Christmas Ever After (Puffin Island 3)

“Sorry.” She sent him a look of mute apology. “It’s just that the thought of Alec and I being together in that way is beyond hilarious. Most of the time he and I—” She broke off and he suspected she’d been about to say can’t stand each other but instead she gave a limp smile. “We don’t agree on much. We drive each other a little crazy.” If she’d thought that admission would support her denial she was wrong.

Alec saw his mother’s expression brighten.

“And that’s exactly what he needs! Someone to stimulate his mind. Alec is very clever. His professor at Cambridge said that he was the brightest student he’d ever taught. But I say he needs to be challenged and not have life all his own way.”

“You’re embarrassing him, Mum—” Liv bit into a crumbling pastry “—which is totally brilliant by the way. Time to get out the naked baby photos.”

Knowing that Sky had a more updated image of him naked, Alec breathed deeply. “Enough.” He spoke through his teeth. “The subject is closed.”

“Of course it is, if that’s what you want. But Sky, you’re the first woman he has brought home since the divorce, and you are so, so welcome, dear.”

It was information he would never have chosen to share. “Sky and I are friends. That’s the end of it.”

“Of course you are. Now sit down by Skylar, Alec, and Liv can sit on your right.” Sending Alec a soothing look, his mother removed her apron and started plac

ing plates of food on the table. “We didn’t know what time you’d be here because of the traffic, so lunch is simple. Honey-roasted ham, some lovely cheese from the Baxters’ farm and a loaf your father made this morning. I’m not sure buying that bread maker was a good idea if I’m honest. And I have potatoes baking in the oven. Liv, fetch some of the chutney from the cupboard and then go and tell Granny lunch is ready and Alec is here with his new girlfriend. Friend,” she said quickly. “I mean friend. I make the chutney myself with the apples from our tree, Sky. At the time they all complain about the smell of vinegar but when Christmas comes they’re all pleased enough to be eating it.” She broke off as the phone rang. “I don’t believe it. That’s the fourth time in an hour.”

“I’ll get it.” Liv walked across the room and grabbed the phone. “It’s the medical center, for Dad.”

Her mother looked up at Alec’s father. “Simon, your son is home for the first time in months. Unless someone has chest pain or a limb hanging off there is nothing that can’t wait until after we’ve eaten. If you must play doctor, you can examine Sky’s head. That bruise looks nasty. If you need to lie down, just say so, dear. Alec, sit. You’re in the way.”

Sliding into the seat next to Sky, Alec decided that he was the one who needed to lie down.

Why had he thought this was a good idea?

SHE WAS THE first woman he’d brought home since his divorce?

Sky sat quietly at the table, digesting the information, letting the conversation flow around her. It hadn’t occurred to her that Alec’s family might think they were an item and it was only after seeing their delightfully clumsy attempts to dig for information while still vaguely respecting his boundaries that she realized just how bad his divorce must have been.

Clumsy or not, it was obvious they were worried about him and equally obvious from his prickly demeanor that he found their concern about as welcome as a computer virus.

So she wasn’t the only one whose family interfered with their love life, she thought.

Alec was seated next to her and she could feel the tension simmering from his powerful frame.

With so many people round the table, seating was tight and every now and then her leg brushed against the solid power of his.

Heat rushed through her body, stealing her breath.

She kept her eyes on her plate, wondering whether the blow to her head had done more damage than she’d thought.

Yesterday, she’d been dating Richard. Today she was insanely attracted to a man who, up until the events of last night, she hadn’t even liked.

And now, here she was, seeing him at his most vulnerable because no situation, as she knew from her own experience, exposed a person’s vulnerabilities more than being with family.

This was a million times more uncomfortable than seeing him naked.

She suspected he would rather have died than share details of his damaged marriage with her. No doubt he was already deeply regretting the impulse that had driven him to invite her to join them.

Part of her wanted to leave the room, but another part, a curious part, wanted to know more.

She wanted to know what had happened.

Over the past twenty-four hours she’d seen glimpses of a different person. The person Alec might have been before divorce had chewed him up and spit him out.

Relationships, she thought, had a lot to answer for.

The pain in her head had receded to a dull throb and the sickness had gone, but she felt bruised all over, and simmering beneath the pain was the knowledge that her relationship had been fake all along.