Kafi took the socks and stared stupidly at the thick woollen bundle in his hands.
“Come on, put them on before you get frostbite.”
Kafi sat on a big yellow chair and obediently put on the socks. He looked around the room. Christmas blankets draped the small two-seat couch and the ottoman that was so big and plush that Pippa could sleep on it if she curled up. She had as huge a Christmas tree as the small room would allow and candles and snow globes dotted almost every surface. But even underneath all the Christmas cheer, Kafi could see that the walls of the place were covered with posters and prints. Colourful, happy pictures, but no personal photos he could see.
Except one.
He walked over to the mantlepiece and picked up a framed photo of Pippa and … him. It was from the wedding reception. One of the many pictures that had been snapped at the party the staff had thrown when Mark and Maisy arrived back from America married.
He looked over toward Pippa. “This is us.”
Pippa nodded. And she looked a little sad. But so cute. She was not long out of the bath, her dark hair wet and tangled. She wore a white T-shirt under red flannel pyjamas dotted with snowflakes and leaping reindeer. And she had thick ski socks on her feet, too.
“Uh, yeah. Glynis took it at the reception and gave it to me. She said the picture came out really nice, and she thought I might like a copy.”
Kafi remembered how Glynis had been flitting around, taking candid shots. When she'd told them to smile, he hadn't wasted a second putting his arm around Pippa and pulling her close.
Kafi remembered to breathe. “I have one of us, too. Glynis gave me one, too.”
“Oh.” And Pippa stood there, nodding.
“Glynis didn't frame mine,” he said.
“Oh.”
And he could see Pippa blush as red as her pyjamas. His heart kicked up. Had she framed it? Was the picture that important to her?
“I have a bulletin board right above my desk in my room in town,” he said. “I pin up my class schedules, bills I have to pay, stuff I need to remember. Important stuff.”
“Oh.”
“I pinned this picture right in the middle.”
Pippa didn't say anything.
Kafi swallowed. “I see it every time I sit at the desk. Every time I look up from whatever I'm working on.”
Pippa smiled, nodding, her eyes downcast. “The inspiration for your big project.”
In two strides Kafi was across the room, standing right in front of her. “Have you ever really looked at this picture, Pippa? Have you?”
Pippa took the picture from him and set it face down on a nearby table.
“Yes. I've looked at it.” She raised her eyes and met his. “I look at it all the time, Kafi.”
Kafi swallowed. “And what do you see?”
She took a deep breath and huffed it out. Almost as if she were angry. “I see you. The most amazing man. A red hot god among men who's smart and kind and who's working hard to head into a bright future.”
He took a step closer. “And?”
“And me. A gutter rat. A domestic. And honestly? A girl who's happy where she's at. Not beautiful. Not special. Not going anywhere. But lucky to have found Drakenfall.”
“Is that how you think of yourself?”
“Why do you sound surprised? It's how you think of me, too. My story of how I turned from an alley cat to a thriving member of the working class inspired you, for Pete's sake!”
“Your strength inspired me! Pippa, you've got this edge to you, letting me know you're on guard, you're always keeping it real, but then there's this underlying eternal optimism. You just keep going. Keep getting up. Keep getting it done. Pippa, I've been loved to death by my whole family all my life. They worked hard to help send me here to school. I have never known a day with out love, or support, or food. And you've never had that kind of security in your entire life. Not until you went out and created it for yourself. I am in awe of you.”
Pippa was nodding, her nostrils flaring. “Okay! I get it. I'm a hero. I'm special because I survived. I get it. Now please go.” And on the word go, her voice broke.
Kafi leaned down, trying to peer into her face. “Why are you so mad at me, Pippa? Why have you always disliked me so much? Why do you want me to go?”
His face was so close to hers. “Because I can't have you,” she whispered. “You're all I want, and I can't have you.”
Kafi's eyes got wide. Was the woman insane? Had she heard and seen nothing tonight?
Just tell her.
“Pippa,” he said. “I don't know how you missed it, but I'm in love with you. I've been trying to get close to you for so long, but you always seem to pull away. So I wanted to show you how much I care. Tonight. I—”
“What did you say?”
“I'm in love with you.”
“Uh ...”
When she didn't say anything else, Kafi leaned down and kissed her. A soft, sweet kiss. She stood still and startled for a second and he leaned back. He'd pulled away from Pippa, when all he wanted—
And then Pippa was in his arms, taking him by the shoulders as she stretched up to kiss him back. Kafi met her half way as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
Chapter 46: Santa's in His Sleigh
Mark looked around the glittering rooms as guests and staff dwindled. “I haven't seen Glynis for hours, I don't think.”
Maisy looked about. “Well, everything's well enough in hand. Gigantic bonuses all around. I think we can risk ducking out to whisk my parents upstairs.”
“But what about Glynis? Aren't you worried?”
“No.”
But Maisy said it with such airy insouciance that Mark shot her a look, then slowly narrowed his eyes.
“Maisy? What's up?”
“Well ...” And she bit down on a sneaky little smile. “It's just that the last time I saw her, she and Fletcher were setting up everything at one end of the gallery while everyone was watching the children at the other end.”
“So?”
“So … I haven't seen Fletcher since then, either.”
“So?”
Maisy just turned to look at him.
“Oh!” Mark angled his head as he considered. “Glynis and Fletcher? You think they wandered off together?”
Maisy shrugged a shoulder. “Anything's possible. I think those two have been dancing around one another for some time. And tonight, they each seemed to make sure they looked … really fetching … don't you think?”
“You're asking me if I thought our head groom looked fetching tonight?”
“That dark jacket, he just got a haircut. I think he spruced up for someone. And Glynis looked out of this world.”
“Well,” he said, pulling her close and kissing her bare shoulder, “I'm not about to chase down any lovers in the night to tell them to get to work. Let's get your folks settled then come back down.”
They turned to go about collecting Mr. and Mrs. Clay when they both almost ran right into Glynis herself.
“Glynis!” They both all but shouted this in unison.
“Yes,” Glynis said easily, slipping seamlessly into her role. “Maisy, I think you'll find that your flat is all set to welcome your parents. And both of you, what a fine evening this has been. A Drakenfall Christmas Ball for the ages.”
Mark leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “We couldn't have done any of this without you, Glynis. You stepped in like a champ earlier. Everyone did. Thank you.”
At this, Glynis blushed but did not deflect the compliment. “Thank you. This is the happiest Christmas that Drakenfall has ever seen. Now, if you were looking for Mr. and Mrs. Clay, I think you'll find them in the conservatory.”
And indeed, Mark and Maisy located Mr. and Mrs. Clay reposing beneath fern fronds. So together, they all headed to the attic. As they walked into the apartment and turned on the lights, Maisy wondered how it must look to Americans anxious to see what kind of money their newly m
inted baroness daughter had married into. Large rooms, but with sloped ceilings and faded wallpaper. The furniture was old and worn, but it was comfortable and sturdy enough for the rambunctious dogs. The lounge, the small kitchen area off to the right, the bedroom in back, the office room they'd opened up, as well as a big room they kept for the dogs to frolic about in—they were all equally comprised of shabby elegance.
Maisy headed into the bedroom, noticing that the whole apartment had just been cleaned and polished and the bed dressed with fresh linens, pillows, and duvet. Maisy made a mental note to find out who'd cleaned the place during the party and get those workers extra holiday bonus money.
“In here,” she said, ushering her parents in. “Have you got night things packed? Would you like to borrow anything?”
“We're good,” Lou answered. “But with flights being what they are, we'll have to borrow some of your soap and shampoo. And toothpaste. Do y'all brush your teeth over here?”
“We do,” Mark answered with alacrity. “Sometimes even more than once a day.”
“Everything's in the bathroom. Use whatever you need,” Maisy said, suppressing a smirk. Did they brush their teeth, for Pete's sake!
“Well,” Sandy giggled. “Do you have any of those, you know, silky pyjamas? Like the ones Myrna Loy would wear in those Thin Man movies?”
“I do.” And Maisy's eyes lit up as she ruffled around in a dresser drawer, pulling out two different pairs of silky pyjamas. One a silver white and one a ruby red. “And ...” She ran to the closet and pulled out a silvery white robe with a wide sash. “A silky robe, too. All yours. We'll all have to share the bathroom for tonight, but we can figure out something tomorrow.”
Mark clapped his hands together. “Well, we have to go down to the stables and check on the sleepover with the kids, so make yourselves comfortable and don't wait up.”
“I don't know ...” Lou said, rubbing at his chin. “It doesn't seem right to be kicking you out of your own bed. Are you sure there's no place else we can bunk down?”
Maisy, who'd been drifting towards the door, went back to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, where she looked up at both her parents. “Normally, there would be. I mean, it's really unlikely we'd have a guest room available, but usually we'd be able to make one of the smaller rooms downstairs into a bedroom. But we're out of extra beds. We usually have a bunch available, but this Christmas, we're so booked up that all the spare beds and mattresses are in use.”
“So then where are you and Mark going to sleep?”
“There's a futon in the other room. It's really just a big old empty room, but it's got a futon that the dogs love to climb all over. We'll sleep on that.”
“You'll sleep on a dog bed?!”
Mark laughed. “We'll flip it and we've got tons of bedding we can cover the thing up with.”
“Oh,” Sandy creased her brow with demonstrable worry. “But kicking you out of your bed on Christmas.”
Maisy smiled and ran a hand down her mother's arm. “Good-night, you two. And please don't give it another thought. It's Christmas. I'll be snuggled up with my husband and our dogs, and my folks are here visiting. As far as I can tell, Santa's in his sleigh and all's right with the world. Good-night.”
“Good-night,” Mark echoed, and he and Maisy left the flat.
Chapter 47: It Changes Everything
Lea could feel herself waking up in the downy comfort of the Honeysuckle bed, just as she had all the mornings of the past week.
But not really like all the other mornings.
Lea smiled even before she opened her eyes. Today, she wasn't alone. This morning, she was with Jamie. She turned toward him and burrowed beneath the sheets to find him, to kiss him, to wrap herself in him. God, just to touch him—
“Jamie?” Lea pushed herself up on the mattress to get a better look among the billowing covers and pillows of the capacious bed. No Jamie. “Jamie?” she said again, looking this way and that. She flipped onto her back, propping herself up on her elbows, to get a better view of the room.
And there he was. Sitting on the small love seat across the room. He was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, looking at her. He was fully dressed. His coat lay next to him on the cushion.
“Jamie?”
“Good morning, Lea.” And he smiled. A soft, warm smile.
But somehow, not a happy smile. No joy or elation or thoroughgoing contentment soaked his features. Lea swallowed. Then she sat up, pulling the sheet and duvet up to secure her sense of decency.
Decency! On a morning after a night like last night. Good God, had she dreamed it all? No, she couldn't have. She could not in her wildest imaginings have conjured that mind-shattering, soul-stripping, body-incinerating night with Jamie. To say nothing of what he'd done to her heart.
“Jamie ...”
“I brought you a chocolate croissant and some tea from downstairs.” He tipped his head to indicate a tray on the bedside table.
“Jamie, why are you dressed and sitting across the room?”
His look became one of concentration as his jaw tightened and he began nodding. “Last night. Right ...”
“That's a good word to describe it,” Lea said. “Right.”
Now he was shaking his head. “No … Lea, I was with you last night under false pretences.”
Her eyes got wide. “False pretences? Jamie, there was nothing fake about last night.”
He smiled a bit at that and looked down. He looked back at her. “That's not what I mean. Lea … last night, you looked incredible. I was in that damn tuxedo. It was a party. Laughing, drinking—”
“I wasn't drunk,” she cut in with steel command. “And neither were you.”
“No, no, I know. But it was a party and spirits were high ...”
“Are you saying you didn't want last night to happen?”
He shook his head. “No. The opposite, actually. Lea, I've wanted last night to happen since the day I met you seven years ago.”
Lea didn't say anything.
“I think maybe you've always known that. But … it's more than that, Lea. I've been in love with you for seven years.”
Lea's heart was beating fast and she felt cold and flushed with heat at the same time. What was he saying? It sounded beautiful, the things he was saying. But he looked so devastated as he spoke.
“Jamie, I don't understand. Usually, when a man jumps right out of bed the next morning and gets dressed, he's saying very different things. Very different.”
“I suppose so. But I had to get out of bed and get dressed before you woke up.”
“Why?”
“I … I couldn't stand to have you look at me the way you do sometimes. Not after last night. I don't think I could stand it. Not now.”
She pulled the covers closer around her. “The way I look at you?”
Jamie made a loose fist, ran his index finger along his top lip. “Mocking.” He was nodding, ever so slightly. “It's never been nasty or vicious. But it's there. And I don't mind people laughing at me or thinking I've got it wrong or believing I'm wasting my life. I know what I'm about.” He took a deep breath. “But not from you. Not after last night.”
Lea felt hot mortification burn through her. She could feel the tears welling up at the back of her eyes. “You think I hold you in disdain?”
“Sometimes. But last night was different. I didn't look like my usual self and you actually got to see me in a rare triumphant moment.” He smiled. “I … uh … don't deal in triumph as much as I'd like, I'm afraid. So, in the light of day, back to just everyday Jamie, I couldn't bear to be that close to you and … disappoint you.”
“Disappoint me?”
“Last night, we hooked up after a a party. But it was so much more for me. So much. And I'm sorry. Because it changes everything. I don't think I can just … I think I'd better leave. Today. I think it's for the best.”
“You're going to leave me alone for Christmas? Just leave me at Drakenfall al
l by myself?”
He knitted his eyebrows together. “That would make me such a tosser.”
“Yeah.”
“God, Lea, I don't know what to do.”
And in a flash, Jamie got off the small couch and he and his coat left the room. The door clicked shut behind them.
Lea sat in shocked stillness for about two seconds before she clawed her way out of the bed and ran naked to the connecting door and flung it open. But he hadn't gone in there. He wasn't in there. But his suitcase was. Jamie was packed and ready to go.
“No!” Lea hoarsely whispered. She would not let Jamie just get away thinking what he thought.
She grabbed his bag and lugged it into her room and shut the door. Where could she hide it? Damn! She couldn't hide it, not in her room. When Jamie realized his luggage was gone, he'd search her room—either because she was the obvious culprit or because it was the only logical place to search. Lea's eyes looked around frantically.
The window!
She ran and opened the sash. Holy hell, she was freezing! Still, she looked down and deemed the straight drop into snowy bushes eminently suitable.
She wrenched out the screen, inflicting damage on the window she knew she would pay for with no fuss whatsoever. Once there was nothing but a gaping hole between her and the world outside, she got the suitcase, hefted it up to the sill, then pushed it out. Down, down, down it fell until it landed, thrusting up a burst of snow, then disappearing into the drift.
As Lea quickly slammed the window shut, she saw Jamie down below, heading out from the east door. He set out across the fields. As the day was dark and snowy, the Christmas lights on the trees gave off a faint glow. Jamie was headed into The Christmas Tree Grove.
Lea looked around the room wildly for something to throw on so she could chase him down before he got away. Good Lord, where, at least, were her gown and knickers? No time to look. She stepped quickly into her furry Ugg boots standing by the door and she shrugged into her hooded knee-length coat as she flew out the door.
Chapter 48: The L Word
A Drakenfall Christmas: A Novel Page 17
