An Unexpected Christmas (7 page)

'We
do, milk and sugar?'

'Yes
please.' I smiled and waited for her to fill a takeout cup with steaming hot
coffee and add milk and sugar. I paid and thanked her, then headed back out
into the cold.

Turning
off the main street I wandered down the hedge lined road that headed down
towards the beach and Maggie's house. I got glimpses of the beach and the sea
through the hedgerow and I was quickly lost in thoughts of Christmases and
holidays with my family. As I rounded a corner I bumped into something and just
as I was about to fall flat on my back two strong arms pulled me forward. I
looked up into stunning blue-green eyes and a breath taking smile that held a
hint of concern.

‘Are
you okay?’ I had to take two deep breaths for my heart to slow to a slightly
more normal rate before answering.

‘I
think so.’ Nate still held onto me but after a few moments he lifted his head
and looked around.

‘Where
is my sister? Did she abandon you?’ He looked back down at me.

‘She’s
still at the pub. I got a headache so decided to head back early.’ The smile
was gone and concern still filled his face. He lifted his hand towards my head
but then seemed to think better of it.

‘How
are you feeling now?’

I
gave him a reassuring smile;           ‘I’m okay. The fresh air helps.’ He
nodded then realised that he was still holding me.

He
let go and took a step back. He ran a hand through his hair then gestured down
the lane. 'Can I walk you back?' I nodded and we both turned towards the house.

Nate

I had spent the last few hours on
the computer trying to make a dent in my e-mails and not think about April. Not
thinking about her curled up in the armchair in the lounge, a book open in her
lap and then not thinking about her sitting in the pub talking to whomever it
was that Ella thought was good enough for her. Well whoever it was, and I
really didn't care, he wasn't. I had needed to get out for a while and I
thought a stroll up to the pub and a catch up with some old friends was an
excellent idea.

I had just walked up the lane and
rounded the corner when April slammed into me. I didn't know what she had been
looking at but she hadn't been watching where she was going and if I hadn't
reached out for her she would have gone flying backwards, luckily I had quick
reflexes from all the stunt training I had received for my last movie.

'Are you okay?'

She looked flustered and a little
shocked. 'I think so.'

I still had my hands on her arms
and there was something stopping me from letting go. I looked down into her
face then I wondered. I looked around and then back to her.
‘Where is my sister? Did she abandon you?’

‘She’s
still at the pub. I got a headache so decided to head back early.’ She sent me
a small smile.

I
lifted my hand instinctively to brush it across her head. I didn't like the
thought of her in pain but it was too much, too intimate a gesture, and so I
lowered it back down. 'How are you feeling now?'

‘I’m
okay. The fresh air helps.’

I
nodded then realised that I was still holding her, I gently let go and took a
step back, needing a little space between us. I pushed my hand through my hair
then turned and gestured down the lane. 'Can I walk you back?'

April
nodded then we fell into step with each other. After a minute I couldn't take
the silence. 'So did you have fun? Despite the headache?'

She
looked up at me and smiled, 'I did. It was nice.'

'So
who was there? I'm guessing James and Victoria, they never miss an outing.'

She nodded then turned her
attention back down the road. 'Yes, they seem nice, they’re really excited
about the baby.'

I had been friends with James
since my mum bought the house. We used to cause havoc tearing up the roads on
our bikes and then he went off to university and met Victoria, they had been
madly in love ever since. 'They will make great parents. Anyone else?'

'Yeah, Roddy, Daniel and Sally.'
She left a little pause before she said Sally's name and I wondered if she
didn't like her.  Sally was a nice enough girl but she had a crush on me when
she was in college with Ella and I had tried to keep my distance. The fact that
April wasn't a fan gave me hope that maybe Sally had said something and April
was a little jealous.

I wondered if it was Roddy or
Daniel that Ella had in mind for April; they were both nice enough blokes, but
the thought of her with either of them left a horrible feeling in my stomach.
'What did you think of them?'

She thought for a moment. 'They
were all really nice. I had a bit of a chat with Daniel, and Roddy told us some
of the things the kids in his class had said to him over the last term. I had a
good afternoon. What about you? Did you get much work done?'

'I did. I had a million emails to
sort through and a few call to make but I needed a break and some fresh air
before the pile of reading I have waiting for me.' She sent me a sympathetic
smile and we continued to wander down the road. The house came into view and I
realised I wasn't ready to go back and I hoped April wanted to keep me company.
'Do you want to walk along the beach for a little while?'

Her smile brightened and she
nodded, 'I would like that.'

We followed a small path that led
over the sand dunes and down to the water's edge. I wanted to get to know her,
I knew I was attracted to her and I had a feeling that if I learnt more about
her I would know if she was someone I could trust with my heart. It wasn't
something I gave away lightly. Over the past couple of years I had avoided
getting too close to women, my last relationship was with Olivia Reed and that
wasn't something I wanted to think about in April’s company. Relationships were
also hard when I didn't know where my next job would take me and I knew long
distance relationships were difficult, but even though I was going to Miami for
a couple of months I wanted to find out if April was someone I would be willing
to work at it for.

'April?' She looked up at me.
'Tell me something about yourself.'

She laughed. 'That's a bit vague.
What exactly would you like to know?'

Everything, and anything. 'What
about the basics. Age?'

'Twenty eight.'

'Family?'

'Mum and Dad; Kate and Michael.
Older sister; Abby, married to Scott, they have two kids - Mia who is four and
a half, the half is very important, and Henry who is two. That’s us.' April
spotted something on the sand and stopped to pick it up, I watched as she
dusted off the sand. The shell was small and pink and looked like a tiny cream
horn and I watched as she turned it in her fingers. She looked up and smiled
and I couldn't stop myself from smiling down at her. There was something about
the way she smiled at me that I felt somewhere in the depths of my chest. I was
falling for her, I knew it, but the only way I was going to be sure was to do
what I hadn't managed to do last night; I needed to kiss her.

I watched as she took a deep
breath and then turned to carry on down the beach. 'Is there anything else you
want to ask me?'

'Favourite colour?'

'Green.' She didn't hesitate to
answer and I wondered if she was so certain about other things.

'Favourite food?'

I watched her smile broaden, then
she laughed; 'Chocolate.'

'Why chocolate?'

'Chocolate goes with so much.
Champagne, coffee, you can get it with chillies and salt or any kind of nut and
you can even add it to spaghetti sauce. It is so versatile that's why it's my
favourite.' She dropped her gaze then looked back up at me. 'Can I ask you
something?'

'Anything.' I meant it; I would
answer anything she asked me.

She was quiet for a moment. 'Well
I know
what
you do for a living but that isn't just who you are. So who
are you?'

I hadn't been expecting such a
deep question. In my line of work I had been asked so many things about what I
was working on or how I felt about it. Recently the questions had turned to my
social life and most of the time I could talk my way out of answering them.
April's question was something I hadn't been asked before, just something else
that made her different. I stopped and waited for her to turn towards me.

'What?' She looked worried. 'I'm
sorry, you don't have to answer that.'

I sent her a small smile to
reassure her. 'No, it's okay, most people want to know about my work not about
me. I mean I love my job...' I pushed my hand through my hair again then let it
fall to my side, 'but it is usually all that people want to know about.'

She looked up me and I saw a
flash of what could be anger or disgust on her face. 'That is crazy; people
shouldn't be defined by their job. I mean working shouldn't be the be-all and
end-all of who we are. Yes, you're an actor and part of that means you have to
talk about your work but you are still a person and...' I had lifted my hands
and placed one on either side of her face before I could think, and I pulled
her gently towards me as I lowered my lips to hers. Her lips were cold against
mine and I could taste her coffee and a hint of salt. It took her a moment to
realise what was happening but I felt her lean into me then kiss me back. Her
arms moved up; one fisted in the front of my jacket and the other, which still
held her coffee cup, wrapped around my side. I shifted closer to her and
deepened the kiss. She let out a little moan and I lowered my hands from her
face, down her arms and to her back where I could hold her firmly against me. I
lifted my head from hers then and broke the kiss, I watched as her eyes
fluttered open and I smiled down at her.

When she returned my smile I
lowered my mouth to hers again and she kissed me instantly. Our kiss became
urgent and more demanding and thoughts of stripping her out of her coat and her
clothes filled my head; I wanted to know what she felt like wrapped around me.
My head was beginning to fill with all sorts of ideas of what I wanted to do
with her that I thought I could hear music. The opening bars of Vivaldi's
'Spring' rang out of my pocket. I lifted my head from April and sent her an
apologetic look. I pulled my phone out and glancing at the caller ID swore and
answered. 'Ian, give me a second.' I didn't wait for his reply. I dropped the
phone from my ear and looked down at her, 'I'm so sorry I have to take this,
I'm not sure how long it will take.'

She took a step away from me and
I found myself reaching out for her with my free hand, I pulled her closer and
pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

'I will come and find you...
later.' She had to realise that I would rather be kissing her on the beach then
talking to my agent.

She smiled back at me and I
relaxed a little. 'Don't worry. I'll head back to the house.' She didn't wait
for my reply, just turned and began to walk slowly away from me.

I took a deep breath then held my
phone back up to my ear. 'Ian, you have some seriously bad timing.'

'What?' Ian sounded stressed and
I realised I was going to have to let him off the hook.

'Nothing, sorry, what can I do
for you?' I continued to watch April walking back towards the house.

I heard him take a deep breath.
'I was just checking in and I wanted you to know that I have sent some more
scripts, you should get them in the morning.'

'Alright.'

'And I have sent you some details
about flights, oh, and there was some mail for you at the office that I will
send over as well so you get it before you leave.'

'Anything else?'

There was silence on the line for
a moment. 'Is everything alright you sound distracted?'

'Everything is fine. I will read
through the scripts when they get here and let you know as soon as I can.' I
heard him let out another heavy breath, 'And Ian?'

'Yeah, Nate?'

'Take some time off and go spend
Christmas with your family.'

'I will. Have a good one and I
will try and not pester you again until Boxing Day.' I heard the emphasis he
put on the word 'try'.

'Thanks man. Merry Christmas.'

'You too.' I lowered my phone and
hit the end call then slipped it back into my pocket. April had disappeared
over the sand dune and I wanted to go after her and continue what we had just
started but I had a pile of scripts I needed to read waiting for me and I
didn't have much time to read them. My chat with April was going to have to
wait, I had made a promise and I didn't go back on promises.

April

When I got back to the house I
made my way up to my room and closed the door behind me. I wanted to take a
moment to play the last few minutes over in my head. I unbuttoned my coat but
then a laugh escaped me and I span on the spot not knowing what to do. I
stopped then shook my head, I felt like a teenager with that excited first crush
feeling. I shrugged out of my coat and threw it over the chair that stood in
the corner of the room then kicking off my shoes; I crawled onto the bed and
lay down. I let out a laugh and I felt a broad smile cover my face. My fingers
reached up and brushed across my lips and I closed my eyes. It had been a while
since I had been kissed but no kiss I had ever received had felt like that, it
had warmed me and my mind had emptied of everything but him. My heart rate had
quickened just at the thought of it and I realised that I was in serious danger
of falling for a man that I was certain I wouldn't get to keep.

Even though I had stopped
thinking of him as Nate Hamilton -Hollywood Actor it didn't stop it from being
true. I was not the sort of person that someone like him would seriously date.
But this was Christmas, and it was a time for magic, and if that meant that I
could spend just a little time with him then I was going to take it – even if
it meant that I would have to walk away in the end.

I opened my eyes and sat up, I
couldn’t just keep grinning at myself like an idiot! I lifted one of the books
up off the pile on the bedside table, climbed off the bed and headed back
downstairs.

When I walked past the office the
door it was firmly shut and I thought about Nate sitting at the desk and
working hard even though he was supposed to be on holiday. I knew he had lots
of reading to do and probably a lot of other things too and even though I
wanted to knock on the door, to talk to him about what our kiss meant I
couldn't bring myself to disturb him.

I made my way into the living
room and settled myself in what I was beginning to think of as my chair. It
stood between the fireplace and the window so it was nice and cosy and I had a
view of the F-type. That view made me smile again and I hoped that Nate would
take me for a spin in it soon. As soon as I sat, Toby and Milly move from their
spot by the fire and plonked themselves at my feet. I reached down and
scratched each of them behind the ear before wriggling into a more comfortable
position and opening my book.

Over the next couple of hours I
remained blissfully undisturbed except for a couple of times when Maggie popped
into the living room and brought me coffee, which I had tried to tell her not
to do but she had insisted, and she had said with a smile that her ungrateful
children didn't let her fuss as much as they used too.

I was about half way through my
book when Ella came home from the pub and dropped herself onto the sofa
opposite me.

'How's your headache?' She sent
me a small smile.

'Much better thank you. How was
the rest of your afternoon?' I returned her smile and saw her relax into the
sofa a little more.

'It was good. Everyone is
planning on meeting for a drink before the carol service. It was nice catching
up, I haven't seen Victoria looking so happy, she is so excited to be a mum.' I
nodded in response. Ella looked at me for a moment. 'April?'

I placed my bookmark between the
pages of my book and closed it. I knew from her tone that she would want all of
my attention. 'Yes Ella?'

She shifted in her seat and sat
up a little straighter. 'Can I ask you what you thought of Daniel?'

I tried to keep my face neutral
but I felt my smile waver slightly, I knew Ella wanted to set me up with him, I
just had different ideas. 'He seemed very nice.'

She let out a sigh. 'Alright, can
I ask you then if you fancied him?'

I thought about it for a moment;
he was attractive, and he had a good job, and the jokes he had made at lunch
were funny but… That was the problem, there was a 'but'. 'Ella, it's not that
he wasn't attractive it's just...'
He isn't your brother
'…he isn't
really my type.'

Ella let out a heavy sigh then
slumped back into the sofa. 'I have known you for what? Ten months and I still
haven't figured out what your type is. You have been on one date since we met
and it was some guy your sister set you up with, who you only agreed to go out
with to shut her up.' She shook her head, 'I just don't get it. You told me
that you haven't been in a relationship for what was it? Two years? How can you
live your life without a little companionship? Even I have dated, even if I
haven't settled yet.' I had heard similar questions from a number of my
friends, all of whom were happily married or engaged and I told them all the
same thing.

'I'm not the sort of person to
settle.' She tilted her head to one side in a gesture to get me to carry on, to
explain what I meant, 'I have read and watched far too much romance to allow
myself not to wait for that one person. The one who when I kiss them there is
nothing else in the world that I could possibly think about. When I think about
them I can see our life mapped out before me. That is why I wait and don't
settle for something less. My one, and only, relationship was rushed and ended
badly, you know that.' I felt a little bad saying this. I wanted Nate, but I
knew it wouldn't go further than Christmas and it was probably the most selfish
thing I had decided to do. When he kissed me I had forgotten everything else
and I had to stop myself from seeing a life with him because I knew it wouldn't
ever happen.

'But what about having a little
fun now and then? You never know it could lead to something more, and Daniel is
a great guy – you would make such a good couple.' She sent me an encouraging
smile.

'Your definition of fun is a
little different from mine. I'm sure Daniel is a lovely person and in time he
will meet the perfect girl for him, I just don't think it's me.'

She rolled her eyes. 'I'm not
going to convince you to go on a date with him am I?'

'Probably not.' I sent her an
apologetic smile.

‘Even
if I told you that Daniel thought you were sexy, and funny, and he told me to
give you his number?’

I
looked at her to see if she was being serious and I could tell that she was. However
the kiss that Nate and I shared on the beach entered my mind and I just
couldn't bring myself to agree to go on a date with anyone after the way that
kiss had made me feel things I thought I would never get the chance to feel.
Ella was a much more open person than I was, it seemed that she was always
going out on dates and had men asking her out all the time. I had noticed
though that there weren't as many over the past few months and it made me
wonder if it was something to do with her mystery crush, who I was beginning to
suspect might be Roddy.

'Give
who who's number?' I looked up and saw Nate standing in the doorway. I felt a
smile cross my face then it wavered at the blank look on his. I noticed that he
was wearing the same dark jeans he had been wearing earlier but had changed
into a warm black v-neck jumper that I wanted to snuggle up to.

'Daniel
wanted me to give April his number. Will you please try and convince her to
ring him and agree to go on a date. I think they would make a great couple.'

Nate
moved into the room and over to the drinks cabinet, he poured himself a whiskey
then turned back and leaned against it swirling the amber liquid around the
glass. He looked me straight in the eye with a face void of any emotion. 'Do
you want to go on a date with Daniel?'

I
could see why he had gone into the acting profession; I had no idea what he was
thinking in that moment. I had an overwhelming urge to jump out of my seat and
stand right in front of him and tell him that I didn't want to date anyone
unless it was him, that no one came close to him, and that I had a feeling that
no one ever would. But that would be incredibly melodramatic and I was not that
sort of person. I looked him in the eye and after a moment I answered his
question. 'No. Not really.'

I
saw a little twitch of a smile then it was gone and Nate turned to his sister.
'Well then, there is your answer.' He held out the glass he was holding towards
me and I instinctively took it. Nate turned back to the drinks cabinet and
poured another glass and turned back to the room. 'Don't you think April can
make her own decisions when it comes to who she dates?'

I
watched Ella's mouth drop open and then close and thought she looked a little
like a fish. 'Of course I do, I just want to see her happy.'

'And
you don't think she can do that for herself?' I was looking from Nate to Ella
in some weird verbal tennis match, the proverbial ball being my love life. It
was a pretty surreal situation and I took a mouthful of whiskey in the hopes
that it might help.

Ella
crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her brother. Nate in turn stared
back at her. I looked from one to the other. 'Do I get a say?' They both turned
to me but neither of them had a chance to answer.

'Ella,
can you help me in the kitchen please?' Maggie had walked in to the living room
and taken the attention from me which I was grateful for.

Ella
stood and sent Nate one last glare then followed her mother into the kitchen. I
took another slightly smaller sip of my drink and leaned back into my chair
watching Nate move across the room to take the seat that Ella had just vacated.
I watched him take a drink then lower his glass and look at me.

'I'm
sorry about that,' he said gently and I shrugged before taking another sip of
my drink. 'You don't have to do anything you don't want to.'

'I
know. I said I didn't want to go on a date with him because I don't.' I watched
for his reaction but he just looked at me, there was something off with him
which was more than just bickering with his sister. I thought he would be in a
good mood after our kiss but maybe he was regretting it, maybe he wished it had
never happened and now I was worried the next few days were going to be really
awkward and uncomfortable. I didn't know if I could handle that. Our kiss had
so far been the highlight of my Christmas and if it was just going to be weird
between us then I might as well go home and spend it alone as I had planned.

'I'm
glad.' He sent me a small smile then leaned back into the sofa and pushed his
fingers through his hair and dropped his gaze to his glass.

I
may not have known him for long but I knew that that gesture was a sign that he
was worried or stressed about something. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

His
eyes flew up and he looked right at me and then to the doorway his mother and
sister just left through.

'I
didn't mean that.' I felt the heat rise into my cheeks and I dropped my gaze.
'I meant what it is that's bothering you.' I lifted my eyes back up to his and
saw the small smile that had appeared again and I hoped that he thought I was
worthy to share his troubles with.