Christmas at Lilac Cottage: (#1 White Cliff Bay)

by Martin, Holly

  ‘It’s OK, I won’t say anything, to her or to anyone else. But her nightmares don’t reflect badly on you.’

  ‘Of course they do. She has nightmares because she thinks I’m going to leave her.’

  ‘You stood by her when no one else did. You raised her when you were no more than a child yourself and you should be incredibly proud of that and of the wonderful girl she is because of you. You put her first above everything else. Don’t ever doubt your parenting skills – you gave her love and she can’t ask for anything more than that.’

  He smiled at her. ‘Thank you.’

  She watched him, unable to take her eyes off him and he stared right back, the tension fizzing between them like lightning about to strike. She looked away, focussing on the task of making the hot chocolate.

  ‘I’m sorry she was in your house, I have no idea what she was doing here. I’ll speak to her tomorrow.’

  She felt him move behind her, her body embarrassingly erupting in goosebumps at his proximity. Why was she so attracted to this man? Sure, he was good-looking, any idiot could see that, but there were lots of good-looking men in the town and she’d never reacted like this around them before. Was it the way he stared at her, as if he saw deep inside her? Was it having him in her home, the one place she always felt safe, and she just felt nervous about him being in her space? He wouldn’t hurt her, she knew that, well not physically, but he was exactly the sort of man who would ruin her. She feared for that.

  ‘You’re cold. Here, put this on,’ Henry said, draping his soft towelling robe round her shoulders. The scent of him washed over her, sweet, intoxicatingly spicy. She pushed her arms through the sleeves. The warmth of the robe did nothing to dispel the goosebumps.

  ‘I’m sorry she woke you.’

  She turned round to face him, determinedly looking at his eyes and not at those abs that she just wanted to reach out and touch.

  ‘It’s no problem at all.’

  He stared at her. What was with all the staring, that solid, unblinking, grey gaze? It made her want to run away and hide from it.

  ‘I’m sorry about…’ he gestured vaguely to upstairs and his bedroom. ‘I’d just woken up and thought I was dreaming.’

  She smiled, wanting to tease him to break the tension between them. ‘I gathered you were dreaming when you tried to pull me into bed with you. Who did you think I was, Angelina Jolie or Keira Knightley? I had a dream once that I was in bed with Brad Pitt and when I woke up I was cuddled up to poor Bernard.’

  He frowned. ‘I was dreaming about you and then I woke up and you were there.’

  There were no words in Penny’s head, nothing at all.

  Henry stepped a bit closer and pulled the robe tighter around her, fastening it with the belt. ‘Best dream I’ve ever had.’

  Part of her felt euphoric at the attention he was giving her but part of her was annoyed. He wasn’t really interested in her – flirting for him was like breathing. Henry could have any woman he wanted; he certainly wasn’t going to choose someone like her.

  He moved in, he was so close she could feel his warmth, feel his breath on her face, but he didn’t touch her, just leaned round her to pick the saucepan off the stove.

  ‘Your milk is boiling over.’ He poured the milk into the mug filled with the drinking chocolate and gave it a good stir, then pushed the mug into her hands. ‘Now drink this and get back to bed.’

  He flashed her a devastating smile and walked out without a look back.

  * * *

  Penny woke to the smell of bacon cooking the next morning and she smiled. Bright winter sunshine was already filtering through the crack in the curtains, indicating that it was a lot later in the day than she would have liked. She had barely slept at all after Henry had left, as she tried to work out whether the looks, comments, little touches amounted to anything or nothing. She had finally fallen asleep at six in the morning when the darkness of her room had turned to a muted grey.

  She climbed out of bed, her hand hovering over Henry’s robe for a moment before she decided against wearing it for a whole host of reasons and settled on her own robe.

  She padded downstairs and smiled at her friend Jill standing in the kitchen frying bacon.

  Penny walked up behind her and wrapped her arms round Jill’s waist, leaning her head on her back. Jill jolted with shock for a second, before squeezing Penny’s hand and then resuming her cooking.

  ‘That’s a lovely greeting for this time in the morning,’ Jill said.

  ‘It’s lovely to be woken with the smell of bacon, but you know you don’t have to cook for me any more.’

  ‘And you know I like to. Tea is in the pot. You can pour me a mug too.’

  Penny smiled with love for her. She had known Jill Stratton her whole life as she had been the housekeeper, cook and unofficial nanny to her and her brother growing up. She wasn’t sure why Jill still came round once or twice a week to clean for her when Jill blatantly didn’t need the money and Penny didn’t need the help, but it was an arrangement that just seemed to have stuck over the years. Penny was beyond grateful for the company and the unwavering friendship so she wasn’t going to stop her coming any time soon.

  Penny poured out two mugs of tea and sat down to watch Jill finish off the bacon. She was one of the most glamorous people that Penny knew. Even today, faced with a load of dusting and vacuuming, Jill was dressed in a pale blue trouser suit that would be more suitable for a high society wedding than a spot of cleaning. She had a deep blue satin scarf tied round her neck and a pair of diamond and sapphire earrings that Penny knew to be real. She was wearing an apron over her clothes but this did nothing to detract from her effortless grace and beauty. With her brown hair cut into a sleek bob, she hadn’t aged a single day in all the time Penny had known her.

  Jill placed a bacon sandwich in front of Penny and sat down opposite her to eat her own.

  ‘How are the new neighbours? Henry and Daisy, was it?’

  ‘Fine, they seem nice, but Daisy is Henry’s daughter not his wife…’

  ‘Oh.’ Jill took a bite of her sandwich and chewed it thoughtfully, staring at Penny the whole time. She swallowed. ‘And what is Henry like?’

  Penny blushed. ‘He’s… very big and, erm…’ Hot as hell, grumpy but kind and very, very flirty. She couldn’t say any of those things but it didn’t seem she needed to as Jill was smiling into her mug of tea. ‘Daisy is very sweet, I really like her.’

  There was a knock at the connecting door behind Penny and she heard it open. Jill’s eyes lit up, indicating that it was most likely Henry standing there and not Daisy.

  Penny turned around and eyed Henry standing in the doorway. He’d at least had the decency to put on a t-shirt since the night before, which covered his tight boxer shorts, but he hadn’t put on any jeans to cover up his fabulous muscular thighs.

  ‘Hi, sorry to bother you ladies. Penny, I was wondering if I could have my robe back?’

  ‘Yes of course, it’s in my room, I’ll just get it.’

  She ignored the look of surprise from Jill that Henry’s robe was in her bedroom as she stood up and quickly ran upstairs. When she returned a moment later, Henry was sitting down at the table talking to Jill as if he had known her for years. Jill had even made him a mug of tea.

  Penny held out Henry’s robe and he took it but didn’t get up. He was sitting right next to where Penny had been sitting moments before so when she sat down to resume eating, her thigh brushed against his momentarily. His touch zapped through her before she shuffled a few inches away.

  ‘I see you two have met,’ Penny said, half frowning at the new cosy family breakfast and half loving it too.

  ‘Yes, Jill was just asking me if I was single,’ Henry smirked and then in a theatrical whisper, ‘I think she fancies me.’

  Jill laughed. ‘Maybe if I was twenty years younger, but I have been very happily married to my Thomas for nearly twenty-five years now, so I don’t think I’ll be running o
ff to have an illicit affair any time soon, despite how gorgeous you are.’

  Henry smiled at Jill then transferred his smile to Penny. ‘Besides, I don’t think we can see each other anyway, Jill. I’ve got a date with Penny on Tuesday.’

  Penny glanced over at Jill to see her smile widen into a full-blown grin.

  ‘It’s not a proper date,’ Penny explained.

  ‘Isn’t it?’ Henry asked, his eyes alight with amusement.

  ‘No, you’re just doing it to piss Jade off.’

  ‘That’s one of the reasons but it’s not the only reason.’

  She stared at him, his eyes not wavering from her face.

  There was a movement behind them and, as they both turned round to see Daisy, Henry purposefully moved away from Penny.

  ‘Can I smell bacon?’ Daisy said, hopefully.

  ‘Here, I’ll make you a sandwich,’ Jill said, standing up.

  Henry frowned. ‘No, Jill, it’s OK. We have bacon next door. The lazy little tyke can make some for herself.’

  ‘Or, if you were any kind of dad, you could make it for me rather than leaving me to starve.’ Daisy grinned sweetly at her dad and Henry smirked.

  Jill was already at the oven. ‘It’s no bother. Henry, would you like some too?’

  ‘Well, if you’re making some for lazy bum here, then sure.’

  Penny patted the bench next to her and Daisy dropped onto it in between her and Henry. Henry nudged her playfully and she nudged him right back. They had such a lovely way between them. Penny wondered whether Henry would bring up the subject of Daisy sleeping in Penny’s lounge the night before but he didn’t, so she decided not to mention it either.

  ‘Daisy, this is my lovely friend Jill,’ Penny said.

  ‘I love your name,’ Jill said, laying bacon in the pan. ‘It’s very pretty.’

  ‘I hate it. I think Daisy is a cute name for little girls but I don’t think people will take me seriously as an adult.’

  ‘Daisy’s a lovely name,’ Penny said. ‘I could think of much worse names. I saw an article on weird baby names the other day, there was a Frodo, Bilbo, Hashtag and Goldilocks.’

  Daisy laughed. ‘No one would call their kid Goldilocks.’

  ‘I wish I was lying but I’m not. And do you want to know what Penny is short for?’

  ‘I’m guessing Penelope.’

  Penny shook her head. ‘Tuppence.’

  Daisy’s eyes lit up and Henry gave a loud bark of a laugh.

  ‘You’re called Tuppence. That’s your real name?’ Daisy was clearly delighted by this turn of events.

  ‘Yes. My brother got the worst deal though. His name is Rainbow Sky.’

  ‘Seriously?’ Daisy giggled.

  ‘What can I say, our parents were hippies. Everyone just calls him Sky now. I think he had it officially changed by deed poll a few years ago. Although if you ever meet him don’t tell him you know. He never tells anyone his real name.’

  Daisy laughed. ‘Thank god you didn’t call me Rainbow or Moonshine.’

  ‘You see, Daisy is actually quite a normal name,’ Henry said.

  Daisy nodded. Her phone beeped in her pocket and Daisy pulled it out. ‘Oh sorry, the battery is dying, I’ll just turn it off.’ She pressed a few buttons and slipped it back into her pocket. ‘That’s what I wanted to ask: the phone reception isn’t great here, are there any places that get better reception?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s a bit rubbish. The shed is a good place or about twenty metres down the drive. I get very sporadic access in the kitchen. Weirdly I get excellent reception in the freezer.’

  ‘So if I want to make a call to my friends, I need to freeze my ass… bum off to do it,’ Daisy laughed, ignoring the pointed look from Henry over her use of the word ‘ass’.

  ‘The shed is actually quite warm, so feel free to use that whenever you want – there’s a heater in there too. You might get some reception from the very back of Henry’s bedroom. Wi-Fi is good though, so you can always Skype or WhatsApp your friends instead.’

  ‘Oh, that’s a good idea. WhatsApp is pretty much the only social media thing I’m allowed on; Dad doesn’t like the prospect of me talking to strangers on Twitter or Facebook.’ Daisy glanced at him and then whispered to Penny loud enough for Henry to hear, ‘He’s a bit over-protective.’

  ‘I am not, I just don’t like the idea of you chatting to bloody perverts, that’s all.’

  Penny could see this was a bone of contention between the two of them so decided to change the subject.

  ‘What are you up to today?’ Penny asked Daisy.

  ‘Not a lot, probably just play some video games or read,’ Daisy shrugged.

  ‘Or unpack all your junk,’ Henry said.

  ‘Well, if you want to, maybe after you’ve unpacked a few boxes you can come and watch me carve, I can show you how it’s done. I have two to do today. December is such a busy month.’

  ‘I’d love that, is that OK, Dad?’

  ‘You unpack that big box at the top of the stairs, then yes.’

  Daisy frowned.

  ‘Well, I’ll be at it most of the day so pop by any time. I’ll be in my cool room, so just come on in.’ Penny indicated the room off the kitchen.

  ‘Is it like a freezer?’

  ‘No, it’s just cooler than the house because the heating is either on low in there or not on at all. The doors to the walk-in freezer are in there too. You should dress quite warmly, but nothing too cumbersome.’

  ‘Here you go,’ Jill said, handing out two more plates of bacon sandwiches.

  ‘Thank you, this looks delicious. Dad normally burns the bacon so I end up doing it for us,’ Daisy said, nudging Henry playfully in the ribs.

  Henry smirked. ‘Thanks Jill, this is very kind.’

  Penny watched them both smother their sandwiches in a thick layer of ketchup and smiled.

  ‘There’s an open air ice skating rink in town, can we go?’ Daisy asked, before wolfing down almost half her sandwich in one big bite.

  ‘Sure, we can go tonight,’ Henry said, mirroring her actions with his own sandwich.

  Penny focussed on the crumbs on her plate, arranging them into some kind of pattern. They were so close, so familiar with each other, she could never be a part of that. They had sixteen years of history together. Henry might flirt with her and they might share the odd dinner or breakfast, but she would never be part of their world, not really.

  ‘Well, I’ve got a box to unpack. I’ll see you later, Penny, thanks for the sandwich,’ Daisy said waving at Jill and she disappeared with a thunder of feet going upstairs in the annexe a moment later.

  Penny could see Henry staring at her out the corner of her eye, but he didn’t say anything, so she didn’t either.

  Eventually, he stood up and wrapped the robe around himself, tying it at his waist just as he’d done to her the night before. He moved round the table towards Jill who was deliberately reading the paper and trying to pretend she wasn’t there.

  ‘Jill, it was a pleasure meeting you and thank you so much for breakfast,’ Henry said, placing a kiss on her cheek. ‘I’ll see you guys later, I’m sure.’

  He walked back round the table towards Penny and she wondered for one brief brilliant moment whether she would get a kiss too, but she didn’t. He gave her a small smile and then disappeared back into his home, closing the door softly behind him.

  Jill surveyed Penny over her mug of tea with a smile. ‘Well, he’s easy on the eye, isn’t he?’

  Penny couldn’t even deny it.

  ‘And he’s keen on you.’

  Penny shook her head. ‘No, I really just think he’s like that with everyone. He was flirting with you, I think it’s the way he is.’

  ‘There was a huge difference between how he treated me and how he treated you. The sexual tension between you two is blazing hot.’

  Penny didn’t have anything she could say to that. She had noticed it too but she didn’t think it was anything Henr
y was going to act on any time soon.

  ‘What are you afraid of?’

  ‘Having my heart broken again.’

  Jill’s face softened and she moved around the table, enveloping Penny in a big hug. ‘Honey, you deserve to be happy and loved, but you’re never ever going to have that unless you take a risk. Henry seems like a good man – take a chance with him and just see what happens.’

  Penny nodded. For the first time in over eight years she was attracted to someone and in ways she had never felt before. She would be a fool to throw that away before even giving it a go. She just had to hope that Henry was willing to give her a chance too.

  * * *

  Henry leaned against the bedroom door, watching Daisy move around the room, putting glittery picture frames of her friends on shelves, soft toys on her bed, and rearranging her CDs. There just wasn’t enough room for all her stuff in here; there wouldn’t be enough room for all her stuff in the whole annexe, let alone in the tiny bedroom. Most of it was going to have to stay in boxes in the shed that Penny said they could use until they moved out.

  Daisy caught him watching and smiled up at him.