Their One-Night Christmas Gift

by Karin Baine

  It was a revelation to find out his behaviour, in his eyes, had been in her best interests. From the outside it would seem his plan had worked. She was financially stable, living in London with a career she’d dreamed of, but she’d never been able to trust again. Despite his scheming, fate had brought them together in the end, expecting the baby she’d always imagined having with Charles. Except now the circumstances didn’t include parents who were in love or anything like it.

  ‘My career isn’t up for negotiation.’ She wasn’t budging on that point and he couldn’t make her. If he had sent her away to build on her career, that time apart would’ve been wasted if she was expected to give it all up now.

  ‘We have the clinic here. It would be a real coup to have someone of your calibre with us. Heatherglen could offer you a flexible position to fit around your needs and a home for you and the baby. Come and work here. It sounds like the perfect solution to me.’

  ‘Of course it does. You win this way. It’s your home and it doesn’t inconvenience you. You get to play daddy on a full-time basis on your doorstep and get an orthopaedic surgeon thrown in too. However, it’s asking a lot from me to give up everything at home to move here.’ Regardless of Charles’s wealth and the unspoilt land around Heatherglen, Harriet didn’t know if this was the best environment in which to raise a child, or even to live in herself. She knew nothing of life in the country or how isolated she might feel here. However, she did know that Heatherglen hadn’t brought her happiness in the past and the family ties that kept Charles here weren’t what she wanted for her baby.

  What scared her most, though, was having all those feelings resurfacing for Charles and being trapped here with them. One night had been difficult enough to forget, even before she’d realised she had a souvenir of the event.

  ‘It’s not a competition, Harriet. Don’t you want us to do this together? It would be a partnership without the inconvenient distance between us.’ He made it sound so straightforward, but it was that distance that would keep her sane now they were back in each other’s lives.

  ‘Do you really have need for an orthopaedic surgeon here? I mean, I’m not trading in a full schedule for the odd consultation here and there. I’m not taking a demotion.’ The whole point of this exercise was to ensure parenting wouldn’t affect her working life. She couldn’t help thinking this was going to end up with her in that stay-at-home mum role she was trying to avoid.

  ‘As a matter of fact, I have a patient at the moment I could use your help with. If you find clinic life and motherhood aren’t enough for you, I’m sure every hospital within a hundred-mile radius will be queuing up to have you on their books. You could consult, run your own clinics. Whatever you need.’ He was being so damned reasonable it was difficult to argue with the options he was laying out before her. It was being around other people she found most appealing. Life in London was busy, hectic, and she did everything at breakneck speed, but that was because she didn’t have anyone at home to make it worth her while to slow down to enjoy time out from it all. That was going to change in a few months, whether she was ready for it or not.

  ‘Why should I believe you’re not going to change your mind again?’ There was no way of predicting the outcome if she took this gamble but there was every chance she’d be the one to come off worse out of this arrangement.

  ‘I’ve lost a brother, a father and a fiancée because of this place. I don’t want it to cost me the chance of being a father too. You know I can’t leave here, there’s just too much responsibility involved, but I want my child to know I’ll be there for her or him. Your moving here would give me the chance to do that.’

  ‘It’s a lot to put on my shoulders, Charles, and after everything we’ve been through...’

  ‘Marry me, then. I can provide you both with everything you could ever need. I know you need something in return to offset everything you’d be trading in to come here.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ It was like a slap across the face for him to toss a proposal of marriage in there so casually, as if it meant nothing, when the last time he’d asked her that question it had meant the world to her.

  Her mother had passed away not long after they’d started dating and Charles had represented everything she’d thought she’d have in her new life. Marriage and stability were all she’d wanted then but he had obviously never held it in the same regard when he’d used it as a device to keep her dangling on a string.

  ‘It’s not unheard of for a couple to get married for the sake of a baby. I would give you equal rights to the estate, the clinic and anything else you wanted.’ He was offering everything except love and devotion, the only things that could ever convince Harriet marriage would be a good idea.

  ‘No.’

  His shoulders slumped when she torpedoed his marriage of convenience idea, but he’d a lot to learn about the woman he was dealing with now. This one wouldn’t be so easily swayed into the life-changing decisions he made on a whim.

  ‘When are you due back at work?’

  ‘Not until January. Why?’

  ‘You could spend the rest of your break here. A trial run if you like. You could get to know the staff and patients at the clinic and see where you could be working if you gave it a chance.’

  ‘See if you and I can live together in the same place without coming to blows?’ She didn’t know how to get out of this situation she’d created by coming here in the first place. If she left now, Charles would be sure to look into the legalities surrounding the baby’s parentage and she didn’t want him or her to get caught in a tug of war between them. It might be best to do as he’d suggested and stay. That way she could do her best to make him see how impossible it would be for her to fit in here. She would be reasonable and, when it didn’t work out, she could say she’d tried to do things his way. Once she was back in London and the baby was born it would be too unsettling for them to uproot again.

  If she stayed, it wouldn’t be the clashes between them she was sure would keep her awake at night but the memories of the passion he’d awakened in her. Something she’d be reminded of with every ounce of gained weight and growing belly. Yet he’d barely mentioned that incredible time they’d had, as if it had never happened, and this pregnancy had been some sort of divine intervention.

  This baby had apparently been created from thin air solely to provide him with the opportunity to become a father. A few days under the same roof would give them both an idea of how difficult it would be to carry on that pretence. If she couldn’t manage it, they’d have to come up with a plan B. For now, this was the only one they’d come up with.

  ‘What do you say, Harriet? You, me and baby for the rest of the festive season? It would mean you’ll be here for our Hogmanay party too. Esme is hosting it this year so it’s sure to be a spectacle you don’t want to miss.’

  She tried to convince herself it was the headache of facing a custody battle that finally persuaded her to stay. Not his smiling blue eyes or the thought of them spending time as a family.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘ORANGE JUICE, CEREAL, toast and tea.’ Charles ticked off the breakfast checklist as he loaded a tray to take up to Harriet. Since it was early in her pregnancy, he wasn’t sure how she’d react faced with a cooked breakfast first thing in the morning and chose the safe option.

  He still couldn’t quite believe he was going to be a father. For the longest time it had only been him and Esme at the castle, wrapped up in their own careers. Now there would be a new focus. Okay, the suggestion of marriage had been a mistake but since he and Harriet had agreed back in London that they had no future together, he’d wanted something to keep her in his life. He was asking her to give up more than ever to move back to Scotland now, with nothing to offer her in return. For now he just wanted time with her and a chance for them to work this out together.

  Family was something he never dared believ
e he could have after inheriting Heatherglen and knowing his whole life would be tied up in it. It was expected for the Laird to marry and provide an heir, but it had been more important for him to get the clinic up and running. Now he had no choice, and there was going to be a baby, it was a chance for him to be normal and have a role for himself other than running the castle and clinic. No other woman had lived up to Harriet, so it seemed only fitting that she should be the mother of his child.

  ‘Someone looks happy this morning.’

  He looked up to find Harriet standing in the kitchen doorway with much the same expression on her face as the one he was wearing.

  ‘I was thinking how nice it might be to have a wee one running around the place.’ He didn’t need to lie to her when he was trying to persuade her to stick around. She had to know he was looking forward to it all, no longer fighting the idea.

  ‘I haven’t agreed to anything yet.’ Her frown told him he’d jumped the gun, but he was determined to make her see this was the best place for them both.

  ‘What are you doing up, anyway? I was going to bring you breakfast in bed.’ He did his best to dodge another argument, even though he was miffed she’d thwarted his attempt to gain brownie points.

  ‘I’m an early riser. I like to make the most of every day. Thanks, though.’ She took a seat at the table and started picking at a slice of toast from the tray. Charles joined her so he wouldn’t appear rude in leaving her by herself, then poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down.

  ‘Ah, yes. My little lark. I’d forgotten how much you enjoy mornings.’ It was a throwaway comment borne of past familiarity, but it brought back more recent, erotic memories, which made him shift in his chair. Images of their early morning tryst in that hotel bed burst into his thoughts and refused to leave.

  Harriet was blinking at him, her toast hovering in mid-air, frozen by the inappropriate reference to her insatiable appetite for him. It wasn’t as though they could avoid the subject altogether when she was carrying the evidence, but he realised he’d been indiscreet. Harriet had made it clear she didn’t intend to let their past get in the way of a potential working relationship.

  ‘It’s only me!’ Esme’s timely arrival through the back door saved both their blushes.

  ‘Morning, Esme.’ Harriet sounded as relieved as he was to have someone break the sudden tension in the air.

  His sister was going to lose her mind when she heard she was going to be an aunt.

  ‘I’ve just been down to the therapy centre to pick up a few things. Charles said you could use a change of clothes so you didn’t get yours dirty. I brought you some of our winter gear.’ She plonked the pile of clothes and boots on the table, Charles whipping away the breakfast things a fraction of a second before she did so.

  ‘That’s very kind of you but there’s really no need to fuss.’

  ‘It’s only a sweater, some waterproofs and a pair of wellies to wear around the estate. Nothing fancy, just practical.’

  Harriet made no further protest. ‘Thank you. I don’t know how much longer I’ll get away with wearing my own clothes anyway.’

  She tested the give in the trousers, stretching the elastic waistband. Charles could see the very second she realised what she’d said as her wide-eyed gaze flicked between him and Esme.

  His sister didn’t miss it either. ‘What do you mean?’

  Worried he’d put his foot in it more than he already had, Charles left it to Harriet as to what to say next. There would be no going back once Esme knew about the baby. Although, by the excitement he could already see fizzing up inside her, she’d probably already guessed.

  ‘I...er...’ Harriet cleared her throat. ‘I’m pregnant.’

  Esme managed to contain herself a second or two longer until Harriet confirmed the paternity, should it be in question.

  ‘Charles is the father.’

  His sister’s squeal almost deafened him. ‘Oh, my goodness! When did this happen? How did this happen? Wait...don’t answer that one. This. Is. Amazing!’

  Another squeal and she launched herself at Harriet. Charles leaned back against the kitchen worktop, content to let them hug it out, only to have the breath knocked out of him too by an Esme missile.

  ‘Are you trying to kill me?’ He laughed as she squeezed him hard.

  ‘I’m just so happy for you, bro.’ She paused. ‘It is good news, isn’t it?’

  He supposed neither he nor Harriet appeared to have as much zing as the auntie-to-be.

  ‘Yes, of course.’ There was no hesitation in his reply and he wished he’d been as positive about the news the first time around. That knee-jerk, defensive lashing out had damaged what little trust Harriet had left in him, but he hoped he’d have the chance to repair their relationship over these next few days. If only for the baby’s sake.

  ‘It was that conference, wasn’t it? I knew something had happened. You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face for a week. My brother has been emotionally frozen since losing you, unless you count being perpetually grumpy. You’re the one person who ever seemed to make him happy.’ Esme knew him better than he was comfortable with and the heat in his cheeks confirmed he’d flushed the same shade of scarlet as Harriet.

  He flashed Harriet an unspoken apology for his sibling’s lack of tact. This was their love life, the supposedly never-to-be-spoken-of-again fling they were now discussing over the breakfast table. A bit much for someone who hadn’t set foot in this house in over a decade.

  ‘I’m only here over the festive season so we can work a few things out.’ If Harriet didn’t see the need to satisfy Esme’s curiosity with the details, neither would he.

  ‘Well, I hope you do. Feel free to pop down to the therapy centre and look around or, you know, if you just want to talk.’ As subtle as a brick, Esme shot a dark look in his direction that said she’d already pinpointed him as the source of their conflict. He’d prepare himself for an interrogation, followed by an ear-bashing, once they were alone.

  ‘Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.’

  ‘Yes, Esme, thanks for bringing the clothes over for Harriet. We wouldn’t want to keep you from your work any longer than necessary.’ He didn’t need her siding against him too if she thought he’d been in the wrong. Which he had been. Besides, he needed every second he could get alone with Harriet to try and redeem himself.

  ‘It’s lovely to have you here, Harriet.’ Esme ignored him and kissed her new favourite person—which obviously wasn’t him—on the cheek.

  ‘I’m only a couple of months gone, so I’d appreciate it if you keep the news to yourself for now.’ It might’ve helped Charles’s cause if Harriet hadn’t enforced a news blackout, but he knew Esme would respect her wishes, even if she was fit to bust with the good news.

  ‘I can’t believe I’m going to be an auntie.’ She skipped back out the door and he envied her carefree position in this situation.

  ‘She’s going to make a wonderful aunt,’ Harriet mused.

  ‘Esme will spoil the baby rotten.’ She was bad enough fussing over those dogs so the second a baby was on the scene the place would be filled with toys and cute outfits. Strangely, the thought of the castle being turned upside down didn’t disturb him as much as it usually did. It would be nice for it to be a proper home again instead of a memorial reminding him of everything he’d lost. His sister was right about one thing, though. He had been frozen here, never really coming to terms with his losses, including Harriet. Hopefully now, reconnecting with her would bring him some peace again.

  ‘Yes, well, I’m sure we’ll be glad to have an extra pair of hands when it comes to babysitting. If I decide to stay.’ Harriet was quick to correct herself, but it was a good sign she was thinking about having support here at Heatherglen rather than being on her own. Letting the news slip to Esme could’ve been the best thing to happen. For him. With his sister
on side he’d have double the chance of persuading Harriet to stay permanently.

  ‘Why don’t I give you a tour of the clinic and let you see everything we’ve achieved?’ Perhaps if she saw why he’d sacrificed their future it would give them the chance to have another one.

  * * *

  Harriet cursed her big mouth. As lovely as Esme was, she wished she hadn’t blabbed about the pregnancy. Now there was more than her and Charles involved it was bound to complicate things. Once Charles realised there was no way she was letting him dictate the rest of her and her baby’s lives, a clean break wasn’t going to be so easy. Not with a super-excited auntie in the mix.

  She could do without Charles being all charming and thoughtful too. He’d thrown her last night by coming after her and begging her to stay. Even if it was for his own selfish reasons. That last-minute plea for a second chance, that offer of a future here at Heatherglen had left an opening for a flicker of hope she couldn’t extinguish that he might still be the honourable gentleman she’d once believed him to be.

  Their time together at that conference had reawakened feelings for Charles she had no business having when he didn’t deserve them. She had confused past Harriet and Charles for their present-day incarnations because her hormones were all over the place.

  So, she’d woken up this morning determined to harden her heart against him. Only to find him making her breakfast, smiling to himself about the baby coming, and arranging for her to be more comfortable in this environment. That’s why she’d spilled the beans to Esme. She’d been so comfortable she’d started imagining being here as part of a family.

  All she could do to save herself now as he led her out for a walk in the grounds was to look at Heatherglen from a professional viewpoint. There was no way she’d be content with swapping the hustle and bustle of London hospitals for a country practice. Working on a casual basis in the middle of nowhere would be a demotion for her. A sure-fire way to ensure her career took a back seat to motherhood. Exactly what she’d hoped to avoid.