Читать книгу Mills & Boon Christmas Delights Collection - Джанис Мейнард, Rebecca Winters - Страница 27
ОглавлениеThe rest of the evening was all a bit blurry, which was just as well as I was pretty sure it had involved yet more hurling. As weak daylight pushed its way through the darkness, I lay in the bed and looked up at the ceiling, knowing I had to get back to my own flat. Although I was inordinately glad of the siblings’ kindness yesterday, it wasn’t fair for me to descend on Janey and her family. They had enough to cope with with two young children and a baby on the way, without me cluttering up the place.
I rolled my head – an action that took far more effort than it should have done – and looked at the clock, screwing my face up when I read the time. OK. So, maybe I’d just grab a couple of hours more sleep and then head off home.
When I woke, it was slightly later than I’d planned. As in, half a day later than I’d planned and Janey was sitting on the edge of the bed. On the other side, Lily was leaning on it, peering at me.
‘Hi.’
‘Hi,’ I replied, in a raspy voice.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Better.’ Which was true. I still felt pretty damn dreadful but I did feel better than I had done yesterday. It was all relative.
‘You’re still looking pretty ropey,’ Janey stated, before sticking a thermometer against my forehead. A second later it beeped. Janey looked at it and made a hmm noise before popping it on the bedside. ‘Your temperature is still high and you’ll be dehydrated after yesterday so we need to start getting some liquids into you.’ Janey’s nursing training kicked back in and I couldn’t deny it was comforting to be here, but I knew I couldn’t stay.
I took her hand. ‘Janey. Thank you so much for taking care of me, but I really need to go home now.’
‘Out of the question. I’m not having you at home on your own in that flat when it’s far easier for me to keep an eye on you here.’
‘You don’t need to keep an eye on me. I really am feeling much better than I did. And I promise I’ll drink, like you said.’
Janey tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. ‘You can promise whatever you like sweetie. You have a temperature of one hundred and two and you’re not going anywhere.’
That at least explained why I currently felt like one of those cook-in-the-bag chickens.
‘Don’t you like our house Katie?’ Lily had been studying me and now her big green eyes were full of question.
‘Oh no Lily! It’s not that at all.’
‘What is it then?’ she asked, her hand going to where mine lay on the outside of the duvet and her little fingers curling around mine.
‘Well, your mum and dad are busy already and I don’t want to take up any more of their time.’
Lily started playing with my fingers.
‘When I was poorly Mummy looked after me.’
I smiled as did Janey.
‘If you’re not here, will your Mummy look after you?’ She lifted her innocent eyes to mine. I saw Janey’s face tense. I shook my head, trying to ignore the swooshy feeling the movement caused.
‘Why not? Is she far away?’
‘Yes, she is sweetheart.’
‘Which is exactly why Katie is staying here until she gets better. Come on Lily. Leave Katie in peace now. Did you finish your puzzle downstairs yet?’
Lily nodded. ‘Uncle Michael and Pilot helped me.’
‘Pilot’s a smart dog.’
‘I love him.’ Lily beamed, making me smile too.
‘He is rather wonderful,’ Janey agreed, throwing a private glance my way. ‘I’ll be back in a bit.’ She pointed a finger at me. ‘Do not move!’
I gave a weak half salute and let my head flop back onto the pillow. Vaguely aware of the sound of rain beating against the window, I rolled my head a little to look out. Rain streaked down the glass, the droplets racing each other and melding together as more joined them. Looking past them, I watched the trees as they bent with the force of the wind.
‘It’s pretty vile out there.’ The deep voice made me jump, mostly because it wasn’t Janey’s. ‘Even Pilot gave me a filthy look when I took him out earlier.’ Michael gave me one of those easy smiles, the one I’d seen him use with his family, but rarely outside that. His hair was damp and pushed back and he wore a semi-fitted black T-shirt with khaki cargo pants. ‘Can I come in? Janey’s sent up some soup and a drink for you.’
‘Of course,’ I said, pulling the sheet up almost to my neck.
Michael waited whilst I settled myself. ‘Comfy?’
I nodded.
He frowned, then put the tray down on the dressing table. Leaning over, he grabbed another pillow. ‘Sit up a minute.’ I did so and he squished another pillow behind me. ‘Better?’
It was. Much. I nodded.
‘Right. Here you go.’
It wasn’t that it didn’t look nice or smell good, I just wasn’t sure I felt like eating anything right now. I lifted my gaze and found Michael watching me.
‘Just so you know, if I go back with anything other than empty plates, it’ll be my fault. That’s already been made perfectly clear to me.’ I pulled a face and he grinned. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
‘Thank you, Michael. For this and for yesterday.’
He shook his head and turned to go. I took a spoonful of the soup.
‘I’m sorry about the whole boyfriend being married thing, by the way.’
I half swallowed and half choked on the food as the impact of his statement hit me. At the same time, my eyes took in the fact that Janey’s guest bedding was pure white and the soup was tomato red. Michael was back across the room in two strides, removing the tray so that I could die choking in peace without ruining my host’s bed linen. He handed me the glass of water and I managed to find a gap in the coughing to shove some down my throat which thankfully began calming matters.
‘OK?’ he asked, bending to replace the tray in front of me, but staying poised to remove it should I try a repeat performance.
OK wasn’t exactly the best description of how I was feeling so I didn’t reply.
He put the tray down anyway, taking my silence as acceptance. I kept my eyes away from his and my mind focused on what had possessed his sister to tell him when she’d promised not to.
‘Janey didn’t mean to tell me.’
I remained silent, concentrating on spoonfuls of soup, my mind darting about, trying to get my groggy brain to find a way to leave without upsetting Janey. Or more likely finding a convenient drainpipe to shimmy down which was probably the only chance I had at leaving right now if my friend had anything to do with it. When I finished, Michael took the tray away and put it on the side. But he didn’t leave. For a moment, neither of us said anything.
‘Don’t be angry at Janey for telling me.’
I shook my head. ‘I’m not.’ I knew telling him intentionally wouldn’t have entered her mind once she’d promised me not to.
‘I know you and I haven’t always seen eye to eye about your boyfriend, but if you were mine…I mean…’ He fiddled with the spoon in the soup bowl a moment. ‘Well, although I agreed that Janey looking after you was the best thing, I thought that maybe we ought to let your boyfriend know. You know in case he finally wanted to step up and do something for you.’ I gave him a wary look under my lashes. ‘Janey was busy mixing up paracetamol or whatever magic potion it was and was obviously distracted…’
Turning my head towards the window, I focused on the rain. ‘What did she say?’
Michael hesitated. ‘Something about his wife probably not being too keen on that idea.’
I closed my eyes and waited for him to leave.
His hand on mine made me start. My eyes flew open to find his intense gaze on me. Quickly, I looked down, focusing on the long, sturdy fingers resting on top of mine.
‘I know that we started out a bit rocky and that I’m really just a client, so I know it shouldn’t matter…It’s just that I’d sort of thought we were becoming friends.’
I flicked my glance up to meet his for a moment.
‘Admittedly friends that don’t always agree but that’s OK too.’ He gave that twitch of a smile I’d seen the first day when I’d called him out for being an arse. ‘But I’d hoped we’d got to a point where you could at least have told me you’d split up with your boyfriend. I would have made an effort to try and say the right thing. No guarantee I would have said it but I would have tried.’
‘I couldn’t,’ I said, softly.
His brow creased. ‘Am I really that bad?’
I shook my head and automatically moved my hand. He caught it and held it.
‘What then?’ his voice was soft, and when I looked up his face was creased with concern, the green eyes that entranced me held my gaze, demanding an answer.
‘Because I thought we…might be able to be friends too. But I knew that once you knew this about me…you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.’ I let my gaze drop. ‘Even though you are the only client who has driven me to distraction, made me lose my temper, and self-control, for some reason, I didn’t want you thinking badly of me.’
‘And why would I be thinking badly of you?’
‘You know why.’
‘Because he was married?’
I closed my eyes and turned my head, bile rising again just at the thought of it all.
‘A fact you had no idea of.’
I shook my head.
‘So in what complicated little scenario would that make me think the worst of you?’
Calum’s words bounced off the walls of my mind.
‘He told me that I must have had some inkling, some idea that everything wasn’t…as it should be.’
‘Did you?’ Michael’s tone wasn’t accusatory.
‘No.’ Finally I looked at him. ‘I stupidly just swallowed every lie he told me.’
Michael studied me for a moment, before his fingers reached out to tuck a wayward piece of hair back behind my ear.
‘Katie, just to be clear, I do not think badly of you. Him? Well, let’s just say I was right when I said you deserved better.’
‘I just felt the whole thing might be a little close to home for you, and I wouldn’t have blamed you for feeling…something towards me.’
‘I do feel something towards you, Katie…and don’t look so worried.’ His gentle laugh relaxed his face and body, and it was hard not to respond in kind. And I might have done, if I hadn’t suddenly felt so tired. Knowing that Michael didn’t hate me or think I was some sort of destroyer of families had released a knot of tension I’d been carrying since that night. Like I’d said, I hadn’t even known why his opinion of me mattered so much. What other people thought of me wasn’t usually high on my priority list. Unless I cared about them.
‘You look exhausted.’ Michael gently tipped me forward enough to whip out the extra pillow he’d used to prop me up to eat. ‘Why don’t you get some rest? We can talk some more later.’
I made a half-hearted effort to nod, my eyelids already closing.
‘You’re not alone any more Katie.’ The deep lilting voice drifted into my dream as I felt a large, gentle hand softly stroke the hair from my face.
Some time later, my eyes still closed, I became vaguely aware of the sound of snoring at exactly the same time as realising that there was someone else in the room. As, in theory, I was the only one asleep it led me to conclude two things: that the noise was emanating from me and that I wasn’t alone to hear it. These things all declared themselves in my brain at roughly the same time, culminating in me waking up, sitting bolt upright and announcing that ‘I wasn’t snoring’. Even though clearly I had been.
The figure in the room moved. Michael. He was folded into the nearby chair reading, one long leg dangling over the arm, a lamp beside him providing enough illumination without keeping me awake. Unfortunately. He leant forward, swinging his leg down and over Pilot who was sprawled out on the floor in front of the chair.
‘You know, it’s not a big deal. Women worry too much about that sort of thing.’
I must have looked even more horrified than I felt. Although, admittedly, that might have been hard.
Michael began laughing. ‘Relax. It wasn’t you.’ I realised then that I could still hear the snoring. Michael pointed at the dog. ‘It’s him. You and the rescue centre conveniently forgot to tell me he snores like a hippo with a head cold.’
Having flopped back down, I now rolled onto my side to look at the dog.
‘I can’t say I ever noticed it before. Maybe it’s just when he goes into a deeper sleep, and he wasn’t relaxed enough in the kennels to do that. It’s not unusual.’
‘The snoring?’ Michael grinned. ‘It might not be unusual, but it’s loud.’
‘It’s not that bad. We can’t all be perfect.’ I reached down and stroked Pilot’s ear.
‘That’s true. It did at least drown your snoring out, so there’s that.’
My hand stilled and I shifted my eyes to him. He was rubbish at keeping a straight face and it was written all over his beautiful features.
‘You’re not supposed to be mean to the afflicted.’
‘I know. I’m sorry. Couldn’t resist.’
‘But you could give it a try Mikey,’ Janey said, entering the room and flicking his ear as she passed him.
‘Ow!’ He frowned, but it did nothing to cover the laughter dancing in his eyes.
‘How are you feeling sweetheart? Apart from being irritated by this lummox.’ She thumbed at Michael who mumbled something like ‘charming’ before bending down to stroke the dog. Pilot groaned, stretched, opened one eye briefly and then went back to snoring.
Janey placed the thermometer on me again.
‘That’s good. It’s not back to normal yet but it is lower.’
‘Does that mean I can go home?’ I asked. The truth was, it wasn’t the thought of sitting alone in my flat still feeling decidedly rough that held appeal for me. It was that I desperately wanted a shower. Having apparently sweated out most of the bug I’d picked up, I now felt decidedly icky.
‘Nope. But you can have a shower or a bath if that’s what you’re thinking.’
Oh God. I ponged! I surreptitiously tried to give a sniff but Janey caught my eye. ‘I just thought you might feel better for it. That’s all. Don’t go getting all wobbly in there though.’
‘I promise.’
‘I can give you a hand and make sure if you like. For safety reasons only. Obviously.’ Michael winked at me as Janey turned to leave.
She rolled her eyes at me, ignoring him. ‘You know where everything is. There’s a towel, toothbrush and some clean jammies waiting in there for you.’
‘Thanks Janey.’ I took her hand and reached up for a hug, my eyes unexpectedly, and inexplicably, filling with tears. Janey wiped a rogue one away as she stood.
‘You’re very welcome.’ Her smile was soft and said so much more than her words. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘We’ll leave you to it.’ She looked at Michael meaningfully. He got the hint and I could see he was about to wake the dog too.
‘Pilot can stay. I mean, if you don’t mind. It seems a shame to wake him. Unless you’re leaving, of course.’ I loved the feeling of having the dog lying there contentedly, keeping me company. And I knew it wasn’t just the dog’s company I would miss.
Michael gave a brief smile. ‘No, we weren’t planning on leaving just yet.’
I shifted in the bed, scooting myself up a little more, ready to get out. Janey prodded the back of her brother’s leg with her knee.
‘She doesn’t need an audience.’
He tilted his head down at her. ‘Jesus, you’re bossy.’ But there was nothing but adoration in his eyes. OK, there was a little mischief there too.
‘See you later,’ he smiled.
I gave a wave and they both left, leaving the snoozing dog and me to our thoughts and a much needed shower.
When I got back I could immediately see the sheets had been changed and a steaming cup of something sat on the bedside. Mentally I made a note to send Janey the biggest bouquet of flowers I could find when I got back home. The hot herbal tea instantly soothed as I snuggled into the freshly plumped pillows. I closed my eyes and sipped the tea.
Pilot had now moved his head and was now sounding less like a pneumatic drill. His steady, even breathing added to the calm I’d felt developing inside me ever since Michael and I had talked about the whole Calum thing. I’d hated hiding the truth from him, although how much I’d hated it still surprised me. Perhaps it was because I detested lying so much. And yet I’d found myself doing just that in order to prevent him putting an end to the organisation process – a process I knew was working for him, and making Janey happy. That had to be the reason. There wasn’t really any other explanation.
They say that bacon sandwiches have been the downfall of many an ex-vegetarian. From the smell drifting up this morning, I totally got that. Not that I’d ever been a vegetarian. I freely admitted to loving bacon sandwiches far too much to ever give them up. Although I was feeling so much better than two days ago, even this morning’s ablutions had made me feel like I’d just spent three hours prepping for the next Olympics. I sat on the bed, waiting for the burst of energy that I knew would come eventually if I concentrated hard enough on it. Or not.
A knock on the door made me look up.
‘Come in.’
Michael’s head peeked around the door.
‘Are you decent?’
‘It’s a bit late if I’m not, isn’t it?’ I laughed as Pilot charged in through the door. He bounded up beside the bed and stood there, tail whacking the duvet, with a big, happy look on his face. This was what I loved about dogs: You could be gone for two minutes and they would greet you like it had been weeks. I rubbed his head and he did his little four paw bounce thing until Michael told him to sit, which he did, one side of his body pressed into the bed.
His master entered the room at a more sedate pace, carrying a tray. As I glanced up I felt a whoosh of heat hit my chest and zoom up my face.
‘You all right?’ he asked, concern in his voice. ‘Still getting those hot and cold flashes? Hopefully it’s on its way out now though.’
‘Mmmhmm.’ I smiled and dropped my gaze back to the dog for a moment, willing my colour back to normal. The truth was I was pretty sure the reason for my sudden temperature fluctuation was far more basic, and more to do with the fact that one of the most good-looking men I had ever met was now stood at my bedside, bearing a thick bacon sandwich that smelled divine. In fact, there was a split second when I wondered if the whole bug thing had actually been a little more serious than I thought and I’d passed on: There was a gorgeous man, a lovely dog, a comfy bed and bacon sarnies. If Heaven doesn’t contain those things, then frankly I was far less keen to go. And then Pilot did something that confirmed I was still firmly earthbound.
‘Holy shit, Pilot,’ Michael cried, shoving the long sleeve of his T-shirt over his nose and hurriedly leading the dog out of the room. I meanwhile had slid back under the duvet which was now pressed against my face, just my eyes peeping over the top.
‘Sorry.’ Michael’s voice was muffled by the fabric and his arm when he spoke. He pointed at the window. ‘Just for a minute.’
I nodded vigorously.
Thankfully the air interchange was swift and effective, and, actually, it was pretty nice to breathe in the cool air after the last couple of days.
‘I’m so sorry about that. I’d say I don’t know what’s got into him, but I think I do. Janey and Patrick were overjoyed that my nephew finally ate his Brussel sprouts for the first time at dinner last night. I didn’t say anything, but I’m fairly confident Joey wasn’t the one who ate them.’ He pulled the window closed again, and I emerged from the duvet, whereupon Michael handed me the sandwich.
‘Does Joey know you know?’ I asked, taking a bite of the sandwich.
He screwed up his nose for a second. ‘I’ve a horrible feeling I might have been the one to give him the idea.’
I tilted my head for an explanation as I chewed on the sandwich, which tasted even better than it had smelled.
‘A while ago we were all talking about this old dog we used to have back home, when we were kids. None of us were fussy eaters but I did have a loathing for broad beans. Still can’t stand the things. When Mum mentioned that I was such a good lad, because I ate them anyway, I had to admit then that I’d actually fed the beans to the dog under the table when no one was looking. I guess little Joey stored that away for future use.’
‘Are you going to tell Janey?’
‘Do I look like a snitch to you?’ He grinned and I took an extra big bite to distract myself from how good that looked on him. ‘Besides, I’m his favourite uncle and I’m not about to relinquish that title by dobbing him in on something I used to do myself.’
‘That’s fair.’
‘You can’t tell Janey either, though!’ This time his face was serious.
I shook my head. He did the grin again but I’d run out of sandwich so I buried my face in the mug of tea instead.
‘Is it snowing?’ I asked, reappearing and squinting at the window.
‘Started about half an hour ago. Fairly heavily too.’ He slid a glance sideways at me. ‘So if you’re thinking you can just toddle on home, you can’t. I’ve strict instructions to keep you exactly where you are.’
I smiled. ‘Is that so?’
‘It is. And as you know, not much scares me, apart from my baby sister so please don’t make me do something drastic like tie you to the bed.’
My eyebrows shot up involuntarily, immediately followed by Michael’s.
‘Admittedly that came out a little wrong.’ He looked at me and I saw the twinkle. ‘Although…’
The look I gave him caused his face to crease and a laugh rumble from his chest.
‘Maybe when you’re feeling a little better.’
I flopped my head against the pillow.
‘I’m not sure which version of you I like better: the grouchy, moody one or the cheerier, but infinitely more perverse one.’
He wiggled his eyebrows and then flopped onto the end of the bed.
‘I have to say thanks Katie. I can’t believe the difference you’ve made. Home actually feels like home now. I’ve always loved the house but now it feels…different somehow.’
‘You sound surprised.’
He fiddled with the pintucks on the duvet cover, not looking at me. ‘I am, if I’m honest. You know I only started all this because I had to. But it’s really been good for me. In a lot of ways.’
‘I’m glad to hear it Michael. Really glad.’
He smiled back and, for a moment, I thought he was going to say something else. Downstairs the front door closed and we heard voices.
‘Still alive up there?’ Patrick called.
‘No thanks to Pilot,’ Michael quipped, shooting a look at the dog who had been lying at the doorway since his dismissal earlier. Pilot hid his nose under his paw.
Lily and Joey tore into the guest room. ‘Katie! Uncle Mikey! It’s really snowing! Like proper snow! Will you come out and play with us? Mum said we can go out after dinner.’ Joey’s face was shining with excitement.
‘Did she now?’ Michael bent his knees and scooped up his nephew. Lily, meanwhile, was clearly of the more sensible disposition and saw the snow for what it was: cold and wet but pretty to look at it from inside. She had now climbed onto the bed and was sat beside me, playing with my hair.
‘You have pretty hair. I wish mine was longer.’
‘Well you’ll have to make do playing with Katie’s because I don’t have to deal with tantrums washing hers,’ Janey puffed out as she entered the room. I saw Michael’s eyes scan her face.
‘Everything all right? Why didn’t you call up? I can get whatever it is you need.’
‘Stop fretting Mikey. It’s good exercise. And I’ve done this twice before, don’t forget.’ When his face didn’t clear, she reached round and gave him a squeeze. ‘I won’t over do anything, I promise.’
He waited a beat and then squeezed her back with his free arm. ‘You’d better not.’
‘Is anyone else having any of this dinner or is it all for me?’ Patrick called up the stairs.
‘Me, me, me!’ Both the children cried.
Joey’s legs were wiggling to get down. Michael cuddled him a moment longer, leaning conspiratorially towards him as Janey redid the clip in Lily’s hair which was sliding downwards.
‘And no feeding Pilot anything this time,’ he whispered.
Joey looked at his uncle, their eyes level. He opened his mouth to say something and Michael did a tiny tilt of his head to stop him and shook his head, a smile on his face.
‘I mean it. He nearly gassed us up here earlier.’ His nephew giggled as Michael screwed up his face. ‘What’s on your plate goes in your tummy only, OK?’
‘OK.’
Janey turned around from finishing with Lily. ‘What are you two whispering about?’
Their innocent expressions matched perfectly as they both shrugged. Janey threw me a look.
‘Like I believe that.’
Michael put Joey down and both children ran off downstairs.
‘Hold the banister, please!’ Janey called after them.
I’d politely refused any dinner, the sandwich from earlier still filling me, and Janey and Michael left me to get some more rest. The door closed and I rolled onto my side, better to see the snow falling outside the window.
