Christmas Under a Starlit Sky

by Holly Martin

  ‘You have to follow your heart and trust that it will lead you to the right place,’ Luke said, his eyes on Audrey for a moment longer before he turned back to face Neve. ‘Don’t be stubborn and hold your job in higher esteem than your relationship. You could work in Gabe’s hotel in California like you did before, if you still wanted to work in the hotel business. It’s not so easy for Oakley to move his acting career to a little rock on the northernmost part of the UK.’

  ‘I know,’ Neve said, softly.

  ‘And we’d come and visit and you could visit us. It’s not ideal but love is never perfect. There’s always lumps and bumps to navigate. It just depends if Oakley is the one to make all that effort for. You’ve been miserable since you broke up with him and now he’s back and you’re still miserable. Do you love him?’

  Neve didn’t hesitate. ‘With everything I have.’

  ‘It’s clear he loves you too, so what are you so afraid of?’

  ‘That I won’t be good enough for him,’ she said, without thinking.

  ‘You’re more than good enough for him,’ Luke said. ‘You’re smart, generous, compassionate, beautiful, funny. In fact, I doubt he is good enough for you. Just because he’s famous, it certainly doesn’t mean he gets a pass in my book. He has to be someone truly special to deserve someone like you and I’ve not seen any evidence of that yet.’

  ‘He is special. He’s the most wonderful, kindest, most generous, sweetest person I’ve ever met. He makes me laugh. He knocked down my walls and made me happier than I’ve ever been. I pushed him away, Luke, and he came back to fight for me and I pushed him away again. He proposed to me and I threw up all these reasons why we shouldn’t get married. I told him the baby, his baby, isn’t his and he’s still here after all that. He’s definitely special enough.’

  Luke smiled. ‘Then you fight for him. If he’s that wonderful, you fight for him too.’

  Neve nodded. She just needed Oakley to come back now so that she could hopefully put things right between them once and for all.

  The boat came to a stop and the tiny lights of the jetty and the dinghies lit up the inky darkness. Oakley decided to hold back and let the other tourists go in the dinghies to Juniper Island first. All day he had thought of nothing but Neve. He had gone round and round making his mind up and then letting the fear of what kind of father he would be change his mind again but in the end there was only one solution and he knew that.

  His phone rang in his pocket and when he dug it out he saw that it was his mum, Tamsin, calling. She had phoned him on Christmas Day but he had been too numb to speak to her then. Now she had no doubt seen the stories in the papers too and he knew he couldn’t avoid her call any longer. Although if he was hoping that she was ringing to offer her congratulations he knew he would be sorely disappointed.

  ‘Is it true?’ Tamsin barked down the phone as soon as he answered.

  ‘Hello, Mum, how are you?’

  ‘Oakley…’

  ‘Did you have a nice Christmas?’

  ‘Is it true, is Neve pregnant with your child?’

  ‘Yes.’ He frowned at the lie and how easily it came but if he really was considering raising Neve’s son, then the boy would be his and Oakley would love him as if he really was his own.

  Tamsin was silent for a moment before she spoke. ‘She needs to get rid of it.’

  ‘What?’ He hadn’t heard right. The reception wasn’t great and clearly he had misheard.

  ‘She needs to get rid of the baby, this will ruin your career. If she cares about you at all, she will get rid of it. We can release a statement to the press about how she had a miscarriage, it will get the sympathy vote and—’

  Anger ripped through him so fast that he nearly threw the phone overboard. When he spoke, his voice was low. ‘That is the most disgusting thing you’ve ever said. I’m used to you being like a bull in a china shop when it comes to my career but this is my son, your grandson, that you’re talking about like he’s some piece of rubbish that we can just throw away.’

  ‘Oakley –’

  ‘No! I can’t even talk to you right now. Don’t call me again unless it’s to apologise and to wish me congratulations.’

  He ended the call and tried to steady his breathing, realising it wasn’t just anger surging through him but a fierce protective streak too. He would never let anything happen to his son.

  As he came to terms with these feelings and what they meant, he knew that his mum had inadvertently made the decision for him. He loved Neve and that meant loving everything about her, including her son.

  Adam sat at his desk as he read through a spreadsheet of sales figures, though he had studied the same column five times. Ivy had texted him earlier to say she was tired and would he mind if he gave that night a miss. He’d agreed, giving her the space that she wanted, but he was only going to give her tonight. He was going to go straight round there tomorrow morning so they could talk this out.

  Although she had smiled and joked with him as normal as they had moved around getting ready that morning, he knew something had been very wrong and it had been the conversation about children that had done it. Did Ivy really want children and had she lied about it because she thought that he didn’t?

  Everything was so new and fragile between them and it seemed ridiculous to be having this conversation already but there was no way he was letting Ivy go either.

  The phone suddenly rang on his desk and he snatched it up, hoping it was Ivy having changed her mind. He listened as the person on the other end spoke and his heart stopped.

  Chapter 16

  Neve was sitting behind reception waiting for the passengers from the boat trip to come back. It had grown dark, she had eaten dinner with her parents and there was still no sign of the boat returning.

  Iris, the hotel’s young receptionist and reservations manager, had let Neve sit behind the desk, out of sight of the customers but in front of a computer. Without Gabe, Adam or Luke to stop her, Neve had relaxed in front of a few emails and other little jobs that she felt needed to be done. But to her frustration, Adam had taken care of everything on her list of things to do that week so there really wasn’t a lot left.

  Idly she logged into her personal email account to see there were lots of Google alert emails about Oakley. She clicked on the one from Christmas Day first and to her surprise she saw photos of herself and Oakley being loaded into the air ambulance, shortly after her fall. Rumours from an unknown source claimed she was pregnant with Oakley’s child.

  She clicked on another article that somehow had grainy photos of her being unloaded off the helicopter in Lerwick. There were a few comments in the article from people too cowardly to give their names, confirming she was indeed pregnant and that Oakley had gone with her for the ultrasound.

  She opened another article to see photos of her and Oakley in the village, one with her hand on his cheek while he stared down at her, his hand resting on their unborn child. Snow was swirling in the air between them and the look he was giving her was one of complete and utter love. This was such an intimate moment between the two of them and here it was plastered across the newspapers for the world to see. There was even a zoomed-in close-up of her belly and the paper was asking people to comment on whether they thought Obsidian Junior was inside there.

  She scrolled down to the comments underneath the article and tears filled her eyes as she read them.

  Oakley’s taste in women has suddenly taken a downward turn.

  Oakley Rey could have any woman in the world and he goes for someone like that?

  This can’t be true, he’s supposed to marry me!

  When a one-night stand goes badly wrong.

  He looks angry. How much do you think he is paying her to keep quiet?

  If I was Oakley, I’d demand a DNA test, she looks the type to sleep around.

  I bet we have her kiss and tell story in the Daily Oracle next week.

  I thought Oakley had better taste than that.


  Entrapment!!

  I bet he was drunk when he slept with her.

  Neve quickly closed down the computer, not wanting to read any more. All these people sitting in judgement over her life, not having any idea what had gone on between her and Oakley, what kind of relationship they had. And all the comments about her not being good enough for him. It was everything she feared. She wasn’t the only one who thought that, the public, his fans, they all thought it too.

  She wiped the tears away furiously.

  ‘What time is the boat due back?’ she asked, hoping her voice wasn’t betraying her feelings.

  Jake glanced at his watch. ‘About fifteen minutes ago.’

  ‘They’re probably just a bit delayed,’ Iris said. ‘I think they left here a bit later than planned and then they were going to stop at one of the southern islands for lunch, so maybe that took a little longer than planned. It’s the first time we’ve done it so there’s bound to be a few teething problems,’ she added, practically.

  Neve smiled. At seventeen Iris was far more mature than Neve had ever been when she was in her twenties. She couldn’t imagine Iris giving away all of her money to a man who claimed to love her.

  Suddenly she heard footsteps thundering down the stairs and she quickly ducked behind the partition at the back of the reception area in case Adam or whoever it was saw her.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Iris asked.

  ‘The boat has got into difficulties. It’s sinking.’

  Neve stood up in shock. ‘What?’

  Adam looked over at her but clearly didn’t have time to question what she was doing there.

  ‘I don’t know any details, they just called it through and the reception is so bad up there, I could barely make out what they were saying. I’m heading down to the jetty now to see what’s going on.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Neve said, hurrying round the edge of the reception.

  ‘No, Neve, I need you here. We might need to call the coastguard or the RNLI and I need someone here for when the guests come back to deal with any complaints. Is Dr Brenick back from her holiday yet? If she is, give her a call if there are any injuries. She can deal with anything minor. We might need the air ambulance too. Look, I’ll call you when I have some details.’

  Adam turned away but she grabbed his arm. ‘Adam, Oakley’s on that boat.’

  He paused. ‘I’ll let you know as soon as I know something. Try not to worry, it might not be anything serious. Get some of the boys to come down to the jetty too.’

  With that he ran out the front door, jumped onto a snowmobile and sped off into the darkness, leaving Neve and Iris alone.

  ‘What should we do?’ Iris said.

  Neve stared at the darkness. The sea was so cold at this time of year and the currents were so strong up the east side of the island where the jetty was. If anyone ended up in the water, they wouldn’t stand a chance. And while she should have been concerned for the hotel guests and what it would mean to the hotel if several of their guests got hurt, the only person she was worried about was Oakley. The man she loved was on a sinking boat. The man she wanted forever with. Suddenly everything that had happened over the last few days seemed so silly and inconsequential. They were supposed to be together and she had ruined all of that. He wouldn’t even have been on the boat if it wasn’t for her.

  ‘Neve,’ Iris said.

  She looked at Iris. ‘Erm, call Dr Brenick from the village and I’ll get some of the crew to get down to the jetty.’

  Iris nodded and as she picked up the phone to call the doctor, Neve rang through to Gabe and Luke and the maintenance team on the walkie-talkies. Her hands were shaking, she could feel the tears pricking at her eyes. What was going on?

  Two of the Land Rovers suddenly pulled up outside the hotel and several of the guests got out, laughing and joking with each other.

  Neve ran out to meet them. ‘Have you come from the boat trip? Is everything OK?’

  ‘Yes, it was a great day,’ said one of the men.

  Neve stared at him in confusion. ‘But we just had reports that the boat was sinking.’

  ‘Our boat? I don’t think so. They were still ferrying the last passengers off the main tour boat with the dinghies when we left, we were the first guests off.’

  God, could it have been one of the dinghies that had got into trouble?

  The guests all disappeared off to their lodges and Neve was left feeling utterly helpless. She ran back into the main reception to see if there was any news but Iris shook her head.

  Neve picked up the walkie-talkie and tried to reach Adam but there was no answer. This was ridiculous.

  Two more Land Rovers pulled up outside the hotel and Neve ran back outside again. She saw Poppy’s mum get out, the driver running round to the boot to get Poppy’s wheelchair.

  ‘Do you know what’s happening down there, we heard reports of a boat sinking?’ Neve asked Peter, the driver.

  Peter looked at her, bewildered. ‘Everything was OK when we left.’

  Neve wanted to scream. It was about fifteen minutes’ drive to the jetty. How long had Adam been gone, five minutes, maybe ten? The incident must have just happened after these cars left. All the guests got out and there was still no sign of Oakley.

  ‘How many more guests are there to come?’

  Peter shrugged. ‘We were told not to go back down as the other two cars would pick up the remainder.’

  Poppy wheeled herself over to the discussion. ‘Did you say the boat sank?’

  Neve nodded. ‘We heard the boat got into difficulties. Do you know how many guests were left on the tour boat when you left?’

  ‘I think it was just Oakley, he was busy chatting to the crew. They all wanted their picture taken with him and Oakley was trying to persuade the captain to let him pilot the boat. Is he OK?’

  ‘I don’t know what’s happening down there,’ Neve said, desperation and panic clutching at her chest.

  ‘Look, we’ll head down there and see if there’s anything we can do,’ Peter said.

  Neve nodded and they got back in their cars and drove off. She went back into the reception just as the walkie-talkie in her hand crackled into life.

  Adam’s voice came over the line but the reception was so bad she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

  ‘Adam, I can’t hear you. Can you repeat your message, over.’

  ‘...Oakley... hurt.’

  Neve didn’t wait for anything more, she ran back outside and climbed on the remaining snowmobile. She glanced down at her cast and nearly cried that she wouldn’t be able to drive it properly. Before she could get off, Jake came running out and climbed on in front of her. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and they took off down the hill towards the jetty, taking a short cut across the grounds of the hotel instead of going the long way round that the road took.

  She saw the road up ahead and saw one of the Land Rovers heading back towards the hotel. The snowmobile hit the road and took off towards the jetty.

  Another Land Rover came round the corner and she flagged it down, asking Jake to slow down at the same time. The driver, George, stopped the car by her side and wound down the window.

  ‘George, please tell me you know what’s going on down at the jetty.’

  ‘I don’t know all the details, Miss Whitaker, but one of the dinghies got into trouble as they were bringing the last of the passengers and crew back from the boat. Everyone is fine though. As far as I can tell, no one was hurt.’

  ‘Where’s Oakley?’

  ‘He was in the car that just passed.’ George indicated the car that had driven by a minute before, heading for the hotel.

  ‘Is he OK?’

  ‘I think so. Like I said, I don’t think anyone was hurt. Here, get in and I’ll take you back to the hotel. It’ll be quicker.’

  She climbed off.

  ‘Jake, are you OK to get back to the hotel?’

  He nodded and she quickly climbed into t
he passenger seat. George put his foot down and headed back towards the hotel.

  ‘Thank you,’ Neve said with relief; going back uphill in the snowmobile was not going to be as easy as going downhill had been.

  Oakley was OK. George said everyone was fine. He was OK, he had to be. But the panic wouldn’t subside from her chest and she knew she wouldn’t start to feel better until she had seen Oakley for herself.

  George stopped the car outside the hotel and she ran into reception.

  ‘He’s gone back to the lodge,’ Iris said.

  Neve cursed as she ran back outside and back to the lodge as fast as she could. Was he hurt, was he OK? Surely if he was hurt they’d be taking him to hospital, not letting him go back to her lodge?

  She ran up the steps and burst through the door. ‘Oakley!’

  There was no answer and no sign of him in the lounge or the kitchen.

  ‘Oakley!’

  He suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs, soaking wet and with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

  Obviously seeing how upset she was, he came running down the stairs. ‘Freckle, are you OK? What’s wrong?’

  ‘I heard the boat sank. Are you OK, are you hurt?’ She ran her hands over his arms, checking him for injuries, but he didn’t have a scratch on him. To her surprise and annoyance, tears of relief filled her eyes.

  ‘Freckle, I’m fine. To say the boat sank would be a huge overstatement. We got into a bit of difficulty as the dinghy came back to the jetty. A few of the crew and I got a little wet, but no one was hurt, I promise.’

  A sob escaped her throat and without thinking she reached up and kissed him. He pulled back slightly to look at her, wiping the tears gently from her face, and then he kissed her back. His kisses were gentle and soothing at first, his hands cupping her head in a sweet caress. But after a moment, his hands wandered down to her bum and he hauled her tight against him. He parted her lips with his own and tasted her with his tongue, the kiss turning urgent and desperate.

  God, she needed him. After the angst of the last few days, she needed his hands on her, his mouth on her lips. If he could kiss her like this, maybe they would be OK.