31 Days of Winter (31 Days #1)

by C. J. Fallowfield

  ‘Yet? That’s a bit presumptuous.’

  ‘A girl can dream. Can we please change the subject?’ I asked as I ran a hand over my hot forehead. ‘Why don’t I decorate your place while you sort your wood?’

  ‘O my God, “sort my wood?” I thought you were changing the subject,’ he laughed.

  ‘Everything comes out wrong around you, from the first time we spoke,’ I groaned as I covered my face.

  ‘Get your coat and boots on, it looks cold out.’

  Within five minutes, I was ready to go and had sorted out the decorations for his place into the one bag and was clutching the small fibre optic tree. He opened the front door carefully, as snow was stacked up against it almost to my knees.

  ‘I’m going to get soaked,’ I sighed as I looked down at my jeans over the top of my ankle boots.

  ‘Climb on board,’ he smiled as he held out his left arm, just like he did that first night.

  ‘You’re not taking me over your shoulder again?’ I smiled.

  ‘Would you prefer that?’

  ‘Not after a big breakfast, no.’

  ‘Then give me the tree, you hold the bag and jump up,’ he ordered. I did as I was told and hopped up onto his hip and wrapped my legs around his waist with one arm around his neck, as I clung to the decorations bag with the other.

  ‘To the boathouse please, James,’ I ordered.

  ‘James?’ he asked as he easily climbed over the snow bank and pulled the front door behind him.

  ‘Well, posh people with personal chauffeurs always say things like that,’ I teased and saw him smile.

  ‘Are you going to miss Zac?’

  ‘Wow, talk about going off on a tangent,’ I laughed as he carefully made his way down to his. I felt happy again this morning, it was fun being with him when he was like this and being so close to his insanely perfect body and smelling his fresh scent didn’t rank low on my moments to remember list.

  ‘You had a fairly affluent lifestyle while you were with him.’

  ‘It’s not like he had a luxury yacht and fleet of private planes, Dan. We ate out in nice restaurants and had holidays to places like New York, Australia and the Bahamas, and yes he had a Porsche. I enjoyed the perks while I was with him, but my world’s not going to end without them.’

  ‘Will you be able to afford to keep that sort of lifestyle now that you’ve left him?’

  ‘Ermmm, hello?! I’ve just accepted a Junior Partner job with much better money, which means I can save a bit each month for an annual holiday and be able to afford to eat out somewhere nice now and again. I have my own little sports car, which I worked hard and paid for myself, and thanks to you I have the most amazing bargain house in one of the poshest areas of Knightsbridge, so I’m going to be just fine.’

  ‘You really liked the house then?’

  ‘Didn’t you look at the details? It’s gorgeous! I’d never in my wildest dreams have ever imagined having a house like that and there too. This Oliver Davenport has some serious money. That’s a five million house, easily.’

  ‘You are impressed by money,’ Dan laughed as he stepped up onto the jetty.

  ‘You make it sound like I’m really shallow,’ I objected. ‘I never had any growing up so yes, seeing things like that, it’s like another world and it’s exciting, but I came from virtually nothing and if I had to live with virtually nothing again I’d be fine. I mean look at your boathouse, I love it. I’d happily live in something like that, maybe with a small wardrobe extension. But it’s what you do and who you have in your life that’s important, not all the flash stuff.’

  ‘You are one impressive broad, Miss Baxter,’ he smiled as he released his grip on me and I reluctantly let go and slid down.

  ‘I can wait out here if you’re embarrassed and need to tidy up.’

  ‘It’s a small house Ellie, I can’t afford to be messy. It’s already tidy, come on in. I’ll make us both a coffee, get the log burner going and then leave you to it for a while,’ he opened his front door and gestured for me to enter. I smiled as I was hit with the cosiness of it again. I loved it in here. I took off my coat and boots, while he stamped the snow of his and shut the door.

  ‘If you do the log burner, I can make the coffee if you don’t mind me being in your kitchen?’

  ‘Of course I don’t and if you need the bathroom, it’s the door on the far right, not that you could get lost in here,’ he laughed. He was right, it was small but perfectly formed. It had a small L-shaped kitchen that opened up to the lounge, with the table and two chairs opposite. I rummaged in his cupboards and shook my head as I saw the stacks of Pot Noodle, Super Noodles and instant rice. I had two weeks to try and teach him to cook a bit better and suddenly regretted having brought my flight forward. This was a good day with him and I wanted more. He soon had the log burner pumping out heat and I had to strip off my jumper and cursed when I realised what t-shirt I’d got on. It was a tightly fitted black one with white writing saying You’ve been a very bad boy, now go to my room. I heard him chuckle as he saw it. ‘I’ll see you later,’ he smiled.

  ‘See you later,’ I smiled back. ‘Promise I won’t snoop.’

  ‘I trust you,’ he replied, then let out a surprised hmphhh and left. I set to work stringing up the fairy lights, which was made so much easier when I realised the ladder up to his loft bed moved on a rail from one side of the house to the other. I couldn’t resist crawling over his seriously comfortable large mattress to hang one of the cream tea light metal hearts above his pillow at the apex of the roof, and the fairy lights were so long I managed to go all across the edge of the mezzanine and around the bed and back again. I climbed back down and turned them on and clapped my hands, they looked lovely and made his bed area even more romantic and inviting.

  It only took me another fifteen minutes to hang up the remaining decorations and lights and plug in his fibre optic tree. Everything looked tasteful and in keeping with the Scandinavian theme. I turned off the main lights and was really pleased with the effect. I headed to the back of the cabin and went into his wet room to use the toilet and wash my hands. It was tiled out from floor to ceiling in large travertine cream tiles and had a modern toilet, and white basin unit and the wet room section on the back wall had an enormous overhanging power shower head. Like the rest of the cabin, the exposed floorboards of the mezzanine above were all painted white. I made another coffee, curled up on the sofa and checked the emails on my iPad. Three of interest, Captain, Brooke and unbelievably Zac again, I decided to open them in order.

  Ellie, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that you’re accepting. I’m interviewing for the Senior Editor position this week and I’ve attached a few resumes. I’d be interested to hear your opinion. If you won’t accept the company car, then we’ll increase your annual salary by £3,000 per annum. I forgot to mention we’ll provide you with the office equipment for at home as well, furniture, IT equipment, etc. Looking forward to welcoming you back and you may need to find a new nickname for me ;-) John. PS I’m sorry to hear about you and Zac. I understand your sudden need to take off now.

  I burst out laughing, had Captain Crank seriously just put a winking smiley face on an office email to me? £3K p.a. extra was great, that would pay for a really nice annual holiday and I could afford to take Brooke with me too.

  Thanks John, I’ll get back to you by Monday regarding the resumes, and the contract alterations are much appreciated. Looking forward to starting a new challenge in January. Ellie. I decided to end my email with a smiley face, I needed to try and keep him in this frame of mind and was pleased he was making the effort.

  Hey Babe, that’s another two days of no emails, what has hot pants man been doing to you???? Me thinks the wall has been breached ;-) Steve arrived last night so we had a long chat and he’s cool with the threesome as he’d like to experience it, but says it’s a one off, I need to choose between them after and Molly’s said the same. I don’t know what to do, they’re both skilled
in their own way. Help me!!! And you better rub your cheek from the stinging insulted slap I just gave you for even thinking I’d discuss your private business with Zac. Imagine I’m now slamming down my phone, storming out of the room and slamming the door as well. I’ve never been so outraged in my life, Ellie Baxter. It’s going to take a lot of effort on your part for me to forgive you. PS LYMY xx

  Brooke Hanson, I apologise, you’re right, it was a very well deserved slap and I’m still smarting. Stop looking at Steve and Molly like just sexual beings there for your convenience. Who do you enjoy spending time with? Who do you want to put their arms around you after a shitty day and make it all seem better? Who do you want to wake up with every morning? Who makes you feel good about yourself? Pick the person you can spend the rest of your life with, not the one who simply gives great head!! I’m slapping you back to get a bit of sense into you and boy is my palm stinging :-) Hot pants man is still hot and cold, mainly cold the last few days, we hardly saw each other. Then I rang Zac last night to tell him it was officially over and he started crying and giving me all the bullshit about how he couldn’t live without me and I was feeling sorry for him until I heard a woman yell him to get back to her in bed. I had a complete meltdown after I put the phone down and Dan turned up to apologise for being so mean, found me in tears and carried me up to bed and we fell asleep in each other’s arms. Brooke, you’ve no idea how hard it was to get up and walk away. How can he make me feel so safe and cared for one minute and so vulnerable and hurt the next? Anyway, today is a good day. We’re back to being friends, he’s getting logs for the fire and a Christmas tree with roots. I’ve just decorated his boathouse and will do the house later and we’re having dinner together, too. I have a new better paid job and a fantastic new house, so today I’m really happy. LYMY too xx

  I read for about an hour, unsure if I wanted to read Zac’s email, then relented, took a deep breath and went to open it and paused again, with my finger over it as Dan walked back in, shaking himself down, he was covered in snow. I shoved my iPad on the coffee table.

  ‘You look like you just got back from Narnia,’ I laughed.

  ‘You try lugging a six foot snow coated tree with roots in that,’ he complained as he nodded out of the open door before closing it and turning around as he unzipped his coat. He froze and I watched his eyes go wide as he took in the decorations. He seemed upset all of a sudden.

  ‘You don’t like them. I can take them down,’ I quickly stood up and he shook his head in the way I did, when I needed to shake myself out of my thoughts.

  ‘No, no don’t. I’m sorry, it’s just … I don’t really do Christmas and it just brings back lots of memories.’

  ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ I asked, hesitantly.

  ‘Nothing to say. I used to enjoy it, I haven’t so much the last few years. It looks really … nice. Thank you.’

  ‘You’re just saying that to be affable.’

  ‘No,’ he replied as he hung his coat on the back of the door and kicked off his boots. ‘It’s really minimal and tasteful. I think I can grow to really like it, it will just take some getting used to. Thank you for doing all that.’

  ‘Thanks for hefting trees for me.’

  ‘Trees? Shit. I thought you only wanted one? Even my arms are aching after that,’ he exclaimed in horror.

  ‘I did,’ I laughed. ‘Sit down and I’ll get you a coffee and I need to check that hand and change your dirty bandage when we get back to the house.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ he grizzled as he sat down and put one ankle up on his knee.

  ‘You’re not used to being looked after, are you?’

  ‘Not like this, no.’

  ‘Would you prefer I stop?’ I asked as I flicked the kettle. I had no idea how he made coffee in that thing on his log burner.

  ‘I don’t want to get used to it. How will I manage when you’re gone?’ he stated flatly with no trace of emotion in his voice. I looked at him and frowned, I had no idea if he was being serious or taking the piss. He was looking down at his jumper picking bits off it.

  ‘So you enjoy it while I’m here, and when I’m gone you think about finding a nice Scottish lass who’ll look after you in my place and hopefully fulfil other proper girl friendly duties,’ I said, shocked at how hard that comment punched me in the gut. I didn’t want another woman touching him or enjoying him. His head snapped around and serious eyes met mine.

  ‘I don’t want another girl, from Scotland or anywhere else, not when …’ his eyes softened a bit as he held my gaze, making my stomach churn, then he blew out and rubbed a hand over his eyes. ‘I’m hungry.’

  ‘Again?’ I exclaimed.

  ‘You try chopping and carrying logs and dragging bloody trees.’

  ‘Well, shall I do you something here and we can have our meal together tonight?’

  ‘I can do myself something.’

  ‘Pot Noodle?’ I gave him a seriously look with an arched brow.

  ‘What’s wrong with Pot Noodle?’ he laughed.

  ‘Nothing for a quick snack in a hurry, but you need something decent and nutritious after all that manual work. Am I allowed to rummage in your fridge and freezer?’

  ‘Knock yourself out,’ he smiled as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. I had to quickly look away, in that pose, with his ankle on one knee I just had an image of him in a boardroom in a sexy three piece suit telling me to drop my knickers and bend over his desk as he stood and advanced on me, ready to fuck me roughly from behind. O shit, that was a fantasy I was going to have to keep on hold until I could enjoy it in bed in the morning, alone. I had a sudden feeling that holding off touching myself or thinking about him was going to be harder to resist. ‘You ok? You’ve gone a bit pink.’

  ‘It’s hot in here,’ I mumbled as he woke me from my daze. I opened the fridge and just found stacks of cans of cola and a few boxes of eggs.

  ‘Feel free to take off your t-shirt, I won’t complain.’

  ‘I’ll bet you wouldn’t,’ I laughed and opened the freezer. ‘Seriously, Dan! All you have in here is bread and frozen bacon.’

  ‘I like Pot Noodle and sandwiches.’

  ‘Right, you can have this coffee and then we’re going back to the house and I’m cooking you a proper hot lunch.’ I carried it over and set it on the coffee table and moved away to sit at one of the bistro chairs, instead of next to him. It was a small cosy two-seater sofa and I was too flustered to be that close, for our sides to be touching.

  ‘Do I need another shower?’

  ‘No, I’m just comfortable over here.’

  ‘You don’t look comfortable,’ he replied as he leaned forward to grab his mug.

  ‘Just shut up and drink your coffee. I want to get back and decorate,’ I smiled. I saw his eyes linger on my iPad and a frown cross his face.

  ‘You’ve had an email from him.’

  ‘Him?’

  ‘Don’t play cute. The shit that had you in tears all night.’

  ‘Not all night,’ I grumbled.

  ‘Most of the night, you were still crying in your sleep.’

  ‘You were watching me?’ I uttered. O God, how cute could he be when he wanted?

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why?’ I felt like I should be slightly affronted, but I was actually really touched.

  ‘I wanted to make sure you were ok. To be there if you needed to talk.’

  ‘Thank you, that’s really sweet.’

  ‘Unlike him,’ he gestured to the iPad. ‘Why haven’t you opened it?’

  ‘I was debating whether I wanted to when you came back in.’

  ‘Conclusion?’

  ‘I don’t want to open it. It will just be filled with more grovelling apologies and lies that I can’t forgive.’

  ‘So you’re definitely over then?’

  ‘I’ve moved out and will be moving to my new swank pad in a couple of weeks, so yes it’s over.’

  ‘Moving out isn’t the same
as moving on, Ellie,’ he responded quietly as he dipped his head and gulped at this coffee.

  ‘You sound like you’re talking from experience.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Have you moved on?’ I asked, finally we were getting into what could be the reason for him running to hide out here for so long.

  ‘Believe me I’d like to, but I can’t. You can.’

  ‘Why can’t you?’

  ‘Come on, I’ve finished my coffee and I’m hungry. Get your boots and coat on and climb aboard. James is ready to take you home,’ he advised as he jumped up and stood by the door. I went and got my boots and pulled them on, not bothering with the laces, as he pulled his coat on and indicated for me to jump up around his waist, facing him this time.

  ‘I have about five questions I could ask,’ I murmured as I hopped up and he caught me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I linked my fingers at the back of his neck, I was inches from his face and was so tempted to just lean in and let his soft lips graze mine.

  ‘Six,’ he sighed.

  ‘Six? Really?’ I exclaimed happily as he nodded for me to pull his door shut.

  ‘Yes,’ he nodded with a roll of his eyes. He started to walk, occasionally looking around the side of my face to see where he was going. I just stayed watching his face the whole time, his deep green eyes were alive again and sparkled, the corners of his kissable mouth were slightly turned up at the edges, instead of in a straight line. Whatever he did for those few hours he went out to do every day, it did him good not going. I ran my thumb up and down the back of his neck, flicking his short hair at the back without even thinking and heard him growl. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Rubbing my neck like that, it’s very distracting.’ His eyes flashed hungrily at me and I realised he was stiff below me.

  ‘Sorry, habit.’

  ‘You did that to him?’ he asked with a slight frown.

  ‘No, he never carried me like this.’ I liked how Dan did, so effortlessly. I felt like I was precious cargo to him and it didn’t hurt that he seemed to be jealous.