Dating Mr. December

by Phillipa Ashley

  Emma got to her feet. ‘It’s no bother.’

  She’d reached the door, when she heard Will speak.

  ‘Wait for me.’

  Whether it was plea or a command, she didn’t know, but she walked away anyway. Quickening her step, she hurried down the maze of corridors, past the coffee machine in the reception area to the entrance. The doors opened automatically as she approached. Walking briskly through them, she felt the cool night air on her skin and gulped in a breath. The rain had slowed to a drizzle and the pavement was black and gleaming in the orange glow of the city lights.

  She stood outside, feeling the fine rain on her cheeks, hearing it drip from the trees and shrubs on to the tarmac.

  ‘Don’t you think he deserves more than that?’

  That’s what Suzanne had said.

  Emma’s eyes were stinging again, blurring the light spilling out from the hospital entrance. Didn’t they both deserve more than this? More than her running away again instead of staying to hear the truth, however painful?

  When the door to the side ward opened again, the staff nurse found her slumped on a chair in the corridor, a half-empty cup of coffee clutched in her hand.

  ‘I know it’s none of my business, love, but I’d say you made the right decision,’ she said kindly.

  Emma got to her feet and threw the cup in a nearby bin. ‘I hope so. I really do. Are you sure he’s going to be all right?’

  ‘He’ll be fine, but try to be gentle with him,’ the nurse warned, her eyes twinkling.

  Be gentle with him? Emma almost laughed in derision but settled for an ironic smile. As she hovered in the doorway to his room, he was sitting upright.

  Had he expected her to wait? She wasn’t sure.

  ‘Come over here, sweetheart,’ he said gently.

  Part of her hated herself for turning around and giving in, for doing as he asked now and crossing the room to his bed, but out there in the rain, she had decided it was time to be honest whatever the cost.

  ‘OK. You’ve got me and you’re right, I do want to know. Why did you leave Kate? You did leave her, didn’t you—on your wedding day?’

  ‘Who told you that?’

  ‘That doesn’t matter. I want to know why you did it.’

  ‘I had no reason,’ he replied, making her wince at his brutal honesty. ‘I had no reason to leave her.’

  Gently, he lifted his hand to her face.

  ‘She left me, Emma. She left me because she didn’t love me. She had an affair while I was in New Zealand for six weeks before the wedding. She has a little girl called Alice who was conceived while I was away. But things hadn’t been right for a long time, I know that now.’

  ‘And you told her to go?’

  ‘No, I begged her to stay.’

  Emma’s eyes widened. She told herself this couldn’t be true and that she couldn’t believe him, because if she did, it meant…

  ‘I loved her and I was ready to bring up the baby as mine,’ Will went on. ‘I thought we could put it all behind us and start again but Kate wouldn’t have it. I thought she was cruel at the time but now I know she was so right. She loved Alice’s father, not me. It was that simple but I wouldn’t accept it. Not for months—not for years—until…’ His fingers brushed her cheek with infinite gentleness, just like a piece of fine porcelain or an exotic flower. ‘Until I met you.’

  Emma’s stomach went into freefall. This wasn’t happening to her. Wonderful things like this didn’t happen to her.

  A man she loved couldn’t care about her.

  She snatched her hands away and covered her face to hide from the truth, not daring to believe he could really be saying this, but Will reached up and took away her mask, forcing her to look at him.

  ‘Emma, I need you to understand this. For a long time now, I haven’t thought about Kate. When I’ve woken up in the morning, I’ve thought about you. In fact, right from the moment I first saw you at the base, then on the mountain, you were driving me wild.’

  ‘But that day on the cliff when I kissed you, when you walked away…’ she whispered. ‘You hurt me then and today, when you didn’t ask me to stay with you. Will, my world fell apart.’

  He groaned. ‘Forgive me, sweetheart, I was scared. Of something much worse than my first rappel,’ he teased a strand of hair between his fingers. ‘I love you. I just needed to take the leap of faith.’

  She forced her eyes to meet his, finding them bright and dark all at the same time. Full of longing—a longing that she didn’t dare believe.

  ‘I’ve been a bastard, Emma, and a coward. To lead you on like that and then pull back, was unforgivable. I should have followed my instincts right from the start and they were telling me to love you.’

  Emma didn’t dare reply. Otherwise her tight-wound coil of emotion was going to unwind suddenly and spectacularly. She’d come to hear him say goodbye and, instead, he was saying he loved her.

  ‘I love you. Did you hear that?’

  ‘Will—’

  ‘You don’t have to say it back. I’ll try and understand if you don’t feel the same after what I’ve done to you, but please understand that now, I know what I want. And it’s you. It’s you, Emma.’

  She couldn’t help herself. She knew she shouldn’t do it and they’d be in trouble with the staff, but she had to sit next to him on the bed and put her arms around him. She had to hug him far too hard than was good for him.

  ‘Will, I want to say it back,’ she murmured against the soft cotton of his hospital gown. ‘I’ve wanted to say I love you. I’ve wanted to trust you for such a long time now but you’ve made it hard for me. Why let people think that you did that to Kate? Why didn’t you tell people she left you?’

  His smile was bitter now, just for a moment. ‘And be laughed at by everyone for fifty miles? When a woman cancels their wedding and rushes off like Kate did, people put two and two together and make five and the guy usually gets the blame. And it suited me to be the villain.’ His expression softened again. ‘I’d rather be hated than pitied, Emma.’

  She felt one roughened fingertip trace the profile of her cheek and then his thumb rubbing her lip.

  ‘Emma. I take care of things. I’m the one people rely on. I take control of my life and I keep my private affairs just that. Private. There is no way in the world I was going to apologize or explain what happened between me and Kate to anyone. It hurt, Emma. And you’re the only person in the world who’ll ever hear me admit that.’

  He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I’d like it to stay that way, sweetheart. So you’ll have to get used to being seen with the bad guy. You should have known I was never going to be a hero.’ He smiled.

  ‘I wouldn’t mind ending up with the villain, Will,’ she whispered.

  Nothing had ever been so true. She didn’t mind ending up with a proud, self-contained man. One who was never going to lie and tell her he agreed with her opinions just to keep her sweet—or to give her spin or slick and honeyed words. She knew she had only the truth now and she loved him for it.

  His arms felt strong around her, almost crushing her. It must be hurting him to hold her like this, but it felt so good and even for his sake, she didn’t want him to stop.

  ‘For a long time now, sweetheart, you have been the most important thing in my life and I will understand completely if you don’t feel the same. I don’t deserve you to feel the same way, but I’ve spent too long hiding from the truth. I don’t ever want to lose you. Stay with me, wake up with me every morning the way you did today.’

  The lump in her throat made it impossible to reply.

  ‘You know what I’m asking, don’t you? I’d get down on one knee if I could but that won’t be happening anytime soon.’

  She stopped his words with a kiss and an embrace of such ferocious tenderness that he was left reeling. Pain shot through his leg but it was drowned by a tidal wave of pleasure and even through the pain, the agonizing closeness of her body pressing through the thin go
wn, made him dizzy with desire.

  ‘Is that a yes?’ he asked, breathless, when she finally released him and he sank back on to the pillows.

  ‘Yes,’ she whispered, settling beside him, her hand stroking the hair on his chest from where the gown had slipped down his torso. ‘Are you sure you want to do it—get married again, I mean?’

  ‘More sure than I’ve ever been about anything but, first, there’s something else we need to sort out.’

  She raised her eyes to him. ‘What?’

  ‘Your job.’

  ‘Will…’

  ‘I can’t hold you back, but you know how I feel about you, Emma. I won’t lose you. I’m willing to come to London if you want me to. I’ll leave Ghyllside and run the business from the city. I can’t lose you now but I also can’t ask you to give this chance up for me.’

  Her heart was racing his to the finish line. Was he really offering to leave his beloved Lakes for her sake? Give up all that for her?

  ‘Leave Bannerdale?’ she asked, incredulous. ‘You live in London?’ She shook her head. ‘Oh Will, that has to be the most stupid idea you’ve ever had. You know it would finish you. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with a guy who wants to be somewhere else no matter how much he says he loves me.’

  Even as the words left her lips she knew she was saying goodbye forever to all that was waiting for her in the city. The high salary, the party lifestyle, the city bars, the bright lights blocking out the stars that shone over the mountains…

  ‘I’ll do it,’ he was whispering to her. ‘I’ll do it if it means we can be together. Just like you did. You’ve survived, Emma, up here, away from everything you love.’

  ‘Not everything, Will.’ It was her turn to stroke his face now, her fingertips skittering across the grazes on his cheek. ‘You won’t be leaving Bannerdale because I’m not taking the job. I love you, Will, and though I never thought I’d say this, I love it here. I’m staying.’ She touched her lips to the graze and whispered. ‘On strict conditions.’

  ‘Anything. Just hit me with it,’ he murmured.

  ‘Don’t ever try and make me go rappelling or climbing or bungee jumping.’ Hearing him start to protest, she added a twist: ‘Plus, you agree to be spokesperson for the calendar. An enthusiastic spokesperson, mind, in the press, on TV, radio—the lot.’

  Will groaned loudly, drawing another disapproving look from the nurses.

  ‘You drive a bloody hard bargain, Emma Tremayne, but I guess you’ve put me in an impossible position.’

  ‘Not with that leg injury,’ she said. ‘But in a few weeks maybe… and Will, there’s one more thing…’

  ‘Yes?’ he whispered, so close now that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

  ‘What is your middle name?’

  ‘Now that will have to remain my secret—until our wedding day.’

  She knew he was feeling better when he took her in his arms and kissed her.

  Epilogue

  Will flicked off the TV remote control with a sigh. That was the third time he’d seen that damn interview this weekend. On the early morning news bulletin too! Good God, everyone in Bannerdale must have seen it by now.

  He’d never liked giving speeches, even in business meetings, and to be featured on television talking about his part in a nude calendar was excruciating.

  ‘I’m useless at giving interviews. I always come across as a bit of a cynic.’ Shivering in the chilly air, he slid back under the duvet, pulling Emma down with him and holding her against his naked body to keep him warm. ‘I wish you’d do them all.’

  ‘We made a bargain, Will, and you know they don’t want to see me. They want to see Mr. December in the flesh,’ she said, resting her cheek on his bare chest. ‘Look on the bright side. I think every woman in Bannerdale has bought at least one calendar and we’re already into the third print run. I even had an email from a production company the other day. They want to make a documentary about the team.’

  ‘No way!’

  ‘It’ll wait until we get back.’ she said, laughing.

  ‘Haven’t I got enough to do? Work starts on the outdoor center in a few weeks.’

  He felt his knee throb. It didn’t hurt so much nowadays but after another night of energetic lovemaking, he could certainly feel it. On the other hand, there were compensations. Cupping one of Emma’s breasts in his hand, he wondered if they had time for one more glorious session. He dipped his head to swirl the tip of his tongue round the pink peak of her nipple.

  ‘The answer’s no,’ she whispered, trying to resist the familiar tingle as it spread outwards from her breasts through her body. ‘There isn’t time.’

  Kicking at the duvet, she tried to get up, but found his arms around her waist, pulling her back into bed.

  ‘I think there is.’

  ‘No. We really have to get up.’

  She had no chance really. Six feet three inches of hard muscle and power imprisoned her benignly in his arms. Even with his dodgy leg, resistance was futile.

  She gave it up as a bad job. And so what if they were late? Let everyone else wait.

  Half an hour later, as Will collapsed back against the pillows, Emma reluctantly tore herself out of his embrace and out of their four-poster bed.

  She padded naked across the bedroom carpet and threw open the curtains. Out on the frozen lawn, a skittering of snow dusted the frost-spiked grass. In the distance, snow lay on the tops of the fells, softening their jagged peaks against a powder-blue sky. With just a few days to Christmas, the Lake District had obliged with a perfect winter day and she felt light-headed with happiness.

  Will untangled his long limbs from the duvet and came over to the window. She felt his arms encircle her shoulders.

  ‘Beautiful.’

  She nodded, the breath catching in her throat. Butterflies stirred in her stomach. His touch still and always would have the power to make her ache with anticipation.

  ‘Shame your brother and his family couldn’t make it,’ he observed, touching the back of her neck with his lips.

  ‘Yes,’ she sighed, trying to hide her disappointment by gazing out of the window over the lake. Steve’s absence was the only tiny blot on an otherwise perfect day. ‘It won’t be the same without them, but Gina’s baby’s due next week and there’s no way they’d let her fly. Plus there are the girls to look after,’ she added.

  The water danced in the winter sunshine as she watched the wavelets break against the jetty. When she turned, Will had gone. She felt a pang of disappointment that he hadn’t been listening but smiled when she caught sight of the beautiful ivory gown and matching cloak hung on the closet door. She had to think about getting ready in a moment. Bannerdale church, freshly decorated in holly and ivy, awaited. Soon her parents and Will’s mother would be arriving, along with Max and Francine—with baby Olivier of course—the rescue team, her London friends… just about everyone, in fact, would be there, all waiting for her to walk in on Will’s arm.

  Under the circumstances, no one had dared question why a bride and groom wanted to spend the night before their wedding together or why they would be walking up the aisle together in the unconventional way.

  But Will didn’t want to do things the traditional way.

  A creak from the bedroom door told her he was back. Then a warm, big hand closed on her shoulder and spun her round to face him. His dark eyes were gleaming as he handed her a stiff white envelope.

  ‘Here—I was going to give you this at the reception, but I think you should open it now.’

  Never one to savor unwrapping her presents, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out a pair of airline tickets. A slow smile spread across her face. He couldn’t have given her a more wonderful present.

  ‘Will…’

  His hands were cupping her face now, his head dipping for a sweet, long kiss that drank her in until she felt dizzy with joy.

  ‘It’s summer in New Zealand,’ he was saying. ‘We can s
tay for four weeks over Christmas and New Year. I fixed it with your boss. You can see Steve and Gina and the girls. And the new baby.’

  Her stomach flipped. A brand new life.

  Will’s hands moved to her waist again, his eyes glinting with mischief.

  ‘We can even fit in some bungee jumping—tandem.’

  A small smile curved her lips and she shook her head.

  He lifted an eyebrow. ‘No?’

  ‘No,’ she echoed firmly.

  ‘I think you can. You can do anything if you try. Haven’t I taught you that?’

  ‘Will. No bungee jumping. Trust me on this.’

  He was half teasing, half serious as he persisted. ‘What excuse can you possibly have for not giving it a go? If you don’t do it in New Zealand, you never will.’

  ‘Maybe one day,’ she said huskily. ‘But not this time.’ She stood on tiptoe and whispered two words in his ear. Two words she hoped would be the best wedding gift she could ever give him.

  His sharp intake of breath told her all she needed to know. She found herself enfolded in his arms, the breath almost being squeezed out of her by the ferocity of his love.

  ‘Oh God,’ he murmured. ‘Oh, I mean that’s wonderful, Emma.’ He took another deep breath and released his pressure on her body before asking, shakily, ‘When, sweetheart?’

  ‘The end of June, according to the doctor. So you see, the bungee jumping will have to wait.’

  ‘It can wait forever,’ he replied. ‘Emma, I love you so much. Both of you.’

  ‘And I love you Will—absolutely.’

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks go to…

  Ash Cooper of the Langdale & Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team (www.lamrt.org.uk) for answering my questions with humor and patience and to Phil Barber for the rappelling advice and instruction. Any errors are entirely my own.

  Mum and Dad, Barbara and Charles, Janice Hume, Rosy Thornton and Julie Haggar for the support and doing the ironing. Claire S. for the great critiques. Annette, Sarah, Clare, Gill, Glenda, Steph, Maggie, and all my friends at C19 for their faith in me.