The Magic of Christmas

All he knew was that his body was simmering with frustration.

He was thinking things that he shouldn’t be thinking.

‘Why would I want to move back to my flat?’ Lara gave him a curious look. ‘But I do want to ask you about Chloe. She’s very quiet, isn’t she? She seems a bit…insecure.’

Christian tensed. If there was one thing guaranteed to dampen his libido it was the enormity of his responsibility towards his daughters. ‘Both of them are insecure, but they show it in different ways. Chloe is quiet. Aggie is clingy.’

‘Yes, I’d noticed that she never lets go of your hand.’

‘She’s stopped wetting the bed now and she’s sleeping again, so that’s progress.’ He paused for a moment, wondering why on earth he was revealing the intimate details of his family when he never talked about personal matters. ‘I think we’re doing all right. I worried about moving house but I think it was the right thing to do.

’

‘Poor things.’ Lara’s voice was soft. ‘It must have been very hard for them. For all of you.’

‘Chloe still worries me. She’s always been the serious, studious one but she’s been even more so since Fiona left.’

‘She worries about you.’

‘And I worry about her.’ He ran a hand over his face. ‘She’s growing up so fast. Too fast. There are probably all sorts of conversations that I’m supposed to be having with her, but I have no idea how to start any of them.’

Would he have felt more confident if he’d had sons?

‘I think you should just relax a bit and do and say what feels right at the time. She’s a very sensitive girl. If you’re tense, she’ll pick it up.’

‘How do you know so much about my daughter in such a short time?’

Lara smiled up at him. ‘I’ve been watching the interaction between you. She’s very intuitive and old enough to know that you have feelings, too.’

Christian frowned. ‘It’s her feelings I’m worried about. She doesn’t understand why her mother left and now she spends her time nurturing the rest of the family.’

Lara nodded. ‘She’s probably not telling you how she feels because she doesn’t want to worry you. She’s sort of put herself into the role of mother, hasn’t she? What she needs is to see you happy and enjoying your life. I suspect that, when that happens, she’ll relax and think about herself a bit more. You should be proud that you have a child who cares about other people so much.’

‘It makes her vulnerable. She cares too much.’

‘You can’t care too much, Christian,’ she said softly, ‘not within a family. Love is the glue that holds a family together. It’s love that turns flaws into endearing traits. Love is the oil that prevents friction.’

Deciding that love wasn’t a topic that he wanted to pursue with Lara, Christian swiftly changed the subject. ‘I promised Aggie I’d try and be home in time to read her a bedtime story but if I’m not…’

‘Then I’ll read it,’ Lara said cheerfully. ‘What would you like for supper? Any special requests?’

She made it sound cosy and intimate, and Christian inhaled sharply. ‘I’ll make myself something.’ He wasn’t at all sure that he wanted to put his self-control to the test by spending the evening lingering over a meal with Lara.

Lara tilted her head to one side and studied him. ‘Not very good at accepting help, are you, Dr Blake? If you’re going to argue with my every suggestion, this whole experience is going to be exhausting.’

Christian was about to answer when Jane hurried up to them ‘Thirty-year-old man with chest pains on his way in. Why is everyone having chest pains at the moment?’

‘It’s the stress of Christmas,’ Lara murmured, turning to walk towards the staffroom. ‘Peace on earth, chest pains to all men.’

Christian watched her go, his gaze sliding from her shiny blonde hair to the tempting curve of her hips.

Putting his daughters’ feelings before his own needs suddenly didn’t seem as easy as it had before she’d moved in.

* * *

Lara slipped the casserole into the oven next to the baked potatoes.

Aggie appeared at her shoulder. ‘I’m hungry.’