A Family Made at Christmas

She bent down to get a closer look. ‘This village. I just love it. Look, there’s a schoolroom. A bakery. Santa’s workshop. A church. A shop. There’s even a skating rink.’

Riley was right behind her and, instead of stepping around her, he just slid his hand forward, brushing against her hip as he turned one of the price tags over. His cheek was almost touching hers. ‘They’re not too expensive.’ Then he gave a low laugh. ‘That’s if you only buy one. If you buy the whole village...’

She laughed too, leaning back a little, her body coming into direct contact with his. Neither moved. It was as if both of them just paused, and sucked in a breath.

After the longest time Riley spoke, his warm breath at her neck. ‘Which is your favourite?’

She looked over the village again. There were tiny characters in every scene, packages on shelves, mounds of snow at doorways, each one gently lit. Everything was so detailed. She sighed. ‘I don’t know. I think I love them all. I want the whole village.’

She reached down and picked up the toyshop. ‘This is like the kind of thing where you could buy one every year, build up your collection and keep them for ever.’

He was smiling at her, only inches from her face. He reached and brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, his hand covering hers as she held the shop. ‘So how about you let me buy you your first one? As a thank you,’ he added, ‘for coming here with us today.’

The twinkling lights were behind them, but even though his face was in shadow his green eyes seemed brighter than ever. And they were focused totally on her.

She held her breath. Her hand itched to reach up and touch his dark hair that glistened with moisture from the snow outside. His cheeks were tinged with pink. Those green eyes were still, just locked with hers, and as she watched he licked his lips. Every nerve in her body was on fire. Every sense on overload.

He reached up again, this time his finger touching her cheek. ‘Let me do something for you, April.’

The rush of emotion tumbled through her in waves. When was the last time someone had spoken to her like that? When was the last time she’d wanted someone to get this close? It felt like for ever. It felt like a whole lifetime ago.

A lifetime before her sister’s vague symptoms. Shock diagnosis. Frantic treatment attempts. And the life just slowly draining from her body.

He made the smallest move. His cheek touched hers as his lips brushed against her ear. ‘A toyshop. Along with the superhero T-shirts, I think you might secretly be a Peter Pan kind of girl.’

She could sense he was smiling.

Her eyes were closed, the toyshop held in front of her chest. She turned towards him just as his head pulled back from her ear.

Every part of her literally ached. Ached for his lips to touch hers.

Then, before she had time to think any more, his lips brushed against hers. The sensation was just as sweet as she’d imagined. Every bit as magical.

His hand tangled in her hair as the gentlest pressure increased.

She wanted this. She wanted this more than she’d ever imagined.

But just this—the slightest kiss—put her sensations into overload. Every part of her brain fired. She was starting something she might not be able to continue. She was taking what could not be hers. She was kissing a man she hadn’t been entirely truthful with.

She trembled as the feelings threatened to overwhelm her and her eyes filled with tears. She pulled back.

Riley rested his head against hers. ‘April? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?’

She shook her head quickly. ‘No. Of course you didn’t.’

‘But—’ he started.

She placed her hand on his chest and gave him a regretful smile. Everything about the kiss had been right.

And everything about the kiss had been wrong.

‘It’s just not the right time,’ she said as she looked around.

For a brief second she could see the flash of confusion, but then he glanced around and gave a nod.

Her heart squeezed in her chest. He thought she meant here, in the garden centre, was the wrong time. But she meant so much more than that.

Riley looked around and spotted Finn racing around a Christmas tree. He gave an approving smile and dropped to his knees, looking under the table and emerging with a box in his hand. ‘Look. The toyshop. You can take it home.’

She felt a pang inside.

Home. She wasn’t quite sure what that meant for her any more.

Her flat had seemed so empty the other night after Finn and Riley had left. Her footsteps had echoed around the place. She’d never noticed that before.

Before it had been her haven. Her quiet place. Now, she was just conscious of the fact it had seemed so full with the two of them in it.

‘Dad! I want these ones!’ Both of them jerked at the sound of Finn’s voice. He’d found blue twinkling stars wrapped around one of the trees.

Riley nodded in approval. He gave her a wink. ‘Come on then. We’ve got more shopping to do.’

He walked off towards Finn and her stomach clenched. Riley had the box with the toyshop tucked under his arm. He was going to buy it for her.

As a thank you.

But when she’d thought about buying a piece of the village every year, she’d never really imagined just doing it for herself. She’d imagined it with a family around her.

Finn squealed as his dad threw him up in the air. ‘April, I’ve picked the blue ones! Come and see.’

Her lips tingled. Riley’s aftershave still filled her senses.

She glanced around. Christmas surrounded her. Both the best and worst time of year for some people. She could almost hear Mallory’s voice in her head urging her on.

One kiss. That was all it had been. But she wanted so much more.

Right now, it just didn’t feel honest, and she hated that more than anything. She licked her lips and looked around.

Was it wrong to want to enjoy this time with Riley and Finn? Was it wrong to join in with their celebrations? Mallory was whispering in her ear again. Go on.

Riley caught her eye. ‘Okay?’ he mouthed.

She nodded and walked over to join them. It was time to stop brooding about things and start enjoying life. ‘Come on, guys.’ She looked at the toyshop box and the Christmas lights. ‘Oh, no, we’re not finished yet. Someone grab a basket. We’re going to shop till we drop.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

PLANS SEEMED TO be bursting from his head. Riley was buzzing. He couldn’t wait to find April and tell her.

For the first time since all this had happened, things seemed to be falling into place.

He’d kissed her. He’d finally kissed her and it just felt so right. And all he could think about was kissing her again.

Okay, so she’d pulled back. Maybe April was more private than most. Maybe she didn’t like being kissed in a public place. But that was okay. He could handle that. He could deal with that.

As long as he could kiss her again.

And even though he was currently bursting with excitement there was a tiny part of him that wondered if there could be something else—something else going on with April. He was sure it wasn’t another man. April would never have let their spark and attraction grow if there was another man in the background.

She still hadn’t really talked that much about her sister. Maybe it was just Christmas and the time of year? It just felt as if there was something he couldn’t quite put his finger on yet. But he had to give her space. If he wanted to have some kind of relationship with April, he had to trust her to tell him the things he needed to know. Right now he should be concentrating on Finn.

His mother had stopped calling ten times a day. April had shown him a Top Ten list of Christmas toys for