Romy was tidying up the kitchen the following morning, when there was a loud banging on the door. She opened it to find Lesley, Danny and Kit standing outside.
‘Surprise!’ Lesley said, jumping up and down in glee – or maybe just to keep warm. ‘We’ve come to rescue you.’
She barged past Romy, Kit and Danny following her. She stopped abruptly in the living room, her gaze fixed on the mattress in front of the fire. ‘Oh!’ Her eyes drifted to Kit and Danny, but they had headed straight for the kitchen. ‘Maybe you don’t want rescuing,’ she whispered to Romy, nodding at the mattress.
‘Don’t be daft! The heating broke down and we had to sleep in here with the fire, that’s all. I slept here and Ethan slept on the couch, and it was all very civilised.’
‘Oh, pity,’ Lesley shrugged, seeming to accept her explanation. ‘Well, I’m going to get the sausages on. I’m starving. We brought bags of food!’ She headed to the kitchen.
When she was gone, Romy scanned the room quickly for any incriminating evidence, but there was none. They had spent all day yesterday in bed, dozing on and off, only getting up to eat and to feed and change Luke. Even so, they had still been too tired last night for anything more than some chaste kissing before falling asleep in each other’s arms. So the condom lived to fight another day. Shit, the condom!
She followed Lesley into the kitchen. Kit and Danny were standing in opposite corners of the room, glowering at each other, creating a decidedly frosty atmosphere, while Lesley unloaded what looked like the contents of an entire butcher’s counter into a couple of pans. Romy’s eyes darted to the windowsill, where the condom box still sat. She waited until she was sure no one was looking and grabbed it, shoving it into the cupboard under the sink. They had been planning to use it today, their last hurrah before heading back to Dublin. So much for that, she thought sadly.
She heard Ethan’s quick step on the stairs.
‘Your bath’s ready, babe,’ he called as he came into the room, and Romy spun towards him, raising her eyebrows in warning. ‘Oh, hi!’ He stopped in the doorway, looking around at everyone, then walked over to Luke’s cot and lifted him out. ‘Come on, babe,’ he said. ‘Bathtime.’
Phew, good save, Romy thought.
‘Why don’t I give him his bath?’ Danny said, holding out his arms to take Luke. ‘I haven’t seen him in ages.’
‘Oh, I’m not sure that’s … I mean, I think it would be better if I—’
‘What?’ Danny gave an incredulous laugh. ‘Who do you think you are – his dad or something?’
‘No, but—’
‘Just give him to me.’
‘Um … okay,’ Ethan said, handing Luke over with obvious reluctance.
Danny stalked off with Luke, but reappeared moments later. ‘Christ, are you trying to drown him or something? You should see the bath he was planning to put Luke in,’ he said to Romy. ‘It’s full to the top – and it’s got bubble bath!’
‘Oh … um, I guess I got a bit carried away in the excitement of having hot water again – forgot who it was for,’ Ethan mumbled.
‘It’s scalding hot too,’ Danny frowned at him.
‘Sorry. Seems a shame to waste all that water, though. Why don’t you use it, Romy?’ Ethan said.
‘Oh, good idea. Thanks.’ She threw him a sympathetic smile.
‘I guess I’ll just go and get started on packing up the car,’ he said, and walked out, his shoulders hunched miserably.
Danny rolled his eyes. ‘He’s a bigger eejit than his brother, if that’s possible,’ he muttered, apparently not caring that Kit was within earshot.
‘I’ll go and help Ethan,’ Kit said, shooting Danny a sulky look and stomping out of the kitchen.
Luke started crying, and Danny wandered off to the living room with him. ‘What’s got into them?’ Romy whispered to Lesley once they were alone.
‘God knows,’ Lesley said, rolling her eyes, ‘but they’ve been like that all day.’
It wasn’t like Danny to be so bad-tempered and belligerent. What on earth could have happened between him and Kit? Then she almost gasped aloud as a thought struck her. Surely not … But she dismissed the idea almost immediately. It couldn’t be that. As far as Danny was concerned, Kit was her boyfriend – and Kit wouldn’t do anything to make him believe otherwise.
‘Thank God you’ll be coming back with us,’ Lesley was saying. ‘I couldn’t stand being stuck in a car with glum and glummer for another three hours.’
‘Three hours!’
‘The roads still aren’t great around here.’
‘What possessed you all to come down anyway?’
‘It was my idea. I suppose I was feeling a bit stir crazy after being cooped up for so long because of the snow. I just felt like a jaunt. I thought it would be fun – three crazy dudes hitting the open road. Seemed like a good idea at the time,’ she said sourly.
Romy smiled sympathetically.
‘You seem very cosy with Ethan,’ Lesley said after a pause. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind us being here?’
‘No, don’t be daft!’
‘Well, you’d better go and have that bath before it gets cold. Breakfast will be ready in about half an hour.’
‘Okay, thanks.’
On the stairs, Romy met Ethan coming down, carrying a box in his arms. He made desperate eyes at her, and she silently signalled to him to follow her back up. There was no one upstairs, but just in case, she waited until they were in the bathroom with the door closed before she spoke.
‘Sorry,’ she whispered, ‘I had no idea they were coming.’
He just looked at her, his expression full of sadness and longing. ‘Shit!’
‘I know.’
He bent and kissed her, his fingers pulling her jumper up slightly, lightly playing with the bare skin of her back and stomach, barely touching her, but already driving her crazy. Damn, why had they wasted so much time? Why hadn’t they spent every waking moment they had doing this? Every time Ethan pulled back, it was only milliseconds before he leaned in and kissed her again. Finally, he wrenched himself away with a groan.
‘You’d better have your bath before it gets cold,’ he said. ‘I wish …’ he looked longingly at the bubble-filled water.
‘I know, me too.’
Still he didn’t budge, instead grabbing her jumper by the hem and pulling it over her head, followed by the long-sleeved T-shirt underneath. Then he started to unhook her bra.
‘Ethan!’ Kit called from the stairs.
‘Shit, better go.’ With one last lingering kiss, he hurried out of the room and Romy locked the door behind him.
How are we going to keep our hands off each other for the next few days? She sank into the warm water. She was looking forward to going home in a way, but she wasn’t prepared for her time with Ethan to be cut short so abruptly. She had thought they would have today at least. She realised how, even in the short time they’d had, she’d become addicted to having sex with him, and even though he said he still wanted them to be together in Dublin, she was scared that it wouldn’t happen. They would have to sneak around, and maybe he would decide that it was too complicated and not worth the bother – especially when he had so many other opportunities. There were plenty of girls who wanted to be with him – girls he wouldn’t have to see in secret. Would he forget about her once they were out of their little bubble? She scooped up the largest bubble from the top of the bath and blew it into the air, watching as it floated above the water until it burst and disappeared.
‘I was talking to Mom,’ Ethan said later as they all sat around the kitchen table eating Lesley’s enormous fry-up. ‘She wants you guys to come for drinks at our house on Christmas morning,’ he said to Romy.
‘You mean all of us?’
‘Yeah. You and Luke, your mom, Danny.’
‘Oh, great! That’s really nice of her.’
‘Brilliant!’ Danny said, rolling his eyes.
‘Bloody great!’ Kit s
aid, sounding far from happy.
Romy, Ethan and Lesley exchanged puzzled looks. What the hell was going on with those two? Romy wondered. Whatever it was, it was going to be a very long drive back to Dublin.
‘I get the impression she’s got a few presents for Luke,’ Ethan said, smiling at Romy. ‘And she figured you’d want to spend some time with him on Christmas Day,’ he said to Kit.
‘Of course I want to spend time with Luke – and Romy,’ Kit said pointedly.
‘Well, I think it’s great. I’m looking forward to it already,’ Ethan said. Kit merely scowled at him in response.
Romy tried to engineer it so that Ethan went in the van with her, and the other three drove back together, but Lesley was having none of it.
‘No way!’ she said. ‘I’m not going to be stuck in a car with those two for another bloody three-hour journey. At least now we can separate them, so no one has to put up with the pair of them.’
Romy conceded that it wouldn’t be fair to inflict that on Lesley again, so Danny and Kit were separated like a pair of squabbling children. Lesley drove Kit and Ethan, while Romy took Danny.
‘Try and find out what’s going on with them,’ Lesley whispered to her before they got into their cars. ‘I’ll do the same. That way we’ll get both sides of the story.’
But Danny wasn’t very forthcoming when Romy tried to press him for details. All she could get out of him was that Kit had called round a bit pissed and outstayed his welcome, drinking wine on the sofa while Danny was trying to get ready to go out. She didn’t feel she was getting the full story by a long shot.
‘Well, I just hope you can both behave yourselves on Christmas Day,’ she said.
‘Yeah, and I think that’s a crap idea, by the way. I don’t want to spend any of Christmas Day with that wanker!’
Romy gave up and dropped the subject. She could only hope that the two of them had got over their strop by Christmas.
When they stopped at a petrol station for coffee, she took Lesley aside to see if she had discovered anything more from Kit.
‘No, I couldn’t get anything out of him – Ethan tried too. He just kept saying Danny was a sanctimonious jumped-up prick.’
Romy sighed. She loved Christmas, but she had a feeling that this year it would not be without its difficulties.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Mastersons were assembled in the hall to greet Romy and her family on Christmas morning. Romy was hyper-aware of Ethan from the second she walked through the door. He looked so beautiful in a thick cream cable-knit sweater and black jeans and her heart was pounding as she made her way to him, greeting first his mother and father, then Hannah and Tank, until finally she came to him.
‘Happy Christmas,’ he said, kissing her on the cheek. She wished she could have more than a brotherly peck, but there was no way that was going to happen today. Kit, on the other hand, pulled her into his arms and made a show of giving her a lingering kiss on the lips. She felt her cheeks redden, conscious that everyone else was watching. She would have to break up with him after Christmas. She just wasn’t cut out for this beard business.
Marian had got away with a handshake from Tank, probably in deference to the fact that he hadn’t met her before. But Danny, being male, apparently warranted no such concession and was treated to a brief sparring match before being wrestled into a headlock. Kit and Danny were civil, but just about, nodding coolly at each other.
They were ushered into the living room where there was a roaring fire and Laura served champagne with smoked salmon canapés, while Luke was passed around and fussed over by everyone. No matter who Romy was talking to, she always knew where Ethan was in the room, her senses on high alert whenever he came close to her. At least, she had a good excuse for watching him when he took Luke, and she didn’t have to hide her enchantment as he played with her son. But the urge to dart across the room and throw herself into his arms was almost overwhelming. They hadn’t seen each other since coming back from Wicklow, and it was driving her crazy not being able to touch him the way she wanted to. Being so close to him only increased the agony.
She was pleased to see that her mother seemed to be really enjoying getting to know her old neighbours again, and she and Laura were chatting away like old friends while Colm bounced Luke on his knee and showed him the big fluffy polar bear they’d bought him. Danny and Kit were clearly avoiding each other, always on opposite sides of the room, neither of them looking happy.
‘Come up to my room for a minute,’ Kit murmured in her ear as he sidled up to her.
‘Why?’
‘I just thought we should disappear for a while – you know, so everyone will think we can’t keep our hands off each other.’
‘Oh. Okay,’ she said, putting down her glass. He took her hand and she followed him from the room, feeling Ethan’s eyes on them as they left.
‘We’ll just stay up here for a few minutes,’ Kit said as they sat on his bed. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’
‘No, it’s fine.’ It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she wanted them to stage a break-up, but he seemed a bit down, and she didn’t want to upset him at Christmas. It could wait until the holidays were over.
‘So, we’re having our New Year’s Eve party this year – Ethan, Hannah and I. I presume you’ll come?’ Kit asked her.
‘You still do that?’ Kit’s parents always spent New Year’s Eve with Colm’s family in Cork, and as teens, the three siblings traditionally took advantage of being left alone in a parent-free house, and threw a party.
‘Well, we haven’t for ages, but we decided we’d re-instigate it this year since we’re all home.’
‘Sounds great! I’ll definitely be there if I can get a babysitter. ’ Maybe she could even get some time alone with Ethan. ‘Do you think we’ve been up here long enough?’ she asked, anxious to get back downstairs. She may not be able to touch Ethan, but at least she could talk to him.
‘Sure. Why don’t I go down first and you follow in a few minutes – that way it’ll seem like we’re trying to be discreet. And muss yourself up a bit before you come down.’
‘Okay.’ She sighed as he left the room.
She came out of Kit’s bedroom a few moments later. As she made her way along the landing, another door opened and Ethan appeared. Grasping her arm, he pulled her into the room, then shut the door and backed her up against it.
‘Happy Christmas.’ He grinned, gazing into her eyes before swooping in for a kiss. All Romy’s pent-up longing whooshed over her like a wave at the feel of his lips on hers, leaving her gasping for breath. She grabbed him, kissing him back feverishly, running her fingers through his hair and over his chest like she could never get enough of him.
When they finally broke apart they were both flushed and breathless.
‘God, I needed that,’ Ethan said, leaning his forehead on hers. ‘I’ve missed you so much. I’m going crazy not being able to touch you. And kiss you.’ He leaned in and kissed her again.
‘Me too,’ Romy breathed as his lips moved to her neck. ‘But we should probably go back down. We’ll be missed.’
She felt him nod, the softness of his hair tickling her chin, but he made no move to let her go as he nuzzled the sensitive skin of her throat.
Finally, he lifted his head with a sigh. ‘I wish we could …’ His eyes drifted regretfully to the large bed that dominated the room, and Romy suddenly realised that they were in his bedroom. The thought gave her goose bumps. If only there was time, she thought, looking longingly at the bed – even for a quickie. Maybe on New Year’s Eve – perhaps in the commotion of the party they could slip away unnoticed.
‘We should probably go down separately,’ Ethan was saying, ‘so no one gets suspicious.’
Romy nodded. ‘I’ll go first.’ She knew the drill by now.
This had gone beyond ridiculous, she thought, torn between annoyance and amusement as she peeked out the door first to make sure no one was looking, th
en crept along the corridor. Her life had turned into a French farce.
‘Good job!’ Kit said when she rejoined him in the living room.
‘What?’ She frowned at him in confusion.
‘The mussing up,’ he said. ‘You look like your feathers have been well and truly ruffled.’
Romy smiled weakly at him and took a big slug of champagne. She had to force herself not to turn around when she heard Ethan return to the room moments later, but it wasn’t long after that that her mother declared that it was time to go because she needed to get the turkey in the oven. They collected their coats in the hall and took their leave with more hugs and kisses and wishes of ‘Merry Christmas’. When they were on the doorstep, Danny pulled a rolled up sheet of paper from the inside pocket of his coat and turned back, marching up to Kit.
‘That’s for you,’ he said gruffly, handing it to him.
Kit looked down warily at the scroll in his hand. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s the design I did for your garden.’
‘Oh, thanks. I didn’t think—’
Danny bristled, and turned to go.
‘Thanks!’ Kit called after him.
As the days passed, Romy started to feel very antsy about not seeing Ethan. She had felt sure he would call over on Stephen’s Day on the pretext of visiting Kit, and they would at least be able to see each other, but he didn’t. She missed him desperately, and the more time passed without seeing him, the more on edge and insecure she felt, fretting about who he was with and worried that he was forgetting her. Out of sight is out of mind, and Ethan wasn’t renowned for having much of an attention span when it came to women. Perhaps her time was up.
She tried to reassure herself that she was being silly and had nothing to worry about. After all, he had told her how much he missed her on Christmas Day – more than that, he had shown her. She repeated his words over and over again in her head, and relived his passionate kisses. He had seemed as desperate to have some time alone together as she was. She had to have a little faith. But as the days after Christmas passed with no sign of Ethan, it became harder and harder to believe.
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