Snowy Christmas (6 page)

"Of course she will. As far as Peggy's
concerned, you and Snowy are part of our pack now." He checked his
watch and ran a hand along his dog's back to stroke her ears. "You
be a good girl, Pegs. I'll see you soon, darling."

Then he raised a hand to Emily and went out
the door.

Emily stared at the door after he'd gone,
stunned, the whole situation feeling unreal. Marcus Bramwell had
just told her she was part of his pack. Not the most romantic thing
a man had ever said to her, but it still made her heart
flutter.

• • •

Marcus climbed in his car and drove to the church in
a daze, his thoughts and feelings swirling like a whirlpool. When
he arrived, he parked in the road a little distance from the
church, gripping his steering wheel, his gaze fixed unseeing in the
distance. Half of him wanted to drive right back to the hall and
kiss Emily. He'd had a chance. Why hadn't he taken it?

He rubbed a hand over his mouth, reliving the
moment Emily had smoothed down his hair. She'd risen to her toes
and he'd frozen, transfixed by her proximity, yearning to take her
in his arms but lacking the confidence to do so.

If he started something with Emily, what
would happen if it went wrong? He couldn't stand going through the
trauma of another breakup like the one with Gabriella, although he
was sure Emily would never behave like his ex-wife. Not in a
million years. Yet could he trust his judgment? He'd made a huge
mistake once.

The problem was, as the owner of Rosemoor
Estate, when he made bad relationship decisions it had the
potential to impact his whole family, as well as those whose
livelihoods depended on the estate. He was responsible for too many
people to act rashly. He had to think this thing with Emily through
before he acted. He must be absolutely sure it was right.

Someone drummed their fingers on his car
window, making him jump. His niece, Chloe, pressed her nose against
the glass. "Come on, Uncle Marcus. Get out. We're waiting for
you."

He smiled at Chloe and nodded, noticing his
cousin Owen raise a hand in greeting as he came closer, his arm
around his wife.

Owen and Jennifer's relationship had been
rocky, yet they'd worked that out and were happy now. Surely it was
possible for Marcus to be happy, if he had the confidence to try.
It wasn't as if he was about to propose marriage to Emily. He would
take things one slow step at a time.

• • •

During Emily's second week at Rosemoor Hall, along
with more mundane jobs like meeting the window cleaner and the man
who valeted Marcus's cars, Emily drew up a list of local farms to
supply organic vegetables, meat, and cow's dairy products. Where
possible, she selected Rosemoor tenant farmers.

She spent a lot of the week doing her
favorite thing, cooking. She prepared some of the dishes from the
wedding menu they were offering to clients for Vicky and Marcus to
sample.

Once she finished preparing a batch of
desserts, she arranged them on the massive old table in the middle
of the kitchen at Rosemoor, just down the corridor from her
apartment. The appliances were circa 1950, but Emily loved the huge
old stove. It actually cooked really well.

Marcus had supplied her with the modern small
appliances and kitchen tools she'd asked for, and she hummed to
herself as she worked while Snow White followed her around,
patiently waiting for scraps to fall on the floor.

"Desserts are bad for you, sweetie." Emily
wanted to stroke her dog, but resisted while she was cooking
because it was unhygienic. The local environmental health officer
had instructed that no pets be allowed in the kitchen, but she was
only preparing samples for Vicky and Marcus to try.

She arranged the small ramekins of crème
brûlée decorated with bunches of red currants on a lace tablecloth.
Then she added the portions of sticky toffee pudding, the chocolate
pots de crème decorated with shaved chocolate, her signature
dessert, and finally a tray loaded with individual apple and
blackberry crumbles, along with their small jugs of steaming yellow
custard.

"Are you ready for the photos?" Vicky brought
in a young man from the village who was studying photography. He'd
been coming in to take shots to go in their new brochure, and he'd
already photographed the main courses she'd prepared earlier in the
week.

"Yes, just about. Tell me if I need to
rearrange anything."

She stepped aside and poured cups of tea for
herself and Vicky. They leaned back against the kitchen counter and
watched as the teenager angled his camera and clicked the
shutter.

"By the way, Jonathan asked me to take him a
crème brûlée. He has a bit of a sweet tooth," Vicky said.

"Of course. As soon as the photos are done,
I'll hide a crème brûlée in the fridge. I'm sure Marcus can't eat
them all."

"What are you planning to hide from me?"
Marcus said, striding in with Peggy at his heels.

"You'll get fat if you eat all these
desserts." Vicky prodded his middle.

"I'm addicted to Emily's sticky toffee
pudding. Weird, as I always thought I was a savory kinda guy."

"Well, I think you're sweet." Emily meant the
words as a joke, but as she met his deep brown gaze, the familiar
bump in her pulse made her flush.

The chemistry between them made her nerves
tingle whenever he was in the room, yet he'd kept his distance from
her since last weekend. Was it possible the attraction was all
one-sided?

Of course, she should be grateful for his
restraint. Eventually she would get over this silly crush on her
boss, and she'd still have a job she loved, a place to stay, and a
way to pay her debts.

Once the photographer had finished, Marcus,
Vicky, and Emily all grabbed teaspoons and dipped into the
desserts, sampling everything.

Vicky closed her eyes. "Mmm. Your chocolate
pots are heavenly. You must give me the recipe."

Dog claws clattering on the tile floor
heralded Paddy, dashing in to greet Peggy and Snow White. Owen and
Chloe followed him in through the door a few moments later.

Chloe squealed when she saw the table laden
with desserts. "Can I try them?"

"Of course. Grab a spoon."

Chloe went straight to the chocolate pots,
demolishing one in a few mouthfuls.

"Slow down, cocoa puff," Owen said. "You'll
make yourself sick."

"Don't call me that, Dad. It makes me sound
like a baby."

"I'd say the name is rather appropriate now
that you're full of chocolate." Marcus tugged playfully on her
ponytail and she gave him a stubborn scowl, but it didn't stop her
from grabbing a second pot of chocolate.

"What's your favorite of these desserts,
Owen?" Emily asked. He hadn't taken a bite yet, just stared
longingly at the display.

"Crumble and custard. Can I take one home for
dinner? I'd better not eat it now. Jennifer says I'm eating too
much sugar. She's banned my chocolate chip cookies."

Marcus chuckled. "That's the advantage of not
having a wife. I can eat as much as I want of anything." Marcus put
his arm around Emily's shoulders. "With Emily, I have all the
advantages of having a wife without having one."

An awkward silence filled the room as
everyone paused, spoons halfway to their mouths, and stared at
Emily in surprise.

She was rather surprised herself. Marcus
obviously didn't mean to, but he'd made their relationship sound
more intimate than it was, and she should set the record straight.
As she pondered how to phrase her response, Paddy moved things on
by jumping up at the table with his front paws and slurping a crème
brûlée.

"Paddy. Naughty boy," Chloe shouted. "Get
down."

"I guess that's why the environmental health
officer told us not to allow the dogs in the kitchen," Vicky said,
amusement in her voice.

Paddy circled the table and tried for a
crumble and custard at the other end. Owen grabbed his collar and
snapped on his leash. "Oh no, you don't. Time for us to go, I
think. Chloe just wants to ask you something before we leave."

"Auntie Vicky, can I be a waitress at the
wedding this weekend to earn some pocket money to buy Christmas
presents?"

Vicky glanced at Emily, eyebrows raised. "I
don't see why not."

"I'm sure Chloe will make a great waitress."
To be consulted by Vicky gave Emily a lump in her throat. In only
two weeks, she already felt so much a part of the team at Rosemoor
Hall. She loved this place and the people, and it was great to know
they valued her opinion.

"Thank you." Chloe hugged Vicky, and then
wrapped her arms around Emily to hug her too.

Emily smiled and hugged the skinny teen back.
This made her feel almost part of the family. She glanced at Marcus
as he scoffed a second sticky toffee pudding, and a burst of
affection squeezed her chest.

It was too late to stop from falling in love
with her boss. She'd already fallen.

Marcus let Peggy out the back door and was about to
put on his Wellington boots when he wondered if Emily and Snow
White would like to join them for a turn around the lawn under the
stars before dinner.

No matter what he was doing, Emily stayed on
his mind. He'd tried to keep a professional distance this week, be
more like an employer. But it was no good—he loved Emily's company.
Every new day he spent with her, the feeling grew that he wanted
them to be more than employer and employee, and more than
friends.

He padded up the corridor in his socks and
paused in the kitchen doorway. Emily wiped her finger around the
inside of a crème brûlée pot. He expected her to put it in her
mouth—rather hoped that she would, actually.

Instead she bent and offered the creamy
finger to Snow White to lick.

"Caught you," Marcus said in a mock stern
voice.

Emily jumped visibly and he laughed.

"Oh, Marcus." She pressed a hand over her
heart. "Snowy has been so good today. I wanted to give her a taste.
You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not." Marcus didn't confide that
he regularly let Peggy lick his plates and bowls before he put them
in the dishwasher. It saved having to rinse them off.

"I'm going for a quick walk with Pegs. Do you
want to come?"

"I've just about finished up here, so that'll
be nice. Snowy needs a trip outside."

Marcus propped a shoulder on the door frame
while Emily put the last couple of dishes in the washer. Then she
took off her apron and hung it on a hook.

There was something incredibly sexy about the
way she untied the apron and slipped it off over her head. He
looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. He had it bad if he
found an apron covered in pictures of cupcakes sexy.

They walked to the back door in companionable
silence, put on their boots and coats, and headed outside. Snow
White trotted off to find Peggy, who was doing the rounds of her
favorite sniffing places where foxes and badgers came through the
garden.

"What a lovely evening." Emily stopped and
turned her face up to the sky.

The elegant curve of her throat and the way
her hair fell back in a long, shiny curtain enchanted Marcus. He
wanted to run his fingers through her hair so badly, his hand
twitched. He wanted to pull her close and feel her soft and warm in
his arms. He wanted to inhale the vanilla-cherry fragrance of her
hair.

Instead he blew out a frustrated breath and
glanced up at the sky. The hook of the moon glowed against the
darkness among a speckled mass of stars.

He'd chosen Gabriella because he'd been
expected to marry a woman his parents approved of, a woman from the
right background. That had been a spectacular failure. It was time
he stopped worrying about doing the right thing and followed his
heart.

Peggy woofed with anticipation, and Snow
White yelped. They must have roused some poor wild creature from
its nocturnal haunt. Their excitement spurred Marcus into
action.

The frosted grass crunched beneath his boots
as he stepped in front of Emily. The security light on the house
lit half her face, leaving the other half in mysterious shadow. Her
lit cheek was pale and smooth, her eyelashes thick and dark.

He lifted his fingertips to her cheek and
caressed her skin. "Emily?" he said. The question he wanted to ask
was too big for more words.

"Yes," she whispered, the soft reply laden
with meaning.

With a sigh of pleasure, he drew her into his
arms and let his fingers slide into the silky hair he'd been
dreaming about. Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

• • •

Emily leaned into Marcus, relishing his strong arms
around her. His fingers traced a tantalizing trail below her ear
and under her collar, while his firm, warm lips swept her off into
a dream.

She felt as though she'd waited for this
moment all her life, as though she'd fallen into him, the warm rush
of sensation so right and perfect.

"Marcus." She breathed his name in wonder as
he released her lips. She cupped her palm over his cheek and stared
up into his eyes, lost in him.

She loved this man—she had no doubt. The
words to tell him were in her mouth, longing to spill out, but she
held them back, worried she'd frighten him off if she went too
fast.

She'd thought she loved Vicente, but she'd
never felt like this with him. There had always been uncertainty.
She'd had to be careful not to upset him as though she'd sensed his
love was conditional on her behaving how he wanted her to.

With Marcus, she could be herself. He would
never treat her badly or take advantage of her.

"I've wanted to do that ever since I first
saw you," he said.

Emily laughed in delight. "Surely not from
the very first moment, standing in the rain on the road."