Bells and Bows on Mistletoe Row

by Emily Harvale

  Chapter Seventeen

  Thursday was as beautiful, weather-wise, as Wednesday had been. The sun was shining, the sky was a cloudless baby blue, and it was warm again for the time of year. Harrison walked down to the lake and brushed the small amount of remaining snow from the bench. There wasn't even a frost this morning, and the snow on the ground was rapidly turning to a coffee coloured slush.

  The last few days had been a complete shock to his system. Juliet had walked back into his life at Merry's Christmas Tree Farm on Monday, nearly drowned on Tuesday — but given him a small amount of hope — and walked back out of it on Wednesday.

  And as if that wasn't bad enough, Luke had spent Wednesday afternoon telling him his own plans for the future, which astonishingly involved Juliet's younger sister, Zoe.

  If Luke's relationship progressed with Zoe the way Luke seemed positive it would, Juliet would be in Harrison's life forever. Only not in the way he wanted. So close, and yet so far.

  It would be inevitable that they would meet at family gatherings; he couldn't avoid them all. For the past twenty years he had managed to evade spending Christmas with his grandfather, but he had always spent time with Luke over the holidays, and seen him on birthdays and several times throughout each year. If Luke set up home with Zoe, Harrison could hardly ask him to spend those times at Harrison's home, and not his own with his wife, and possibly her family. And then of course, Luke and Zoe would have a family of their own, to whom he would be an uncle and Juliet, an aunt. There was some irony in that.

  He was happy for Luke, of course. Luke had found love and someone to share his life with; something Harrison had failed miserably at. His love was unrequited and had been for twenty years. But he wasn't going to think about that yet again.

  Once Harrison had recovered from the shock of Luke's news, he and Luke had spent Wednesday evening discussing Luke and Zoe's potential business. Luke would receive the money from his trust fund on his thirtieth birthday, and that was a couple of hundred thousand pounds. More than enough to start a new venture. But his birthday wasn't until February and Harrison could see how enthusiastic Luke was and how keen to get the ball rolling. Luke had only asked for Harrison's advice, and for some moral support to help him and Zoe get the business off the ground. Harrison had offered to give Luke the start-up money as a Christmas and early birthday present. That meant they could begin their future together right away. Luke had jumped at the chance.

  When Harrison had turned thirty, he had come into his trust fund, but he had already started a business, years before, and made plenty of money of his own. As the eldest son, Harrison had not only received more money than Luke, he had also inherited an ancient family trust – and that now included The Grange. And that was when he had discovered the full extent of his grandfather's deception.

  If he could have hated the old man more, he would have. Instead, what he discovered had actually made him feel sad for Rufus Bow.

  Rufus hadn't purchased The Grange with his own money twenty years ago; he had used money that had actually belonged to Harrison. Well, to Harrison from the ancient family trust, and money from Harrison's own father, who, prior to his death, had made Rufus executor of his will, a trustee of his estate, and given power of attorney. Which basically had meant that the million or so Harrison's father had made from running his own extremely successful housebuilding business, together with a couple of million from the ancient trust, had been sitting in a bank account for Rufus to use however he wished – the only proviso being that it must be to Harrison's future benefit. Strictly speaking, Rufus had never owned The Grange. It had always belonged to Harrison. He simply hadn't known about it until his thirtieth birthday.

  And when, eight years ago, he had discovered the truth, he had been sorely tempted to kick the old man out without a penny. At least, without a penny of Harrison's money. Rufus did have money of his own, simply nowhere near as many zeros as Harrison. Instead, Harrison had merely decided he would never speak to the old man again. Not that they had spoken much since the day Harrison left The Grange as an unhappy and resentful eighteen-year-old. The only thing they had discussed during all those years had been Luke, and what was best for Luke's future.

  The one thing Harrison had never understood was why Rufus was so hell-bent on owning The Grange. He had a perfectly good home of his own. And so had Harrison's parents. Maybe neither house had been as grand as The Grange, and certainly nowhere near as old, but they had both been fairly impressive. Rufus had sold both houses.

  It had only been about three years or so ago, and then by pure chance, that Harrison had uncovered Rufus' final secret. And he had certainly kept it a secret. Rufus' father, Harrison's great-grandfather, had been engaged to Juliet's great-grandmother, and apparently been madly in love. Madly, being the appropriate word. It seemed the man was a bit of a tyrant, to put it mildly, and his fiancée had second thoughts. She broke the engagement off, which caused substantial embarrassment to the Bows, apparently. But who could blame her? Even Harrison had heard stories of how truly evil his great-grandfather had been. Well, the man certainly blamed Juliet's great-grandmother, and also the woman's father for not forcing his daughter to honour her engagement. And he swore that one day he, or one of the Bows, would own The Grange. Even after he married Harrison's unfortunate great-grandmother and had Rufus, the man had been obsessed. Rufus had spent his childhood and long after, constantly hearing that one day, the Bows would own The Grange.

  But Harrison's great-grandfather hadn't been the first Bow to want the place. The Bows had wanted it for hundreds of years before. That was another thing Harrison had discovered three years ago when he had finally taken the time to go through all the old papers, records, letters and diaries he had also inherited on his thirtieth birthday.

  The revelation had unnerved him, almost as much as when he had uncovered Rufus' deception. It had also made him question his long-held feelings for Juliet. Was there some rogue gene or something in the Bow family that drew them all to the Bells and to The Grange? It was more than a little worrying. Or perhaps something in the Bows was repeatedly attracted to something in the Bells. Perhaps the families were actually meant to be together.

  That thought made him laugh out loud. It wasn't his fault he was still in love with Juliet; it was simply in his blood.

  And now his younger brother Luke had succumbed. He too had fallen in love with a Bell. It was like a virus. Well, scientists had always said that falling in love was merely a chemical reaction – a biological drive. Did that make the situation better, or worse? And did it even matter? He had fallen in love with Juliet. Luke had fallen in love with Zoe. At least one of them would have a happy ending.

  Harrison spent the morning walking around the grounds, and eventually, once Kiki was up, dressed and ready for action, they had had lunch and then spent the afternoon working. He wanted to get the ball rolling with regard to the finances for Luke before the banks, the lawyers, and the accountants shut down for the Christmas holiday.

  To say that Kiki was astonished regarding Luke and Zoe, was possibly an understatement.

  'What is it with that bloody family?' she said.

  Harrison laughed. 'I've been asking myself that question all morning. I blame the universe. We're all made up of stardust. Perhaps, billions of years ago, the Bow's stardust and the Bell's stardust were part of the same star, and we've spent billions of years trying to reform.'

  'What? Have you started drinking early? I know it's the festive season and I've seen your grandfather with a glass in his hand at eleven a.m. but consuming alcohol before seven in the evening is a first for you.'

  'No, Kiki. I haven't been drinking. But I suppose you could say I am a little punch-drunk. There's been one surprise after another since I got here.'

  'You can say that again.'

  He did have several glasses of wine with dinner, and a brandy or two after that, but by the time he went to bed, he began to wish he hadn't. Kiki had been getting a little tacti
le all evening and as they walked upstairs she linked her arm through his.

  'We haven't spent much time together, have we? Just you and me, I mean.'

  'No. There hasn't been much time for work, I agree.'

  Kiki tutted. 'I wasn't talking about work, Harrison. I was talking about us. I was hoping we could spend more time getting to know one another. That's one of the reasons I came here.'

  Harrison furrowed his brows. 'We do know one another.'

  'Oh, Harrison. I mean, I was hoping that there might be more to our relationship than work. And please don't say we're friends. Or that I'm like a sister to you. I don't want to be your sister, Harrison. And I want to be so much more than your friend. Can't you see how I feel about you? Don't you find me attractive?'

  'Of course I do. Any man would. You're gorgeous, Kiki.'

  'So?'

  He hesitated. 'Er. So ... What?'

  'Are you being intentionally obtuse?'

  'I'm not being intentionally anything. I'm not sure what you're saying.'

  'I'm saying I'm attracted to you, Harrison. Sexually attracted. I'm saying I want to go to bed with you. To have sex with you. To have a relationship with you. Wouldn't you like that?'

  'Er.'

  'Er? What do you mean, “Er”? Is that all you have to say? Jesus, Harrison. I'm offering myself to you on a plate. What more do I have to do?'

  Harrison gave a little cough, ran his free hand through his hair, and sighed deeply as he turned to face her at the top of the stairs.

  'I'm sorry, Kiki. I don't know what else to say. You're gorgeous. And I'll admit the thought of us having more than a working relationship has crossed my mind once or twice. But the plain fact is, I don't have those sort of feelings for you. I don't love you, Kiki. I like you a lot, but that isn't enough. Not for me at least.'

  'That's nonsense. Complete and utter nonsense. Are you telling me that you've been in love with all the other women you've gone to bed with? We both know there have been a few.'

  'No. In fact, I don't think I've been in love with any of them. Not really in love, in any event. But it's different with you.'

  'Why?'

  'Because with those women, I saw them, I was attracted to them and things progressed naturally from there. I didn't know them beforehand. I wasn't friends with any of them. If you and I slept together now, it would probably ruin our friendship. It would definitely affect our working relationship. We couldn't just have a casual affair. And I can't offer you anything else. We don't have a future together, Kiki. Not as husband and wife.'

  'Why do we need to be husband and wife?'

  'Because that's what I want for my future. I want someone I can share it with.'

  'You can share it with me.'

  He shook his head and lowered his eyes. 'No, Kiki. I can't.'

  'Well then, let's not worry about the future. Let's just have fun tonight, and for several nights to come.' She laughed seductively and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  He sighed deeply and with his hands, he removed her arms, and held her hands in his. He looked into her eyes and smiled wanly, shaking his head. 'No, Kiki. It wouldn't be fair, and that would stop it from being fun.'

  'You don't know what you're missing, Harrison.'

  He gave a light-hearted laugh. 'Oh I think I do. And I may very well kick myself for it in time. But for now I must do what's best for both of us. And going to bed with you is not what's best for you, or for me. Good night, Kiki. And pleasant dreams. Let's both forget we had this conversation in the morning.'

  'Huh! And pleasant dreams to you, Harrison. Why any man would want to spend his nights alone when he could be in bed with me, is beyond my comprehension.'

  'It's beyond mine, too. But that's the way it is.'

  She turned and marched down the hall to the Dawn room and slammed the door behind her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The weather wasn't the only thing that had turned distinctly frosty on Friday morning. Kiki's smile was made of ice, which matched the look in her green eyes. Over breakfast, for which Kiki had uncharacteristically got up early, she smiled warmly and laughed with Luke, but every time Harrison opened his mouth, his words were met with an arctic blast. He couldn't really blame her. He knew how it felt to tell someone you loved them and to have it thrown back in your face. Not that Kiki had said she loved him, exactly, and neither had he thrown it in her face, but a line had clearly been crossed, and he wasn't sure they would ever come back across it.

  'Zoe and I are going Christmas shopping in town today,' Luke said, seemingly unaware of the tension in the air. 'Would you and Kiki like to join us?'

  Harrison shook his head. 'Thanks for the offer, but I've got a lot of documents I need to read and sign before everyone closes for Christmas. And it's Christmas Eve on Monday, so I'm running out of time. I won't be needing you though, Kiki, so if you want to join Luke and Zoe, that's fine.'

  'Thank you so much, Harrison,' she said, and he could almost see the words freezing in the air, despite the heating being on full pelt and the warmth emanating from the roaring fire in the dining room. Her stare was equally frosty. 'But if you don't mind, I'll stay here. I have a few calls to make and emails to send. I'm considering a career change.'

  Harrison wasn't completely surprised, but Luke appeared to be.

  'A career change?' He looked from one to the other. 'Have you two had a row or something? It's not about me, is it? Or my new business, because I'd hate to think I've said or done anything to cause a rift between you.'

  'It's nothing you've said or done, Luke,' Harrison said, smiling at him. 'It's all my fault. I've been thoughtless and inconsiderate, as usual. But a career change might not be a bad thing, Kiki. Although I'd miss you dreadfully and I know I'll struggle to find a replacement anywhere near as good as you.'

  'I know,' she said, giving him an even icier stare.

  'What's going on?' Luke asked. 'What's happened? Surely you can work this out.'

  'I'm not sure we can.' Harrison finished his coffee. 'I hope we'll remain friends though. Good friends. And, of course, you'll still be staying for Christmas, won't you? Unless you'd prefer to get a flight to Aspen and join Charlie. I can arrange that if that's what you'd prefer.'

  'Again, so kind. Let me get back to you on that.'

  Harrison shrugged. 'Sure. Anytime. You know where to find me.'

  'Oh yes. I know exactly where to find you. So Luke, have you actually proposed to Zoe, or are you waiting to see how things develop?'

  Luke laughed. 'I haven't officially proposed, but we both know we're headed for the altar. And in the not too distant future, I should think. I was waiting to see how Harrison took the news before making it official.'

  'Why? What did it matter what Harrison thought? You're your own man, Luke, and you'll soon be a very wealthy one. Are you saying you would have tossed the girl aside if Harrison hadn't approved?'

  'God no! That wasn't what I meant. It's just that, there's been some bad blood between our families and I wanted to know I had Harrison's blessing before I asked. I would still propose though, even without it. But I wanted to tell him it was something I was planning to do rather than tell him it was done and he had to live with it.'

  'I don't see the difference.'

  'What Luke means is that he wanted to give me time to get used to the idea, I think, rather than just hit me in the face with it. I respect and admire him for that. And Zoe, too, for understanding.'

  'Aw. How sweet. And Juliet will be over the moon that she'll finally get her house back. It won't be hers, of course, but with her sister married to a Bow, and no doubt living here, she'll get to come and go as and when she pleases, won't she? And I know how much that will mean to her. I've heard a bit about it from Daphne, your grandfather, and the locals. It seems there's a whole history between the Bells and the Bows.'

  'Yes,' Harrison said, his fingers clutching the handle of his empty coffee cup. 'And now there's going to be an entire future between our fam
ilies, too. But I'm not sure Juliet will exactly be over the moon about it.'

  'She's fine with it,' said Luke, smiling at his brother. 'Zoe told her on Wednesday when they got home. Just before I told you. She was shocked, of course. But Zoe said Juliet was genuinely pleased for us. And she's going to be a bridesmaid when we do get married. Zoe's already told her that.'

  'Then I think it's about time you actually proposed,' Harrison said, grinning. 'It seems a bit non-sensical to be planning a wedding before you've asked the question. Even if you both know the answer will be yes. Have you spoken to the old man?'

  Luke tutted and shook his head. 'I told him last night. He wasn't best pleased, but I made it clear that it's happening, regardless, and that he can choose to either be a part of our lives, or not. I'm glad to say, he chose to be a part of it, albeit rather grudgingly.'

  'Then that's the final hurdle jumped. Have you got the money for a ring?'

  Luke laughed. 'Yes thanks. I'd have asked you for a loan for that if I hadn't, don't worry. But I've been saving for a while now and I'm going to get her something really fantastic.'

  'If you want any help with that,' Kiki said, reaching out her hand and brushing Luke's fingers with hers. 'I've got excellent taste in jewellery. I can show you exactly what she'll want. The more diamonds the better and at least 5 carats for the central one. I assume you can stretch to that.'

  'Thanks,' Luke replied. 'But I've got a pretty good idea of what Zoe likes and doesn't like. And actually, she'd prefer something simple. She's really not into ostentatious jewellery, even engagements rings. She joked that she didn't want anything too big or heavy because it would be on her finger for at least eighty years and when she gets arthritis, she doesn't want a ring that'll break her weak and ageing bones.'

  Harrison laughed. 'That's the sort of thing Juliet would say.'

  Luke grinned. 'Yeah. She and Zoe are so alike, and yet so different. Zoe's really happy that Juliet's come home. She says they're already closer than they've ever been and she's loving having a big sister she can talk to about anything. Everything seems to be falling into place. It's almost as if all this was meant to be.'