Christmas Under a Starlit Sky

by Holly Martin

  ‘He just came to see if I was OK, after being trapped in the ditch yesterday.’ Ivy cringed at being the subject of gossip.

  Deborah offered her a chocolate. ‘Of course, dear, and the Merry Dancers might have been presiding over someone else. We saw Luke come out of Audrey’s house too. Now everybody has been dying for them to get together for months so maybe, with a little bit of magic from the Merry Dancers, it might happen after all.’

  ‘Luke was round Audrey’s house?’ Ivy said, momentarily latching onto the piece of gossip, before realising that Audrey wouldn’t appreciate being the subject of the village news either. But for him to be visiting her so late at night certainly said something.

  ‘I know, it’s wonderful, isn’t it, dear? Stephen saw him hug her. She deserves to be happy again, they both do. What about you, have you found your happiness?’

  ‘I’m having lunch with Adam,’ Ivy said, knowing that juicy little piece of gossip would be circulated around the village by the time she had finished her pudding so she might as well get it out of the way now. ‘We’re just friends, nothing more.’

  Deborah clapped her hands together excitedly, practically whooping with joy. ‘I think that kind of friendship is exactly what you need right now.’

  Ivy sighed. ‘I brought you guys a present.’

  She handed over the last of her parcels and Deborah took it from her and Stephen shuffled over to see what the present was too. Deborah tore at the paper and gasped at the picture of the Merry Dancers twirling and swaying across the sky above Stardust Lake.

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ Deborah cooed.

  ‘Ivy, this is just splendid,’ Stephen said, taking the painting from his wife and holding it up to the light.

  ‘I painted the emerald sky,’ Ivy said. ‘So not a prediction of love, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Oh, but the emerald sky is the symbol of marriage,’ Deborah said, seriously.

  Ivy stared at her for a moment and then she burst out laughing.

  Neve woke with her face pressed into Oakley’s throat, one of his arms tight around her shoulders, the other holding her bum.

  She smiled. What a perfect start to Christmas Day.

  After having the day off yesterday she knew she would have to go and give Adam a hand today, even if only to relieve him for a few hours so he could enjoy Christmas too. And although, judging by the sun in the sky it was already late morning, right now there was nowhere else she wanted to be.

  Oakley had given her so much hope the night before. The fact that he had plans for their future was something she never thought possible. He’d even mentioned marriage. He wanted children with her, a whole football team, and yes, he had said he wasn’t ready to start a family yet and yes, he’d mentioned that he wanted to wait a few years several times but he’d also said he loved her and that they would work out any problems that came their way. It wasn’t ideal that she was pregnant now – she had her job in the newly opened hotel, he was just starting filming on a movie that would take close to two years to finish – but they would find a way to make it work, she was sure of that.

  And although she had promised Oakley they would spend Christmas together without talking about the problems that faced them, she knew she had to tell him today and then they could start discussing how they would make it work. Since she had found out nearly two weeks earlier, she had been in turmoil about what to do. Should she tell Oakley and risk him staying with her just because of the baby and have him end up resenting her, or not tell him and raise the baby on her own? She knew he had a right to know but she hadn’t managed to pluck up the courage to pick up the phone and tell him. But now there was hope. Where before the prospect of being pregnant and alone terrified her, now she had hope for the future. He loved her and it really was as simple as that.

  She kissed his cheek and he blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes and then looked at her, his face lighting up into a huge smile when he saw her.

  ‘Happy Christmas,’ Neve smiled.

  ‘Happy Christmas, Freckle.’ He kissed the tip of her nose and then untangled himself from her arms and got out of bed. ‘I have a Christmas present for you.’

  Neve watched him stroll across the room, completely naked, and she wondered if that was her present. He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on and then rummaged in his bag.

  ‘I have two presents actually, but one is too big to wrap up.’ He grabbed a square box from his bag and turned back to face her. He eyed her sitting naked in the bed, waiting for him. ‘Maybe you should put a shirt on. I won’t be able to concentrate on anything if you’re sitting there, looking all naked and beautiful.’

  He passed her his shirt and she slid it on, doing up a few cursory buttons. He stood, appraising her legs with obvious hunger.

  ‘Maybe you should put on some jeans too,’ he suggested, passing her the jeans.

  She rolled her eyes but did as he asked and, happy that she was suitably attired, he brought the silver-wrapped box back to the bed. It was quite a large box, probably holding a watch or a necklace.

  ‘I didn’t buy you anything,’ Neve said, feeling the weight of the box and then tugging at the paper.

  ‘You don’t need to – if you love this present, that will be good enough for me.’

  She grinned and opened the black box.

  Her heart stuttered and then stopped beating altogether as she stared at the square-cut diamond ring nestled against the black velvet.

  ‘I love you, Neve,’ Oakley said, softly. ‘I love to be with you, to talk, laugh and dance with you. I simply cannot imagine my life without you in it. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’

  Neve stared at the ring, no words in her mouth.

  He took the ring out of the box and slid it on to her finger. It fitted perfectly and looked incredible there but doubt filled her mind.

  ‘We... we can’t just get married,’ she said, her mind racing a hundred miles an hour.

  ‘I’ve bought a house in California, that’s your other present. It’s about an hour from the studios and is in the most beautiful countryside.’

  ‘I can’t move to America. My job is here, my family are here.’

  ‘I know you have your job and things are busy at the moment for you, but maybe in a few months’ time, when things settle down, you might want to come and live in it with me.’

  ‘And do what? Sit in it all day long and wait for you to come home?’

  He looked hurt. ‘No, it has over three hundred acres of land and stables for around thirty horses. I thought you could open up your own riding school, just as you always wanted to do.’

  She stared at him in shock. Her life’s dream and he had just handed it to her on a plate. Could she take it? Could she leave her job at the hotel and move to America for good? Marry Oakley, have her happy ever after? It seemed too good to be true and for a brief moment she couldn’t think of a single reason to say no.

  ‘We can hire staff to help you with the horses and I can pay for all the specialist equipment you would need to teach disabled children. I’d help too. You know I can ride and I’d help to look after and train the horses.’

  Doubt clouded her mind. She would have to leave Gabe, he’d have to get a new manager, and she hated to let him down like that. She’d miss Gabe and Luke and the thought of not seeing her little niece every day filled her with an immense sadness. Her parents too – even though they didn’t visit as often as she would like due to their world travels, she didn’t want to miss out on seeing them altogether. But she couldn’t let this opportunity go. This was a way for her and Oakley to be together. Maybe if she stayed for a few months, until Gabe had a replacement, until all the problems of the new hotel had been ironed out, then maybe she could join Oakley in the spring.

  But before she agreed to anything she knew she had to tell Oakley her secret. He had to know what he was letting himself in for.

  ‘Say something, Freckle. Yes would be good, but I’ll settle for any words right now.’


  ‘Oakley, I’m pregnant.’

  Chapter 7

  Oakley stared at her in complete shock, his jaw slackening as pure and utter fear filled his eyes. He scrambled off the bed, hands in his hair as he stared at her. In her entire life, she had never seen anyone look as terrified as Oakley looked right then. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilating, his breath was shallow, goosebumps erupting on his arms. His body was going into total fight-or-flight mode.

  He didn’t want this. He didn’t want her baby. Tears filled her eyes.

  The thought of him hating her baby, his baby, was too much to bear. Her half-brother Luke had grown up knowing that his mum hated him and didn’t want him around and long after he had come to live with his dad, Neve and Gabe, Luke had been devastated by the betrayal. She couldn’t put her baby through that.

  Her mind cast back to the night before and how many times he had said that he wasn’t ready for kids yet, that maybe he’d be ready in a few years’ time. Whenever they’d had sex, he always, always used a condom. There was never a time that he forgot. Which made her discovery even more surprising, clearly for them both.

  This couldn’t have come at a worse time for him, he had just started work on a major Hollywood movie and a screaming baby did not fit in with that. She knew there was quite a bit of travelling involved in this film; he would feel guilty about leaving her. And what about after the filming was done and he got offers for another film? Would he turn them down out of loyalty to her, or would he stay so that he could help look after the baby and would he grow to resent her for that?

  Suddenly everything he had said about his job slammed into her mind, about how much he loved it and how it was everything he ever dreamed it would be. He had worked so hard to get to this point, she couldn’t let it ruin his career.

  When Zander had betrayed her all those years before, she had vowed that she wouldn’t let anyone else’s dream ruin her own. Here were all her dreams wrapped up in a neat little bow – the riding school, raising a child with Oakley, being married to him – and she knew she had to let them go. For him.

  ‘The baby isn’t yours.’

  As soon as she said the words she wanted to take them back. For a moment, just a split second, she was sure she saw relief flood his eyes before anger took over. She had never seen Oakley angry before, but he was suddenly livid.

  ‘The baby isn’t mine?’ he choked out.

  The horrible poisonous lie lay in the air between them and she couldn’t take it back. She had said it for him. She had wanted to release him from his responsibility to her and the baby because for a moment it had seemed the best thing for Oakley, but in doing so she had hurt him so much more than she had when she had broken up with him nine weeks before. She felt sick, blood rushed in her ears.

  ‘Whose baby is it?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter, it was one night, a silly drunken mistake. I was upset about you and...’ she trailed off, knowing she was making the situation so much worse.

  ‘I can’t believe this. All this time all these women were throwing themselves at me and I turned them all down because I was in love with you, because with some stupid skewed sense of loyalty I didn’t want to betray you. And now I find out you’ve been sleeping with someone else behind my back. Whose baby is it?’

  Tears formed in her eyes, her perfect future was ruined.

  ‘Is it Adam’s?’ Oakley asked, his voice low and furious.

  Oh God, what a horrible tangled mess. How could she have got this so wrong? It was a terrible idea. She should have just said that he didn’t need to be a part of the baby’s life if he didn’t want to, though knowing Oakley he would have stayed with her regardless. And then hated her for it in years to come.

  Her silence clearly spoke volumes.

  ‘I’m going to kill him,’ Oakley said, storming from the room and thundering down the stairs.

  ‘No, Oakley, wait.’

  Neve got up and ran after him but as she reached the top of the stairs her foot slipped and she pitched forwards. She let out a wail, her arms and legs flailing everywhere as she fell heavily on her knee. She fell sideways, her arm smashed into the steps below and her head crashed into the bannister. Oakley spun round, his eyes widening in fear, and he launched himself at her to catch her. She tumbled down two more stairs before he caught her in his arms.

  ‘Christ, Neve, are you OK?’

  Pain slammed into her body from everywhere. She felt woozy and sick and she could taste blood in her mouth. But her hands went to her belly and she let out a sob of pain.

  ‘Oakley, the baby!’

  After that she knew no more.

  Adam walked around the dining room checking the tables – the decorations and the place settings were perfect. There was going to be a great banquet for all the guests and villagers and although many of the journalists had flown home after the grand opening to spend Christmas with their families, the dining room would still be full to capacity.

  He knew Neve would be over soon to help supervise the banquet too, despite Oakley’s arrival. There was no way she would miss something as important as this.

  The staff had made sure everything was flawless. Gabe had ensured he had the very best people working there and Adam was very impressed that they had set everything up without a hitch. There was going to be live music in the form of a harpist and violinist. Every place had name cards, there were little snowflakes next to those with dietary needs and even a children’s menu too. Rich smells of turkey, vegetables, Christmas pudding and brandy sauce drifted out from the kitchens. It was going to be a great event and every eventuality had been catered for.

  He glanced over at the table in the corner set for him and Ivy. There were candles ready for lighting and although they were designed to create a Christmas ambience, they also lent a romantic atmosphere to the room. He was looking forward to his lunch with Ivy immensely and although he wasn’t sure why he wanted to pursue anything romantic with her when he was leaving in a few months, there was something about her that made her impossible to stay away from. He enjoyed talking to her and spending time with her and that kiss was not like anything he had experienced before, he wanted to do that again. It had been so long since he had been involved in a relationship that to take these first steps after all this time seemed almost alien.

  He looked at his watch. It was just past half eleven and he knew the first guests would be arriving shortly. It was also just under half an hour until he sat down to lunch with Ivy and he wanted that to go more perfectly than the rest of the banquet.

  Suddenly the doors to the dining room burst open and Iris, the receptionist, was standing there, looking very tearful.

  He rushed over to her. ‘What’s happened, are you OK?’

  ‘It’s Neve, she’s just fallen down the stairs. She’s unconscious.’

  He stared at her, the news was like a kick to the stomach.

  ‘Shit. Have you called the air ambulance?’

  ‘Jake’s calling them now.’

  Adam ran out to the main reception to see the young porter was on the phone. His hand was shaking and he was clearly struggling with answering the questions the operator was asking him.

  He turned back to Iris. ‘Is Oakley with her?’

  ‘Yes, I spoke to him. He didn’t stay on the phone very long, he just said she fell and she was unconscious and that we needed to call an ambulance.’

  Adam took the phone from Jake and quickly and calmly explained the situation and where the helicopter pilot could land to get the easiest access to Neve’s lodge. He finished the call and turned back to Iris, who was quivering like a leaf. Damn it, she was so organised and efficient that he often forgot she was only seventeen.

  ‘Do Gabe and his family know?’

  Iris shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

  He placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘She’s going to be OK. Oakley’s with her and the ambulance is on its way. Give Cora a call, explain what’s happened and get her to com
e over to oversee the lunch. It’s important that our guests have the most minimal disruption possible. Neve wouldn’t want us to cancel the lunch because of her so everything is just going to carry on as normal and I need you to be able to help with that.’

  He knew he had to distract Iris now. He couldn’t let her just fall apart.

  ‘I’m going to see Gabe,’ he turned to Jake. ‘Look after Iris for me.’

  Jake nodded and Adam rushed out.

  He ran over to Gabe’s lodge and knocked on the door. Inside, he could hear squeals of laughter from Wren as she no doubt played with her abundance of new toys.

  Gabe opened the door with a huge smile on his face. Adam could see Pip and Wren playing with Winston their dog in the lounge. He hated to be the one to wreck this sweet, happy family Christmas but of course Gabe had to know. Gabe’s smile fell off as he saw Adam’s face.

  ‘There’s been an accident, Neve’s fallen down the stairs and she’s unconscious. We’ve called the air ambulance and it’s on its way.’

  Gabe paled and when he spoke his voice was choked. ‘Where is she?’

  ‘In her lodge. I don’t know any other details. Can you tell your parents and I’ll tell Luke?’

  Gabe nodded, numbly, and behind him Pip and Wren had gone very quiet as they had either heard what had happened or sensed something was wrong.

  ‘The ambulance is going to land over there,’ he pointed. ‘I’m going to get Boris and Mikael to help with keeping people away from the area. Go and tell your parents and I’ll meet you back here shortly.’

  Gabe nodded again and turned back to face his family to explain that Christmas Day had now been cancelled.

  Adam ran over to Boris and Mikael’s house. They had a child too and they wouldn’t exactly be happy to have their special day disrupted either.

  He knocked on their door, and Boris came to answer it. With his blond hair and blue eyes he looked like he should be a model, not a groundsman. Boris was smiling too and Adam wondered how many people’s Christmases he was going to ruin that day. He quickly explained what had happened and by that time Boris’s husband, Mikael, had arrived on the doorstep with their son, Chester.