Page 114 of Christmas at Sturcombe Bay
But it was dangerous to let yourself feel that way, to let your guard down.Never rely on anyone — they’ll all let you down in the end.She really ought to leave, now, while he was asleep, before he could persuade her to stay. It would be so easy to let herself hope that this time it could be different.
Yes, she’d leave. In a few minutes, once she was sure he was asleep. It wasn’t even midnight yet . . .
A loud crash from the sitting room jerked her upright. Then a second crash, followed by a whine of distress. She scrambled out of bed and snatched open the door.
A large, very distressed puppy was cowering on the floor beside the fallen Christmas tree, the cable for the lights wound round his paw.
“Oh, Sweetie, what’s happened?” She knelt beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Did it scare you?”
The dog leaned into her, trembling. She stroked down his long back with a soothing hand, murmuring softly in his ear.
“It’s okay, don’t be upset. It was just an accident. You’re not going to be sent away.”
She tipped her head back to look up at Alex, challenging him to confirm the promise. He had pulled on a dressing gown, and handed her the sweater he had been wearing earlier.
“Here — put this on or you’ll freeze to death.”
“Thanks.” As she tugged it on over her head her senses were filled with the subtle male scent of his skin. Maybe he wouldn’t notice if she kept it...
He had hunkered down beside the big dog, scritching the magic spot behind his ear. “Don’t worry, buddy, of course you won’t be sent away. It was my fault. I should have realised. It’s just a silly old Christmas tree anyway. We’ll soon sort it out.”
The dog lifted his giant head, liquid brown eyes turning from one to the other. If he didn’t understand the words, he seemed to understand the sentiment. Shelley felt the trembling subside as he relaxed, resting against her shoulder.
“There. You’re a good boy. Yes, you are.”
Alex unwound the light cable and picked up the fallen Christmas tree, putting a couple of the decorations back in place. “There, all done. Now you can go back on your bed, can’t you boy?”
“Can’t he . . . ?”
“No!” Alex’s voice was firm. “I draw the line at letting him sleep on the bed.”
“Oh. Well, that’s the rule, Tyler. I’m sorry. Daddy’s put his foot down.” She had to smile as she caught Alex rolling his eyes at being called the dog’s ‘daddy’. “But you have a lovely comfy bed of your own, don’t you? Here, give me a couple of treats and I’ll coax him onto it.”
Fifteen minutes and a dozen treats later, Tyler finally stopped being suspicious of the large blue beanbag and decided that maybe it was a comfy place to lie after all. As he settled on it with a grunt of contentment, Shelley flopped onto her back, laughing.
“Phew! Now, let’s just hope he stays there!”
Alex laughed too, offering her his hand to pull her to her feet. “Let’s hope so. I think we deserve a cup of tea after that!”
“I . . . um . . . ought to be getting back to the hotel,” she protested.
“Why?”
“Well, I . . . I have to get up for work in the morning.”
“That’s okay. It’s only round the corner. And anyway, I’ll have to get up too, to take the mutt out for a w-a-l-k-i-e.”
She hesitated, but it was too tempting. “Okay. Do I get breakfast in bed?”
He laughed softly, and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I think that can be arranged.”
* * *
Shelley always appreciated waking up in a warm bed. She appreciated it even more now, with Alex Crocombe’s lean, warm body beside her. She breathed in deeply, catching a drift of the unique scent of his skin.
She’d taken a chance, let herself hope. So far it had been all good. It had been three days . . .
Slipping out of bed she reached for her sweater and padded out barefoot to the sitting room. Tyler was asleep on his beanbag, but he woke at once, yawning widely and getting up to stretch his long body. He still had about a year’s more growing time — he was going to be enormous!
