers over her lips. ‘No buts, Freckle. I promise you we will work this out.’

  She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

  Maybe he was right, maybe they could work this out. Right now, she never wanted to let him go.

  Ivy swirled the paint across the sheet of glass, creating a Christmas tree with her fingers. It wasn’t turning out anywhere near as good as she hoped and she knew that was because of Adam.

  She had come to this little island, as far away as she could possibly get from her ex-husband, to get away from life for a while and partly to get away from men. The possibility of having another relationship was not a thought that had entered her head. A relationship would lead only to heartbreak and her feeling like a complete and utter failure. She never wanted to be made to feel like that again. She had been here for a few months before the hotel opened and men hadn’t been a problem. Most of the men in the village were either twice her age or happily married and all the men who worked at the hotel had mainly stayed around the hotel so she had enjoyed an almost solitary existence. But now Adam had arrived and her promise to herself not to get involved with anyone was rapidly weakening.