A Cosy Candlelit Christmas: A wonderfully festive feel good romance (An Unforgettable Christmas Book 2)

by Tilly Tennant

  Isla drew a breath. There was a faint sniff at the other end of the line.

  ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you, Mum.’

  Silence.

  ‘You’re angry?’ Isla glanced across at Seb. He stood and took her into his arms as she waited for her mum to say something.

  ‘No…’ the strangled reply finally came. ‘I just… I had no idea you felt that way. I thought you were happy living with me.’

  ‘I am! God, Mum, I’ve been so happy living with you! But things change – it’s inevitable and right that they do – and I’m not saying I’m not still happy, but I want to see what else life has to offer. You understand, don’t you? Can you see why I want to know more about Dad, why I want to see more of this beautiful town I’m in, why I want to be with a man who makes me happy.’

  ‘You’ve only just met him.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter that I’ve only just met him; I know him.’ She looked up and smiled at Seb, who beamed in return. She did know him already, and she knew he was right, and she knew that if she was very lucky he might just be her future – the only future she needed.

  ‘So you’re not coming home? Is that what you’re saying?’

  ‘God, no…’ Isla swallowed the squeak of frustration building in her throat. ‘I’m not saying that at all. I’ll be home as soon as the weather allows and we’ll talk more. OK?’

  ‘I’ll definitely see you? Tomorrow?’

  ‘Hopefully.’

  ‘There you go again. Are you coming home tomorrow or not?’

  ‘I’ll try. I’ll do my best, and I can’t promise any more than that.’

  ‘OK,’ Glory said stiffly. ‘See you tomorrow then.’

  ‘Bye, Mum. Love you.’

  The line went dead.

  ‘Well, that went well,’ Isla said, turning her face to Seb’s again. He wrapped her tighter in his arms and kissed her lightly.

  ‘I’m honoured that I got a mention so soon in our relationship. I could have understood if you wouldn’t want to tell her about me, I mean it’s—’

  ‘Shut up.’ Isla smiled, placing a finger on his lips. ‘Why would I want to keep my hunky glaciologist a secret?’

  ‘Well, I think you’ve hit it on the head right there actually,’ he said, laughing. ‘The glaciologist bit is usually the bit that puts people off.’

  ‘It doesn’t put me off. In fact, it rather turns me on…’

  ‘Oh…’ Seb blushed as she pulled him into a passionate kiss. ‘Does this mean we’re about to…’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Isla said. ‘It most certainly does.’

  Are you still in St Martin?

  Isla tapped out a reply in the affirmative as Seb returned from the bathroom, rubbing a towel over his wet hair.

  ‘Dad wants to know if I’m still here,’ she said. ‘I suppose he must have guessed that the weather would scupper things.’

  How about dinner with us this evening? Celine and Natalie would love it. Bring your man too. We might as well meet him properly.

  Isla frowned. ‘He wants us to go to dinner at their house.’

  ‘I don’t mind if you need to go; there’s plenty of work to keep me busy here.’

  ‘Not me. Us.’

  ‘Oh. You told him?’

  ‘He sort of guessed.’ Isla gave a sheepish smile. ‘I wasn’t doing a brilliant job of keeping a lid on my feelings to be honest.’

  Seb blushed. It really was the most adorable thing and Isla wondered if she’d ever get sick of seeing it.

  ‘I guess we should go then,’ he said. ‘The last person in the world I need to be offending is your dad.’

  ‘My dad’s a pussycat. The person you really need to worry about is my mum, but I wouldn’t dream of subjecting you to that meeting just yet. So, I’ll tell him yes?’

  Seb nodded. ‘I’m probably going to regret it, but go ahead and tell him yes.’

  ‘You must love me then,’ Isla grinned, and he blushed again.

  They’d trudged through the snow hand in hand, and though St Martin had always looked beautiful to Isla, today it was not only beautiful, but it felt like home. They’d barely talked, each content with the feel of a gloved hand in theirs and to know that they were together, but at the door of the McCoy family home, Isla paused and looked up at Seb with a silent question.

  ‘Knock,’ he said, smiling. ‘I’ll be OK.’

  ‘It’s just… you know, the family thing. Does it make you sad? I would hate to think that you were sitting there thinking about your own situation while we were all laughing and joking.’

  ‘Will there be a lot of laughing and joking? I thought it was hard work seeing them?’

  ‘It was,’ she replied with a small smile. ‘I suppose it doesn’t seem so bad now. In fact, I quite liked it yesterday. Apart from the bit where I couldn’t stop thinking about you, that is.’

  Seb’s cheeks flared briefly and she reached up to kiss him.

  He shook his head as they parted. ‘I can’t believe how lucky I am.’

  She smiled. ‘I can’t believe how lucky I am.’

  ‘No, it’s me…’

  Isla pressed a finger to his lips. ‘Shush, silly. Now, are we going to argue all day about who’s the lucky one or are we going to knock on this door?’

  ‘Do you want the honest answer to that?’

  ‘You worry too much – he’s going to love you.’

  Almost as soon as she’d rapped her knuckles on the door it opened to reveal a smiling Celine.

  ‘Welcome, welcome…’ she said as she ushered them in with kisses for both. ‘Please… everyone is waiting to see you.’

  They followed her into the kitchen where a table full of people rose to greet them. Benet was there, his usual grudging self; a smile on his face that Isla was convinced was solely the product of threats from Ian. Natalie greeted her warmly; next to her was a man Isla had never seen before.

  ‘This is Pierre,’ she announced, and Pierre stepped forward to greet Isla.

  ‘I have heard much about you,’ he said. His English was rougher than Natalie’s but he spoke it clearly. He stood perhaps three or four inches shorter than her, slight but with an undeniable boyish charm and quick, intelligent features. Isla smiled.

  ‘I hope it was good.’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘Some of you have already met him, but this is Sebastian.’ Isla grabbed Seb’s hand to indicate just what their relationship was in case anyone was in any doubt. ‘Admittedly we’ve only met this week in St Martin, but…’

  She blushed, almost as hotly as Seb himself, but he squeezed her hand gently and gave her a quick smile.

  Ian stepped forward. He kissed Isla briefly on the cheek. They’d come a long way in a week. Then he turned his attention to Seb, who stuck out his hand.

  ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you properly, sir,’ he said, and he was so breathless Isla wondered whether she’d have to administer CPR at some point. She wanted to tell him to calm down and chill out, but she supposed he would have to work that out for himself. Besides, it was sweet that he already cared so much for her that he was desperate to make a good impression. She could see by the look on Ian’s face that he was almost as desperate to make a good impression on Seb for the same reasons.

  With the introductions and greetings over, they took seats at the table. Celine poured champagne while Ian informed them that dinner would be ready shortly.

  ‘I hope we’ve no vegetarians,’ he said, glancing at Seb, who shook his head. ‘I hadn’t really considered it when I planned the menu and the shops are closed today so I couldn’t get anything else.’

  ‘I’m sure whatever it is will be lovely,’ Isla said. There was a rich, meaty smell on the air, warm with spices and perhaps the tang of red wine. Whatever it was it smelt good and Isla’s stomach groaned in agreement.

  Celine placed a delicate fluted glass in front of Ian and angled her head at Isla. ‘Perhaps you would like to share our interesting development now?’

  ‘
Aye, perhaps so.’ Ian turned to Isla. ‘I’ve had a phone call this morning. Care to take a guess at who it might have been?’

  Isla froze, glass halfway to her lips. Had Grover called him to tell him about Serendipity Sound? Were they really going to have this discussion now? ‘I’ve no idea,’ she said carefully.

  ‘Your mother.’

  Isla’s mouth fell open. If she’d been dreading his reply, nothing could have prepared her for the shock of hearing this. It might have been easier if it had been Grover Rousseau telling him about Benet’s misdemeanours. ‘Mum? When did this happen?’

  Ian nodded. ‘This morning. In fact, about twenty minutes ago.’

  Isla ran the events of the morning through her mind. When had she spoken to Glory? Perhaps a couple of hours ago? So this had been since then.

  ‘But she doesn’t even have your number, she…’

  ‘Hates me?’ Ian said with a wry smile. ‘Wouldn’t spit on me if I was on fire? I know. As for where she got the number, she must have called the shop phone – we have that on divert to the house when we’re closed; it would be easy enough to find for anyone who had the will. The reason why? Well, that’s an interesting one…’

  Isla glanced at Seb, then at Celine, Benet and Natalie in turn. Then she turned back to Ian. ‘Why?’ she asked, though she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

  ‘I’m sure you can guess it was mostly about you. We had a wee chat about what had been going on here, and about your inheritance. She wanted to know if you were happy. I said I believed so, and she said she thought so too. And she wanted to give us her blessing.’

  Isla’s eyes widened. ‘What?’

  ‘I know. She told me I had her blessing to make peace with you if it was what you wanted and she believed it was.’ He smiled. ‘Don’t think it didn’t come without a warning that she would be straight on the first plane to smash something over my head if I ever hurt you again. She told me in no uncertain terms that I’d never have her forgiveness or acceptance, but she was OK with us, going forward.’ He leaned back in his seat. ‘What do you make of that?’

  ‘I think it’s a bloody Christmas miracle,’ Isla said quietly, and Ian burst into laughter.

  ‘Couldn’t have put it better myself.’

  ‘What do you think it means?’ Isla asked. ‘What’s she up to?’

  For a moment Ian looked taken aback, then he relaxed. ‘I’d like to think it means progress, at long last.’

  Lunch consisted of escargots for starters, served in the traditional way and rich with garlic butter. Isla tried not to wrinkle her nose as the dish arrived on the table and Ian smiled as he watched her. ‘Don’t feel you have to try them if you really don’t want to.’

  Isla shook her head. ‘I’ll try them,’ she decided, looking to Seb, who was already happily tucking in. If he was eating them they couldn’t be that bad. So she bit gingerly into a corner and was surprised that where she’d expected some slimy, bitter mouthful, she could barely taste anything but sweet, melting garlic. The texture was a little on the springy side but it wasn’t too bad once you put the idea that it was a snail out of your mind.

  The main course was a different matter – duck in cranberries. Not a dollop of supermarket sauce from a jar like Isla would have with turkey at home, but a rich, fragrant jus with a hint of peppercorns giving it a kick. It was as she was joyfully shovelling this delight into her mouth that there was a knock at the front door. Celine glanced up at the clock.

  ‘Justin is here,’ she said. She looked at Isla. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but he wanted to say goodbye before you flew home so I told him you would be here today.’

  Isla stopped chewing and suddenly the divine duck didn’t seem quite so tasty. She swallowed hard and shot Seb a look of vague alarm. He reached under the table and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, so Isla forced a smile for Celine and nodded.

  ‘Of course.’

  Stupidly, it hadn’t even occurred to her that if she was going to be spending a lot more time in St Martin she was going to run into Justin again sooner or later, and probably more often than she’d like.

  A moment later, Celine returned to the dining room with Justin in tow. He stalled for a moment as his gaze settled on Seb sitting next to Isla, before regaining his composure and greeting everyone airily. If he’d been rattled by Seb’s presence he was doing a good job of hiding it. Isla wondered if Justin had come here for one last attempt to seduce her. She imagined that one look at the glow between her and Seb would send out a clear message that even Justin couldn’t fail to understand. At least she hoped so.

  ‘You will stay and eat with us?’ Celine asked.

  Justin glanced at Isla and Seb again and shook his head. ‘I see you have started already and I do not want to impose. Perhaps another time?’

  ‘We have more,’ Celine insisted. ‘I can easily find you a chair for the dinner table.’

  ‘I think…’ Isla began, interjecting before he could be persuaded to stay, ‘that perhaps Justin has places to be.’ She gave him a tight smile. ‘I do appreciate you dropping by to say goodbye to me, though.’

  ‘You will fly home soon?’ he asked.

  ‘Tomorrow,’ Isla said.

  ‘You will come back?’

  ‘I expect so; I’ve got Serendipity Sound for starters.’

  He nodded, and now his uneasy glance went to Benet, some silent signal passing between them. It would have been missed by anyone else, but Isla knew exactly what it meant. Their scheme was over. Then he made a move towards Isla, as if he might kiss her or embrace her, but stopped short, giving a stiff nod instead. ‘Bon. Au revoir, Isla. À bientôt.’

  A minute later Justin was gone. Seb turned to her as Celine fetched another bottle of champagne, Benet on hand to help her uncork it, and Ian was engaged in a conversation with Natalie and Pierre.

  ‘You OK?’ he asked in a low voice.

  ‘I think so. I wish I knew what was going through his head right now, but I suppose time will tell.’

  ‘You think he’ll make another move on you?’

  ‘Not that. I just don’t think he likes to lose.’

  ‘Perhaps if he played more fairly he wouldn’t.’

  They were interrupted by the return of Celine and the fresh bottle. After filling everyone’s glass, Ian raised his.

  ‘A toast,’ he said, looking at Isla. ‘To new beginnings.’

  Isla smiled, and then glanced at Seb as she raised her glass and then everyone else followed.

  ‘New beginnings indeed.’

  And then a thought occurred to her. She couldn’t come straight out and challenge Benet about Serendipity Sound, but she could now put it in a way that he’d understand.

  ‘I’ve decided,’ she added, ‘that I’m going to keep Serendipity Sound.’ She looked directly at Benet. ‘And I’m going to use it as often as I can. After all, there’s a reason that Grandma Sarah left it to me, and I think this is it. She hated the thought of complete strangers staying there, and I intend to respect her wishes to that end too. So no renting out, no one but friends and family staying there – not ever. And, Dad…’ She smiled. She’d called him Dad and it was easy and natural for the first time. ‘I’d be honoured if you’d take the keys and keep them safe for me. I trust you.’

  ‘You don’t need to worry about a thing, sweetheart,’ Ian beamed. ‘I’ll take good care of it while you’re away.’

  ‘I know you will, Dad.’

  When Isla and Seb arrived back at Residence Alpenrose for what looked to be their last night together, Justin was waiting outside.

  ‘I had a feeling this might happen,’ Isla muttered.

  He looked up at their approach and nodded shortly at Seb before speaking to Isla.

  ‘You are together?’ he asked.

  ‘We are,’ Seb replied for her.

  ‘And this is what you want?’ Justin looked at Isla, ignoring Seb’s intervention.

  ‘Of course it is,’ Isla said. ‘Do you think I do
n’t know my own mind?’

  ‘No, but…’

  ‘You think I’m trying to make you jealous or something? Come on – grow up, Justin. I don’t play those games. Seb and I are together and that’s all you need to know.’

  He was silent for a moment, glancing between the two of them before he spoke again.

  ‘Can I speak to you in private for a moment?’

  ‘Whatever you’ve got to say you can say in front of Seb.’ Isla felt Seb’s hand tighten around hers, silently thankful for his support. Her voice was calm and clear; her emotions were anything but.

  ‘It is a delicate matter,’ Justin said.

  ‘Something to do with the covert letting of Serendipity Sound?’

  Justin’s reply faltered.

  ‘Seb knows all about it,’ Isla said. ‘And my father will too if I ever feel the need.’

  ‘You have not told him yet?’ Justin let out a huge breath, his features instantly relaxing.

  ‘No. I don’t think you or Benet are hardened criminals, just two stupid men who made a stupid decision to embark on a stupid scheme. I’m annoyed – of course I am – but I don’t want to see either of you get into trouble. You’ve spoken to Benet about the situation?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Then I shouldn’t have to tell my dad, should I?’

  Justin nodded. ‘You have my word.’

  ‘And Benet?’

  ‘I pledge for him too.’

  ‘Then there’s nothing else to say. I want you to give my dad your keys to Sarah’s house; he’s going to take care of it while I’m away. He’s expecting to see you about it over the next few days.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘Tell me one thing – honestly. Was there anyone else in the family involved?’

  Justin shook his head. It was the answer Isla had been desperate to hear. For the most part, she was beginning to feel at home with the French branch of the McCoys – slowly, but they were getting there. She didn’t know if she could deal with the news that their fledgling relationship was already a lie.

  ‘Bye then,’ she said, turning to go into the hotel, her hand still enveloped in Seb’s, drawing strength from the contact.