‘We’ve only just got back. We went out for dinner. Does Dad still have sugar in his tea?’ I asked, reaching down four mugs from the cupboard above my head.
‘No, he’s stopped now. The doctor told him to cut back.’
Anthony and Dad came back upstairs, talking about the fire-damaged kitchen. Anthony placed a gravy jug covered with jolly red Santas on the breakfast bar. I picked it up and looked at it fondly. We’d used that every year since I was little. Mum had put the tree lights on and was fiddling with the baubles on the tree, then standing back and giving it critical looks.
‘Stop it!’ I said, taking over her cup of tea. ‘Mess with your own tree.’
‘I’m just levelling it up. I’m not being critical of it. It’s lovely.’
‘Hmm…’ I shot her a disbelieving look as I sat down on the sofa and she came and sat beside me, settling down as though she was there for the night.
‘I can’t believe all this stuff about Bobbi,’ she fretted. ‘I do hope it’s gone okay with this woman. Have you told Anthony?’
I nodded. ‘He wants a name, but if she won’t give it to us, we’re to tell her to report them online.’
‘Do you think she will?’
I shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’
Anthony came and sat down and Mum started asking about his day at work. In the end, Mum and Dad stayed chatting until half past ten and then took another twenty minutes saying goodbye.
‘I wouldn’t mind,’ I said, as I shut the door, ‘but she’s coming in to work tomorrow. We’re spending all day together.’
Anthony laughed and then yawned. ‘I’m going to bed. Are you coming?’ He raised an eyebrow suggestively.
I stared at him longingly then shook my head. The moment had passed and sanity had been restored. No matter how much I wanted to, I knew sleeping with Anthony could only be a bad idea.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. ‘You think too much, Jones. Goodnight then. See you in the morning.’
‘Goodnight.’
Chapter Fourteen
Anthony was still asleep the following morning when I slipped out into the early frost and drove to the flower market. I’d spent the night tossing and turning and yearning for him, tangled in twisted, sweat-soaked sheets. I kept forgetting why I was denying myself the chance of being with him. You didn’t stay out of the sun just because you knew it was going to go in at night, did you? But then I’d remember the fact he was only here for the short-term and had no interest in falling in love. And the truth was I’d fallen in love with Anthony the moment he’d opened the door to my shop and stepped inside. There was no way I could live and sleep with him without revealing that fact. And if he found out, he’d be out of the door faster than Usain Bolt.
But that didn’t stop me thinking about him all day. He was constantly on my mind, distracting me from whatever I was doing. Whether I was talking to a customer about her plans for Christmas, arranging a bouquet, or transferring the money into Bobbi’s bank account, he was always there. Even when Bobbi was telling us about paying off the loan shark, which had been mercifully free of drama, I thought I caught the scent of his aftershave in the draft that whistled through the back door. I kept thinking about the taste of his lips, and how his body felt pressed against mine. I thought about the nape of his neck. The shape of his ears. The exact colour of his hair as it curled off his forehead. The straight line of his nose, and the sharp planes of his cheekbones. I loved the way his whole face lit up when he smiled.
I wondered if he thought about me sometimes.
‘Are you okay there, Rachel?’
I came to with a start to find Bobbi staring at me with her head on one side. She looked concerned.
‘Yes, sorry, I was miles away.’
‘I could see that. Your eyes were completely glazed over. What were you thinking about?’
‘More like who was she thinking about!’ Mum chuckled as she fixed more mistletoe balls to the branch in the window display.
‘I’m just tired, that’s all. I didn’t sleep well last night. Oh, by the way, Bobbi, I’ve transferred a bit of money into your account as your Christmas bonus. Hope it will help you out.’
Bobbi looked startled. ‘You didn’t have to do that!’
‘You deserve it, Bobbi. Thank you for all your hard work.’
She beamed at me and went back to arranging the Christmas bouquet she was working on. ‘Have you got a dress for the ball yet?’
‘Not yet.’
The ball was another thing that kept playing on my mind. Anthony was being very vague about what I should wear. Warm and posh didn’t really cut it for me. I’d contacted a lady who sold vintage clothes and I had an appointment to see her the next day. In my head, I was hoping for something ultra-glamorous and sophisticated that would knock Anthony off his feet and have him declaring his eternal love for me, but that was just a ridiculous fantasy.
My phone rang later that afternoon and my heart almost leapt from my chest when I saw it was Anthony’s number.
‘Miss Jones,’ he said as soon as I answered, ‘for some inexplicable reason I felt compelled to phone you to let you know I’m working late and won’t be coming home tonight.’
‘Oh no! Why?’ I heard the disappointment in my voice and winced. I should have tried harder to hide it. ‘And why is it inexplicable that you’d call and tell me? I do live with you.’
He sighed, heavily. ‘Yes, but I wasn’t sure you’d care.’
‘Of course I care.’ I lowered my voice and glanced into the shop where Bobbi and Mum were talking to customers.
‘You do?’
‘You know I do.’
‘You didn’t seem to care much last night when you sent me to bed on my own.’
I was silent for a moment, biting my fingernail, trying not to smile. ‘Don’t be such a baby, Bascombe.’
He laughed softly and my spine tingled. ‘I’ve been thinking about you, Jones.’
I bit my nail harder, hiding my grin in my hand. My face was radiating heat and I felt like fanning myself. ‘Well, I haven’t been thinking about you. Not even a little bit.’
‘Really? Not at all?’
‘No.’ I glanced into the shop again to check no one was listening, but everyone seemed occupied.
‘Well, I’ve been thinking about you all day.’
‘You have?’
‘Mmm, constantly. Every second of every minute, in fact.’
He had a very sexy voice. Not too deep but with a nice gravelly undertone.
‘What bits of me were you thinking about?’
‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’ I heard the smile in his voice. ‘What bits of me were you thinking about?’
‘Didn’t we already cover this? I wasn’t thinking about you at all.’
‘Come on now, Jones. We both know that’s a lie.’
I swallowed, still unwilling to admit it. ‘So, won’t you be coming home at all tonight?’
‘No, I’ll stay at my friend’s house so I don’t have to drive all the way home. I’m on early tomorrow so it’ll be easier. Will you miss me?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Maybe?’
I cleared my throat. ‘I thought you were at work. I hope there’s not about ten burly policemen sat round listening to this phone call?’
‘No, I’m in my car.’
‘On your own?’
‘Yes, on my own. What do you think I am? Some kind of pervert.’
I chuckled and checked the shop again as the door closed behind a customer. Bobbi was offering to make Mum a cup of tea so I knew she was on her way in. Panicking slightly, I slipped out of the back door and it banged shut behind me.
‘Have you just left the shop?’ He laughed, obviously recognising the noise of the back door.
‘Yes, Bobbi was coming in.’
‘So what?’
‘I didn’t want her to see me having a whispered, giggly conversation wi
th you, that’s what.’ I breathed the cool afternoon air into my lungs, relieved it was cooling down my cheeks.
‘Isn’t she allowed to know we have a thing going on?’
‘Do we have a thing going on?’
‘Well, do you usually kiss men with whom you don’t have a thing going on?’
I bit my bottom lip thoughtfully. ‘I suppose not.’
‘That’s what I thought.’
I smiled and pulled my cardigan closer around me. It was getting chilly now.
‘Well, I’d better go.’ Anthony sighed regretfully. ‘Have fun not thinking about me.’
I laughed. ‘Goodbye, Anthony.’
I stayed outside for a few minutes after the call had ended, too excited and breathlessly happy to go back into the shop and face Bobbi and my mother. I pressed my hands to my cheeks to suppress my grin and then told myself not to be so silly. It didn’t work. I carried on grinning.
***
Anthony came back the next afternoon while I was still in the shop. I was up a ladder at the time, cleaning two months’ worth of dust from a hard-to-reach shelf in the back of the shop, and I wobbled dangerously when he opened the door and came in.
‘Do be careful, Rachel,’ Mum said, watching me with some concern. ‘You don’t want to have to go to hospital just before Christmas.’
‘Yes, maybe you should get down. You haven’t had the best of luck recently.’ Anthony came and stood next to the ladder, smiling up at me. He looked slightly creased and unshaven and as sexy as hell. I’d missed him the night before. Even though I was busy wrapping presents, the time passed slowly and it felt strange to be in the flat without him. I didn’t like the fact that I missed him so much after such a short time. That was surely a bad sign.
‘I’m fine,’ I said, hoping my face hadn’t gone as red as it felt. Mum was asking Anthony all kinds of questions about his job last night. He stood directly beneath me so I could see his lovely hair and the clean, pink nape of his neck. Trying not to stare, I reached further along to clean under another long-forgotten vase. Furry balls of dust and matted cobweb floated down onto Anthony’s head and shoulders.
‘Hey!’ he said, brushing down his suit jacket.
‘Oops, sorry,’ I said, starting to laugh. Reaching down, I gently brushed the top of his hair with my fingertips. ‘One just got lodged in your bald spot.’
‘Bald spot! You cheeky…’ Grabbing my arm, he yanked me off the ladder. I didn’t even have time to scream before I found myself over Anthony’s shoulder, staring at the back of his jacket with the blood rushing to my head. The ladder crashed to the floor and Mum came running back in.
‘You were right, Birdie,’ Anthony said, setting me back down on my rather wobbly legs. ‘She wasn’t safe on that ladder after all.’
‘Thank goodness you were there to save her!’ Mum clutched her breast dramatically.
I opened my mouth to protest but was too flabbergasted and breathless to do anything but squeak ‘Er, excuse me!’
‘You always were clumsy, Rachel!’ Mum continued. ‘I don’t know why you risked it. I hope she didn’t hurt you when she fell on you, Anthony.’
‘It was a close call, but I managed to catch her,’ Anthony said, bravely.
The bell tinkled and Mum turned back into the shop to serve a customer.
‘I can’t believe you did that!’ I hissed at him, ‘You could have hurt me.’
‘I would never hurt you,’ he laughed. ‘How are you, anyway? Did you miss me?’
‘I did, actually,’ I admitted. ‘I expect you were too busy to miss me?’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that.’ Bending slightly, he planted a kiss on my lips. ‘I’ve just come back for a shower and a nap, then I’ve got to go to work again.’
‘Are you away tonight, too?’
‘Yep, surveillance. It’ll probably take all week.’
I tried not to look too disappointed. ‘I’ll try not to wake you up in the daytime then.’
He pulled a sad face. ‘Do you want to come upstairs and lie down with me?’
I laughed. ‘I can’t. I’m going to look for a dress for your family do when Bobbi comes back from lunch.’
Anthony looked disappointed but shrugged. ‘Okay, I’ll see you before I go to work later, anyway. Oh, by the way, we’ll need to leave at lunchtime to get to Judy’s on time. Can your mum look after the shop?’
‘I should think so. I’ll check with her.’ I smiled up at him and he gazed down at me, turning my insides into molten lava. ‘I’ll see you later then.’
He kissed me softly. ‘How long does it take to look for a dress?’ he murmured, his lips barely leaving mine. I felt the world start to spin and pulled away.
‘Stop it!’ I said, breathlessly, trying to recover my composure. I was trembling with desire, and seriously considering cancelling my appointment so I could stay with him. Raising his hands in defeat, he smiled and let himself out of the shop. I stared regretfully at the door as it closed behind him. There was no denying that I wanted him, and my resolve was weakening by the day.
Chapter Fifteen
My friend who ran the vintage clothing shop found me a long, off-the-shoulder sparkly gold gown, like something Rita Hayworth would have worn. I wasn’t absolutely certain it wasn’t too spangly and over-the-top for the party, but I loved it so much I bought it anyway. It was a ball in a castle, after all.
I didn’t see Anthony very much for the rest of the week. He was sleeping off his late nights and I was busy getting ready for Christmas. We exchanged flirty, giggly phonecalls while that made me tingle all over with excitement. And when we did see each other, we flirted playfully until we ended up kissing. I’d pretty much given up on resisting him now. He was so sweet and kind and funny. I’d reached the conclusion that I was going to miss him anyway, so I may as well make the most of him while he was still around. He seemed to occupy my every waking thought.
I felt rather nervous about attending the ball and meeting Anthony’s family. It seemed to have crept up on me all of a sudden. Even though Anthony had told me we’d have to leave early to get to the ball, it hadn’t really occurred to me that we’d be staying over until he pointed it out to me the day before.
‘We’re staying over?’
‘Yes.’ He looked at me, his eyebrows raised. ‘Is that a problem?’
‘Well, where will we sleep? Do we need to book rooms?’
‘No, we’ll stay in the castle. Judy always makes me a room up. It’ll be fine for you to stay, too. Don’t worry about it.’
I raised a worried eyebrow at him and wondered why he hadn’t mentioned anything before. Maybe he’d just assumed I would know? Or maybe he didn’t want me to back out. I didn’t know, but I felt really quite nervous by the time I climbed into his car on Saturday lunchtime.
‘I wish I’d showed you my dress now,’ I told him as his car headed north up the M6 motorway towards Carlisle. ‘What if it’s not suitable? What will I do?’
‘Just wear what you’re wearing now.’
‘Now?’ I looked down at my blue, polka-dot dress. ‘If this is appropriate then my other dress definitely won’t be. What have you brought to wear?’
‘My tux. You’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much.’
We arrived late afternoon, just as the sun was dipping below the castle’s stone walls. I stared up at the turreted towers in amazement. The gravel car park was already full of cars and Anthony pulled up next to a large green Land Rover.
‘That’ll be my mother’s,’ he murmured, craning his neck to peer into it. ‘Looks like she’s already inside.’
I was suddenly terrified. I hadn’t even considered the fact that I’d be meeting Anthony’s mother and family. Even if I wasn’t his real girlfriend, they were all bound to be scrutinising my every move. What if they hated me? And what if my dress was completely wrong? Oh my God! I should have gone to Debenhams like my mum said and bought something safe and n
ormal.
Anthony opened his car door and got out. I followed suit, the cold afternoon air stinging my cheeks and making my eyes water.
‘Are you all right?’ Anthony handed me my overnight case, his blue eyes scanning my face with concern.
‘Yes,’ I nodded, trying to smile. ‘Just a bit nervous, that’s all.’
He shook his head. ‘I promise you, there’s no need to be nervous.’
‘Are you sure they won’t hate me?’
‘Why would they hate you? You’re lovely.’ He shut the boot and the sound echoed off the stone walls of the castle like a gunshot, making me jump. Taking my hand, he led me up the stone steps and knocked loudly on the wooden door. There were sounds of laughter from inside and then the door opened to reveal a smiling lady with silver-grey hair. ‘Anthony!’ she cried joyfully, holding out her arms for a hug.
‘Hello, Judy,’ he said, bending to embrace her. ‘How are you? You’re looking wonderful.’
‘Oh, you are a lovely boy. I’m well, thank you. And who’s this?’
‘This is my friend, Rachel. Rachel, this is Judy, my mother’s oldest friend.’
‘Ahem, I think we can dispense with the oldest, thank you.’ She smiled warmly at me and kissed my cheek. ‘Lovely to meet you, dear. Come in, come in. Your mother’s already here, Anthony, and your brother and his brood.’
‘Wonderful.’
‘Let me show you to your room first. Everybody’s resting before the party tonight.’
‘Fabulous. Thank you, Judy.’
We followed her up a red-carpeted staircase and then turned right along a corridor before taking a narrower, spiral staircase to the top of a turret. Judy opened the door to reveal a large four-poster bed covered with a cream duvet. A huge fireplace with a hunting tapestry hung above it dominated one of the stone walls and, on the other, leaded windows looked out over parkland.
‘This is quite a masculine room, I’m afraid, Rachel. If Anthony had told me he was bringing a lady friend I’d have put you in one of our other rooms.’
‘Oh no, it’s lovely!’ I said, gazing around in wonder.
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Page 19
