Christmas Ever After Read online

  They talked about her “next visit” as if it was inevitable. She would have been touched had it not been for Alec’s darkening mood.

  “That isn’t going to happen, Dad.” He spoke through his teeth. “I’ve told you—”

  “You paint?” Feeling sorry for his parents, Sky interrupted. None of this was their fault, was it? If anything it was her fault. “I’d love to see some of your work.”

  “His paintings are all around the house.” Suzanne pushed a cheese platter toward her. “We swap them sometimes and of course he sells a few from time to time. Not that it’s profitable. The framing is expensive. I expect you sell a lot.”

  “My sales are growing but it’s always nerve-wracking.”

  “She’s being modest. She sold everything in her exhibition on the first night.” Alec’s tone was gruff and Sky turned to him in surprise.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I saw the red stickers.” He reached for his drink. “You deserved to sell everything.”

  “You said my work was overpriced.”

  “If your exhibition was in Knightsbridge I wouldn’t think price is an issue. Were there journalists there? Will there be reviews in any of the papers?” Simon glanced at the clock on the wall. “I need to take the dogs out. I could go via Village Stores and pick up The Times.”

  Sky realized she’d given no thought to reviews. Nor had she checked her emails.

  Her exhibition had taken a backseat to everything else going on in her life.

  “I’m not sure I want to look.” What if the reviews mentioned Richard?

  “I can check online.” Liv pulled her phone out of her pocket and searched. “How do you spell your surname? Oh, I’ve found you! Listen to this—‘Exciting new talent, Skylar Tempest …’ Wow, you’re an exciting talent. And here’s another one, ‘Blah, blah—innovative, creative and startlingly original.’ They love you. And this one has a photo and you look like a model or something. That silver dress you were wearing is incredible. This is so cool. Now I know two famous people.”

  “That’s it?” Sky’s voice was a croak. “They haven’t said anything else?”

  Alec’s sister shook her head as she scrolled down the search results.

  “This really is exciting. We had no idea.” Suzanne looked impressed. “If someone had paid money for something I’d made, I’d be boasting about it from the rafters. Simon, you must track down a newspaper, then Sky can keep it as a souvenir for her parents. They’ll want to see it.”

  Sky knew they wouldn’t and to her horror felt her throat thicken. “That’s kind of you.”

  Oh, God, she was going to cry.

  She was going to sob over her plate of food and make a fool of herself in front of these lovely people.

  Under the table, she dug her nails into her palm and then felt a warm, strong hand close over hers.

  “I had an interesting meeting with the BBC.” Alec calmly took over the conversation, while with his right hand he coaxed her fist to relax. “They were sounding me out about filming in Antarctica. A documentary on Shackleton. Someone let them down.”

  His uncle grunted. “Antarctica has been at the top of your list for a long time. Do it.”

  “I will if I can. I’m waiting to hear.” His thumb stroked Skylar’s fingers gently. “It might not happen. I’m not counting my chickens.”

  “It’s Christmas,” Liv said, “you should probably count turkeys.”

  “How’s the boat?” Harry’s eyes were bright. “Any good sailing lately?”

  “She’s in storage. Which is the only way to keep a boat like her safe through a Maine winter. And I don’t have time to sail until this book is done.”

  His father put his knife and fork down. “How’s that going?”

  “Slow. I’m planning on shutting myself away and working on it over Christmas.”

  “Oh, Alec,” his mother murmured, “I can’t bear to think of you alone on that snowy island with only the sea for company—” She subsided as her husband gave her a look. “What?”

  “He’s a grown man, Suz.”

  “I know that. I want him to know he’s welcome at home, that’s all.”

  “Well, of course he knows he’s welcome at home,” Alec’s grandmother said, “that’s why it’s called home.”

  “I’m home now,” Alec said mildly, “so maybe we could all just enjoy that. And the island has a permanent population and a decent number of winter visitors. I’m not a hermit.”

  Sky sat there, listening to the conversation flow round her, focusing on the firm pressure of his hand.

  Gradually the urge to cry faded, the unexpected wash of emotion receding like the tide.

  She knew she should pull her hand away, but she didn’t want to.

  Right now Alec felt like the one solid, sure thing in her life.

  And perhaps he knew, because what other reason was there for him to keep his hand firmly over hers?

  How could a man who’d always shown himself to be thoroughly insensitive suddenly be so sensitive? Or maybe he just didn’t want her to make a fool of herself in front of his parents.

  His mother was still fretting. “What if the power goes out like it did last year?”

  “I have a generator.”

  Sky watched in silent admiration as he handled their concerns. He showed love and respect, but not once did he waver in his decisions or compromise on what he wanted to do.

  She’d thought it was annoying that he didn’t try to please anyone but himself, but now she was starting to admire him for it.

  He controlled the conversation, talking eloquently and fluently about his current projects.

  Sky relaxed slightly and finally felt him withdraw his hand.

  She wanted to grab it back, which was ridiculous of course.

  Even though his family interfered, too, Sky decided she’d never met a nicer, warmer group of people in her life. Even when they were arguing, the Hunter family was a unit, spokes of the same wheel, moving in the same direction. Watching their interaction intensified the feeling of isolation and loneliness that had been part of her since Richard had walked out the day before.

  By the time they’d eaten their main course and enjoyed dessert, a homemade pavlova with whipped cream and raspberries, the throbbing in her head was worse.

  Suzanne stood up, her chair scraping on the floor. “Sky, you’re looking very pale, dear. You should lie down for a few hours. This family is many things but restful isn’t one of them.” She fetched a glass of water. “Your room is all made up, Alec. Clean sheets and fresh towels. There are shelves and shelves of books, Sky, so you won’t be short of reading. If you need anything else let me know. I’ll let Alec show you the way.”

  Alec put his glass down. “You’ve put her in my room?”

  His mother sighed. “I’m willing to respect your wish not to talk about your relationships, but I’m not going through that farce of putting you in different rooms. For a start we’re short of space because Uncle Harry wasn’t supposed to be arriving this week, and I don’t see the point of putting people in a position where they have to creep out of their rooms in the middle of the night. It’s unnecessary and at your age frankly ridiculous. I brought you up to make your own decisions and you make good ones. Who you’re sleeping with is your business.”

  “All right, that’s enough.” Alec’s authoritative tone cut through the hum of conversation and everyone fell silent. “Sky and I are not together.”

  “We know,” his mother soothed. “You’re not involved, we get the message. You’re just—what do they call it, Olivia? Friends with extras.”

  “Benefits.” Liv fed Nelson the last of the ham. “It’s benefits, Mum.”

  “That’s it. Friends with benefits.”

  Skylar didn’t dare look at Alec.

  He’d been so kind to her and she’d put him in a horribly, hideously awkward position with his family.

  Before last night she never would have described th
emselves as friends and she was willing to bet that right now he couldn’t see a single benefit to having helped her.

  Friends without benefits.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ALEC CARRIED SKYLAR’S case up the stairs, and gestured to the door in the corner.

  “That one.” He tried to sound like a gracious host but knew he was failing dismally.

  None of this was her fault.

  He was the one who had invited her here and in doing so had unwittingly given his family the best Christmas gift ever.

  They thought he was serious about a woman.

  And now he had to unravel that.

  She paused for a moment in the doorway and then turned to him. All her usual bounce had drained away. She looked pale and exhausted. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For what you did in the kitchen. If you hadn’t— I was feeling—”

  “I know what you were feeling.” He’d sensed her mounting distress and her battle to hold back her emotions as his parents had innocently provided the enthusiastic support and encouragement that her own parents had withheld.

  Having been a reluctant witness to the message from her mother, it wasn’t hard to understand why she’d been upset. What must life have been like for her, growing up in such a barren, sterile environment?

  He pushed the question away. He already knew far more than he’d ever wanted to about her life. He didn’t need to know more.

  “You keep helping me. Why?” Her eyes were huge and he tensed, instinctively withdrawing from anything remotely suggestive of vulnerability.

  He didn’t want her leaning on him.

  “Because I thought the last thing you needed after everything that has happened was to fall apart in front of a bunch of strangers. That’s all it was.”

  He was no one’s idea of a white knight and it was important that she knew that.

  He opened the door and ushered her into the room, hoping she didn’t read anything into his behavior.

  He’d averted a potentially emotional situation, nothing more.

  And now he had another situation to deal with—the fact that his mother had put them in the same room.

  A fire crackled and blazed in the hearth and ropes of lights had been twisted around the wooden beams, adding a warm festive glow to the room.

  By the corner window was a small Christmas tree, complete with the star Liv had made for him when she was in nursery school. His mother stored it and each year it reappeared, slightly more battered than the previous year.

  Until his marriage, this room had been somewhere he’d always been able to relax.

  Now, mixing with the smell of logs and pine needles was the light floral smell of Skylar’s perfume.

  He watched, tense, as she walked over to the large windows that overlooked fields and farmland.

  “This is your room?” Her voice was wistful. “What a stunning view. So peaceful.”

  Desolate, his ex-wife had called it, before sinking into another of those long awkward silences that had peppered their marriage.

  “I’ll take the sofa. You can sleep in the bed.” He knew he sounded terse, but he couldn’t help it.

  Why hadn’t it occurred to him that his family might think there was something more to their relationship? They were so desperate to see him with someone again, they didn’t care who it was. Apparently any woman, even a stranger, was better than seeing him alone, even though being alone was his preferred choice.

  He made a mental note to kill Michael next time they met.

  “If my family embarrassed you, then I apologize.”

  She gave a choked laugh and wrapped her arms round her middle. “We both know that in a contest to find the most embarrassing family, I’d win, Alec. You don’t need to apologize. Your family are wonderful. They love you.”

  “They interfere.”

  “But you don’t let them. They respect your opinion.”

  “Occasionally. When it suits them. There’s a bathroom through the door on the right.” He dumped her case on the floor and she turned, eyebrows raised. Instantly he felt churlish and the associated guilt did nothing to improve his mood. “Make yourself at home.”

  She eased away from the window. “You’re mad because they think we’re an item. This is all my fault. You were planning a wonderful family weekend and I’ve ruined it. I shouldn’t have come. I really am sorry for everything.”

  Her sweet apology cut him off at the knees. He preferred arguing with her and getting irritated to feeling the way he was right now. He was used to her being ballsy and combative. Even a little prickly.

  This version of her made him feel uncomfortable.

  It made him feel—

  Protective.

  Dragging his hand over the back of his neck, he tried to keep his tone neutral.

  “You’re not the one making false assumptions. It’s not your fault.”

  “It is. You brought me home, and it’s obviously a big deal for you to bring a woman home. They’ve been worried about you. I guess that’s why they want to see you with someone.”

  “And you know how that feels. Seems my parents are like yours.”

  “We both know your parents are nothing like mine.” She gave a wan smile. “I’ll talk to your mother later and tell her the truth. I should have tried harder over lunch but they all seemed so happy and I wasn’t really sure how to handle it.” Pale as a fresh fall of snow, she sank onto the edge of the bed and Alec frowned.

  “You’re feeling terrible. Why the hell didn’t you excuse yourself sooner?”

  “I’m feeling just fine. But I’ll lie down here for a while and that will give you a chance to be alone with them.” She slid off her shoes, crawled onto the bed and curled up like an injured kitten.

  Concerned, he took a step toward her and then stopped. Whatever she said to the contrary, he knew she was vulnerable. The last thing he needed was for her to see him as some sort of rescuer or hero figure.

  He already knew how that ended.

  “Do you need more pills? You should have said that you were feeling this bad.”

  “I’m not feeling bad.”

  “You must have been stressed by it all. The questions. The talking.”

  “Envious,” she murmured, her eyes drifting shut. “I was envious.”

  He stood there, locked in a mental battle between instinct and common sense as he tried to decide how to handle this.

  And then he realized there was no decision to make because she was already asleep.

  He waited a moment and when she didn’t stir he walked over to her, reached for the thick, dark green throw from the bottom of his bed and covered her gently, careful not to wake her.

  When she didn’t stir he leaned over and moved her hair gently, studying the livid bruise on her head.

  He thought again about that sterile, emotionless message from her mother. It was likely that she hadn’t known about Sky’s injury, but she knew about the breakup and not once had she asked her daughter how she was feeling.

  Her friends were thousands of miles away.

  All she had was him.

  Ice filled his veins.

  He didn’t want that responsibility.

  The door opened and Nelson plodded into the room. Without looking at Alec, he sank down in front of the fire.

  Alec sighed. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

  Nelson yawned, stretched and ignored him.

  Alec glanced toward the bed and then back at the dog. Why not? “You’re on guard. If she moves, come and get me.”

  Nelson settled his head on his paws and Alec went in search of his family intending to lay down some ground rules.

  And while he was at it, he thought, he needed to make a few for himself.

  SKY WOKE UNABLE to move. Something heavy and hot was pressing on her legs.

  She opened her eyes drowsily. The only light in the room came from the fire. Outside there was nothing but darkness.

  Wondering what
time it was, she tried to sit up and realized that the weight on her legs was the dog.

  He grunted but didn’t move and she was about to lie down and go back to sleep when there was a tap on the door, and Alec’s mother walked into the room carrying a tray.

  “I didn’t want you to sleep too long, in case it stops you sleeping tonight. You’re probably jet-lagged. Alec is always the same for the first few days after he comes home. I’ve brought you tea and one of Granny’s scones. It’s the only thing she makes since her eyesight has failed and she does them by hand.” She put the tray down and flicked on the light, smiling when she saw Nelson. “That’s where you are! You do know Alec isn’t the one in the bed? Come on, move. Sky doesn’t want you there.”

  “Yes, I do.” Sky pulled the dog closer. “I like him. He’s like a comforter.”

  “He loves this room. When we first brought him back here as a puppy, he wouldn’t leave Alec’s side. He slept by his bed and howled every night for a week. Not once did Alec complain. He got up, soothed him, went back to sleep. I couldn’t believe the way he took care of that dog.”

  He’d done the same with her, Sky thought. He’d taken care of her when she’d needed help.

  And because of his generosity his family now assumed they were involved.

  And it was up to her to fix it.

  She took the tea Suzanne offered her with a smile of thanks. She had no idea what a scone was, but it looked and smelled delicious. “About Alec—”

  “He’s just a friend. I know. He’s told us the whole story while you were asleep.” Suzanne sat down on the side of the bed. “I apologize if we embarrassed you. The thing is, we didn’t think he’d ever bring a woman here again. His relationship with Selina was such a disaster. You’ve never seen two people more wrong for each other.”

  “That would be the two of us.” Sky sipped her tea, deciding that honesty was the only way to convince them of the truth. “Alec and I kind of wind each other up. I irritate him and he annoys the hell out of me. I hope that doesn’t offend you.”

  “Not at all. He annoys the hell out of all of us quite frequently,” Suzanne said calmly. “He’s my only son and I adore him, but he can be very stubborn and one of his biggest flaws is thinking he’s right all the time. Simon is the same. When the two of them argue, it’s like two stags clashing antlers. It often takes Alec a while to climb down from a stance he’s taken, but he gets there eventually.”