‘Ethan!’ Olivia gasped her protest—and not just at his implication that the parcel contained a bra. He had also guessed her bust size exactly!
He laughed. ‘Just trying to stay in character for you,’ he explained. ‘I had the distinct impression last night that you believe me to be something of a womaniser…’
Olivia avoided meeting that humorous brown gaze, deliberately ignoring his last remark as she spoke. ‘I don’t believe for a moment that there’s a bra in here!’ she exclaimed.
‘A bikini?’ he taunted.
‘Wrong time of year!’
‘A slinky camisole?’
Her cheeks were the bright red of her jumper by this time. ‘Not that, either,’ she retorted firmly, putting herself out of her agony—and depriving Ethan of his source of teasing!—by ripping open the glossy red paper.
Inside, wrapped in tissue paper, was a delicate cashmere wrap the colour of milky coffee.
Olivia eyes filled with tears as she looked at it and touched its beauty. It was years since anyone had bought her a completely personal gift like this; her usual Christmas presents consisted of products for the bath or chocolates from the far-flung members of her family. Her parents always sent her a cheque, with the excuse that they had ‘no idea what to buy her’.
This wrap, exactly the right colour to complement her fair colouring, was so—so absolutely right…
‘Do you like it?’ Ethan said uncertainly at her continued silence.
‘Do I like it!’ Olivia looked up at him, her eyes still swimming with those unshed tears. ‘I love it!’ She held the wrap close against her chest.
He looked at her quizzically for several long seconds. ‘You know,’ he said slowly, ‘and please don’t take this wrongly!—but I always thought you were rather a cold lady. Distant. Happy keeping yourself to yourself.’ He shook his head. ‘In the space of the last fifteen minutes I’ve seen you laugh and I’ve seen you almost cry. What—or who—have you been hiding from, Olivia?’ he prompted.
She swallowed hard, wondering what Ethan would say if she were to answer herself…?
The last ten years she had deliberately presented herself with a gruelling schedule. After having worked to put herself through university, and struggled for several years at the bottom of the ladder, very rarely taking time off, she now found herself as junior partner in a prestigious law firm. But it had all been done at a price: no self-questioning…
And she wasn’t sure she was up to Ethan questioning her now, either!
‘You’re being silly,’ she dismissed, turning away abruptly, folding the red paper back over the wrap before putting the present to one side and turning back to Andrea. The baby, at least, was still gurgling happily.
There was a continued silence behind her for several minutes, as if Ethan were weighing up the pros and cons of persisting with his questioning…
Olivia held her breath as she waited for his decision.
‘We can’t just sit here doing nothing, woman,’ he finally said briskly. ‘There’s still a tree to dress, and then vegetables to prepare for Christmas lunch!’
Olivia stood up, moving Andrea to a safer place away from the base of the tree they were going to decorate. ‘Are we having turkey for lunch?’ She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.
‘Of course,’ Ethan confirmed in a tone that questioned if there was anything else they could possibly have for lunch on Christmas Day. ‘I’ll have you know I got up at six o’clock this morning to put it in the oven!’
‘I’m impressed,’ Olivia teased.
‘So you should be,’ he responded. ‘Here, have some tinsel.’ He handed her a bright green string of it from the box of decorations.
‘The lights should go on first; that way you don’t knock the other things off,’ she told him knowledgeably.
‘I stand corrected,’ he returned with a mocking bow, bending down to pick up a box of coloured lights and then handing the plug to her. ‘Better?’
‘Much,’ Olivia answered dryly, turning to watch as he draped the lights over the branches.
It was rather a large tree, reaching almost to the ceiling, and it took them well over an hour to hang all the decorations. But the end result, they both agreed, was well worth the effort.
In fact, as the two of them stood back to admire their handiwork, Olivia thought she had never seen such a beautiful tree. It made her feel like crying all over again!
Strange—in the last forty-eight hours she had cried more than she had allowed herself to do over the last ten years. Oh, she was well aware that Andrea was the prime reason for this breach in her defences, but Ethan had his own way of breaking them down too…
She gave an involuntary start now as she felt his arm drop lightly onto her shoulders, turning to look at him questioningly.
‘Now it really is Christmas,’ he said.
The room sparkled and danced as the tree decorations reflected the illumination from the coloured lights, the whole thing giving the room a magical air.
‘I don’t think your youngest guest is too impressed,’ Olivia said wryly, giving a pointed look in Andrea’s direction, relieved to have something to break the spell of enchantment she had felt stealing over her.
Christmas was like that, she told herself firmly, a time to be over-emotional. It had nothing to do with Ethan. Or with her.
The baby, obviously tired out from her unusual morning, had fallen asleep on the carpeted floor.
Olivia felt an emotional lump in her throat as she watched Ethan gently pick the baby up in his arms before carrying her through to his bedroom.
Over-emotional or not, she realised she couldn’t stand much more of this. She felt constantly on the edge of tears. The memories that were crowding in on her becoming almost unbearable.
‘What is it, Olivia?’
She turned sharply at the sound of Ethan’s voice, realising that her emotions must have been reflected on her face as she saw the way he was looking at her so concernedly.
‘Don’t!’ she choked, giving a desperate shake of her head. His kindness was something she couldn’t take at this moment—not when she was already feeling so vulnerable and exposed.
He strode forcefully across the room, grasping the tops of her arms to look down at her searchingly. ‘Talk to me, Olivia,’ he encouraged huskily. ‘Tell me what it is that’s tearing you apart in front of my eyes?’
She couldn’t! If she once started talking she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop. It was something she just didn’t dare do.
‘Olivia?’ He shook her slightly in his frustration at her silence.
She swallowed hard, fighting back her feelings of panic; she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do! ‘I thought you said we had some vegetables to prepare,’ she reminded him stiltedly.
‘Damn the vegetables!’ he barked impatiently. ‘I don’t know what this is, what happened to you in the past, but you need to talk to someone, Olivia—’
‘Aren’t you being rather arrogant in assuming that someone should be you?’ she cut in, blonde brows raised as she met his gaze unflinchingly, her defences firmly back in place after his attempt to step over a line she allowed no one to cross. Absolutely no one!
Ethan’s mouth tightened at her deliberate challenge. ‘I don’t see any other men lining up for the privilege!’ he responded harshly.
Olivia flinched at his own deliberate retaliation. Obviously they were both people who came out fighting if they felt they were being backed up against a wall!
‘Your arrogance is in assuming I wish to confide in anyone, let alone you!’ she returned hardily, grey eyes glittering with anger now.
Ethan stared down at her wordlessly for several long seconds before releasing a hissing breath. ‘I realise it’s what you’re angling for, but I refuse to fight with you.’ He shook his head. ‘Today of all days!’
‘Peace on earth, goodwill to all men and all that,’ Olivia replied derisively.
‘An
d all women,’ Ethan drawled, releasing her to step back.
Olivia felt suddenly cold with the removal of his hands from her arms. ‘I thought the last applied to you the rest of the year, too,’ she said tersely.
His eyes narrowed at the barb. ‘Back to the womaniser accusation, are we?’ he countered. ‘Things are very rarely what they seem to someone on the outside, Olivia.’
‘I don’t believe Andrea is a figment of my imagination!’ Olivia returned staunchly.
‘Andrea?’ he repeated. ‘What does she have to do with it?’
What—!
‘Well, if you don’t know, I’m not about to tell you!’ Olivia snapped disgustedly.
Was the man totally beyond conscience? Beyond shame? Oh, not for the fact that he wasn’t married to Andrea’s mother; it seemed that was many men’s personal choice nowadays. But nothing could alter the fact that Shelley hadn’t trusted him enough to confide her problems to him. Or that he had continued with his own rakish lifestyle long after their affair was over…!
Ethan drew in a harshly controlling breath. ‘I realise my efforts as a grandfather may not meet your exacting standards, but I can assure you that I am doing my very best to make this as good a Christmas for Andrea as I possibly can…’
Olivia didn’t hear another word he said after ‘grandfather’. Grandfather! He was Andrea’s grandfather—not her father, as Olivia had assumed?
Assumed…
Yes, she had assumed, given all the circumstances, that he had to be the baby’s father. But no one—not Shelley, nor Ethan himself—had actually said that he was.
Maybe, in the circumstances, it hadn’t been such an unusual assumption to make. But, as it now turned out, it had been an erroneous one.
She couldn’t believe it; Ethan was Andrea’s grandfather!
‘I had no idea Ethan was Andrea’s grandfather!’ Faith exclaimed concernedly, knowing that she had been guilty of making an assumption too.
Mrs Heavenly looked up in surprise. ‘Back again already, my dear?’ she said kindly.
Faith drew in a deep breath. ‘I said—’
‘I heard you, my dear,’ the elderly angel replied soothingly. ‘Would it have made any difference if I had told you all the circumstances behind Andrea’s birth? After all, it’s Olivia who asked for our help, not Ethan,’ she reminded her gently.
Faith shifted uncomfortably, reluctant to admit that until a few moments ago, when Ethan had revealed that he was Andrea’s grandfather, and not her father, she had been feeling the same prejudice towards him that Olivia obviously had. Angels weren’t supposed to feel prejudice…
‘Probably not,’ she answered evasively. ‘I was just a little—surprised to learn the truth, that’s all.’
Mrs Heavenly smiled. ‘Not as much as Olivia was, I’m sure!’
‘No,’ Faith acknowledged ruefully, clearly remembering that stunned look on Olivia’s beautiful face. ‘Maybe there is hope for those two finding each other, after all…’ she added thoughtfully, as she remembered that other emotion on Olivia’s face as she’d looked at Ethan with new eyes.
‘I told you. It’s faith that’s needed in this case, my dear,’ Mrs Heavenly reiterated.
‘Of course,’ Faith accepted, knowing herself to be mildly, if kindly, rebuked and straightening determinedly. ‘I’ll get back and see what I can do to help.’
‘You do that, dear,’ Mrs Heavenly agreed, blue eyes warm. ‘I must say I think it’s all going extremely well so far,’ she said happily.
‘You do?’ Faith said hopefully.
‘Of course.’ Mrs Heavenly smiled. ‘Don’t you think so?’
‘Ethan is really rather a nice man, isn’t he?’ she realised slowly.
‘Nothing less would do for someone as special as Olivia,’ Mrs Heavenly assured her.
That was what Faith had thought. Had realised. Now all she had to do was return to Earth and avert the argument that had been brewing when she left.
She only hoped she hadn’t left it too late!
CHAPTER SEVEN
NOW that she knew the truth, Olivia could view Ethan’s behaviour over the last couple of days from a new perspective, and there was respect for him in her eyes now as she looked across the room at him.
Whatever plans of his own he might have had for Christmas, they had obviously been shelved in favour of Andrea’s needs. In fact, not only had he put his own life on hold, he had gone out of his way to make this Christmas as wonderful for Andrea as it was possible for him to do so. Olivia very much doubted he usually bothered with a tree—or lunch with all the trimmings, for that matter!
Which begged the question: What sort of man was he really…?
Olivia now found herself unable to answer that question, all her preconceived ideas thrown up in the air.
But how did she begin to get herself out of the situation she had created because of her earlier prejudice…? More to the point, how did she avoid letting Ethan know of her earlier assumption concerning Andrea’s paternity! Or did she avoid it at all? Wouldn’t it be more honest on her part to own up to her mistake?
It might be more honest, she acknowledged, but she doubted it would be conducive to this being the harmonious Christmas Day Ethan wanted!
‘Nothing to say?’ he challenged at her continued silence.
Olivia moistened dry lips. ‘Ethan, I—’ She broke off, drawing in a shaky breath. ‘I owe you an apology,’ she burst out, before she had a chance to change her mind. ‘It was presumptuous of me. I allowed my prejudice towards you to colour my judgement. I had no right to come to such a conclusion.’ She was babbling! Worse than that, from the completely puzzled expression on Ethan’s face, she was making no sense! ‘I’m sorry,’ she concluded heavily.
‘Glad to hear it,’ he accepted lightly. ‘Now, would you mind telling me what it is you’re sorry for?’
She winced. ‘I thought Andrea—You see, Shelley didn’t say—You didn’t say—’
‘Just a minute,’ Ethan said slowly, frowning now. ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but until my comment a few minutes ago had you been under the misapprehension that I’m Andrea’s father?’
Olivia’s wince turned to a self-conscious grimace. ‘It really was very presumptuous of me—’ She broke off as Ethan began to chuckle, staring at him dazedly. ‘It isn’t funny, Ethan,’ she told him crossly. ‘I totally misjudged you—’
‘Yes, you did,’ he acknowledged with a grin. ‘But don’t you see, Olivia? To your credit, you kept coming back.’
‘That was because of Andrea,’ she admitted unhappily.
His expression softened at the mention of his granddaughter. ‘She really is lovely, isn’t she?’
‘She is,’ Olivia agreed. ‘She’s an absolute credit to her mother,’ she added.
‘I agree,’ Ethan said. ‘You really thought I was the one involved with Shelley?’
Olivia swallowed, knowing from his expression that now he had stopped laughing at her mistake he wasn’t at all pleased by her assumption.
‘She’s only twenty years old, Olivia!’ Ethan rasped.
‘I realised that,’ Olivia admitted. ‘I just—I couldn’t see any other explanation after she just left Andrea here with you,’ she said defensively.
‘Hmm,’ he snorted. ‘Well, as you’ve probably now realised, I am indeed a father. My son Andrew, who is only twenty-one,’ he elaborated pointedly, ‘was the one involved with Shelley a year ago.’
Andrea. Andrew. Shelley had named her daughter for the father…Surely that had to mean something?
‘Andrew’s mother and I were divorced years ago,’ Ethan revealed. ‘But Andrew and I have continued to have a very close relationship, nonetheless. I only met Shelley once, when he brought her here to dinner.’
He was telling her that that was how Shelley came to know him. And had known where he lived…
Olivia was feeling more and more foolish by the minute!
‘And the reason Shelley, out of sheer desperati
on, brought Andrea here to me was because when she went to Andrew’s flat she discovered he was away on a skiing holiday,’ Ethan explained evenly.
Olivia’s eyes widened. ‘Your son lives in London?’
Ethan nodded. ‘He’s at university here. But don’t be under the misapprehension that he’s a student starving in a garrett,’ he added dryly. ‘Andrew lives very comfortably on the allowance I give him!’ Too comfortably, his tone seemed to imply.
‘You said he’s on a skiing holiday?’ Olivia prompted softly.
‘Not any more,’ Ethan assured her. ‘I telephoned him early yesterday and told him to get himself back here. To his credit he was absolutely stunned when I told him the reason why. Apparently Shelley hadn’t told him of her pregnancy when she broke off their relationship eight months ago.’
‘Maybe she didn’t know at the time…?’ Olivia suggested lamely.
‘Oh, she knew,’ Ethan replied. ‘But she had some misguided idea that she didn’t want to force their relationship into something Andrew possibly didn’t want just because of her pregnancy. So, instead, she chose to struggle on on her own.’ He sighed angrily.
Misguided, perhaps, Olivia acknowledged, but as a woman she could see it from Shelley’s point of view. If Andrew had shown no signs of wanting their relationship to be a serious one before the pregnancy, how could she possibly have told him about the baby without feeling she was pressurising him into something he might not want?
Olivia looked serious. ‘They’re both young…’ She could only imagine Andrew’s reaction yesterday, on learning he was a father—whether he was pleased or angry at the knowledge. In either case it must have been a shock to be told of Andrea’s existence.
‘Old enough to have a daughter,’ Ethan countered. ‘Besides, I was only Andrew’s age when he was born.’
‘But you’ve already said your marriage ended in divorce,’ Olivia reminded him, determinedly shutting out her own memories of when she was twenty-one.
‘Touché,’ Ethan allowed. ‘But I’m not proposing that the two of them should get married if that isn’t what they want. Although I do know that Andrew was very upset when the relationship ended…’ he amended thoughtfully.
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