Christmas Under a Starlit Sky

by Holly Martin

  ‘You guys didn’t have to stay over in Lerwick, you could have gone back to Juniper Island last night,’ Neve said. ‘I think they’re going to let me go home tonight anyway.’

  ‘Of course we wanted to stay here, we’ve all been so worried,’ David said, making Neve feel even worse.

  ‘Did you guys at least sleep OK?’

  ‘The beds were very comfortable,’ Lizzie reassured her. ‘Which is more than I can say for that chair. Did you sleep at all, Oakley dear?’

  ‘A little.’

  ‘Now, tell me, when are you two planning on getting married?’ Lizzie blundered on, making an awkward situation even worse.

  ‘Lizzie, they’ve only just got engaged,’ David protested, smiling at Neve apologetically.

  ‘Oh, but we need to make sure we’re here for it. We have three cruises booked for next year. We could change things around so we’re here, that China cruise isn’t finalised yet. I presume you’ll be having the wedding here. Or do you plan to get married in America?’

  Neve swallowed, the ache in her heart increasing significantly. There would be no wedding but she had no idea how to explain that. ‘We’ve not had much chance to discuss the specifics. He proposed and. . . I fell down the stairs.’

  Oakley looked at her and she felt herself blush with shame, knowing she had left out the worst part.

  The bedroom door was pushed open and Neve felt a huge smile spread across her face as Wren came running in, followed by Pip. Neve watched as Gabe’s whole face lit up at Pip’s arrival. They couldn’t have come at a better time to diffuse the situation and Neve had really missed her niece.

  ‘Neve!’ Wren ran towards her and Luke managed to catch her before the little girl launched herself onto the bed.

  ‘Aunty Neve is feeling a bit sore so give her a soft hug,’ Luke said, releasing her.

  Wren wrapped her arms around her gently and Neve was touched with the tenderness the four-year-old was showing her.

  ‘I hope you don’t mind us coming,’ Pip said. ‘She wanted to see you. Well, we both did.’

  Gabe stood and approached his girlfriend, leaning his forehead against hers. The look they shared was one of complete and utter love and it filled Neve’s heart to see it. She turned her attention back to Wren, feeling somehow that she was intruding on this private moment between Gabe and Pip just by watching them.

  ‘Hey, sweetheart, I’m sorry that I missed Christmas with you.’

  ‘That’s OK, Daddy says we can have a second Christmas Day when you come home.’

  ‘I’d like that very much,’ Neve said.

  ‘I drew you a picture,’ Wren said, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out the crumpled sheet of paper.

  ‘Oh thank you.’ Neve spread it out on the bed and smiled at the two figures. They had rounded bodies and stick arms and legs and big bulbous heads, but one figure was a lot bigger than the other and was wearing a superhero eye mask. They were holding hands.

  ‘It’s you and Oakley,’ Wren explained though Neve had already gathered that. ‘And you’re holding hands because Oakley loves you forever and ever.’

  She glanced over at Oakley and passed him the picture.

  He stared at it for the longest time. When he spoke his voice was thick with emotion. ‘Thanks, Wren, this is lovely.’

  Gabe and Pip came to sit back down, Pip sitting on Gabe’s lap as they were short on seats and Wren climbing up on Oakley’s lap to explain more things about the picture. He listened intently and asked her questions quietly, somehow knowing the exact things to say to a four-year-old girl.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ Pip asked, meaningfully, and Neve knew she meant more than just the aches and pains. Pip wanted to know how things were with Oakley. She had clearly picked up the atmosphere in the room straight away.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Neve said, as it was the only thing she could say. ‘The baby’s fine too.’

  Pip nodded, knowing that Neve couldn’t say any more, but she reached out and squeezed Neve’s arm in a sign of solidarity that meant much more now than the words they couldn’t say.

  ‘Thank you,’ Neve whispered.

  ‘We just hope you’re feeling better soon,’ Gabe said, deliberately.

  Neve sighed. Her broken bones would heal, the bruises would fade away. There was no cure for stupidity and there was no getting over a broken heart.

  Adam quickly pressed ‘send’ on yet another email and sighed as he looked down his massive to do list. It was no wonder that Neve was finding it hard going, the list of things to do was seemingly endless. As it was Boxing Day, he had hoped for a slightly quieter day. Everyone and their dog was enjoying a nice Christmas break but in the hotel trade it never stopped. That morning he had already met with the team responsible for the changeover in the ice palace from Santa’s Grotto to glamorous ballroom in preparation for the New Year’s Eve ball. Lots of the guests, including most of the journalists, had left and later that afternoon the new guests would be arriving to spend the lead up to New Year’s at the hotel. He would need to greet them and make sure they were all happy. The housekeeping crew were having to do a very fast turnaround, a fresh delivery of food had failed to arrive and Adam had had to make an emergency contingency plan. He was starving and he hadn’t even had time to go down to the kitchen and make himself a cup of coffee yet.

  When the phone rang for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, he nearly picked it up and threw it out of the window.

  He opened up another email as he answered it.

  ‘Hi Adam, it’s Gabe.’

  The tone in his voice made Adam stop what he was doing and give Gabe all of his attention.

  ‘Hey, how’s Neve?’

  ‘She’s fine, broken wrist which is now in a cast, she’s a bit sore and very tired, but with all the tests they’ve run on her and checking on her all through the night, she’s not getting much rest at the moment. The doctors are happy that both her and the baby are fine though and they are going to discharge her later today. How are we doing for flights, would the plane be able to come and collect us from Lerwick airport later?’

  Adam quickly consulted the flight plan. ‘Mikael is on his way to Edinburgh now to pick up some more guests, he also has a flight from Glasgow this afternoon and Aberdeen around six tonight. I could get him to come to Lerwick about eight, maybe nine. I’ll call him now and ask him what’s the earliest he could get to you. It’s possible he could squeeze you in before the Aberdeen flight. Let me ask him and I’ll come back to you.’

  ‘OK. I need Neve to have some rest over the next few days.’

  Adam laughed. ‘She won’t be happy about that.’

  ‘Tough, she can be unhappy about it while she sits in her house with her feet up. Oakley is also worried about the attention from the press. Some journalists have been sniffing around here. Have you had any trouble there?’

  ‘A few journalists asking questions but nothing we couldn’t handle. Most of them have gone now, there’s only one left.’

  ‘Bad timing on our part with all the journalists there to cover the opening. Bet they think all their dreams have come true with a story this big. I think there’ll be some coverage in the tabloids either today or tomorrow and both Oakley and I would prefer that Neve doesn’t see it. Can you do something to lock her out of the computer?’

  Adam quickly accessed the employee log-in list on the computer. As assistant manager he had the authority to create accounts for people and delete them if and when they left the employment of Stardust Lake Hotel. He clicked on Neve’s account and locked it.

  ‘It’s done, she won’t be able to log in now. I can unlock it for her when she comes back to work.’

  Gabe laughed. ‘Good job. Now, with her out the picture for the next few days, will you be OK to take over from her until the New Year?’

  ‘Of course I can do that.’

  Adam could hear the smile in Gabe’s voice when he spoke. ‘I know you thrive on being busy and I know you�
��ll be brilliant as manager for a few days but I’ll be back tonight and I can give you a hand too and we can spread some of the work to Cora as well.’

  ‘You don’t need to worry, I’m more than happy to step in.’

  He had been itching for a chance at being manager for a few months now and this was the opportunity to show Gabe he was ready for this.

  ‘Thank you, you have no idea what it means to know you’re there taking care of everything for us. The hotel is in very safe hands.’

  Adam could hear that Gabe was worried about something, though it didn’t sound like it was leaving him in charge.

  ‘Are you OK, Gabe?’

  Gabe sighed. ‘Something is going on between Neve and Oakley and I don’t know what. I can’t get Neve on her own to ask her as Oakley won’t leave her side but they’re barely speaking. He’ll ask her if she wants something to eat and drink but other than that, they hardly say a word. Admittedly, Neve has been asleep for a lot of the time but even when she’s awake they don’t talk. Luke said that Oakley thinks the baby is yours.’

  Good lord, the prospect of Gabe making him a manager in one of his hotels one day was suddenly slipping through his fingers like sand. If Gabe thought that Adam had been secretly screwing around with his sister behind his back that wouldn’t look good.

  ‘The baby isn’t mine, I promise you I’ve never even laid a finger on her. You know we’re friends and it has never been more than that.’

  ‘I know that, but why does Oakley think that the baby is yours?’

  ‘I have no idea. I wonder if Neve said something to him or whether he misunderstood. I was as surprised as you are when Oakley said that to me. Look, we’ll get them both back here and we’ll sort it out. Even if we need to lock them in a room together and refuse to let them out until they’ve talked it through. Oakley is crazy in love with her, she’s carrying his baby. They’re going to be OK. This is just a little bump in the road for them.’

  ‘OK, thanks. You’re right, this is too important to let them screw it up. We’ll just have to intervene if we need to.’

  ‘I’m good at that, I’m very good at poking my nose in other people’s business when necessary.’

  Gabe laughed. ‘Thanks, mate.’

  They ended the call and Adam had just started writing another email when there was a soft knock on his open door. As he looked up, he saw Ivy standing there. He couldn’t help the huge smile that suddenly spread across his face.

  ‘I thought you might be hungry so I brought lunch,’ she said, coming into the room more fully and holding up what looked like a large picnic hamper. ‘There’s chocolate cake in there with three layers.’

  He laughed and looked down for a moment at his huge list of things to do.

  Her smile faltered. ‘I know you’re really busy. You don’t have to stop work and talk to me or anything. I can leave it all here and you can eat it as you work. We can do dinner tonight as planned and we can catch up then.’

  But he wasn’t going to be that asshole who asked her to leave the food on his desk and leave, not after the amount of time she had clearly put into preparing it. He never normally had time for lunch in his job but today he would make time. Ivy was important and half an hour out of his day would make no difference to him, but it would make all the difference to her.

  ‘Give me one second,’ Adam said as he picked up the phone and dialled down to reception. A moment later, Iris answered. ‘Iris, it’s Adam. Is everything OK down there, any problems?’

  ‘No, it’s all a bit quiet really as we wait for the new guests.’

  ‘OK, I have an important meeting I need to take. I’m going to divert all my calls to the answerphone for the next half hour. Can you make sure, if anyone comes looking for me, that I’m not disturbed?’

  ‘Of course.’

  He rang off and looked up into Ivy’s smiling face. ‘You didn’t need to do that,’ she said.

  ‘Yes, I did.’

  Adam stood up and closed the office door, locking it from the inside. He turned to face Ivy again, who was looking at him with surprise. ‘I just want to make sure we’re not disturbed.’

  ‘And what do you plan to do now we’re alone and not likely to be disturbed?’

  He walked up to her and cupped her face. ‘I’m going to start by kissing you.’

  He bent his head down and kissed her and as she kissed him back every problem, every query, every stress that had occupied his head all morning, just melted away. Ivy filled every one of his senses, his every thought was only of her. As distractions went, it was one of the finest.

  It was late on Boxing Day night by the time the plane touched back down on Juniper Island. Oakley gazed down at Neve’s hand in his and then back out the window as the plane came to a stop on the runway. She was fast asleep.

  There had been no time to talk to Neve all day, with the doctors coming and going and all the further tests and checks they wanted to do. Her family had been there for a large part of the day and when they weren’t there she had been asleep. Oakley had been quite thankful for the interruptions. He had no idea what he would say to her if he’d had the chance.

  He felt numb.

  Lizzie and David moved towards them.

  ‘Will you guys be OK? I hate seeing her like this. She could stay in our house, we’d look after her,’ Lizzie said.

  ‘We’ll be fine, Mrs Whitaker,’ Oakley said, automatically. He had no idea if they would be.

  The plane door was opened and a gust of snow blew in. He took his coat off and wrapped it around Neve and then scooped her up into his arms. She stirred slightly but didn’t wake.

  Lizzie smiled at them. ‘I know she’s in safe hands.’

  He nodded and carried Neve down the steps to the waiting car. After settling her in the back, he got in next to her. Gabe got in the front, while Luke, Pip, Wren and Neve’s mum and dad got in the other car waiting for them.

  The car took off towards the hotel and Gabe turned round to talk to Oakley.

  ‘I’m not sure what’s going on between the two of you. You came here to win her back, you’ve got engaged, she’s carrying your child, but the tension between the two of you today was almost palpable. Did you have a row?’

  Oakley shrugged. They hadn’t really. It had been over way too quickly for it to count as a row. ‘Something like that.’

  ‘She’s going to need someone to look after her for the next few days at least. She’ll need help washing so she doesn’t get her cast wet and help getting dressed and she’ll be in a lot of pain. If you can’t help her, or don’t want to, then let me know and we can look after her.’

  ‘I’ll take care of her,’ Oakley said, wondering why he was volunteering for that.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Oakley nodded as he looked down at Neve sitting next to him, asleep, fragile and incredibly vulnerable. He honestly didn’t know where they stood in their relationship or whether they had any kind of future together but he cared about her and the very least he could do was look after her for the next few days.

  The car pulled up outside Neve’s home and, without another word to Gabe, Oakley got out and scooped her into his arms again. He carried her up the steps and Gabe ran on ahead to help him with the door. Oakley walked into the house and straight up the stairs to Neve’s bedroom as he heard Gabe leave, closing the front door behind him.

  Oakley laid her down gently on the bed and then very carefully, very slowly, pulled off her jeans. He undid the cuff of his shirt she was wearing so he could slide it over her cast. When she was naked, he tucked her into the duvet. She chose that time to wake up.

  ‘Oakley?’ she said, sleepily.

  ‘I’m here. You’re home, everything’s OK,’ he whispered, soothingly, brushing the hair from her face.

  ‘Will you stay with me?’

  Neve drifted back off to sleep, her breathing becoming heavier.

  Oakley watched her for the longest moment, trying to decide what to do. He lift
ed her broken arm and rested it on a pillow and then made sure that was tucked under the duvet too. He stared at her, wanting to kiss her and shake her and wrap her in his arms and protect her all at once. But knowing the angry, upset part of his brain wouldn’t let him sleep in the same bed with her as if nothing had happened, he left her alone and went downstairs to sleep on the sofa.

  Chapter 11

  Neve woke early the next day to the bright light of the fresh fallen snow. It was still snowing heavily outside, fat flakes dancing and swirling in the grey sky. And she was alone. There was no sign of Oakley. She wondered if he had got on the next plane out of there and left her. She couldn’t help the stupid tears filling her eyes at that thought. She was so emotional lately and she knew it was the baby hormones. Up until when she had broken up with Oakley she hadn’t cried for years but her grief over losing him had soon developed into emotional baby hormones even before she had recognised what they were, making her cry at the slightest thing. She put a hand over her belly and felt the sob burst from her throat. In trying to do something good for Oakley, she had hurt him, and ruined any chance of a proper future with the man she loved.

  She heard the thunder of feet on the stairs and Oakley burst into her room. He was wearing just his tight black boxers and his hair was ruffled as if he’d just woken up. The tears stopped almost immediately at seeing he was still there. At least for now.

  ‘What’s wrong? Are you hurt?’

  ‘No, I’m fine. I’m just...’ she trailed off.

  He smiled sympathetically. ‘At least I know where all these tears have come from over the last few days. I should have guessed something was going on when you cried more in the first day I was back than the whole ten months we were together. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before now.’

  ‘It’s baby hormones.’

  ‘I know,’ he said, softly.

  ‘You weren’t here when I woke up,’ Neve said, hating how needy and pathetic she sounded.