An Unexpected Christmas (10 page)

April

I felt bad about acting off when
I had seen Nate in the kitchen. It was like I was having an internal battle with
myself; on one side I wanted to spend time with him - he had looked at me and
kissed me like no other man ever had and I wanted as much of it as I could take
– but then on the other hand I knew it wasn't likely to last. I wasn't the
right girl for him; it was as simple as that.

I was sitting in the living room;
book in my lap, when Nate stuck his head around the door about an hour later.
His hair was still damp from his shower and I had an overwhelming urge to push
my fingers through it. 'Are you ready to go?' He sent me a wide smile that was
infectious and I smiled back as I closed my book and dropped it to the table in
front of me. I stooped down to pick up my bag and moved over to the door where
he stood.

He didn't move he just grinned
down at me. 'What?' I asked, wondering what he was up to.

'Nothing, it's just that there is
a certain fee you need to pay to pass.' His smile turned cheeky and a bit
naughty and it was an expression that looked really good on him.

I placed my hands on my hips and
looked up at him through my lashes. 'Oh really and what exactly is this fee?'

He pretended to think about it
for a second then smiled down at me, 'a kiss.'

'Really? And does it have to be
from someone specific or can I get Milly to pay.'

'I don't accept dog kisses.' He
moved forward and slipped his hands through my arms and linked them at my back.

Automatically I moved mine up his
arms and to his shoulders. 'Well, that's good to know.' I rose up onto my
tiptoes and softly pressed my lips to his. I felt the tingling sensation almost
instantly and let out a soft moan. At the sound Nate made a growl noise of his
own and pulled me in closer and deepened our kiss.

I wanted him; I wanted him so
much more than I had wanted anything. I placed my hands at the nape of his neck
and slowly stroked the damp hair there. Reluctantly he lifted his head from
mine but rested his forehead against my shoulder.

'If we don't go now then the dogs
are going to get a floor show.' I stared up at him then slowly moved my hands
from his neck, over his shoulders and down his chest. Did he really want me the
way I wanted him? I knew what he looked like almost completely naked but only
on a screen and I ached to see it up close and personal but the fear that I
wouldn't be enough, that I didn't look good enough, sent a bolt of dread
through me. I pushed it to one side as best as I could. Nate took a deep breath
then lifted his head from my shoulder and took a step back.

He smiled at me then turned and
walked to the front door giving me an excellent view of his backside. Smiling,
I grabbed my scarf, trying to steady my hands from the charge of attraction
that was still coursing through my body, and wound it around my neck then
taking a breath to steady myself some more, I lifted my coat from the hook and
slipped it on buttoning it to the top.

Nate opened the front door and
waited for me to walk through it. When I did I smiled at the sight before me.
There was something about that car that had me literally stopping in my tracks
just to look at it. I felt Nate bump into the back of me and steady us both by
placing his hands on my shoulder.

'What's wrong?' The worry in his
voice made me smile. I felt like he had asked me that a lot over the past
couple of days and I liked that he worried about me.

'Nothing. It's just... I love
that car.' I giggled.

Nate pulled me back so I leaned
my back against his chest and wrapped an arm across me from one shoulder to the
other. 'She is pretty special.' After a moment he moved his arm and nudged me
forward. 'Come on.'

He slipped his hand into mine and
led me round to the passenger side. He popped the handle out and opened the
door for me. 'Wait, you leave your car unlocked?'

He chuckled then pulled his key
fob out of his pocket. 'It's a smart key. It only has to be near the car to
unlock it.'

'That's pretty fancy.' He laughed
and gestured for me to get in. It may seem weird, but I had dreamed about this
car and I wanted to savour every moment.

I took a breath then slid into
its plush leather seats. I was happy that he had gone with the red trimmed
interior and I looked around me taking it all in. Nate closed the passenger
side door and I pulled the seatbelt down and clicked it into place. It seemed
warm despite how cold it was and I didn't know if it was the car or the man
that was about to drive it. I looked around me, there seemed to be a hundred
buttons on the dash and I had no idea what any of them did but I would happily
spend hours finding out. It was all so clean and streamlined and attractive. Nate
made his way around to the driver's side then slid into the seat next to me.

He pushed the start button and
the car sprang to life. She sounded deep and rich and unbelievably sexy and
some very naughty thoughts sprang to mind of what I could do to Nate in this
car.

He glanced over to me and smiled
then he shifted the car into reverse and manoeuvred out of the drive and headed
up towards the village. I knew the drive would be smooth but you expect there
to be a little jolting about with a car that sat low to the ground. It seemed
that the F-type was as perfect as I had expected.

Nate and I sat in comfortable
silence but it didn't stop me from glancing over at him. Three days ago I was
looking at pictures of him in a magazine and now I was sitting next to him in
the car of my dreams. Now I knew what it was like to kiss him, to have his arms
around me and that excited, and scared, me in equal measures.

The drive to the closest town was
too short for my liking and before long Nate was pulling up in front of a large
building with a huge 'Selfridges' sign hanging above the door. He looked over
at me and smiled. I grinned back at him. 'Thanks for the ride.'

'You're welcome.' He didn't move
or say anything else, just looked at me then he seemed to shake himself out of
it. 'What time do you want picking up?'

'Oh, umm, I'm not sure.'

He chuckled. 'Why don't you call
me when you're ready?'

I shook my head. 'You don't have
to do that.'

'I want to. Give me your phone.'

I laughed as he repeated my words
from yesterday and held his hand out. I reached into my bag and handed him my
phone. I watched his long fingers tap away then hand it back. I looked down at
the screen and giggled. He had put his number under the name 'Stud Muffin.'

I shook my head at him as he
grinned in reply then dropped my phone back into my bag. 'I will see you
later.'

I went to reach for the door
handle but felt Nate's hand on my shoulder. I turned and he leaned towards me,
my body seemed to be on auto pilot when I was with him and I felt myself lean
forward. He kissed me slowly and with a familiarity that had my stomach in
knots. When our kiss broke he smiled at me and I couldn't keep my own smile off
my face if I tried. I climbed out of the car without saying a word and closed
the door. After a moment Nate pulled the car away from the curb and disappeared
down the road. I turned then took a deep breath.

I
pushed through the glass doors and was greeted by a wall of heat. I unbuttoned
my long navy blue coat and then unwound my scarf from around my neck and took
in the sight before me. Two days before Christmas was a ridiculous time to come
shopping and I wouldn’t usually venture anywhere near a shop at this time of
year - I was a ‘planner’ and I usually had all my shopping done at least three
weeks before and all online so I avoided any sort of crowd. I can't remember
exactly where my fear of crowds had come from but I do remember one time when I
was little and I had wandered away from my mum and gotten lost and there were
so many people. There were other times and panic attacks but I had managed it
quite well over the past few years.

The
store looked festive with hanging decorations and tinsel strung everywhere but
there seemed to be millions of people rushing here and there, however needs
must, so I took a deep breath and strode forward into the madness.

I
wanted to pick up something extra for Maggie. She had been so nice to let me
spend Christmas with her that I wanted to show my appreciation. I had already
gotten her a lovely Yardley gift set but thought of a nice brightly coloured
silk scarf would be a lovely accompaniment. Thinking it best to start there I
walked around trying to find a sign for the ladies wear department. Spotting an
escalator I headed over and sure enough ladies wear was upstairs.

I
wandered around looking at all the sparkly dresses which only came out this
time of year, and hummed along to the festive music being pumped into the
store. I spotted a counter donned with scarves and made my way over. There were
so many to choose from, in all sorts of colours and styles but a pretty black,
with hot pink and gold flowers on, stood out. I had the lady behind the
counter, box and wrap it up, and when she had finished I handed her my card.

I
now needed to get Nate something. His original gift sat in my room wrapped in
shiny silver paper but I wanted to get something meaningful and funny and
perfect. I made my way through ladies wear and a naughty thought of getting
some lingerie flittered through my mind but I quickly dismissed it, I didn't
need any new underwear and the ones I had packed were pretty enough if anything
did happen. I bit my bottom lip at the thought of it then smiled and continued
on my hunt for gifts. Finding the escalator again I headed back downstairs and
towards the gadget section.

There
were so many different things on display and I took it all in, watching a man
and his son playing with a remote control helicopter and then a lady who was
looking flustered and upset that the store didn't have the tablet that her
daughter simply had to have. It baffled me how people left the big important
present so late to buy; Christmas was at the same time every year so it wasn't
as though you couldn't plan ahead.

Turning
away and trying to focus on my own shopping I spotted something sitting on a
shelf that made me smile. There was a poster of the latest 'Danger' movie and underneath
were shelves of merchandise. The top shelf was full of stress characters and
scowling back at me was a little Dax, it was perfect and I hoped that Nate
would find it funny that I picked something to de-stress him in the shape of
the character he played. I still needed something else and continued wandering
around hoping that inspiration would hit me. I found a really good book on
running trails around London then spotted a sign that offered an engraving
service. I chose a whiskey tumbler and handed it over for it to be engraved.
The girl behind the counter said it would take about fifteen minutes and so I
headed over to the food court to find some coffee and maybe a pastry as
shopping always made me hungry.

Twenty
minutes later I had picked up Nate's glass and sent him a quick text to let him
know I was ready. As I waited I thought I should probably give my sister a
quick ring and see how she was getting on with her in-laws.

'April,
hi your timing is perfect. I have just managed to get the kids down for their
nap. How is your holiday going?'

'It's
going great. Just thought I would check in and make sure you got the gifts I
sent.'

I
heard Abby moving about then stop and I guessed she was having her first sit
down of the day. 'We did, you didn't need to send so many though.'

I
smiled, 'you know I love spoiling those kids.'

'I
do, but you shouldn't.' I could hear the smile in her voice and knew that she
wasn't mad about it. 'Anyway tell me what you have been up to, I need single
people details.'

I
couldn't tell her about Nate. Not the fact that he was Nate Hamilton but the
fact that I could feel myself falling for him and to tell her would only make
it more real and when Christmas was over having to explain why it didn't work
out would only make it harder. 'Not much really. I went to the pub yesterday
for lunch.'

'Any
cute guys?' My sister was always trying to set me up with people and the one
time I caved and agreed I ended up on a date with a guy who was lovely but
spent the night talking about his ex-girlfriend.

'Oh
loads of cute guys I just couldn't decide which to pick,' I teased. 'Anyway I
have just been taking it easy, you know, reading and walking along the beach,
it's nice.'

'Well
despite your lack of enthusiasm for men I'm glad you're having a good time.'

I
saw Nate's car pull up along the curb and smiled as he held a hand up in
greeting. I lifted my own in response. 'Sorry Abby, I have to go, Ella's
brother has arrived to pick me up.'

'Oh
wait? Is
he
single?'

I
laughed and ignored her. 'Bye Abby, I will call you tomorrow.'

'April,
do not hang up, tell me about the brother!' I hit the end call with a laugh and
made a note to text an apology.

Nate
had gotten out of the car and walked around to the back to open the boot for
me. It was then that I noticed that some of the people on the pavement had
stopped and were whispering. I looked around me and then back to Nate. For a
short time I had forgotten who he was and the reality was starting to hit; he
was a movie star and people were going to recognise him, and then they were
going to wonder who I was. That thought didn't sit well.

When
I reached his side he dropped a quick kiss to my cheek and waited while I
placed my shopping into the back then closing it he moved over to the passenger
side and held the door open for me. I ignored the people on the street and
hoped that none of them had been quick enough to get a picture as I climbed in.
Nate closed the door and headed round to get into the driver's side. He looked
a little worried and I realised that I had gone from happy to see him one
second then sombre faced the next.