by Sarah Morgan
‘Certainly not,’ Mac said dryly. ‘I wouldn’t have a clue how to cook a turkey.’
Louisa bit her lip. ‘I’m great at cooking turkey. I’ll do you a deal,’ she said impulsively, turning towards Rick, ‘I’ll cook your Christmas lunch if you’ll fix my car.’ She heard Mac inhale sharply. ‘You can come to us for Christmas Day.’
As far as she was concerned, the more the merrier.
Rick gave a disbelieving laugh. ‘You’re offering to have us for Christmas? Why would you do that?’
‘Because she just can’t help it,’ Mac muttered under his breath, and Louisa ignored him.
‘Because I’ve ordered a turkey that would feed the whole of Cornwall and because I need my car fixed. You have no idea how to cook a turkey but I have absolutely no idea why my car hates cold weather. I’m hopeless. I can’t even open the bonnet.’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘So—is it a deal?’
Rick looked towards Hannah and Louisa was struck with inspiration. ‘Hannah’s coming, too,’ she said firmly, ‘as soon as she finishes her early shift.’
Hannah gave a delighted nod of acknowledgement and Mac closed his eyes for a brief moment.
At that moment Poppy struggled to sit up and Mac removed the oxygen mask from her face so that she could speak.
‘Can we, Daddy?’ Her voice was hoarse and weak and Rick breathed out slowly, his eyes shining with love as he looked at his daughter.
‘Well...’ His face broke into a smile. ‘Well, yes, it is. Why not? Thanks. Thanks a lot.’
Louisa grinned. ‘Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t seen the state of my car.’
‘Whatever’s wrong with it, I’ll get it sorted for you,’ Rick vowed, and Louisa nodded.
‘I know you will.’ She turned to the little girl. ‘And now, Poppy, you’d better tell me what’s on your Christmas list.’
At that moment the anaesthetist hurried into Resus. ‘Did you bleep me?’
‘Yes.’ Mac straightened and ripped off his gloves. ‘But we’re fine here now, thankfully.’ He glanced at Rick. ‘Let her play with the toys here for half an hour—see how she goes, but there shouldn’t be any ill effects. Hannah will stay with you. Louisa, I need a word with you outside.’
Louisa took one look at his grim profile and thought about refusing. Then she decided that she might as well face the music and followed him into the corridor.
‘I know, I know,’ she muttered. ‘You’re angry with me again.’
‘Louisa, you can’t just keep inviting total strangers for Christmas.’ He paced up and down the corridor, his tone exasperated. ‘I am not running some sort of hotel!’
‘Alice isn’t a stranger,’ she protested, ‘and neither is Hannah. And come to that, neither is Rick. He’s local. His wife left him, Mac. He’s struggling to have a family Christmas with his little girl. You can’t cook a turkey for two people. It just doesn’t work.’
Mac moved to one side as a nurse hurried past. ‘Neither does inviting everyone to eat ours!’ Aware that they were attracting attention, he lowered his voice. ‘That doesn’t work either. I’m not Santa! I don’t even know them.’
‘They live in the village,’ she pointed out. ‘If you had more time, I’m sure you’d know them. And you just saved his daughter’s life. By the way, you were amazing.’ Warmth flooded through her as she remembered just how calm he’d been. ‘I could feel myself starting to panic but you were so focused.’
A muscle worked in his lean jaw. ‘It’s my job, Louisa. And stop trying to change the subject.’
‘I’m not changing the subject. Well, maybe just a little.’ She gave an impish grin. ‘There are two things I probably ought to tell you so that you can get all your yelling over with in one go. The first is that Josh is giving me a lift home tonight. We’re taking a bit of a detour.’
His eyes narrowed suspiciously and he stopped pacing. ‘What sort of detour?’
Louisa braced herself. ‘I want to buy a Christmas tree,’ she said quickly. ‘I noticed that they have beautiful ones along the coast road where we found Hopeful.’
He was going to say no.
He sighed and jabbed his fingers through his hair. ‘You’ve already decorated my hallway. I don’t need a tree.’
‘But I do. It’s part of my Christmas fantasy, you see. Big tree, holly and mistletoe. And Poppy will expect a tree. Every little girl wants a Christmas tree.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Who are you doing this for?’ His tone was exasperated and he started pacing again. ‘I don’t need a tree. It will drop needles and make a mess.’
‘Just a small one,’ she wheedled, ‘and there won’t be any needles. Trees don’t drop any more. Please? You won’t regret it.’
He shot her a look that spoke volumes. ‘That’s what you said when you landed me with a dog.’
She grinned. ‘Hopeful is going to love having a tree and Poppy is going to love Hopeful. That little girl is going to have a lovely Christmas.’
‘Louisa!’ Mac grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. ‘You can’t bring together a bunch of individuals who don’t know each other just because they happen to be lonely or hungry! We’re all virtual strangers with separate lives. We probably have nothing in common! You can’t just create the perfect Christmas by taking in waifs and strays! That isn’t how it works!’
She felt the strength of his fingers digging through the thin fabric of her uniform. ‘Why not?’
‘Because Christmas is about family—’
‘Not necessarily.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s about sharing. And friendship. And about no one being alone. I didn’t want Rick struggling on his own with little Poppy. I don’t want Poppy missing her mother. And I didn’t want Alice to be on her own in that big dark house surrounded by nothing but silence and memories. She needs noise and laughter and a big tree covered in lights. She needs people opening presents that they don’t want and getting irritated with each other for talking too loudly at all the wrong times.’
Mac closed his eyes. ‘This isn’t happening to me.’
‘It’ll be fine. I’ll choose a few presents to put under the tree,’ Louisa said soothingly, ‘so you’re not to worry about a thing. Just turn up and eat my turkey. All I expect you to do is carve. I can’t carve to save my life. I never could have been a surgeon.’
‘Louisa—’
She backed away quickly. ‘Thanks, Mac. Got to dash. Josh is waiting.’
And she didn’t want to give Mac the chance to say no.
* * *
Mac stared at the enormous tree in his living room and wondered what had happened to his life. Hopeful was running in circles around the sitting room, barking with excitement, every wag of his tail sending more pine needles cascading onto the floor.
‘Louisa...’ His voice was faint. ‘You said a small tree.’
‘Isn’t it fantastic?’ Louisa stood back, her eyes shining as she stared at the bushy branches. ‘It’s a fir. Josh spotted it. It’s a wonderful shape.’
‘It’s massive. And it’s dropping.’ His eyes slid to the floor. ‘You said it wouldn’t drop. There are more needles on my floor than the tree.’
‘That’s just because of Hopeful and his tail. It’s a beautiful tree,’ Louisa said happily, and he stared at her, his attention caught by the shine in her eyes. She was like a child, excitement bubbling out of her like a fountain. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and she was still wearing a soft scarf looped round her neck as she secured the tree in the pot.
She was wearing a soft wool skirt and knee-length boots and her hair tumbled down her back in glorious waves.
Lust, powerful and primitive, thudded through his body and he gritted his teeth, resisting the temptation to push her against the nearest wall and kiss her breathless.
It would be a mistake.
Her dream was happy families, he reminded himself grimly as Hopeful did another circuit of the room, totally out of control. And he didn’t do happy families.
&
nbsp; And she didn’t do lust under the Christmas tree.
Unfortunately for him, their Christmas wish lists didn’t coincide. A relationship wasn’t on his.
‘Sit! You stupid dog.’ Hopeful jumped up and licked him frantically and Mac pushed him away. ‘Louisa, this dog needs a psychiatrist.’
‘He’s just excited about the tree,’ she said soothingly, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes with a gloved hand. ‘He’ll calm down in a minute.’
‘We’ve had him for seven days,’ Mac was forced to point out, reaching out and grabbing Hopeful in an iron grip, ‘and he hasn’t calmed down yet.’
‘He’ll be fine when he’s trained.’
Mac gave up. ‘Where do you want these lights?’ He released the dog with a warning glare that earned him a wagged tail. ‘Anywhere in particular?’
‘Oh...’ She squinted at the tree through narrowed eyes and waved a hand vaguely. ‘Wherever you think. And then we need to fetch your decorations.’
He twisted the lights around the tree. ‘I don’t have any decorations.’
‘What, none?’ He heard the shock in her voice and gave a wry smile.
‘Louisa, this is the first year I’ve ever had a tree in this house.’
She stared at him. ‘And how long have you lived here?’
He shrugged, suddenly feeling mildly uncomfortable. ‘Six years.’
‘Six years!’ She sounded appalled. ‘And you’ve never had a tree before?’
‘I’m never here at Christmas.’ He kept his tone patient. ‘I’m always working.’
‘Well, not for all of it,’ she said, unlooping the scarf and dropping it on the floor beside her. ‘No one can be working for all of it.’
Mac thought of the number of times he’d worked straight through the entire festive season, sleeping at the hospital so that others could have time off. ‘Yes, they can.’
Her brown eyes held his. ‘Only if they have a really, really good reason not to be at home.’
He tensed under her soft, searching gaze. ‘Louisa...’
‘What was your reason, Mac?’
He inhaled sharply and walked over to the window, keeping his back to her. ‘My wife was usually working at Christmas, too.’
‘I see.’
Her tone made it clear that she didn’t see at all.
‘We were busy,’ he said gruffly, and she looked at him blankly.
‘Busy.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Right.’
‘Not everyone does Christmas, Louisa,’ he said, his tone irritable. ‘It’s just another day of the year.’
‘Well, this year you’re going to be here,’ she said firmly. ‘You’ve got the day off. Josh is working and I need you to carve the turkey. I’m hopeless at carving, remember? I’ve checked the rota and I’ve worked it all out. We’re going to have turkey and presents round the tree and Josh can join us later.’
Mac tried to think of the last time he’d eaten proper turkey at Christmas and gave up. ‘I’m not that wild about turkey—’
‘That’s because you’ve never tasted mine.’ She grinned at him and smacked her lips. ‘It’s not to be missed.’
‘In that case, I’d better not miss it.’
It was just lunch, he told himself. And he didn’t need to be sociable. He could just eat lunch and then disappear to the beach with his surfboard. If Louisa wanted a crowded, noisy Christmas full of people then she could have one. It didn’t mean he had to be part of it.
‘There’s something else I wanted to ask you...’ She kept her tone casual and he felt himself tense in readiness.
‘Now what?’ His tone was dry. ‘You’ve invited the whole of the English rugby team along with everyone they’ve ever met in their lives?’
‘Am I that bad?’ She laughed and shook her head. ‘No, I haven’t invited anyone else. But I want to invite you—to the hospital Christmas party the day after tomorrow. Will you go?’ She blushed prettily and brushed a strand of dark hair out of her eyes, ‘Well what I mean really is, will you go with me? You’re going to say no, I know you are.’
He opened his mouth to say exactly that. ‘Yes, all right. Why not?’
There were a thousand reasons why he shouldn’t, but looking into her shining dark eyes he suddenly couldn’t remember any of them.
‘You’ll go? Truly? Fab!’ She jumped up, sending more pine needles flying, clearly as astonished as he was by his decision. ‘I’m so pleased.’
Mac shook his head.
He must be losing all good sense. ‘It will be cold sausage rolls and limp mince pies,’ he warned gruffly. ‘You could cook better yourself.’
Damn. He shouldn’t have said yes. He didn’t want her getting the wrong idea.
She clasped her hands together. ‘I don’t care about the food, Mac, I just want to dance.’ A huge smile spread across her face. ‘And you’re going to dance with me.’
Something stirred inside him and he squashed it down ruthlessly.
‘It isn’t a date, Louisa.’
‘Of course it’s a date.’ She winked at him. ‘You’d better get some serious rest, Dr Sullivan,’ she drawled, her eyes twinkling, ‘otherwise I’m likely to exhaust you.’
Mac bit his lip and refrained from pointing out that there were other ways that she could exhaust him that he’d find far more satisfying.
And then his eyes drifted to the tree and he remembered that all she wanted was a family.
And that was the one thing he wasn’t going to be able to give her.
* * *
Feeling daring, Louisa applied a touch of glitter to her hair and cheeks, put the finishing touches to her make-up and tried to control the churning of her stomach. There was nothing to be excited about. It wasn’t even a proper date, she reasoned. All right, so they were going to the party together, but they weren’t really together.
But at least he’d agreed to go with her so that was a start.
And his house was decorated and she’d ordered the turkey.
Louisa smiled at her reflection in the mirror. This year, like it or not, Mac Sullivan was going to do Christmas. And she was going to make sure that he enjoyed himself. Maybe then he’d stop shutting everyone out.
Maybe he’d even talk about his wife.
Or had he loved her so much he just couldn’t face talking about her to anyone?
She stepped back and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She’d followed Hannah’s advice and paid a visit to the little shop on the quay, and she’d found the perfect dress. Or, at least, she hoped it was perfect.
Reaching for her coat and her bag, she left the bedroom and walked downstairs.
Mac was waiting for her in the hallway, flicking through the post.
He looked spectacular in a dinner jacket, she thought dreamily as she paused halfway down the stairs and said his name.
He glanced up and froze, his eyes fixed on her face for a long moment before travelling downwards, scrutinising every inch of her. He didn’t speak and she suddenly felt self-conscious.
What if he hated the dress?
It was a bit daring at the front but she’d loved the colour so much...
‘You look stunning. And you glitter like something off the Christmas tree.’ His voice was husky and he dropped the post on the side and stepped forward.
‘Are you ready?’
She smiled a womanly smile as she walked down the rest of the stairs and took his arm. ‘Completely ready.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
THEY danced without stopping.
Once or twice Louisa noticed other women casting covetous glances towards Mac but he seemed totally unaware of the attention he was attracting from all the females in the room. Instead, he swung her this way and that as they moved in time to the music, his dark gaze fastened on her with a flattering degree of attentiveness.
He’d discarded his jacket and opened the top buttons of his shirt, exposing a hint of dark chest hair, and he moved with an easy rhythm, lithe and athletic and sexie
r than any man had a right to be. He looked dark, masculine and more than a little dangerous. Nothing like the remote, dedicated doctor she was used to working with.
Noticing another woman gazing longingly over her partner’s shoulder towards Mac, Louisa resisted the temptation to drag him off the dance floor, take him home and lock him away.
He was staggeringly good-looking, she consoled herself, trying to ignore everyone around them. It was perfectly normal that women would stare. She was struggling not to stare herself. Mac was a man who would always stand out in a crowd. Everything about him was intensely masculine. The hard lines of his face, the darkness of his jaw and the power in his broad shoulders. He was a man who would always draw women. But for tonight, at least, he was with her.
They danced and danced until her feet ached and finally the music slowed and Mac slid an arm around her waist. He pulled her against him, his hold unmistakably possessive. ‘Do you know that every man in the room is looking at you?’
Were they?
And Louisa realised that although she’d noticed the women, she hadn’t noticed the men. For her there were no other men in the room. For her there was only Mac. And Mac would always make other men fade into the background.
She looked up at him, caught the lazy gleam in his dark eyes and felt her stomach turn over. ‘My dress is probably too low...’
He smiled and his gaze dropped to her mouth. ‘Your dress,’ he drawled huskily, ‘is perfect.’
The unexpected compliment made her pulse race and suddenly she found it hard to breathe properly. He was looking at her as if—as if...
A thrill of excitement rippled through her and for the first time in her life she discovered what it felt like to really, really want a man.
And be wanted in return.