Page 126 of Christmas at Sturcombe Bay
He glanced up, and she followed his gaze. Above their heads was a spray of mistletoe.
“So . . . I got you an early Christmas present.” He took something out of his pocket and put it into her hand. “Well, it’s not really a Christmas present.”
She hesitated. It was a jewellery box. A small one. The sort that often held earrings, or dainty little pendants on gold chains.
“Open it,” he urged softly.
Gulping down the constriction in her throat, she lifted the lid. A ring. A sapphire, surrounded by diamonds. It caught the light from the ballroom and flashed like fire.
“I love you, Shelley.” There was a warmth, a whole world of meaning in his voice. “Will you marry me?”
She had to close her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, he was still there, still smiling at her, and that beautiful ring was still in her hand.
Happiness bubbled up into laughter. “Did Tyler tell you to ask me that?”
“Of course he did. What shall I tell him?”
“Uh . . .” She drew in a long, slow breath. “You’d better tell him I said yes.”
His smile could have melted the winter frost out in the garden as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. His mouth came down to hers in a long, deep, tender kiss — a kiss under the mistletoe, for a lifetime of love.
* * *
Jess stood on the terrace, leaning on the cold stone balustrade as she watched the wind-whipped waves roll in and crash in fountains of spray against the rocks below.
The stars were glittering pinpricks of light, high and stark and cold in the ink-dark sky, and the moon gleamed like silver on the snow that still blanketed the garden.
It was freezing out here. Her breath was puffing out in clouds of white, and there were goosebumps all down her bare arms. But she didn’t care — the icy cold just suited her mood.
Christmas, and everyone was merry. Behind her the ballroom was full of happy people dancing to a seeminglyendless string of jolly Christmas songs as the fairy lights on the tall Christmas tree winked silver and gold.
Maybe it was the Christmas spirit, or maybe there was something in the air, but everyone seemed to be falling in love. There had been two weddings in the summer, then Cassie and Liam’s wedding just last week.
Now Alex and Shelley were in the conservatory, under the mistletoe, locked together as if they’d been covered in superglue. Even Mike and Kate were canoodling like a pair of teenagers. She had to admit that it was lovely to see them finding happiness together at last, though.
But for herself, the ice had crept into her heart. Oh, it was her own stupid fault. She should never have let herself fall in love with Paul Channing.
Hadn’t she learned her lesson with Glenn? Some men just weren’t cut out for commitment, and if you expected it from them then you were doomed to disappointment.
A soft footfall came from behind her. She stiffened — she didn’t need to turn her head to know who it was.
“It’s cold out here.”
She shrugged her slim shoulders in a gesture of casual dismissal. “I don’t mind.”
“Cold doesn’t bother you anyway?”
“You’ve been watchingFrozentoo many times,” she retorted on a note of sardonic humour.
His laugh was low, husky, and she felt him gently put his jacket around her shoulders. “Here.”
He was standing so close that it was a struggle to breathe. She felt as if her lungs were clamped in a vice. The memory of last night was so vivid it felt as if he was touching her.
And now . . . Oh, she ached for that touch. Ached to feel the slow, sensuous stroke of his hand over her skin, to feel his breath warm against her cheek, his hot mouth on hers.
“Why did you leave like that?” He spoke quietly but insistently. “I woke up this morning and you were gone.”
She forced a note of casual mockery into her voice. “I bet that was a first for you.”
