by Holly Martin
She leaned up and kissed him and he smiled against her lips as he kissed her back. She ran her hands over his chest and round his back, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin over rock-hard muscle, and then her hands met the waistband of his jeans. She hesitated for just a second before she slid her hands round the waistband and undid the button on the top of his jeans. He continued to kiss her, holding her face in his hands, but when she slowly undid his zip, he took a little intake of breath.
He pulled back slightly to watch her and she moved her hands back to his hips and pushed the jeans down over his huge muscular thighs. He quickly wriggled out of them and kicked them to one side.
‘Do I take that as a yes?’ He reached his hands out in a breast-grabbing motion and she laughed hard because he wasn’t taking this remotely seriously.
‘Nope, but if you’re good I’ll let you take my jeans off.’
Dougie rubbed his hands together as if about to get his hands on a fabulous prize. He was going to be so disappointed.
He popped open the button on the top of her jeans and, echoing her moves, he slowly undid her zip. His eyes were on her face as he did it, gauging her reaction so he missed what he was unveiling. His eyes cast down appreciatively, obviously hoping he was going to see some sexy knickers. Eden could barely keep the laughter inside.
He frowned in confusion. ‘What is that?’
‘Tights,’ Eden said, proudly. ‘Navy blue, thick, woollen tights.’
‘God, you know how to turn a man on.’
‘Keep going, there’s more where that came from.’
Dougie got to his knees, slowly peeling her jeans down her legs and gradually revealing a pair of green- and purple-spotted knee-length socks over the blue tights. She kicked her shoes off, stepped out of the jeans and struck a pose like a model on the catwalk as she stood before him in her bra, thick blue tights and spotty socks.
Dougie laughed and she started parading round the room singing Rod Stewart’s ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?’
He stood up and moved towards her but at the last moment he ducked down and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed and then he tossed her down on the bed and came down on top of her.
‘As a matter of fact, I do,’ Dougie said, before kissing her again.
She hooked her legs around him, holding him to her as she kissed him back but he quickly sat up and straddled her instead. ‘Sorry honey, I really can’t kiss you in these things, they’re so scratchy. They’re going to have to come off.’
He peeled them away and the socks came off with them so she was only in her underwear and he was just in his boxer briefs as he lay back down half on top of her and kissed her again. The humour was gone now; it was just the two of them kissing, their hot bodies sliding against each other. It was everything she had hoped it would be and more. It really was a dream come true. Something jolted in her head but she pushed any doubt aside. She was enjoying this kiss too much to worry about the whys.
She pulled back slightly and he looked down at her with complete and utter love in his eyes.
‘So we’re really not going to make love tonight?’ Eden asked.
‘Not tonight. When you’re ready I’m going to make sure it’s perfect for us. There’ll be candles and wine and a whole string quartet standing in the corner playing beautiful music.’
Eden giggled. ‘Voyeurism, that sounds super romantic.’
‘I thought so. Now as it’s almost two in the morning, I think I’d better let you get some sleep, otherwise you’ll be exhausted at work tomorrow.’
‘I have the day off,’ Eden said.
He grinned. ‘You do?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well in that case I think I might enjoy kissing you for the rest of the night.’
‘I think I’d like that too.’
He kissed her again and this time he didn’t stop.
Chapter Thirteen
Eden woke with a big smile on her face and the smile grew even wider when she saw Dougie fast asleep in bed next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist. He had the hugest grin on his face, as if he’d spent the night having the best sex of his life instead of just kissing, and she liked that she had made him smile so much.
It was four days until Christmas and the thought of waking up in his arms on Christmas Day, of being with him and probably making love to him, filled her with so much excitement. It was the best Christmas present she could ever hope for.
She hadn’t expected any of this to happen when Dougie came home. They were friends, they’d always been friends, and nothing had ever happened apart from that one kiss on Mistletoe Cove twelve years before. There had never been any sign from him that he had feelings for her. Not just feelings – he loved her. It was so completely out of the blue, almost as if a switch had been flicked in his head, and suddenly those feelings were there when they had never been before.
She felt the smile sliding off her face.
Those feelings had never been there before and mere minutes after she had wished he loved her, he was kissing her like his life depended on it.
Was it the wish that had made this happen? No, that was ridiculous. There was no such thing as magic. There was no such thing as fairies or fairy godmothers for that matter; there was no magical school of witchcraft and wizardry hidden from the muggles in the Scottish Highlands. Those were stories, nothing more. There was no way that writing her wishes on a piece of paper and throwing it into the sea could ever possibly make her wishes come true. But if he really did love her then why had he never said anything before?
She was so confused and as she lay there staring at him, the fear started creeping in too. What if this wasn’t real? What if Dougie didn’t love her and it was all just some stunt to make her smile? What if it was a temporary thing and, just like Cinderella’s wish to go to the ball had started to unravel after midnight with the golden carriage turning back into a pumpkin, what if Dougie’s love for her faded away too? What if she fell into this relationship with Dougie – or whatever this thing was between them – and then one day he decided he didn’t love her any more? Was it better to not enter into it at all? Because having a relationship with Dougie and then losing him had to hurt more than not having him at all.
She sighed with frustration. In her dreams, whenever Dougie told her he loved her and wanted to marry her, there had never been this fear and doubt. Why was she letting this ruin her happiness now?
She carefully got out of bed, needing some time away from him to think. She quietly threw on some clothes and left him smiling as he slept.
She slipped out onto the moonlit street. There was not a sound or any sign of movement at all. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet and the sun wouldn’t be up for hours. She walked down the high street towards Buttercup Beach and as she got closer the gentle lap of the waves on the beach was soothing. She sat down on the sand, and closed her eyes, trying to let nothing but that sound fill her head.
In her pocket her phone buzzed with a notification. She normally put it on silent at night because Bella had been up very late and very early over the last few months as she prepared for her wedding. Eden was in a texting group with Bella and Freya where Bella would post pictures all hours of the day and night about ideas for the upcoming wedding. Eden knew that Bella wasn’t expecting a response at those times but the pictures were there for when Eden or Freya could get to them.
Eden pulled her phone out and inspected the picture of the five-tier chocolate fountain that Bella had just posted with the word ‘thoughts?’ next to it followed by a crying emoji. There had been lots of these emojis lately and Eden knew that Bella was getting very stressed out by all the planning. Eden and Freya had offered countless times to help with some of the organising but Bella was keen to do it all herself.
But if Bella was posting pictures of chocolate fountains then she was clearly awake.
Eden quickly typed out a message.
Fancy a coffee?
Eden waited. It was just co
ming up for six o’clock in the morning and it was a Sunday. Bella was most likely looking forward to some kind of lie-in and spending the day with her wonderful fiancé as she wasn’t working. She really wouldn’t want to get up and out of bed when it was dark to meet her for a coffee.
She could see Bella was typing.
Of course. Are you OK?
Eden smiled with love for her sister as she typed back.
Rosa’s?
Rosa’s was open all hours of the day and night – the fishermen came and went very early in the morning, either before a day’s fishing or after a night out at sea, and Rosa had lots of different staff working throughout the night to cater for them.
Give me ten minutes
Bella wrote.
Suddenly Eden noticed Freya was typing too. She definitely hadn’t expected Freya to be awake at this time.
I want to come too.
Why are you awake? Eden wrote back.
Because this baby makes me pee every hour.
Eden smiled.
Come on then, my treat.
She got to Rosa’s just before Freya, and Bella arrived a few minutes later, both of them hugging her as they arrived.
‘What’s going on, are you OK?’ Bella asked as she sat down in the booth opposite Eden. ‘It’s your day off today, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to see you up this early.’
‘Is this about Dougie?’ Freya asked, tucking into the delicious chocolate pastry Rosa had brought over on a plate with other sugary delights.
Eden nodded. There was no point beating around the bush. ‘He told me he loved me.’
There was absolute silence from Bella and Freya, no squeals of delight or claps or cheers, just absolute silence as they stared at her. Maybe they needed more details.
‘We ended up going to Mistletoe Cove last night where we kissed, we came back to my house where we kissed again. A lot. And… he told me he loved me.’
More silence. They clearly hadn’t been expecting it either; it wasn’t just her that thought this was completely out of the blue.
Freya finally found her voice. ‘Eden, I’m so happy for you. It’s a little unexpected and sudden but I’m really happy for you.’
‘Is it sudden?’ Bella argued. ‘It’s been twelve years. It’s about time he made a move. I’ve always thought that he had a thing for you.’
‘No, Freya’s right,’ Eden said. ‘It’s sudden because he’s never shown any sign of having feelings for me in the past. And now he’s been back three days and he’s declaring his undying love for me. It feels odd.’
‘What do you mean, he’s never showed any sign of loving you before? You hug, hold hands, he kisses you on the cheek. You’re more affectionate together than most couples. You’ve been in love with him for almost all of your life, why are you not happier about this?’ Bella said.
‘I just don’t know if this is some stunt that he is trying to pull, you know what Dougie’s like. I’ve never known him to be serious about anything.’
‘Dougie wouldn’t do that to you.’
‘I don’t mean something nasty, I just wonder if he is doing it simply to be nice. He said last night that he just wanted to make me smile, I wonder if this is something like that…’ Eden trailed off because in her heart she knew Dougie would never do something like that to her. He might switch the sugar for the salt or change her voicemail message to something silly but he’d never do anything like this.
Eden stalled over telling them the next part because it sounded insane just thinking about it.
‘Do you guys believe in magic?’ she said, quietly, focussing her attention on a custard pastry on the plate in front of her.
‘Um, well… I suppose it was magic the way that Isaac and I met,’ Bella said, desperately trying to help. ‘If he hadn’t come to see what my reaction was to having a homeless person outside my house, if I hadn’t invited him in, I’d probably just be his employee by now instead of his fiancée. Some things happen for a reason.’
Eden smiled at her. She couldn’t be happier that Bella had found love when she hadn’t even been looking for it. Her sister deserved it.
‘Are you talking about a connection between two people, that thing that only soul mates share?’ Freya asked. ‘When Rome and I made love for the first time, we shared the most incredible connection that was magical. Do you mean something like that?’
Eden shook her head. ‘No, I’m not talking about serendipity or lucky coincidence or an intense emotional connection. I’m talking spells, magical powers and wishes coming true.’
Bella and Freya stared at her in surprise and confusion.
‘I know it sounds crazy…’
‘I think there are lots of things in this world that can’t possibly be explained. If you go on YouTube there are thousands of videos of ghosts, weird creatures, strange floating balls of lights in the sky, furniture that moves by itself, people that can supposedly move things with their minds, there are even videos of people flying. A lot of that is faked or can be explained but some of it can’t. I do think there’s lots that we just don’t understand about our world,’ Bella said.
‘What’s this about?’ Freya asked, gently.
‘Have you guys ever heard about the legend surrounding Mistletoe Cove?’
They both shook their heads.
‘I have,’ Rosa said, arriving at their table with their drinks. ‘I can’t say I hold much stock in it myself, I’ve never been one to believe in fairy stories. But I’ve heard that if you throw wishes into the blowhole they come true. Load of old rubbish if you ask me but the rumour says it’s especially effective for young lovers.’ Rosa raised her eyebrows pointedly in Eden’s direction, unloaded the drinks from the tray and walked off.
Eden stared after her. ‘I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this legend before, I’ve lived here my whole life, but Clare has heard about it too.’
‘I’ve never heard of it either,’ Bella said. ‘What happened?’
‘Dougie persuaded me to go with him to Mistletoe Cove last night, told me all this rubbish that if you write three wishes on a piece of paper and throw them into the blowhole then they would come true. I’m sure he primed Clare to agree with him and tell me this story about her gran’s wishes coming true, he’d even created some Wikipedia page detailing about the legend of Mistletoe Cove to back up his story. I didn’t believe any of it, but he was so adamant that I should make the wishes that in the end I did it just to humour him and…’ she trailed off.
Bella reached across the table and took her hand. ‘Did you wish that Dougie loved you?’
Eden sighed and nodded. ‘That’s the only thing I’ve ever wished for. It’s crazy, wishes don’t come true, no amount of birthday wishes, wishes on a star or lucky pennies in a wishing well will ever make your dreams come true. I know, I spent years trying. But minutes after I threw my wish in the blowhole, he was kissing me and telling me he loves me and I know this sounds stupid but… what if it was the wish that did it?’
‘Look, I think Dougie has always loved you, and maybe he didn’t realise it until he moved to America and left you behind, but I think those feelings for you have always been there. Why do you think he visited so often?’ Bella asked.
‘Well, to see all of us, me, you and Rome.’
‘And you were always the first person he went to see whenever he came back. Why did he always stay with you and not me or Rome? Rome would be the much more logical choice, he has a bigger house and his guest bedroom has an en-suite.’
Eden thought about this. She’d never really questioned why she was always the one he insisted on staying with. She’d always been happy to have him stay with her in the past even though it had tortured her having him walk around with hardly any clothes on.
‘How many texts or messages or emails do you get from him when he’s in America?’ Bella persisted.
‘Well, probably only two or three a day,’ Eden said.
Bella’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I get mayb
e one a week, if I’m lucky. I’m sure Rome doesn’t hear from him that often either.’
‘But they’re just silly messages, jokes, meaningless comments, nothing serious.’
‘But it shows he’s thinking of you,’ Freya said.
‘Well I guess. But if he loved me why hasn’t he moved back here before now? It’s been twelve years.’
‘You’ve never given him any sign that he had anything to come back for,’ Bella said. ‘Besides, he moved with his parents, he didn’t really have any choice with that, then he was at university over there, got a job with that gaming company; it would have been hard to work for a gaming company over here while living on Hope Island. He would have had to move to London to do that and that wouldn’t have helped you guys to have any kind of relationship either.’
‘Bella’s right, it wasn’t the right time for him before. I’ve always thought he’s had a soft spot for you,’ Freya said. ‘Everyone on the island thinks he has come back here for you, there’s even a bet that you’ll be married by this time next year.’
‘The islanders see what they want to see,’ Eden said.
‘All we’re saying is, it isn’t that implausible that he does love you. He adores you, you know that. It’s not a far stretch that that adoration would turn into love at some point. And if he does love you and he has come back here for you, then it makes sense that he would want to make a move straight away. Why waste any more time?’ Bella said.
‘OK, there are three solutions to this scenario,’ Freya said, practically. ‘Firstly, as Bella says, he genuinely does love you, and he’d always planned on coming back to Hope Island with the hope of starting something with you and it’s just coincidence that he told you he loved you after you wished that he did. Secondly, it could be some big Dougie trick, although to what gain, I don’t know, unless, like you say, it’s his attempt at doing something nice. Is there any way that Dougie could have seen your wishes?’