Christmas Ever After (Puffin Island 3)

He controlled the conversation, talking eloquently and fluently about his current projects.

Sky relaxed slightly and finally felt him withdraw his hand.

She wanted to grab it back, which was ridiculous of course.

Even though his family interfered, too, Sky decided she’d never met a nicer, warmer group of people in her life. Even when they were arguing, the Hunter family was a unit, spokes of the same wheel, moving in the same direction. Watching their interaction intensified the feeling of isolation and loneliness that had been part of her since Richard had walked out the day before.

By the time they’d eaten their main course and enjoyed dessert, a homemade pavlova with whipped cream and raspberries, the throbbing in her head was worse.

Suzanne stood up, her chair scraping on the floor. “Sky, you’re looking very pale, dear. You should lie down for a few hours. This family is many things but restful isn’t one of them.” She fetched a glass of water. “Your room is all made up, Alec. Clean sheets and fresh towels. There are shelves and shelves of books, Sky, so you won’t be short of reading. If you need anything else let me know. I’ll let Alec show you the way.”

Alec put his glass down. “You’ve put her in my room?”

His mother sighed. “I’m willing to respect your wish not to talk about your relationships, but I’m not going through that farce of putting you in different rooms. For a start we’re short of space because Uncle Harry wasn’t supposed to be arriving this week, and I don’t see the point of putting people in a position where they have to creep out of their rooms in the middle of the night. It’s unnecessary and at your age frankly ridiculous. I brought you up to make your own decisions and you make good ones. Who you’re sleeping with is your business.”

“All right, that’s enough.” Alec’s authoritative tone cut through the hum of conversation and everyone fell silent. “Sky and I are not together.”

“We know,” his mother soothed. “You’re not involved, we get the message. You’re just—what do they call it, Olivia? Friends with extras.”

“Benefits.” Liv fed Nelson the last of the ham. “It’s benefits, Mum.”

“That’s it. Friends with benefits.”

Skylar didn’t dare look at Alec.

He’d been so kind to her and she’d put him in a horribly, hideously awkward position with his family.

Before last night she never would have described th

emselves as friends and she was willing to bet that right now he couldn’t see a single benefit to having helped her.

Friends without benefits.

CHAPTER SIX

ALEC CARRIED SKYLAR’S case up the stairs, and gestured to the door in the corner.

“That one.” He tried to sound like a gracious host but knew he was failing dismally.

None of this was her fault.

He was the one who had invited her here and in doing so had unwittingly given his family the best Christmas gift ever.

They thought he was serious about a woman.

And now he had to unravel that.

She paused for a moment in the doorway and then turned to him. All her usual bounce had drained away. She looked pale and exhausted. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For what you did in the kitchen. If you hadn’t— I was feeling—”

“I know what you were feeling.” He’d sensed her mounting distress and her battle to hold back her emotions as his parents had innocently provided the enthusiastic support and encouragement that her own parents had withheld.

Having been a reluctant witness to the message from her mother, it wasn’t hard to understand why she’d been upset. What must life have been like for her, growing up in such a barren, sterile environment?

He pushed the question away. He already knew far more than he’d ever wanted to about her life. He didn’t need to know more.