Page 124 of Christmas at Sturcombe Bay
“Such a charming man.” She glanced eagerly around the ballroom. “Is he still here?”
“Yes, I . . . um . . . think he’s just popped outside for a minute.” She smiled to herself. The staff often teased Mike gently about how many of the older women guests took such an interest in him.
“He told us he’s leaving.”
“He’s taking early retirement. We’ll all be sad to see him go. But he plans to stay in Sturcombe, and he’ll still be coming in to help Alex get the hang of running the place.”
“That’s good. Well, Merry Christmas, my dear.”
“Merry Christmas.”
Shelley wandered around the side of the room, watching the dancing. Everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. Santa hats and reindeer antlers and sparkling garlands of tinsel were the dress code, and the champagne was free.
“Ah, there you are. Come and dance with me, eh?”
Shelley glanced round as Alex came up behind her, her heart skipping. She knew it was crazy to let herself fall in love with him, but she couldn’t help herself. If it all ended tomorrow . . . Well, she’d survive.
He drew her out onto the dance floor and slipped his arms around her, drawing her close and moving with her to the music, and she let herself stop thinking about tomorrow, next week, next month.
She was with him for now, and that was enough.
“Where have you been?” he asked, smiling down at her.
“Chatting to the ladies from the golf league. They said they’d been looking at the display boards in the lounge.”
“What did they think of it?”
“They loved it. They told me they’re bringing more tournaments here.”
He nodded. “We agreed terms this afternoon.”
“That’s good.”
He was a good dancer, easy on the rhythm. And it felt so good being in his arms. If people were staring, shocked to see her with him, why should she care?
He was the most attractive man in the room, so far as she was concerned. Some might pick Lisa’s brother Paul, or maybe Tom Cullen or Liam Ellis, but for her there was no contest.
“Anyway, where have you been?” she asked.
“I took Tyler for a walk, and popped in to see Grandpa.”
“Ah. How is he?”
“Fine. He was just getting off to bed. Grumbling about Marcus being away, though Carol seems nice enough.”
“Marcus’ll be back in a few days. He deserves to have Christmas off.”
Alex laughed dryly. “Try telling that to my grandfather! Anyway, then we walked on up the hill.”
“Oh?”
“I noticed a for-sale sign when I drove past yesterday, so I thought I’d go up and take a look.”
Her brow furrowed in thought. “You mean the old Ellicot place?”
“Is that what it is? Big old house, set well back from the road. I couldn’t get inside, obviously, but I managed to look in through a couple of windows. The rooms look pretty big, and the garden at the back is huge. Tyler would love it.”
She glanced up at him in surprise. “You’re going to buy it?”
