“I know, right? I clearly remember running around in these as a kid,” I mutter, my concentration still very much preoccupied with putting one foot in front of the other.
“Well, if nothing else, this has certainly made us feel old before our time,” Glenn points out.
“Maybe we’ll be better on the ice,” I reason, glancing up to see where we are in relation to the rink. Thank God, we’re not too far… I hold my hand out, offering it to Glenn. “Come on; we can help each other.”
He takes my hand without question and, as we head over to the ice, I can’t help but notice how we’ve become more tactile with each other as the day has worn on. I’m not sure when it started happening but it feels nice to be relaxed around each other again with no pressure.
Finally stepping out onto the ice, I reluctantly let go of Glenn’s hand in favour of the stability of the wall at the side. Carefully, and oh so tentatively, I edge my way along the ice, Glenn beside me. I glance over to him to find him clinging to the edge for dear life. “You okay?” I grin.
“Oh, yeah, just fine,” he retorts breezily. “Nice and relaxed. Why, don’t I look it?”
I laugh. “Yeah, you look it.” I release one hand from the side for a moment, just enough to be looking forward, and immediately grip the side again as several seven or eight year olds come skating past, at speed. I watch them for a moment, trying to relearn the basics, but they’re skating so fast, they’re practically a blur.
“What do you say to trying to make it to that pole over there?” Glenn asks, nodding in the direction of a pole about ten feet away.
I nod, seeing that as my destination and, if I keep to the side, and just imagine that I’m roller-skating, instead, I should be okay. “Yeah, okay; let’s do it.” I begin to half skate, half pull myself along the wall, my legs stiff beneath me…
“Hey, that’s cheating!” Glenn accuses, tentatively pushing himself away from the side, his eyes fixed on his feet, despite talking to me. “Come on; I thought you were braver than that!” He points to a little girl as she glides by, her pigtails flying out behind her.
Show off.
“See, even that five year old is putting you to shame,” he points out.
I scowl, watching her disappear into a crowd further up the rink. “She’s not five,” I mutter petulantly, “and she’s clearly had-” I don’t get any further than that as Glenn lets out a terrified scream and I turn back just in time to see him land in a heap on the ice. “Glenn!” I cry, fear and worry turning my blood to ice. Pushing myself away from the wall, I wobble over to Glenn, losing my balance as I reach him and sinking to my knees beside him. “Are you alright?” I demand, my eyes fixed on his face.
“I think my life just flashed before my eyes,” he groans, clutching his elbow.
“Glenn, I’m serious; are you okay?” I repeat, taking his arm gently in my hands, checking for injury.
“Ow!” he whines, wincing at my touch. “I landed on my elbow when I fell.”
“Is it broken?” I ask, feeling sick at the thought.
He shakes his head, making no move to pull out of my grasp. “No, I don’t think so.” There’s a pause and he looks up at me, grinning. “Now, tell me the truth: this was just the excuse you wanted to get your hands on me, wasn’t it?”
I shove him, laughing. “Shut up,” I mutter, knowing there was probably more truth to that statement than I’d care to admit. “So, if you’re not injured, you can bloody well get up so that we can get back to skating.”
“You mean clinging onto the side for dear life, don’t you?”
“Some may call it that,” I concede, shrugging. Getting slowly to my feet, I look down at Glenn, offering my hand. “Do you want a hand?”
He looks undecided for a second before taking my hand. “Cheers.”
“Ready?” I ask, bracing myself.
He nods and as I pull, he pushes himself to his feet and, for a moment, I think we’ve done it… but then, I lose my footing, my feet flying out from under me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I cry out, terrified that I’m about to break something when, suddenly, I feel arms around me, somehow keeping me from hitting the ice. Reaching out, I open my eyes to find my arms around Glenn’s neck, his face inches from mine.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs and, as I look into his eyes, I know I’m safe.
“Thank you,” I say, my heart racing.
He grins as he sets me upright and inches back, bowing his head. “No problem.” He smiles at me. “I don’t know about you but I could really do with giving this skating malarkey a break in favour of a hot chocolate.”
I breathe a sigh of relief; skating is not as much fun as I remember. “That sounds like a plan,” I agree. “And seeing as you’ve just saved my life, it’s my treat.”
Surprisingly, we never did make it back onto the ice, preferring to leave it to the younger generation while we drank our own weight in hot chocolate, and ate burgers, as we got lost in conversation. Unfortunately, that meant our time at the rink flew by and it wasn’t long before we were climbing back into Glenn’s car, heading for home.
The drive back flies by and I’m disappointed to find that it isn’t long before we’re approaching Keldsthwaite. I may have spent the whole day with Glenn but, somehow, it doesn’t feel like it’s been long enough and I know I’ll be counting the hours until tomorrow, when I’ll undoubtedly see him in the tearooms, at some point.
How has this happened to me? I was so sure this wasn’t going to go beyond friendship but now… now I’m not so sure. Clearly, my heart is hell bent on betraying my good sense. But, no matter what I feel, I cannot afford to let it go beyond friendship; a long distance relationship would not be fair for either of us. And it would never last.
“Right, here we are,” Glenn announces, pulling up in the car park.
I glance out of the window, up at my dark flat; suddenly, going home doesn’t feel like enough and I find myself dreading going into my empty flat without Glenn. Turning back to him, I brace myself. “Well, today’s been great,” I say (far too formally, if you ask me). “Thank you.”
“Actually,” Glenn says, nodding to the back seat, “I was thinking you may need help with taking all those bags upstairs.”
“Come on, then,” I agree (though I hardly need convincing!). Looking into the back, I continue, “To be honest, I could use a hand.”
It isn’t long before we’re up in the flat and I’m offloading some of the bags on the kitchen counter.
“Where do you want these?” Glenn asks, looking around for a suitable place.
Pointing to the coffee table, I say, “Over there will be fine.” I join him in the living room and he turns to face me.
“So… I have a present for you,” he announces.
“You what?” I ask before I can stop myself.
He grins. “I got you a present; for Christmas,” he adds, his nerves clearly getting the better of him. “I mean, I know it’s early but…” He looks into my eyes. “I want you to have it now so we can organise things.”
Okay, now I’m confused. Organise things? “Glenn, I know you think I’m a control freak but please tell me you haven’t got me a desk organizer or something!”
Shaking his head, he reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket, pulling out an envelope. “No, nothing like that,” he assures me.
I glance at the envelope. “First class tickets to Barbados?”
“Just open it,” he says exasperatedly.
Taking the envelope, I open it and pull out the contents, catching sight of the heading on the tickets: Theatre By The Lake… Quickly sweeping my eyes over the tickets in my hand, my brain finally catches up with what I’m reading and I look up at him, tears filling my eyes.
“Tickets to the panto,” he explains. “There’s tickets for you, Holly and the kids, your dad and… me,” he adds uncertainly. “It’s Snow White.”
I catch my breath. “You really did this? For me?”
His gaze soften
s as he looks at me. “Haven’t you realised by now, Jess: I’d do anything for you?”
And, in that moment, looking into his eyes, I know he means it and it dawns on me: Glenn makes me happy and I don’t want to waste another second…
Reaching out, I grip the front of his shirt, pulling him into a long overdue kiss; a kiss that’s full of passion and tenderness, fire and heat… I sigh as Glenn wraps his arms around me, pulling me impossibly closer and I’m lost in his arms, in his kiss, as the heady scent of his aftershave overwhelms me.
“Are you sure about this?” he asks and I can hear the uncertainty in his voice.
“Are you?” I counter.
He smiles. “I’ve never been more sure about anything.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” I ask, as I take his hand in mine and lead him to the bedroom, all rational thought forgotten.
Chapter 26
I can feel him staring at me before I even open my eyes and can’t help smiling; waking up to someone isn’t something I’ve ever enjoyed doing (I mean, do I really want someone to see me before I’ve brushed my teeth, washed my hair and put my make-up on?) but, waking up to Glenn brings a smile to my face and I realise that I don’t particularly care about any of the superficial stuff.
“Are you staring at me?” I ask, feeling a shiver as he twirls a strand of my hair between his fingers.
“I might be,” he murmurs.
“Well, don’t; it’s freaking me out,” I joke, smiling.
Laughing, he leans over and kisses my temple.
I sigh, burying myself deeper into my pillow, his gentle kiss teasing from me memories of last night. I know I have to get up soon but I just want a little longer to bask in this moment, a moment that’s so perfect I don’t want it to end. I feel the bed dip as Glenn moves closer to me.
“Last night was perfect,” he whispers, his voice right next to my ear.
I turn to him, opening my eyes. “Really?” I ask.
He nods. “Really.”
“Well, it was some of my best work,” I quip, unable to resist a joke.
“Oh, I could tell,” he agrees. “And, despite all your protests, I knew it was only a matter of time before my charms would, finally, win you over.”
I laugh and go to shove him but he easily catches my wrists in his hands and, pinning them to the bed, leans over and kisses me, slowly.
Resting his forehead against mine, he says, “I’ve been wanting to do this ever since the morning we first met.”
I smile. “I suppose we have Yogi to thank, then.”
“I guess we do.” He kisses me again and, even though I’d like nothing better than to let him wrap me in his arms, I pull away, reason finally getting the better of me.
“Glenn, we need to talk about where we go from here,” I tell him.
A look of disappointment crosses his face. “You certainly know how to ruin a moment, don’t you?” he says, pushing himself away.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
Running his hand through his messy hair, he turns to me. “Okay, I’m going to be totally honest. I like you, Jess; I like you a lot and I think we have potential.” Holding my gaze, he continues, “I want to see where this goes.”
“Even if I go back to London?” I ask.
“Are you still sure about that?”
I take a moment, thinking; to be honest, I’m not sure any more. I mean, Keldsthwaite is my home, it always has been and, now, with things looking up between me and Dad, now that I have Glenn and my friends…
Taking my hand, Glenn says, “Look, I’m not asking you to answer that, right now, but, I want you to know that, if you do go back, I’ll do the long distance thing until you’re ready to come back home.”
“How can you be so sure I will?” I ask, taken aback by his certainty.
“Because I know you, Jess,” he says. “I don’t know what your life in London is like but I don’t think you’re happy there; I’ve seen you change so much in the time I’ve known you. You belong here and, when you see that, I’ll bring you back myself.” He takes my hand to his lips and kisses it gently. “But, until that day, I’ll visit you in London and you can be my tour guide; I’ve always wanted to visit the Tower and the London Dungeons.”
I stare at him. “You’d do that? You’d wait until I was ready?”
“Of course I would,” he replies as if it’s the simplest thing in the world, “because you’re worth the wait.”
Tears fill my eyes and I kiss him, wanting him to know how I feel. Well, this is certainly a turnabout: last night, I was so sure I didn’t want to have a long distance relationship but now…
Pulling away, he looks into my eyes. “But, please, do me a favour.”
“Anything.”
“Stop worrying about what might, or might not, happen,” he pleads. “Let’s just enjoy what we have and deal with the rest of if later, yeah?”
I nod. “That sounds perfect.”
“Glad you agree,” he grins, leaning towards me, his hand finding its rightful place on my hip. “Now, where was I before you so rudely interrupted…?”
Okay, so, I’m slightly later than I normally would be in getting out of the flat but it’s totally Glenn’s fault; apparently, the man just can’t keep his hands off me. Not that I’m complaining, of course; no, definitely not complaining.
“I’m so late,” I mutter, as I make my way down the stairs to the front door, Glenn hot on my heels.
“Hey, chill out, Jess,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me around to face him. “You’re only five minutes late.”
I shake my head; he doesn’t get it. “Five minutes late is still late in my book.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t like you didn’t have a good reason,” he points out, moving closer to me.
I raise an eyebrow at him, my hands instantly reaching up around his neck (honestly, this all feels so natural; it’s like we’ve been doing it for years). “I’m not sure that being in bed with you is a good enough reason,” I point out.
“Well, I think that’s a very good reason,” he murmurs, kissing me as I feel the wall against my back.
I let him deepen the kiss for a moment before realising that I’m in very real danger of dragging him back to my flat… Sliding my hands around to his chest, I reluctantly (very reluctantly, I might add) push him away. “Still, I do have to help Holly open up.”
He sighs. “Spoilsport.” Grinning, he adds, “But we can see each other tonight, though, right?”
I want to tell him that nothing could stop me from seeing him tonight but I don’t want to come off as too eager (I mean, that would be desperate, wouldn’t it?). Instead, I nod, and say, “Yeah, of course; I’ll text you to arrange something.”
“Great!” he beams, giving me a final peck on my lips. “Right, time to face the world again,” he says, stepping away to open the door.
I step outside and turn to shut the door behind Glenn…
“Well, isn’t this a turn up for the books.” There’s a pause before adding, “I thought that was your car, Glenn.”
I freeze at the sound of Holly’s voice, behind me, and slowly turn to find myself face to face with her. “I thought you’d be in the tearooms already,” I point out, sounding slightly more accusatory than I had intended.
She grins. “And I thought you’d already be in there,” she retorts. “Seems we were both wrong.” She looks between Glenn and I. “So, is this what it looks like?” she asks expectantly.
I glance at Glenn, who shrugs, clearly leaving the explaining to me. Seriously? With both their eyes on me, I feel pressurised to answer. Turning back to Holly, I say, “Um… Glenn and I are just… enjoying our time together.” The words are out, before I can stop them and I hear Glenn chuckle behind me. Blushing, I round on him. “What?” I demand.
He waves a hand, laughing harder now. “It’s just the way you said it.”
“Well, isn’t that what you said this morning?”
“Yeah, but it ju
st sounded weird coming from you; very formal and business-like.”
I glare at him. “Well, what would you prefer me to say?”
He shrugs, finally getting himself under control. “I don’t know but something that makes it sounds more romantic than a weird PR spin.”
“Well, whatever,” I mutter petulantly. “If you want to put a fairytale spin on it, next time, you do the explaining.”
“I might just do that,” he agrees.
“Aw, am I witnessing your first fight, too?” Holly teases.
Glenn instantly wraps his arms around my waist, kissing my cheek. “The first of many, I’m sure,” he says, “and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Smiling, I find myself melting into him. Seriously, how does he have this affect on me? “You say that now,” I point out, “but give it three months and you might be looking for an escape route.”
“Hmm, that’s very true,” he agrees thoughtfully.
Laughing, I elbow him. “Oi! Rude!”
“Well, I better off,” he says, letting me go, “otherwise this one won’t get any work done today.” He kisses my cheek before heading to his car.
“You rate yourself, don’t you?” I call after him, my cheeks aching from smiling so much. Sensing Holly’s eyes on me, I glance at her. “What?” I demand.
She shakes her head. “Nothing,” she says, walking towards the front of the tearooms, keys in hand.
I hurry after her. “No, come on, seriously; what?” I ask, momentarily distracted as Glenn honks his horn behind me. I turn and wave, watching him pull out onto the main road.
Beside me, Holly clears her throat, pulling me back to reality. “I think that says more than words ever could,” she says, unlocking the door and stepping inside.
I follow her, closing the door behind me.
“So, how did it happen?” she asks.
I shrug, not wanting to start gushing about my feelings. “I’m not really sure; I’ve just been feeling… differently towards him lately.” Taking my coat off, I focus on that rather than Holly’s questioning gaze; I’ve never been comfortable talking about my feelings. “We almost kissed Monday, after we decorated my place.”
All I Want For Christmas (A Sweet, Contemporary Romance) (Romance In The Lakes Book 1) Page 14
