Page 109 of A Christmas Celebration
‘How can I be?’ I laughed, my transformed mood matching his. ‘After everything I’ve been assuming about you but not found the courage to get to the bottom of, I hardly have the right to be even a tiny bit miffed.’
Brodie looked at me and smiled.
‘Why do you think you didn’t get to the bottom of it?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know.’ I swallowed as he stood up and held out his hand.
‘Could it possibly have had anything to do with the fact that you didn’t want to believe it?’ he suggested.
‘Maybe,’ I said softly, taking his hand and letting him pull me to my feet.
‘Could it be that you had developed feelings for me and that you knew deep down there was no way I was some city high flyer who specialized in dodgy investments and who was planning to take off with the Connelly fortune?’
We both laughed at that because hearing him say it out loud, I knew it was absurd.
‘Given how long I let the situation run for, there couldbe some element of truth in that.’ I smiled, as he pulled me close and wrapped me in his arms.
‘You really wanted me to be a penniless artist because you thought that would make us more compatible, didn’t you?’
‘All right, clever clogs,’ I sighed. ‘I think we’ve got to the bottom of it all now.’
‘So,’ he said, lowering his lips tantalizingly close to mine, ‘why don’t you do something to shut me up?’
Our second kiss tasted even sweeter than the first because there was no mystery, guilt or muddle caught up in it. I only wished it could have lasted a bit longer.
‘Well, I never,’ I heard Albert chuckle as he opened the studio door. ‘And about time too!’
Chapter 26
I was so happy on the journey back to the hall that I didn’t feel the bone shaking impact of a single one of the potholes. The evening’s relief-inducing revelations, the power of Brodie’s second kiss, the sight of him and Albert set up for another painting session and the realization that I would not now have to risk upsetting Angus and would therefore be spending Christmas in Wynbridge had sat me firmly on cloud nine and it was a very comfortable place to be.
Of course, I was still very much aware that I had some big decisions to make about my future, but there was no desperate need to dwell on them in the run up to the celebrations. For the time being, I fully intended to focus on the present and squeeze every last drop of excitement out of it.
As I parked the Land Rover in the courtyard and kissed Bran on top of his grey head, I congratulated myself on just how far I’d come since I’d arrived and how I was going to enjoy an unexpectedly fabulous end to the year.
Accepting that, like every other human on the planet, Ihad flaws and made mistakes was the most beneficial thing I had done for my mental health in a long time. By taking on Anna and Hayley’s work, I had rediscovered the joy of working in harmony with others and now witnessing Albert and Brodie’s blossoming friendship, along with how they flourished better together than alone, was further inspiration, too.
‘Right,’ I said, just before lunch the next day. ‘I’m going out. I’ll see you all later.’
‘How on earth have you managed to finish so early?’ Dorothy asked.
‘I started before six,’ I told her.
She shook her head.
‘You’re working too hard,’ she scolded.
‘I’m fine.’ I smiled.
She eyed me astutely.
‘I’d like to know what’s got you in such a buoyant mood all of a sudden.’ She smiled back. ‘I thought you’d be fed up with all the extra dust the decorating kicked up.’
‘I’m just excited about Christmas,’ I told her, although it was so much more than that. ‘A bit of extra dusting didn’t hurt, especially now the hall looks so beautiful; it’s put me right in the mood for it.’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Archie, who never had sharper hearing than when he thought he could raise a smile by saying something rude.
‘Dear, dear,’ Dorothy tutted. ‘You are naughty sometimes, Archie.’
