Christmas Ever After (Puffin Island 3)

“No. I was awake, and it was great talking with her.”

He gave her a long look. “So tell me what Christmas looks like in your house.”

Nelson whined and she leaned forward and stroked his head. There didn’t seem any reason not to tell him. “My parents entertain a lot, so Christmas is a busy time. Christmas Eve lunch is an intimate gathering of forty people.”

“That’s a big family.”

“It’s not family. It’s mostly colleagues of my father’s, a few of my mother’s, people they consider useful and interesting. Movers and shakers. They like introducing people to other people. Networking is an obsession for both of them.” She stroked Nelson’s soft ears, wondering how much to say. “When I was young, I had to memorize a file on everyone coming and my mother would test me.”

His brows rose. “You mean they’d test you on how much you knew?”

“Yes, she’d say, ‘John Brighton Junior’—and I’d have to summarize what he did and his interests. Then I was expected to do enough research to be sure that when we were talking I could hold a conversation.”

“You did that for forty people?”

“Forty is lunch. In the evening they have a bigger party and the numbers are closer to eighty. It’s the invite everyone in Manhattan hopes for.”

“And you had to study the background of eighty guests?”

“Pretty much. She divided the list into A and B. We all had to know all the A-list guests, but my brothers and I were allowed to divide the B-list guests between us.”

“Because they were less important?”

“Right.” Christmas was something she didn’t want to think about. Thank goodness it was still a few weeks away. “What did you do while I was asleep?”

“Shoveled snow. I helped my dad clear the path and the drive outside the garage.”

The sleeves of his thick black sweater were pushed back, revealing powerful forearms. The dusting of dark hair made her think of the moment she’d seen him naked.

He smelled of the outdoors, of fresh crisp air tinged with a hint of wood smoke, of lemon and spice and man.

Something stirred inside her.

I could draw him like this, she thought, standing with the light behind him looking brooding and dangerous.

“I told your mom the truth about us.”

He rose to his feet. “Did she pay attention?”

“I think so. I mean, I told her Richard proposed to me last night so that’s pretty good evidence that you and I couldn’t have anything serious going on.”

“Not necessarily.” He stood with his back to her, his wide shoulders blocking her view out of the window. “Not everyone waits to end a relationship before they start another.”

She wondered if he was talking from experience, but decided it was none of her business.

“I do. Relationships are hard enough without having two at the same time. This dinner tonight—what should I wear?”

“Wear anything. It’s just family. Tomorrow my older sister, Cathy, is joining us with her husband and the twins, Rosie and Tom. They live in the next village.”

“Uncle Alec.” She slid off the bed, relieved to discover her head felt a little better. “I bet you’re good at that. Snowball fights and snowmen?”

His eyes gleamed. “Occasionally.”

“Then it’s only fair to warn you, you’d better get outside and practice. If there was a sport called snowballing, I’d win the gold medal.”

“I wouldn’t have thought you were the type to enjoy getting cold and wet.”

“Yeah, I prefer to stay indoors and file my nails.” She kept her tone light but felt a flicker of frustration. “I thought we’d got past this, but you’re still treating me like a delicate fairy princess, Alec.”