The Mills & Boon Ultimate Christmas Collection. Kate HardyЧитать онлайн книгу.
before they commit the act; yelling like a banshee after does absolutely nothing except confuse the poor mite.” Scotty dashed out of the office and down the hall to the front door, his little paws clip-clopping on the wooden floorboards.
Ungraciously, I managed to shimmy my way out from beneath the desk and Amory handed me a wet-wipe to clean up as she laughed. “Jesus, did you have a nap down there? Darling, you’re quite bedraggled…”
“What?”
Before she could answer, Isla, Micah and Kai trooped in. The trio gave me a slow once-over, alarmed at my heavy breathing and red face, hair sticking up at odd angles. Running my hands through my riotous hair I pasted on a serene ‘I’m in control’ smile and said, “How’d it go with Ned?”
“Great,” Kai said, hiding a smirk. “He’s signed off on the chapel, and has agreed to the plan for the chalets. Only kicker is, you need a registered builder on-site at all times…” He trailed off.
“Oh, but…” I stopped short as a car slipped into the driveway, pulled to an abrupt halt, and Timothy climbed out. I frowned, hoping it wasn’t another issue with the New Year’s Eve party. Looking back to Kai I smiled distractedly. My mind was whirling as I tried to troubleshoot any potential problems while thinking I should really respond to what Kai had just said. “Sorry, Kai, could you repeat that?”
Amory nodded at Tim through the window, then headed toward the front door to let him in. Turning back to Kai I tried once more to concentrate on what he was saying.
Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Scotty careening through the snow and running straight for Timothy. Before I could even so much as shout out, he skittered under Timothy’s feet sending him flying. Holy moly! Timothy fell in a heap, letting out an oomph as he landed hard on the ice.
“Oh, no!” I raced outside, pushing past Amory, who’d frozen on the spot, her face pinched with worry. “Are you OK?” I asked breathlessly.
Tim stood and brushed snow from his jeans, a rueful grin on his face. “Sure, sure, he caught me by surprise, is all.”
Amory scooped up Scotty and held him to her chest. “I am so sorry, Tim, he just ran out! I thought for a minute you’d landed on him, and my heart just about stopped.”
“Hey, he’s a puppy, he didn’t do it on purpose,” Tim said. “And he was well clear of me, don’t worry.”
“Are you OK, little man?” Cruz said as he wandered out, standing next to Amory while she searched Scotty for any cuts or bruises as he wriggled in her hands. The care she was taking over him showed a completely different side to Amory. All of her untapped maternal instincts were coming to the surface and although, sure, she might never have wanted to be a mother in the real sense, her protective instinct was still strong.
“He’s fine,” I said to Cruz. “Tim took the brunt of the fall, Scotty scampered out of the way.”
“Sorry, Tim,” Amory said again, pulling her attention away from the squirming puppy. “It’s just he’s so little and fragile, you know. He’s just a baby really.”
“Is everything OK with the party?” I asked Tim, worried another unofficial visit spelled trouble.
He slung his hands into his pockets as we walked to the door. “Yes, Vinnie’s happy, invites are sent, and Cruz has the new menu sorted. I’m here to steal Cruz and Amory away actually. I’ve lined up a range of cottages to show them in the area.”
“Oh, of course.” They really were serious about moving to Evergreen and starting a life here. Part of me understood their need for a space of their own, but still, I’d miss them at the lodge. My mornings with Amory, slowly awakening as the sun split the sky, our chats over coffee and cake.
“We’ll just grab our coats,” Amory said, pulling Cruz inside with her.
As we followed slowly behind, Tim motioned toward my office and said, “Can I talk to you for a sec, Clio?”
“Sure.”
In my office we sat at the desk. “What’s up?”
He fumbled with the sleeve of his sweater. “I was… It’s just that… How did you get on with the cocktail menu?”
The cocktail menu? I sensed that wasn’t what Tim really wanted to ask. No one normally got nervous asking about gin and tonics. “I thought I emailed you? Anyway,” I smiled, “we’ve hired a mixologist for the evening, so he can fling those cocktail shakers and wow the guests, without spilling a drop.” Mixologists were worth their weight in gold. They had an innate sense of how to entertain people, not only with their cocktail knowledge but also their upbeat personalities and general sense of fun. They were worth every penny, and we never scrimped on hiring the best we could find for the job. Amory had convinced one of our favorites from New York to fly in for the evening, and we were lucky to secure him so late, and that was only because he’d had a cancellation.
“Great, that should be lots of fun…” he tailed off.
I nodded, hoping he would get to the point soon. “Anything else?”
He clasped his hands and looked beyond me. “Erm… That’s about it, I guess. You’ll save me a dance on the night, won’t you?”
I laughed. “Of course.”
“I’d better go, they’re waiting for me.” His face was etched with concern. What had he really wanted to ask? Part of me didn’t want to know. Maybe I had to be more upfront with him, but what if I was presuming too much? Then I’d look a fool.
“I’ll walk you out.”
We joined Cruz and Amory outside once more. Both were bundled up and ready to find their very own dream house. Kai stood peering under the bonnet of Micah’s rust bucket of a car, while Micah tried to explain that he was sure it would work again if they just did this or that. Again, it was having some kind of mechanical issue, and I wished he’d scrap it and drive something more reliable.
The car diagnosis over, Isla started a tense discussion with Micah about what movie to watch on the upcoming movie night we’d been planning. Micah was deeming all of Isla’s suggestions ‘too girly’ – when in fact I knew he’d watched many a chick flick back in the day.
“Why don’t you guys go to Shakin’ Shack that night and leave us to it?” I said, diplomatically. There was no way I wanted our movie night ruined by men pretending to hate chick flicks!
“I’ve got Grease,” Isla said. “And a selection of other musicals. But the boys here seem to think that’s LAME, in big, fat, capital letters.”
We’d need donuts, and lots of them.
“Deal,” Micah said, laughing. “I’ll take the boys for burgers and you girls can snuggle up and dream of John Travolta sweeping you off your feet.”
Isla bumped him with her hip. “Oh, so you just so happen to know the star of the movie, huh!”
A blush crept up his cheeks. “No, it was… a lucky guess.”
“We’ll still think you’re manly if you admit you’re a fan of musicals, Micah,” Amory said, grinning.
Micah reddened. “Help me out here, guys.”
“We won’t judge you, Micah,” Cruz said, deadpan.
Micah swatted his arm and said, “Get outta here before I change my mind and we all watch it together.”
The gang burst out laughing and Micah’s color deepened. We used to watch musicals together a million years ago, and I couldn’t remember him complaining about our famous singalongs back then. The joys of your best friend being a girl, I suppose.
Timothy gave me a loose hug and took Amory, Cruz and little Scotty in his car to view cottages in Evergreen.
Isla