The Twelve Nights of Christmas

by Sarah Morgan

  Evie slackened her grip. Determined not to make the same mistake again, she spent the next ten minutes glancing furtively around her, trying to put faces to names. The foyer was crammed with glamorous people, all of whom seemed completely comfortable in their equally glamorous surroundings. They looked like elegant swans, she thought gloomily, whereas she—she felt like an emu. Tall, conspicuous and horribly out of place amongst so many delicate, beautiful birds.

  Watching her face, Rio sighed. ‘You look as though you’re about to visit the dentist. Try and relax.’

  Finding the mingling in the foyer desperately stressful, Evie was relieved when they moved into the cinema for the showing of the film. Her spirits lifted still further when she discovered that it was a Christmas movie.

  More comfortable in the dark, she slipped off her shoes and settled down in her seat, looking forward to a couple of hours of seasonal entertainment. Watching elves dance across the screen, she was just starting to feel Christmassy when she became aware that Rio was emailing someone on his BlackBerry.

  ‘You’re supposed to switch off your mobile.’ The moment she said the words she realised how stupid she sounded. This wasn’t a commercial showing. It hadn’t escaped her notice that the other guests had been vying with each other in an attempt to exchange a few words with him. It was obvious that he was the most powerful, influential guest here. Who was going to tell him off?

  Trying to block out the distracting sight of him ploughing through endless emails, Evie turned her attention back to the screen and soon she was lost in the film, sighing wistfully as Santa started putting presents in his sack. ‘This is a lovely story,’ she said dreamily, ‘you really ought to watch it. It might help put you in the Christmas mood.’

  The change in him was instantaneous.

  Sliding his BlackBerry into the pocket of his dinner jacket, Rio rose to his feet in a purposeful movement, indifferent to the people around him trying to enjoy the film. ‘Put your shoes back on. We’re going.’ Barely giving her time to slide her toes back into the silver shoes, Rio grabbed her hand and led her out of a door at the rear of the cinema.

  ‘They’re all looking at us—this is so embarrassing.’ Breathless, Evie tried to keep up without twisting her ankle. ‘Why are we leaving? I was enjoying myself.’

  ‘I wasn’t.’ Talking into his phone again, he pushed open a fire door and Evie saw his limousine parked right outside.

  ‘But I only watched about twenty minutes!’

  ‘And that was twenty minutes too long. I can’t stand sappy Christmas movies.’

  ‘It hadn’t even got going. Santa was about to be set upon by the bad guys determined to ruin Christmas,’ Evie gasped, bending her head as he bundled her inside the car. ‘Thanks to you, I won’t ever find out how it ended.’

  ‘How do you think it ended?’ His handsome face was a mask of frustration and tension. ‘Happily, of course. It’s a Christmas movie. They only ever end happily.’

  ‘I know it ended happily but I wanted to know how it ended happily. There’s more than one route to a happy ending, you know. It’s how they do the happy ending that makes it worth watching.’

  He shot her a look of exasperation before turning his attention back to the screen of his BlackBerry. ‘I would have thought you were too old to believe in happy endings—’ he scanned, deleted, emailed ‘—especially after your recent experience.’

  ‘Just because you haven’t encountered a happy ending personally doesn’t mean you stop believing in them.’

  ‘If you go through life waiting for a happy ending then you’re setting yourself up for permanent disappointment. If you’re really that deluded then it’s no wonder that you’re currently single. No man could hope to live up to your ridiculously high levels of idealism. I almost feel sorry for Jeff.’

  Digesting that cynical take on her approach to life, Evie stiffened. ‘I gather you don’t believe in happy endings. Just don’t tell me that you don’t believe in Santa or you’ll completely ruin my evening.’ Intercepting his incredulous glance, she gave him a mocking smile. ‘You don’t believe in Santa? Careful. If you don’t believe, he won’t come.’

  Shaking his head in despair, Rio turned his head to look out of the window. ‘How do you survive in the real world? I thought women like you were extinct.’

  ‘There are some of us still flourishing in the wild.’ Evie leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes. ‘But we’re an endangered species. We have to keep our distance from cynics like you who appear to have lost all hope, otherwise we become contaminated.’

  ‘What are you hoping for?’

  She kept her eyes firmly shut. There was no way he’d understand and he’d just laugh at her. ‘Oh, this and that—the usual sort of stuff.’

  ‘The usual sort of stuff being love, kids and marriage.’

  ‘Go on—laugh. Just because I have my priorities right and all you think about is deals.’

  ‘Trust me—there is nothing about love, marriage or kids that makes me want to laugh.’

  ‘And half the world feels the same way as you.’ Evie opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. ‘But I don’t.’

  ‘Why not? You were dumped six weeks ago.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘You should be bitter and cynical.’

  ‘How does that help?’

  ‘It stops you having unrealistic expectations.’

  ‘Or perhaps it stops you spotting love when you find it.’ Evie adjusted her dress to stop it creasing. ‘My grandparents were together for sixty years. I refuse to believe it isn’t possible. Finding someone you can love and who loves you back might be rare, but it’s not impossible.’

  Rio’s handsome face was devoid of expression.

  Staring into his dark eyes, Evie felt the heat build in her body. ‘It’s probably different for you,’ she said lamely. ‘You’re rich. Relationships must be even more complicated when you’re incredibly wealthy.’

  ‘You’ve already given me your opinion on the influence of wealth on personal relationships. Clearly you think no woman would entertain the idea of a relationship with me if I weren’t wealthy.’

  ‘I didn’t say that. I’m sure there are women out there who like cynical men.’ She told herself firmly that she wasn’t one of them but, even as she gave herself a lecture, she was noticing the blue-black shadow of his hard jaw and the undeniably sexy curve of his mouth. Struggling hard not to think about sex, kissing or anything that required physical contact, Evie tried to lighten the atmosphere. ‘If you haven’t written your letter to Santa, how do you expect him to know what you’d like?’

  ‘Are you intentionally winding me up?’

  ‘Yes. Is it working?’

  ‘Yes.’ A glimmer of a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth and Evie’s limbs weakened because he was even more gorgeous when he smiled and because she knew exactly what he could do with that mouth. And she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She squirmed with awareness, furious with herself for being such a pushover. Rich, powerful guy—adoring girl. It was an embarrassing cliché.

  As if—

  ‘If I’m going along with this plan of yours,’ she said quickly, ‘there is one other thing I want at the end of it.’

  ‘You can’t renegotiate terms once they’re agreed,’ he said silkily, but Evie lifted her chin, refusing to let him intimidate her.

  ‘I want a job when this is over. And, to be honest, that will look better for you, too. If I’m going to dump you and people find out I’ve lost my job they’ll just assume you’re petty and small-minded and you wouldn’t want that.’

  ‘Thanks for protecting my image.’ His eyes gleamed with sardonic mockery. ‘Do you have a particular job in mind? Santa’s cheerleader?’

  ‘I was employed to work on Reception,’ Evie said firmly, ‘and that’s what I want to do. I was good at it.’

  ‘So, if you were employed to work on Reception, why were you working as a housekeeper when I a
rrived in the early hours this morning?’

  ‘Because Tina demoted me. She said I talked too much.’ Evie’s eyes flashed defensively. ‘But I don’t see how you can talk too much as a receptionist. I was making people feel welcome. That’s the job my grandfather thinks I’m doing, and that’s the job I want when I finally dump you.’

  ‘All right.’

  Evie gulped. ‘All right? You’re saying yes? I can have my job as receptionist back?’

  ‘I’m saying yes,’ he drawled softly, ‘although, if you’re missing your grandfather that much, it strikes me you might be better taking a job closer to home.’

  ‘There isn’t anything. I tried that. No one needs my skills. What will happen to Carlos?’

  ‘I have no idea.’ Rio pressed a button by his seat and a panel opened. ‘Do you drink champagne?’

  Evie didn’t want to admit she’d never tasted it. ‘Of course.’

  He withdrew a bottle from the fridge, popped the cork and poured the bubbling liquid into two tall slender-stemmed glasses. ‘To our deal.’

  Evie sipped from the glass he handed her and choked as the bubbles flew up her nose. ‘Oh—that’s—’ she coughed ‘—yummy.’ She took another mouthful. ‘Happy Christmas. How long do we have to keep this up? When will you know if you’ve rescued your deal?’

  He looked out of the window. ‘We’ve arrived.’

  And he hadn’t answered her question.

  Wondering once again what it was about this particular deal that was so important, Evie followed his gaze and gasped. ‘We’re at the Natural History Museum.’ The famous building was illuminated against the winter night and thousands of tiny sparkling lights had been threaded through the branches of the trees. In front of the building was an ice rink and the whole place had been transformed into a winter paradise. ‘I had no idea they held events here.’

  ‘This is a very prestigious fund-raiser.’

  ‘Can we ice skate?’

  ‘Absolutely not.’

  ‘But it’s snowing.’ Evie leaned forward, captivated by the atmosphere. ‘It would be magical. Do you think we’ll have a white Christmas?’

  ‘I couldn’t care less. Do you want an umbrella?’

  ‘You don’t like snow? Seriously?’

  ‘It’s useful when I’m skiing. The rest of the time it’s an inconvenience.’

  ‘When did you last make a snowman or throw a snowball?’

  Rio frowned. ‘We need to get out of the car, Evie.’

  Evie didn’t budge. ‘You don’t write to Santa, you hate decorations, you don’t like snow, you won’t ice skate—there must be something you like about Christmas. Turkey? Meeting up with friends? What’s the best thing about Christmas for you?’

  The door was opened by his security chief and a blast of cold air entered the car.

  Rio stared at her for a long moment, his face unsmiling. ‘The best thing about Christmas for me is when it’s over,’ he gritted. ‘Now, get out of the car and smile.’

  ‘So the rumours are true, Rio? You’re engaged? You do realise you’ve just ruined every single woman’s Christmas, and half the married ones, too?’ Tabitha Fenton-Coyle stroked her long red fingernails over his sleeve. ‘Tell me what it is about her that induced a hardened cynic like yourself into marriage.’

  ‘You need to ask?’

  ‘Well, she’s pretty, of course, in a slightly unsophisticated way that a man might find appealing—’ There was a flinty glint in Tabitha’s eyes and Rio turned his head and noticed Evie laughing uninhibitedly with the two Russian billionaires, both known for their arrogant refusal to speak English at social events. They were taciturn, remote and notoriously unapproachable and yet both appeared to be listening to Evie with rapt attention.

  How was she making herself understood?

  From across the table, Rio tried to hear what she was saying. She was chatting non-stop, her hands moving as she illustrated her point. Occasionally she paused to sip champagne or listen to their response.

  ‘Clever of you to find a woman who speaks Russian,’ Tabitha said, ‘given your business interests in that country. Is that how you met? Is she an interpreter or something?’

  Evie spoke Russian?

  Unable to hear her above the noise from the surrounding tables, Rio focused his gaze on her lips and realised that she was indeed speaking Russian.

  His hostess was watching him. ‘You didn’t know, did you? Well, if she can persuade them to open their wallets when the charity auction begins, then she’ll certainly get my vote.’

  Where had Evie learned to speak Russian?

  Why hadn’t she mentioned it when he’d told her that Vladimir didn’t speak good English and that she wouldn’t be able to communicate without an interpreter? And then he remembered her responding that she wouldn’t need an interpreter. At the time he’d assumed she’d meant that she’d be using sign language and lots of smiles—not once had it occurred to him that she spoke fluent Russian.

  Coffee was served as the auction began and there was a sudden flurry of movement as people swapped seats.

  Her cheeks pink with excitement, Evie swayed to her feet and found her way to the seat next to him. ‘I’m having such a nice time. Those men are so sweet. You should have mentioned how funny they were.’

  Rio tightened his grip on the glass. ‘Just as you should possibly have mentioned the fact that you’re fluent in Russian.’

  ‘You were being arrogant and I thought it would be more fun to just surprise you. I thought it might teach you not to underestimate people.’ Craning her neck, she looked over his shoulder towards the stage and the dance floor. ‘What’s happening now?’

  Rio fingered the stem of his glass. ‘I do not underestimate people.’

  ‘Yes, you do. But you probably can’t help it,’ she said kindly. ‘Is there going to be dancing?’

  ‘It’s the auction first. The bidding will raise money for the charity.’ Rio was still watching her. ‘Do you speak any other languages?’

  ‘French, Spanish and Mandarin. So am I allowed to bid for something?’

  ‘You speak four languages?’

  ‘Five, if you count English. How much am I allowed to bid?’

  ‘You don’t speak Italian?’

  ‘No.’ She helped herself to a chocolate from the plate. ‘That CD was always out of the library whenever I looked.’

  Rio shot her an incredulous look. ‘You taught yourself all those languages?’

  ‘I’m good at languages. I taught myself the basics and then there was a teacher at school who helped me and I had a friend who spoke Mandarin and Russian.’ She was looking across the room. ‘Don’t look now but there’s a huge Christmas tree next to the stage—you’d better close your eyes or it will probably give you a nervous breakdown. I’m surprised you didn’t phone ahead and ask them to remove it.’

  Still absorbing the fact that she spoke five languages, Rio dragged his gaze to the stage and saw the Christmas tree. She was right; it was huge—a massive symbol of the unspeakable horrors of his childhood. There was a rushing sound in his ears and suddenly the voices around him seemed far away. Instead of staring at glittering baubles, he was staring into a deep, dark black hole. Memories formed pictures in his brain, taking on shapes he didn’t want to see, like a gruesome kaleidoscope. That hideous morning. The discovery he’d made. The shock. And the emptiness.

  Suddenly every sparkle in the room seemed to intensify the dark feelings swirling in his brain. Every silver star and rope of tinsel was a silent mockery.

  Promising himself that they’d leave as soon as the auction was over, Rio sat still, ruthlessly wrestling his feelings back under control.

  From inside a fog of unwelcome memories, he was dimly aware of Evie leaning across the table, coaxing the Russians into bidding enormous sums of money in the charity auction. Even Tabitha was looking impressed as Evie switched between Russian and English, extracting more money from the billionaires than they’d sucked oil fro
m the Caspian Sea.

  If the circumstances had been different, Rio would have laughed. As it was, he just wanted to leave.

  They’d been seen together. The ring had been photographed. Rumours were spreading.

  It was done.

  Rio watched with a frown as Tabitha made sure that Evie’s glass was kept topped up. She was drinking the champagne as if it were soda, and he realised that if he didn’t remove her from this table quickly she was going to be drunk.

  As the auction ended and a band started warming up on the stage, Rio drained his glass and turned to Evie. ‘We’re leaving.’

  ‘No way! Not this time. I missed almost all of the film—I’m not missing the rest of the ball. The dancing hasn’t started yet.’ She started to sway in her seat in time to the music while Tabitha looked on with a mixture of condescension and amusement.

  ‘If you can persuade Rio to dance with you, then I’m willing to believe he’s in love. I’ve never known him to dance. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he didn’t have rhythm.’ She gave Rio a knowing look and he saw Evie’s happy smile falter as she digested the meaning behind those words.

  Rio cursed silently.

  She might be tipsy, but she wasn’t so under the influence that she didn’t recognise a barb when it was poked into her flesh.

  Removing the champagne glass from her hand, he dragged her to her feet. ‘You’re right—we’ll dance.’ Without giving himself time to think about it, he led her onto the dance floor and slid his arm around her waist. ‘Smile.’

  ‘What is there to smile about? She’s flaunting the fact she’s had sex with you. She’s vile. And you have no taste. No wonder you’ve never wanted to settle down with anyone if she’s the sort of person you’ve been seeing.’

  ‘I have not had sex with her,’ Rio breathed, bending his head so that he spoke the words in her ear and couldn’t be overheard. Immediately, her perfume wound itself round his senses. ‘She was trying to cause trouble. Trying to hurt you. Don’t let her. You’re just over-emotional because you’ve had too much champagne. Now smile, because the whole purpose of tonight is to convince people our relationship is real.’