by Lauren Smith
“But that’s life, isn’t it?” Brie found a small smile somewhere within her. “The highs of life mean nothing without the lows.”
Alec didn’t reply but he didn’t pull away either. There was a gentle comfort of being together in this moment, like last night while the snowstorm raged outside.
“Alec…we shouldn’t tell anyone what happened last night,” Brie finally said. “We can’t…” She struggled for words. “We can’t do that again and we can’t let anyone know what happened. I could get fired from my publisher.”
“I agree,” Alec said just as quietly. “No one can know about last night. We’ll keep things professional.” He dropped his arms from her shoulders and she instantly missed his warmth.
She opened her mouth to speak when she heard some shouts from the main hall.
“We better go see what that is.” Alec led the way. Outside the room, they found Simon, Bridget, and their son Brendan covered with snow in the doorway. They were shrugging out of their heavy coats, hats, and mittens. Their faces were deep pink from the cold outside.
“Brie!” Bridget rushed over and hugged her. She didn’t miss the happy glow in her friend’s face. Marriage to Simon had been so good for her.
“What have you guys been up to?” Brie asked as Simon removed a large blue striped scarf off of Brendan in such a way that Brendan twirled like a cartoon mummy being unwrapped. It filled Brie’s heart with joy to see them laugh like this. She still couldn’t believe how easily Simon had taken to the fatherhood.
Bridget laughed as she removed her woolen cap and gloves. “We’ve been sledding. You have to try it. They have sleds large enough for adults and really big hills. It was so much fun. I haven’t done that since I was a kid.” A servant collected the winter clothes and put them into the coat closet.
“Are Simon’s parents bringing the twins? I was hoping to see them.”
“Simon’s parents have grandparent duty the whole week. They didn’t want to try to travel in the snow since the babies are still so young. They wanted to give us some time with Brendan, just the three of us.” Bridget pulled her aside as more people came into the entryway. “Now, I know you were on the plane that had that emergency landing, so be honest with me. Are you okay?” The nurse in Bridget was out in full force, wanting to protect and fix anything she could.
“I’m okay. It was bad last night, but Alec was there. We sort of stuck together during the whole thing. He was quite brave and kept me safe.”
“Alec was?” Bridget leaned over to look at Alec, who was across the room chatting with Simon and Brendan. “That Alec?”
“Yeah, he was amazing. We were getting ready to do the emergency landing and he put his arm around me. He shielded me. He was…” Honestly she did know what to say, except it was truly brave.
“You’ve met Morgan, right?” Bridget steered her focus toward the younger brother, who had just joined the group of men along with Byron.
“Yes, I met him. He’s nice. Funny.” She watched Brendan pretend to punch Morgan who then doubled over and pretended to die on the carpet.
“Boys.” Bridget laughed. “Morgan is so good with Brendan.”
“He is.” Brie agreed, but her gaze strayed to Alec who was standing beside Simon. He threw some suggestions to Brendan about how best to wrestle with Morgan. Brie swore she heard him tell Brendan to punch his brother in the kidneys.
“Everyone is finally here!” Julia was beaming as she joined Brie and Bridget. Morgan had been right; the countess did have boundless energy that not only fueled her excitement but made her light up with a pure, contagious joy.
“I was thinking we could all make Christmas cookies this afternoon. I want Brie to see the kitchens and try out a few of our traditional recipes. And Mrs. Fitzhugh is most excited to show off her culinary expertise for the book. Does that sound like a good idea?” Julia asked Brie.
“That sounds great.”
“I’m sure Brendan will do anything if it involves cookies,” Bridget chuckled.
“Wonderful.” Julia turned toward the group of men. “Cookies in the kitchens!”
Brendan climbed off a panting but laughing Morgan. “Cookies?”
“Cookies?” Alec held out a hand to his brother and helped him up, then came toward Brie and Bridget.
“Yep, we’re going to decorate them. Care to show me your skills, Mr. Investment Banker?” Brie challenged.
Alec’s smirked and leaned close to her ear. “I give great cookie, so watch out.” He then followed the rest of the family into the kitchens.
“What the heck was that?” Bridget demanded.
Brie stared at her friend. “What?”
“I give good cookie?” Bridget quoted. “If I didn’t know Alec better, I would say he was trying to flirt with you. He needs practice.”
“He wasn’t flirting with me,” Brie argued. “We bonded a little because of the whole crash thing and I felt like teasing him about his fancy stressful job. It’s kind of our thing.”
“But you admit you have a thing.”
“Not that kind of thing,” Brie sighed. “And stop trying to set me up with Morgan. I could see that coming a mile away.”
“I wasn’t…okay I was. But you would be so cute together.” Bridget almost whined. “Please let me set you up. Please?”
“No, absolutely not.” The last thing she needed was her best friend playing Cupid.
“You’re no fun,” Bridget pretended to pout. “Everyone spent so long trying to set me up with men. Now I want the chance.”
“Let me sit on the fishhook. Then maybe I can find the love of my life at the nearest hospital.” Brie nudged Bridget with an elbow and they both giggled.
“You joke, but it worked out well for me.” Bridget grinned as she watched Simon ahead of them. Bridget had actually sat on the fishhook while fishing with Brendan and had ended up in the ER where a gorgeous doctor, who turned out to be Simon, had carefully removed it and their epic romance began.
When Brie and Bridget entered the huge kitchens in Merryvale Court, Brie gasped. A trio of cooks were hard at work on one long roughhewn wood table. The cooks smiled at them and returned to their preparations. A second long counter opposite them was covered with gingerbread house materials and cookie prep stations.
Alec, Morgan, Brendan, Simon, and Byron were huddled together at the gingerbread supply area, talking excitedly about what they planned to build. Julia watched them with a wide grin on her face. Brie sidled up beside her.
“Looks like that will keep them busy.”
“It certainly will.” Julia laughed. “They have enough gingerbread there to build a village. I thought we could start on the cookies. But first, I want to show you what the cooks are working on, our famous Christmas cake.”
Brie waved to Bridget, who had joined Simon and Brendan for a moment. Then she got her pen and notebook out as Julia took her to the long table where a beautiful round cake sat on a plate.
“We don’t know exactly when we started making these here in England, but they are a lot like the infamous British Christmas pudding we serve. We make them a few weeks in advance, and you need to keep it moist with a regular supply of brandy.”
“How do you that?” The cake was covered in white marzipan frosting and topped with three cedar trees sculpted from icing. One of the cooks had taken a fat red ribbon and wound it around the base, then covered it with a gauzy slender gold ribbon over the top of the red ribbon. Then the cake had been artfully laid on a plate next to a few cinnamon sticks bound with red plaid ribbon. A trio of small pinecones with gold dusted over the top sat on the other side of the cake, resting on the plate. The effect was stunning.
The countess nodded at a second cake not yet covered with icing. “You pierce the bottom with a skewer and carefully pour three or four tablespoons of brandy, and you repeat this every four or five days. It’s a complex recipe, but at least you can see the finished cake.”
She collected a slip of paper from one
of the cooks showed it to Brie, who snapped a photo of the ingredients and cooking directions. Brie thanked the cooks and then went to the Christmas cookie station.
“Every year I bake two hundred cookies, which I usually decorate with Byron and Morgan’s help. We deliver the cookies to the Children’s Hospital half an hour from here. Something to give the children some extra cheer.”
“Alec doesn’t help?”
Julia shook her head. “He usually isn’t home for Christmas. I can’t tell you how rare it is that he’s here at all. Simon and Bridget worked a miracle to get him to come.” Her eyes softened as she watched Alec and Morgan start building their houses.
Julia gave her an encouraging nudge toward the workstation were Morgan and Alec were setting up. “I believe I can handle the cookies. Why don’t you go help them?” Brie knew better than to argue with the matriarch of an English household, especially one with this much energy.
Brie went to the gingerbread station and nudged Alec’s arm with hers. “Need help?”
He smirked as he subtly moved between her and Morgan. “No, but you can tell me what you think of my castle.” He pointed at the lopsided tower of gingerbread.
“Yeah, you need help.” Brie grinned cheekily at him. “I sure hope you’re a better investment banker than you are a gingerbread architect.” Brie adjusted the walls of his tower, then carefully applied more icing to the wall before holding it in place to let the icing set. Alec placed his hands over hers, both of them holding the pieces together. His warm hands engulfed her own. The simple connection of their palms felt comforting, though a bit dangerous and forbidden.
Morgan shot them an appraising look. “Cheating, already? You can’t bring in a ringer, Alec.” Morgan complained but when Brie glanced over at him, he winked at her. “I believe that’s what you Americans call it.”
“You never mentioned that in the rules,” Alec countered, the light of a challenge in his eyes.
Brie shook her head, but she didn’t stop helping Alec construct a wall for his castle. She’d made a couple of gingerbread houses in her day, and while she was no master, she could hold her own. Beside them, Morgan was surreptitiously stealing glances so he could mimic her technique.
“Pass the gumdrops?” Brie asked Alec.
Alec handed her the bowl and their fingers brushed. A spark shot between them as their gaze briefly met then separated.
“So…did you get all your work done yesterday?” she asked Alec casually as they worked.
“I did, but I’ve already been assigned a new project that I’ll be spearheading over Christmas. An acquisition.”
Morgan’s eyes brightened with interest. “Oh? What firm will you engage?”
Alec swept a knife with frosting down the side of the stirrer, frowning at the messiness of it. “Not sure just yet who the client will choose.”
“I know a few excellent solicitors who would be happy to handle it.” Morgan was focused on his own gingerbread house again.
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to let them know.”
Brie’s attention shot back and forth between the two brothers, a little amused, but mostly fascinated. They were both involved in hard, demanding careers, yet here they were decorating gingerbread castles in a country house that was over four centuries old. It was just another day for them. For her, it was a fantasy come to life. She’d grown up on Long Island in the shadows of the Great Gatsby era oil mansions. But those homes had been closed to her, as unapproachable as Mount Olympus in the clouds.
By the time the cookies were done baking, the group helped Julia bundle them into little care packages made of red cellophane and tucked them into a large basket.
“Does anyone want to come with me to the hospital?” Julia asked.
“Morgan and I need to set up a few of the smaller Christmas trees along the driveway,” Byron announced. Julia left the kitchen to have the car pulled around.
“I’d like to go with you,” Brie volunteered.
“I’ll go as well,” Alec added. Brie glanced at him and he shrugged.
“If I don’t steer clear of him, Morgan might try to drop a Christmas tree on me.” She was glad he was going with her. She’d decided to make it her mission to convince Alec to get back into the spirit of Christmas. Reconnect with his family. Julia had given her such a wonderful gift, and Brie wanted to return the favor.
Bridget met Brie’s eyes from across the room and mouthed. “O. M. G. He’s going with you!”
Brie shook her head at Bridget, who winked at her.
“Why don’t we get our coats?” Alec put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her out into the hall.
When they were alone, Brie gasped as he pulled her into an alcove between two paintings and claimed her mouth with his. The kiss was quick, possessive and intense, and left her feeling a little dazed. When he pulled away, enough to let her breathe at least, she blinked up at him.
“What was that for?” she whispered. “I thought we agreed. Professional, remember?”
Alec brushed her thumb over her lips and smirked in that way that made her womb clench in excitement. “That was professional. My most professional kiss. I just wanted to give you a reason not to think about my brother.”
“Think about Morgan? But I”
He silenced her with another softer kiss that left her heart hammering in her chest. His dark brown lashes lowered and his eyes, with that warm hazel green, shimmered in the gilded lamplight above them.
“Alec, we can’t do this.” Yet even as she protested, her mind was filled with a dozen erotic thoughts of them slipping into each other’s beds and their bodies sliding skin to skin beneath the covers. Maybe no one would find out…
“I’ve been thinking about that,” he murmured in that irresistible British accent. “It’s only one week. We can do this. Have a casual fling, right? No one would have to know and when we leave, we’d go back to our lives…”
“We’d be done.” Brie finished for him. It was the most tempting offer she’d had in a long time.
His eyes swept over her face and down her body in an almost tangible caress that left her humming with desire. “Think it over.” He left to fetch their coats.
With her heart pounding, she followed him. What was she going to do? Say yes? Risk her book deal with his mother? Risk her job? But how did she say no to someone whose very touch set her on fire?
8
The Children’s Hospital was quiet and the stale clinical smell in the air made Alec nervous. The last time he’d been in a place like this was when they’d rushed his grandfather here in an ambulance, even though everyone knew it had been far too late. Everyone but him. That last shred of hope had been reinforced by a battalion of denial, which had made the end even harder to accept.
Someone had hung some Christmas decorations in the wing to try to make things cheerier, but there was very little that they could do to make the children feel better.
Alec’s mother and Brie walked ahead of him, while he carried a large wicker basket full of brightly colored packages of homemade frosted cookies.
His mother met the charge nurse at the nurse’s station and obtained a list of rooms of all the patients staying in the children’s oncology wing who’d had parents agree to allow this special visit ahead of time and signed waivers allowing visitors.
“There are twelve children we can visit that aren’t in the ICU. The nurse thought that getting some treats will cheer them up,” Julia said. Her throat caught as she looked at Brie and Alec. He knew how much this hurt her, yet she put herself through it every year.
“If you’d like, I’ll handle the list.” Brie took the paper from his mother and collected a package of cookies. “Samuel Atkins, age fourteen.” She walked to the first room and knocked on the door. Someone told her to come in and she entered, Alec and Julia following behind.
Samuel sat in his hospital bed, a handheld video game in his hands.
“Hi Samuel, my name is Brie. This is Alec and Juli
a.” Brie gestured toward in their direction. “I hope you don’t mind us visiting. We made some cookies if you’d like some.”
Samuel looked both embarrassed and excited, but after a moment the boy relaxed and set the videogame aside.
He accepted the package Brie handed him. “I like cookies. What kind are they?”
“Sugar cookies. You’ll be bouncing off the ceiling all night,” Brie teased. His face split into a grin
“That would be pretty funny.” Samuel tested one of the cookies with a tentative bite and Brie pointed at his game.
“What are you playing?”
“Nighthawk. It’s a spy game set in ancient times.”
“How ancient?” Brie asked.
“The 1980s.”
“Okay, now I want to smack him,” muttered Alec, but only loud enough for Brie and Julia to hear.
“Cool, sounds like fun,” Brie said to drown him out. They talked for another ten minutes before Alec and Julia helped pass out the rest of the cookies to the other patients.
At first, it wasn’t easy for Alec to hand out cookies to the children. But the more time he spent around them, talked with them, tried to cheer them up, the more he realized that it felt good to be here. Soon, he was teasing the children and getting them to laugh while they ate their sugary treats.
Brie caught up to him while he was making his last stop to a girl named Trina, aged eight, according to the list. Trina was a tiny thing with big blue eyes, but her features were gaunt and her skin a worrisome gray color. Her mother was sitting in a chair at the girl’s bedside reading a book to her.
“Hi,” Alec said quietly when Trina’s mother looked up from the bed. “We have some Christmas cookies for her if she would like some.” Alec held out the red cellophane wrapped package.
“Thank you. She would love them,” the mother said. Her face was bright with a cheery smile, but Alec could see the worry and weariness behind it. He couldn’t imagine having to care for a child with cancer. To watch a young life go through so much pain, and possibly death…it was unbearable.