Christmas at Butterfly Cove

by Sarah Bennett

  It had taken him several calls and subtle enquiries to discover Richard had drawn Nee’s name, and the older man had kindly agreed to trade with him for Charlie’s gift. With the kids involved, Aaron and Kiki had needed to help them choose presents for their recipients. They’d also had an additional gift to buy because Charlie had insisted that Tigger be included. He peered under the table. Sure enough, his brother’s little shadow lay beside his feet, happily gnawing the toe of Aaron’s trainer.

  ‘What are you two whispering about?’ Madeline’s voice sounded right behind them, sending his heart racing.

  A dull blush coloured Aaron’s cheek as he glanced over his shoulder. ‘Err, nothing, Mads.’ Jesus, he couldn’t have looked, or sounded, guiltier if he’d tried. Luke rolled his eyes. It had been the same since they were kids, most of their pranks failing miserably as good-hearted Aaron confessed all.

  ‘We were just saying how gorgeous you’re looking today, Madeline-darling.’ Luke flashed his best smile, and batted his eyelashes for good measure. Always stylish, even when wearing something casual, this morning’s outfit was a lilac T-shirt with lace trim at the sleeves and hemline, and a pair of black jeans.

  ‘Your brother is a terrible liar, boy, but you’d charm the birds from the trees.’ She might shake her head at him, but it didn’t stop her brushing a kiss to his cheek. ‘Right, I think that salad will be fine. Pop it on the dining-room table for me.’ Madeline turned to place a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. ‘I need you in the pantry.’

  Aaron waggled his eyebrows at her. ‘Whatever will Richard think?’

  Madeline laughed. ‘Silly boy. Some idiot put all the pickles on the high shelf and I can’t reach them.’

  Daniel walked through the back door just in time to hear her comment. ‘Idiot? You must be talking about me.’ His broad grin showed he’d taken no offence as he lugged in a large suitcase. ‘You ladies sure know how to pack. Welcome to the madhouse, Maggie.’

  The blonde gallery owner followed on his heels into the room and straight into the welcoming embrace of Madeline. The two women had become firm friends at the wedding, and she’d been added to their ever-expanding amorphous family. ‘Maggie! We can finally start the celebrations now you’re here. Come and meet Cathy. I know you two will get on like a house on fire.’ She led her friend over to where his mum had been standing, unnoticed, by him at least, in the corner. Luke’s love and admiration for Madeline ratcheted up to eleven. It was just like her to make sure his mum was part of things, to help her smooth the way as she tried to find her feet in amongst everyone.

  Safe in the knowledge everyone was happy for a minute, he grabbed the salad and made good his escape. It was time to track down his wife.

  He found Kiki and Mia in the dining room, arranging things on the table for their buffet lunch. They shook their heads when he handed over the salad and enquired after Nee. He tried the large family room next, finding his dad, Richard and George decorating an artificial tree with careful deliberation while the two children sprawled in front of some noisy cartoon on the television. No, they hadn’t seen her either. The little front room sat empty, which could only mean… ‘Oh, bugger!’

  He charged up the stairs two at a time, down the corridor to the little wing at the side of the house, before coming to a stop at the threshold of the suite of rooms Mia had nicknamed the Harem. The design and layout were down to him, a project she’d given him back in the spring, as though sensing he needed a distraction. He’d decorated the lavish spaces with only one person in mind, and he hesitated at the stiff line of her shoulders as she stood in the doorway of the adjoining sitting room.

  Wanting to have things to hand for her if, and only if, she somehow found her muse again, he’d set the room up with an easel, sketchpads, paints, charcoals and pencils. They’d be spending most of their time downstairs with everyone else, so his plan had been to let her know there were things there if she wanted them, but to keep the door shut so she didn’t have to face them until she was ready. It had never occurred to him he’d get drawn into doing something else and wouldn’t be with her when she came upstairs for the first time.

  Fearing he’d made a terrible mistake, he tucked his hands in his pockets and took a step inside the bedroom to lean against the wall. ‘I’ll get rid of it if you want me to. I just thought… well, maybe I didn’t think. I just wanted you to have what you needed, should you need it. Not that I’m suggesting you have to try, or even that you should…’

  ‘It’s fine.’ He closed his eyes briefly at the deadness of her voice. Shit.

  Pushing away from the wall, he strode across the room and tugged the door to the offending room closed. ‘Forget about it. It was a stupid idea. I’ll pack it all away later.’ With a gentle hand on her arm, he turned her away. ‘Now, did you need me to fetch your stuff up? Maggie’s here so I don’t think it’ll be too long before lunch starts.’

  He tried not to take it personally when she eased away from his touch and moved to one side of the bed. ‘Daniel carried my bags up for me. I’ve already unpacked my stuff. I… I took this side, if that’s all right?’ Her hand waved at the right side of the king-size mattress piled high with richly brocaded pillows in shades of magenta, gold and olive-green.

  ‘Whatever you want is fine by me. You had enough hangers and stuff in the wardrobe?’ He’d only used a couple for the dark, pin-striped suit and formal shirt she’d asked him to bring for New Year’s Eve. Everything else he’d folded away in the bottom half of the large chest of drawers.

  The shining wings of her hair fell forward to shadow her face as she nodded. ‘Plenty of space, thanks.’

  He perched on the side of the bed, one thigh resting on the mattress, and studied her. Everything about her was wrong – her posture, the slight woodenness to her responses, the lack of eye contact. ‘What’s the matter?’

  Her head snapped up, revealing two very wide doe-brown eyes. ‘What? Nothing.’ She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, reminding him more of his shy, sweet, future sister-in-law than the fiery, feisty woman he’d fallen hook, line and sinker for. That bastard had snuffed out her fire and Luke wanted to beat him bloody for it. What if there was nothing left? No tiny spark for him to kindle back to life?

  The depth of his rage surprise him, and he placed the hand he wanted to clench into a fist flat on the thick quilt beside his leg. There was no place for Devin Rees in this room. He wouldn’t allow thoughts of what he might have done to Nee taint their private space. There was a woodpile out behind the barns; he could vent his feelings on a few logs later if he needed to. Shoving the simmering anger down deep, he waited to be sure his voice would be gentle before he spoke. ‘Talk to me, darling, please.’

  She brushed the hair from her cheek, glancing away and then back, a rosy flush marking the pale skin between the top of her cream, long-sleeved T-shirt and the base of her throat. ‘I hadn’t thought about the fact we’d be sharing a bed, and now I can’t seem to think about anything else.’ The blush stole up her neck and across her cheeks.

  Ah.

  He couldn’t say he hadn’t thought about it. As each day carried him closer to this moment, his mind had filled with the scents and sights and sounds of her. But his personal desires could take a back seat, could go and stand outside in the freezing bloody cold, because nothing was worth the discomfort written large upon Nee’s face. ‘I’m not expecting anything from you. I’d like to sleep with you beside me, I’ve missed you so bloody much, but I’ll use the sofa next door if you’d prefer. Or find another room.’ Luke clamped his mouth shut before he said any more. If she really wanted him out of the room then it was all over before he’d even had a chance.

  ‘I don’t know what to do for the best, Luke. I feel like I’m messing you around. I was so full of hope on the way down here, but now it feels like a terrible mistake. If I can’t even look at a bloody easel without having a panic attack, what’s the point? What if I never get it back, Luke, what then?’ She looked so lost
that he didn’t care about what happened beyond offering her whatever comfort she would accept from him.

  ‘Come here.’ Luke shifted further up the bed until he could lean against the pillows, then lifted one arm.

  ‘Luke…’

  ‘Shh. Slip of your shoes, turn off your brain and come and have a cuddle. Whatever else, we’re still friends, aren’t we?’

  Thankfully, she did as she was told and crawled up the bed to curl into his side. ‘I hope we can always be friends, whatever happens.’

  He kissed the top of her head. ‘Whatever happens, darling, I promise.’ God, she felt so good in his arms, there was no way he would ever let her go. Unfortunately, it was becoming clear he’d read too much into the sweetness of her earlier greeting. His mind drifted to the Secret Santa gift waiting for her under the tree. Would it make things worse, put her under even more pressure than she was already feeling? He stroked her back, trying to calm his racing thoughts. If they were both second-guessing themselves, they’d never get anywhere.

  Her hand crept up to rest upon his ribcage, and he focused on keeping the motion on her back soft and even. ‘This is nice,’ she murmured. ‘I’ve missed this.’ She sighed, then settled a little closer into the crook of his arm. ‘I don’t suppose we can just hide away out here, though. We can’t really miss lunch.’

  He laughed. ‘You’ve met your sisters, right? That buffet they’ve set up will keep us all going for a week. If you want to stay here for a while, no one will mind.’ Him least of all.

  ‘Just a few minutes then.’

  A few minutes turned into an early afternoon nap, and it was growing dark by the time Nee raised her head from Luke’s chest with a sleepy blink. ‘You should have woken me earlier.’

  Leaning forward, he kissed the tip of her nose. ‘You were snoring so prettily, it seemed a shame to disturb you.’

  Outraged laughter burst from her. ‘I don’t snore!’

  ‘Of course you don’t, my mistake.’ He widened his eyes to his best mock-innocent expression and she rewarded him with a cushion to the face. Still laughing, she climbed off the bed and headed into the en-suite bathroom. The nap had done her the world of good, melting all the tension out of her and giving her whirling brain time to relax. Shame about the terrible case of bedhead it had left her with. Shaking her head vigorously for a few seconds sorted that issue out, though, and she gave her hairdresser a mental high-five for persuading her into such a stress-free cut. A quick brush of her teeth to freshen up, and she felt much more able to face everyone again.

  Her tummy rumbled as she re-entered the bedroom and she clapped her hand to it. ‘You’d better have been telling the truth about that buffet, or there’ll be trouble.’

  His laughter as he wandered past her into the bathroom warmed her to the tips of her toes. He really was still the funny, teasing man she’d fallen madly in love with. Her eyes fell on the closed door across the room and her own humour faded. Fear bubbled inside her, but she refused to let herself acknowledge it. Walking over to the sitting-room door, she placed her hand upon it. She would spend an hour in there; not now, but later in the week. One hour. It was the least that she owed him. Luke deserved the very best version of her she could be.

  ‘I’ll pack everything up later, I’m really sorry.’

  She glanced behind her at his regretful words, then shook her head. ‘No. Leave it. I wouldn’t have made it this far without you pushing me.’ The thought she’d had earlier came back to her. ‘But I might need to borrow some courage from you to take the next step.’

  ‘Whatever you need, darling.’ Luke crossed the room to slip his hands around her waist. ‘Just let me know, and it’s yours.’

  With perfect timing, her tummy rumbled again. ‘Feed me?’

  He slung an arm around her shoulders and steered her from the room. ‘In this house, that’s the easiest task in the world.’

  The kitchen was empty apart from a stern-looking Aaron kneeling by the back door having an intense, if one-sided, conversation with a tiny brindle dog. ‘I don’t care if it’s raining, Tigger. We both know you’ve got a bladder the size of a pea, so get outside and cock your leg right this minute.’ The dog put both front paws on Aaron’s knee and wagged his tail so hard his entire rear end wiggled.

  ‘No, you don’t need me to come out with you.’ Aaron sounded a little more desperate now. The puppy barked and licked his hand. ‘Oh, damn. Hold on, I’ll get my coat.’ He pushed to his feet with a sigh.

  Nee bit her lip to try and hide her smile, but Luke had no such compunction. ‘There’s only one alpha in your pack, Bumble, and it sure ain’t you.’

  Aaron laughed. ‘You’re not wrong, Spud. Between this rascal and the kids, I’m very much the bottom rung of the ladder.’ He didn’t sound in the least bit disappointed about it. A look of horror dawned on his face as a gentle patter of liquid on the kitchen tiles came from behind him. ‘Oh, Tigger.’

  Grabbing a newspaper from the table, Nee crouched down to mop up the little puddle and laid a few clean sheets down just in case. ‘Look on the bright side. At least you don’t have to go outside now.’

  After retrieving a bottle of disinfectant spray and a cloth from under the sink, Aaron stared forlornly at the crumpled paper. ‘I remember the days when I actually read the newspaper.’ Kneeling, he cleaned the spot on the floor then sat back on his haunches. ‘You two arrived just in time. I was going to give you a shout any minute because the kids are getting impatient over Secret Santa, and we’d like to try and get them home and into bed at a reasonable time because they’re bound to be up at the crack of dawn.’

  Nee tossed the wet paper in the bin, then rinsed her hands at the sink. ‘Give us two minutes to grab something to eat and we’ll be ready.’

  He joined her at the sink to wash up. ‘Kiki put a plate for each of you in the fridge, or there’s afternoon tea set out in the main lounge.’ Patting his still-flat stomach, he cast her a rueful smile. ‘I’ll be the size of a house before the New Year at this rate.’

  Clutching her own piled-high plate, Nee followed Luke into the lounge where they were greeted with a chorus of cheers and laughter. Chairs and cushions had been arranged in a loose circle and a pile of gifts sat at the side of Daniel’s chair. He’d swapped the green elf hat for a red one, the white pompom on the end dangling next to his right ear. ‘So, how are we going to do this then?’ he asked, as Nee settled herself on an empty chair whilst Luke sprawled at her feet.

  ‘How about you give everyone their presents first and then we take turns to open them?’ Mia suggested to general agreement, so Daniel sorted through the gifts, placing the appropriate one in front of each of them. Small, large, square, flat, even one shaped like a cracker, the presents were as varied as the wrapping covering them. Taking his seat again, Daniel picked up his digital camera and began taking photos, while Madeline and Cathy did the same with their smartphones.

  Charlie practically vibrated with excitement as she clutched the snowman-covered package to her chest and Nee had to bite the inside of her cheek as Mia surveyed the group with a serious expression on her face. ‘So, who’s going first?’

  ‘Me! Mememememe!’ Charlie shouted. The rest of the them laughed while Kiki leaned forward to whisper something into her daughter’s ear. With a guilty nod of her head, Charlie added, ‘Please, Aunty Mia.’

  ‘Of course, poppet.’ Her sister’s reply was practically drowned out by the frantic tearing of paper.

  Nee sat forward at the first glimpse of iridescent glitter and gave whoever had chosen Charlie’s gift a mental pat on the back as the beaming girl pulled free a pair of beautiful butterfly wings with straps to fasten them over her shoulders. Kiki helped her into them and the little girl danced and fluttered around the circle, gathering admiring comments and kisses like the Queen of the May.

  Mia nodded to their sister. ‘You next, Kiki Dee and then we’ll go clockwise from you.’ Kiki unwrapped her own present with a little more decorum and t
here was no disguising the delight in her smile when she held up a page-a-day calendar with daily affirmations on it.

  Round the circle they went – Richard had a Bonsai kit, Maggie a collection of luxury tea samples, Aaron a mug with ‘I love my dog’ on it. Daniel laughed at the home-dye kit for his beard, and Matty stripped off his jumper to proudly wear his new ‘Future Astronaut’ T-shirt. Brian looked suitably amused at a pair of wind-up racing grannies, Cathy relieved at a miniature set of high-end bath products. Mia clapped her hands in delight at a set of colourful inserts for her planner. And then it was her turn.

  Nee couldn’t tell much from the size of the silver-wrapped box she held on her lap. Slitting open the flaps at either side, she pulled the paper free to find a plain cardboard box. Intrigued, she removed the lid to find a mass of scrunched-up crepe paper in shades of pink and purple. Digging carefully, her fingers touched a net bag, and she drew it out with a gasp. Hands shaking, she struggled to open the drawstring top and empty the contents onto her palm. ‘Oh, God. Luke.’ There was no mistaking the slender band of gold, looped onto a smooth snake-chain necklace.

  His hand closed over hers, trapping the ring between their palms. ‘I wanted to give it back to you and thought you could wear it like this for now.’ He kept his voice low, pitched only for her ears, and she nodded in response, overwhelmed to have it back in her possession once again. She understood the significance, too. Worn on the chain, it would show him she was willing to try, and if she chose to put it back on her finger, he would know she meant to stay.

  A silence fell over the room, even the children picking up on the tension from the surrounding adults, leaving Nee feeling horribly exposed. Luke flicked her a wink, then turned his back on her to make a big show of opening his own present. Laughter echoed around her as he held up a flamingo-pink top, displaying it proudly to the group. His actions took the attention away from her, and she clenched her hand around the ring for a moment before trying to undo the clasp with trembling fingers.