by Jules Wake
‘I think I might too,’ growled Jason, suddenly rolling on top of her, crushing her to him.
‘I can’t believe you went all the way to Paris.’ She settled her head back in the crook of his arm, sighing with happiness.
‘I can’t believe it took me so sodding long to get home again. Harry’s a devious sod. Dumping me the other side of France and leaving me to travel back when he hops over in a bloody helicopter. I might have got here in time to stop you moving in here. I should have known you’d marshal your troops to get moved in record time.’
‘I had a good incentive. I wanted to show you I don’t need you to support me. I’m not going to be like Stacey. Moving in and staying by default.’
He stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’
She sighed. ‘Jason, it would be so easy for me to move back to Laurie’s house but I need to prove that I can do this. Prove that if everything at the brewery goes “tits up” to coin a Will expression, you don’t have to worry about me.’
‘But what if I want to worry about you?’ He took her face in both hands. ‘I love you. It’s my prerogative.’
‘I love you too but proving I can be independent is my prerogative too.’
‘I knew you’d be the stubborn type.’
‘I knew you’d be the possessive type.’
He stopped the argument with a kiss.
‘I’m always going to worry that you’re going to miss out. I’ve seen your home.’ Jason’s face sobered. ‘That’s one hell of a house. The fountain is bigger than the one in the Place de la Concorde.’ With worried eyes he kissed her. ‘I hate the thought of you not enjoying the things you’re used to. I know you’re not that shallow and you’ve demonstrated you can stand on your own two feet, but one day you might miss having a nice home, nice clothes.’ He pulled a face. ‘I’ll never be able to keep you in the style—’
She put her hand over his mouth. ‘Shh, I already told you. ’
‘Although your stepfather wants to put a cash injection into the business.’ He pulled an embarrassed face. ‘Of course, I refused.’
‘Jason. That would be silly. He’s a very successful businessman, with interests in drinks companies all over France. Remember Monsieur LeFoute and how quickly he changed his tune?’
‘I wondered if it might be something like that at the time.’
‘Whether you take up Harry’s offer or not, it’s entirely up to you. Whatever you do, it won’t change my feelings. But I think you would be crazy to turn it down, not because of the money but because he can give you so much help and expertise. He’s a good guy to have on side.’
‘I’ll think about it … on one condition.’
‘Which is?’
‘You come home for Christmas. After your shift tonight we go back, drink that last bottle of Lafite, light a fire and wake up together tomorrow morning.’
‘Sounds like the perfect Christmas to me.’
‘I’m not sure about that. No turkey. No Christmas pud. No sprouts.’ Jason winced. ‘Good job you’re not some high maintenance chick, I don’t even have a present for you. I found yours by the way. I love it. That makes even worse that I don’t have anything for you.’
She gave a throaty purr and looped her arms around his neck. ‘I think you do.’ She kissed him, her tongue delving in with explicit invitation. ‘And who needs sprouts?’
With a wicked grin, he kissed her. ‘Not us, but now you come to mention it, I do have something rather special to offer.’
As she sank back into the bed, weighted by his body, his lips tracing their way down her body, she gave a shiver of pleasure and smiled to herself. It was shaping up to be the best Christmas ever.
Acknowledgements
Some days, writing a book is like pulling teeth, blinking hard work, but the goodwill of readers, reviewers and bloggers, who take the time and trouble to say lovely things, make it all worthwhile. Thank you to all those who have been so supportive.
There are a few people who are endlessly generous with their time and help, so I would like to thank Annie Cooper for beta reading this manuscript at a very early stage and her helpful comments, Donna, my writing soul mate, it is quite possible that I might write books without her constant backing but it wouldn’t be half as much fun and Queen of Twitter, Anita Chapman aka @neetswriting, a fabulous friend and a wonder on social media.
Last but not least, heartfelt gratitude goes to my fabulous super agent, Broo Doherty and the team at HarperImpulse, especially Charlotte and Grace, who have done so much to put the shine into my work.
Coming Soon from Jules Wake
From Rome With Love
Also by Jules Wake
Escape to the Riviera
From Italy With Love
Jules Wake
Despite early ambitions, my path to being a published novelist took a diversion when after reading English at the University of East Anglia, I ended up in the glamorous and deeply shallow world of PR, and I spent a number of years honing my fictional writing skills on press releases.
In my head I’m a winning contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, a competitive skydiver and a domestic goddess. Unfortunately in reality I can’t dance, or sky dive and dust bunnies gather in every corner of my house but in my fun, romantic comedy, my heroines can be anything they want.
www.facebook.com/JulesWakeWriter
@juleswake
About HarperImpulse
HarperImpulse is an exciting new range of romance fiction brought to you from the women’s fiction team at HarperCollins. Our aim is to break new talent from debut authors and import the hottest trends from the US, bringing you the very best in romance. Whether that is through short reads for your mobile phone or epic sagas that span the generations we want to proudly publish romance fiction that gets everybody talking.
Romance readers, come and meet the team at our website www.harperimpulseromance.com, our Facebook page www.facebook.com/HarperImpulse or follow us @HarperImpulse!
Writers, we are simply looking for good stories! So, what are you waiting for? To submit, e-mail us at [email protected].
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