A baby for Christmas (Season of Romance Book 1) (4 page)

Ethan nodded, he understood about
family.

Belle handed him the vegetables and he
scooped them onto his plate. She certainly knew how to cook; everything tasted
really good.

 “So tell me,” Belle asked. “What
does your family think of you spending this time of year away from home? I’m
assuming you have kinfolk?”

“I have siblings, mom and grandparents.”

He regaled her with the story of his
rather humongous family and the time flew. Ethan couldn’t ever remember
enjoying a woman’s company so much. This was it; this was what he wanted…Belle,
she was perfect for him; now all he had to do was convince her.

Belle looked at her watch picking up a
small pair of round glasses; they perched on the end of her nose. He found them
bizarrely attractive, and when she found him looking she pulled them off.

“Can’t see a thing without them close
up,” she giggled.

“They look good on you.” He smiled.

 Rolling her eyes, Belle stood to
clear away the dishes.

“You cooked, I’ll clear away…go and sit
down, put your feet up.”

Belle looked surprised and he thought
she was going to refuse; he would have taken no notice of that.

“Okay, thank you I will.”

“Should I show you where everything
goes?”

“Belle, go and sit, I think I can fill a
dishwasher on my own and put away some food in the refrigerator.”

“Don’t forget to cover the food.”

“I won’t.” She turned to go, but then
came back “Also—” Her body was rigid when he turned her around, undid her apron
before giving her a little shove out of the kitchen.

“Belle, honey I’ve cleared away after a
meal before, go and rest.”

“I…okay then,” she frowned “But, Ethan…”

“Yes,” he asked his eyebrows rose as he
waited for her to finish the sentence.

“This does not mean that you can just
come into my life and tell me how to run it even if I am carrying your child.”

“I didn’t think otherwise, Belle absolutely
not.” He turned away and kept that smile to himself, slow but sure, slow but
sure.

Belle set a light to the log fire that
had been laid that morning. It sparked and crackled along the dry wood and
paper, and she let it burn for a few moments before adding another log from the
pile stored inside the nook next to the fire.

Sitting back she leaned against the
fireside chair and gazed at the leaping flames as they danced around the grate.
The warmth was soothing and a sigh escaped her, breathing in the pine from the
Christmas tree in the corner of the room her eyes drifted shut just for a
second as the scent surrounded her. The lights sparkled iridescently as they
switched colours and it sent a pleasant tingle through her.

The decorations had been lovingly placed
on the branches, each one bringing back a special memory of the times she’d
spent with her Gran. The angel at the top had been used by the family as far
back as Gran’s own childhood. It was worn and the head kept falling off but a
little glue kept it in place for another year.

This was Belle’s first Christmas without
Gran; it had been so hard trying to come to terms with the loss. A tear rolled
down her cheek and she bit her lip trying to stop more tears from falling.
There had been too many of those and Belle knew she had to let it go; her
future was important now, not just for her but the tiny miracle inside her.

“The tree looks nice lit up.”

Lifting her head to the sound of his
voice her fingers brushed across her cheek; she didn’t want Ethan to see the
tears.

“Why the tears?”

He was far too observant.
“I
was just thinking this was my first Christmas on my own.”

He sat behind her and then lifted her
from the floor to his lap.

“Ethan, what are you doing?”

“You are not on your own, I’m here.”

 “Yes you are.” Her smile soon
disappeared when she saw a spark in his eyes and she knew what that meant.
Every cell in her body jumped to attention. The haze covering his eyes darkened
them to navy blue. Slowly his hand cupped her head and gently pulled her
forward.

Her mind was saying no--it was
screeching at her to stop and her heart was beating so fast it made her feel
breathless.
Or was Ethan causing that?

 His other hand was at her waist
and she could feel his fingers searching for the gap between her jeans and
sweater. When his calloused fingers touched her bare skin Belle groaned softly.

“You need to stop, now,” she whispered,
her lips so close to his that they were almost touching.

“You’re gorgeous,” he whispered.

“No, I’m not, my belly is getting fat
and my boobs feel like they’re going to explode.” She put her hand up to her
mouth. “I guess that was a little too much information?”

“No…I want to know everything about how
you are feeling. I want to be right by your side every step of the way.”

Belle moved her head back, her hands on
his chest and pinned him with her gaze. “Are you sure about that, Ethan,
because I’ve got to tell you I’m not leaving this house, I was brought up here.
My mum and Gran, were before me, and so will my daughter or son.”

“
Our
son or daughter.”

She heard the strain in his voice and
suddenly sympathy flooded through her. At least she’d had nearly six months to
come to terms with the discovery. His hand was still resting on her skin and the
other had dropped to the small of her back. The pressure was reassuring and she
pushed into this hand.

“Do you ache here?” he asked as he
intensified the massage.

“A little...sometimes.”

God, he was good at that and she closed
her eyes until she felt his other hand reach to just below her breast.

Belle jumped up, and pushed away from
his touch. Shaking her head she got up and went to stand by the bay window. No
way could she get pulled into this. Whatever was between them was still strong
but it was only chemistry…just sex. She’d reasoned it through so many times one
amazing sex session. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“Belle?”

She felt him behind her without him
touching her. .

“If we hadn’t been remiss about using a
condom would you still have come looking for me?”

“Yes.”

She turned around quickly to stare at
him. “You’re lying.”

His hands were shoved into his pockets,
and he stared at the floor for a second before bringing his gaze back to her.
His hair was tousled from threading his fingers through it, he looked rather
rakish even though his skin was smooth from a recent shave, it looked so soft
she had to clench her fingers hard against her palms to stop herself from
reaching up to touch him.

“I didn’t know what to think about what happened
with us, I knew it was special I knew you were special. I just wanted to find
you and take it from there.”

“Instead you found that you were
responsible for what I carry inside me.” She brought her hand protectively to
her stomach.

“No…I mean yes, but not the way you say
it. Whatever happens I just wanted to find you and be with you.” He pinned her
with his stare “To me it was worth leaving my family and Christmas behind just
so I could see you again.”

He sounded so genuine, but Belle
couldn’t help but think things had been exacerbated by his discovery and now he
felt a responsibility for her and the baby. She couldn’t cope with that.

Her voice softened. “Ethan, I know it’s
inside you, to be the responsible parent.”

“No.” He wiped his hand over his face.
“I want to be with you and our baby.”

No mention of love or marriage. Their
chemistry was so good; maybe if she hadn’t fallen pregnant they might have had
something together. But now…it was going to be a long time before she would be
able to put what was needed into a relationship.

“Please, Belle let’s at least give us a
try.”

His pleading almost tore her apart, but
so did the thought of him leaving. He’d only been here a day, and already she
felt like Ethan had been with her a lifetime.

“I think you should go home and spend
Christmas with your family. Maybe in the spring when the baby is due, you can
come back and we can work out some things.”

“You want me to leave?”

“I think it’s for the best.”

He moved closer so that she had to look
up to him, his hands on the tops of her arms. He pulled her in tight against
him. Her body immediately tensed up and he rubbed his hands up and down her
arms.

“If you want me to go I will, but I’m
not going home. I’ll just go to a hotel and get a room.”

“That’s just silly, Ethan.”

“I know it is so I might as well stay
here,” he said with a pleased tone in his voice.

Belle pushed away from him and narrowed
her eyes.

“My life is here with you at the
moment.” The stubborn jut of his chin proved that he wasn’t going to be
diverted from his decision.

“But what about your business, your
family?”

“I can run things from here, my brothers
will help out, and I didn’t really do much of the labouring. I look after the
financial side of things.”

Every word he uttered put a tiny crack
in the protective wall she’d built; he was breaking it down brick by brick.
Belle couldn’t seem able to stop him and it was giving her hope…false hope.
How
could it work?
It was impossible to even think about it. However it seemed
that Ethan Thompson wasn’t a man to be denied anything he wanted.

“So you’ll run a what? A million dollar
company from this house in North Wales which is what around three and a half
thousand miles from your home?”

The idea didn’t seem to faze him. He
shrugged it off. “If that’s what it takes.”

“To do what?” she asked.

“To prove to you that this is what I
want…you and our baby.”

“Ethan, this is crazy.”

“No this is us, our life, and our
family.”

Damn, this was impossible …she shrugged
off his touch and stepped around him.

“I’m going to bed. I’ve got an early
start in the morning.” Belle made her way across the room and stopped when he
called her name.

“Why so early in the morning?”

“I’m delivering the food and gifts to
the young women’s shelter and by the looks of the weather outside with that
snow falling, it will take me a while to get there.”

“What time?”

“Why?”

“Because you are not driving in those
conditions on your own.”

She stared back at him; his strong chin was
stubbornly stuck out as if he defied her to say no.

“Okay…eight a.m. Breakfast at
seven-thirty.”

“I’ll be there.”

Something told her that anything Ethan
Thompson promised he stood by it.

****

“So much for gratitude” Ethan mumbled as
he dredged across the two feet of snow, his shoes leaving him totally
unprepared for the cold weather. He climbed the steps to the front door to go
and get the final box. This was the fourth one and he wondered what on earth
she had inside them.

“Hey.” He stood in front of Belle, her
green hat sat snugly, hiding her red hair, the creamy colour of her complexion
Marred only by the flush of her cheeks from the cold outside.

“What?”

He grabbed the box from her. “No way,
Belle.”

“It’s as light as a feather,” she told
him her lips pursed in disdain.

“You’re pregnant. What if you slipped?”

He thought she was going to argue but
she bit her lip. “I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s not just me, it’s us now. I’m responsible
for another human life.” She rested her hand over her thick parka then rubbed
it over her tiny bump.

Ethan balanced the box under his arm and
put his hand over hers. “
We
are responsible,” he told her. “You’re not
alone.” He couldn’t believe that growing inside her was something so perfect,
so utterly amazing it made his heart beat fast just thinking about it.
D
amn
how freaking incredible
.

If she thought for one minute he was
going to let her do this on her own she had no idea who she was dealing with.

Belle pushed him to one side. “Come on,
dreamer, let’s get these boxes delivered before Santa Claus is here.” Belle
strode towards her estate car, her furry boots leaving little imprints of the
path she had taken.

 Ethan followed her down with a smile
on his face; he should have been feeling blue. Here it was Christmas Eve, and
he was as far away from home as he could get ,but for him this year was l the
start of his family.
A new era of Thompsons.

 Of course he would love it if
Belle would come home with him. He hadn’t completely put that idea to one side.
His mom was going to be elated when he told her. She’d been on at them all,
saying she was getting too old to be a Gran.

“I would have driven.” Ethan shoved the
final box inside the car and slammed the door shut, and then got into the
passenger side.

Belle started the engine up while he put
his seat belt on. “Are you kidding me, you all drive on the wrong side of the
road. I’m pregnant and I wouldn’t be able to stand the shock.”

The laughter rumbled up in Ethan’s chest
and he chuckled. “I hate to tell you but I did drive all the way from
Manchester without any help from you at all.”

“Yeah, well that was a rental car.
You’re not getting your hands on my Bertha.”

“Bertha?” he asked with a frown.

“Yeah, Bertha my trusty old wagon.” She
banged her hand on the steering wheel and expertly drove down the small lane
that led onto the main road.

“You named your car?” His voice was full
of disbelief.

“When my Gran bought her we both decided
she looked like a Bertha.”

He shook his head, a smile on his face.
Every minute he was with Belle he learned something new about her life.

They drove into a small town and parked
in a side street. Everywhere was covered in snow. Belle jumped out and knocked
on the door of a small house. Ethan opened the boot of the car and pulled out
some of the boxes. “Hey Lily, I’ve got some food and gifts for you.”

“Belle, you spoil us.” A blonde woman
stood at the door.

“Never.”

“Come on in, I see you’ve got some muscle
helping you.” She nodded towards Ethan as she winked at Belle.

Belle turned and made eye contact with
him. “Yes he’s just a pain in the butt but he’s handy at the lifting.” She
chuckled as they followed the blonde woman inside.

Ethan carried all the boxes inside to
the kitchen.

“Hey Ethan, come and meet Lily,” Belle
said.

The woman looked older now that he was
close up. She had a nice smile but her eyes told a different story, they were
full of pain.