by Rosalie Ash
Megan had streaked her blond fringe with Christmassy red and gold, and in her short gold dress she looked like a very funky Christmas fairy. Jessica, in a clinging crimson velvet top and black silk trousers, looked her usual elegant self. She was now eyeing the steaming hot, fragrantly golden turkey in the huge roasting tin, surrounded by crumpled foil wrappings, and nodded. ‘That looks perfect. Well done you! Wrap it back up and keep it warm until the potatoes are crispy. And for God’s sake, go and have some champagne, I’ll sort out the veg and gravy, and dish it all up.’
‘Thanks Jess.’
‘And cheer up, sweetie,’ Megan said, ‘After lunch we can make marzipan Matt dolls and stick pins in them.’
‘That could work for me,’ Victoria grinned, ‘It’s so nice to have you back, Megs.’
The kitchen door burst open to admit William, pink-faced and breathless, with Archie following close behind.
‘Santa Claus is outside!’ William shouted, red hair tousled, his eyes so wide they seemed to fill his small face.
‘Really?’ Jessica smiled at her three year old son, ‘Well, Santa came down the chimney last night, didn’t he? So…’
‘He’s here! He IS! Look!’ William was pointing at the window.
Archie, in awe of his older cousin’s excitement, was looking on with silent expectation.
Victoria, Jessica and Megan exchanged bemused glances, then hurried to the kitchen window.
A big, gleaming red four-wheel drive Audi was parked in the drive. Walking towards the house strode Santa Claus, complete with bushy white beard and with a sack of presents over his shoulder.
‘Cool!’ Megan grinned, heading back into the hall so she could open the front door to greet their guests, ‘We get to give Santa more sherry and mince pies!’
‘We get more presents, hurray!’ William grabbed Archie’s hand and began to run after Megan.
‘I’ll just turn everything down a bit,’ Jessica said, ‘You know, Santa looks awfully familiar.’
‘What…?’ Victoria gaped at the tall figure coming closer, and began to pull off her apron. ‘Oh my God,’ She murmured to Jessica, recognition dawning, her heart thudding against her ribs, ‘I don’t believe it. It’s Matt.’
Jessica nodded, then shook her head at Victoria’s expression and added seriously, ‘I swear to you, I did not set this one up!’
‘So Matt has just arrived. Dressed as Father Christmas.’
‘Yep.’
‘And … and I’m not hallucinating, am I? That’s Emma Goodman getting out of the car. Dressed as an elf?’ They both stared as the drivers’ door opened to emit the elegant figure of Emma, looking stunning in a slinky green shot-silk skirt suit and sexy high heeled black boots, the elegance marred only by the surprise addition of a floppy green elf-hat. Another figure emerged from the rear of the car, a lanky youth in a very smart dark suit, shirt and tie. He too wore a floppy green elf-hat. Together, looking rather reluctant, they walked towards the front door. ‘And… is that Leo Kent with her?’ Victoria finished up, on a note of rising hysteria. ‘This is not even funny. Matt had better have a good explanation for this, or I swear I will smash the nearest bottle of champagne and attack him with it myself!’
Everyone congregated in the big square sitting room. Outside, the first snow flakes were starting to fall from a yellow-grey sky, and the warm glow of the Christmas tree fairy lights and the flickering log fire made the atmosphere even more surreal. William and Archie shrieked and ran about with excitement. Jessica greeted Emma with a hug, and much laughter and questioning. Jonathan woke up from his nap, and was brought in by Mira, looking slinky in a shimmering silver dress. Andrew appeared from somewhere, and poured out glasses of champagne for everyone. Megan went over to talk to Leo Kent as he hovered on the sidelines, looking awkward. Victoria hung back, by the Christmas tree in the window, feeling as if she could hardly breathe, too frozen with outrage and annoyance to join in any of the social greetings.
‘You’re not really Santa Claus.’ William announced to Matt, who had removed his beard and hat and accepted a glass of champagne from Andrew. ‘He came down our chimney last night!’
‘That’s true. But he forgot a few things, so he asked me to bring them today.’ Matt said, deadpan.
‘What things?’
‘Well, firstly, he forgot to send Leo here to make a big apology,’ Matt murmured, waving Leo over. Megan took Leo’s hand, and walked across the room with him, like a fierce little guardian angel.
‘I’m really, really sorry,’ he said, his eyes searching the room for Victoria. He took off the elf-hat and clutched it with both hands, smiled at her ruefully. He was tall, dark, broad shouldered, with dark brown eyes and nice, even white American teeth, really not bad looking at all, without the drug-crazed stare and the foul-mouthed abuse, ‘I’m really sorry for attacking you and Matt, and screwing up your engagement. I was a stupid dumb-ass…’
‘What’s a stupid dumb-ass?’ William said, listening intently.
‘Someone who sometimes gets things wrong.’ Matt met Victoria’s eyes, and she blinked at the intensity in his silver gaze, ‘Like me.’
She couldn’t speak, couldn’t get past her churning anger and indignation. Did Matt seriously think he could just disappear and reappear like this, and always with bloody Emma in tow?
‘Do we get more presents too?’ William was eyeing the sack by Matt’s feet. Matt squatted down and pulled out some wrapped packages.
‘This is for you,’ he handed one to William.’
Archie, thumb in mouth, was staring at Matt. He suddenly gave Matt a beaming smile and said, ‘Dadda!’
‘Hello, Archie, Happy Christmas,’ Matt’s smile was like melting ice as he acknowledged his small son. He gently gave a package to Archie, then took some more out of the sack before standing up and meeting Victoria’s eyes. ‘The rest of the presents I’ve brought are for your Mummy.’
William was rustling open his present, whooping with glee as he discovered Toy Story Buzz Lightyear dressing-up clothes. Archie was sitting on the floor, excitedly unwrapping a ‘Woody’ doll with a pull-cord that spoke lines from the film.
Megan had whisked Leo off to get him a glass of champagne. Amidst the general hubbub, Victoria found Emma beside her, her expression questioning.
‘Hi. You look a bit shell-shocked. I don’t blame you. But I’m only here as the driver, and to keep charge of Leo,’ she said quietly, ‘In case you were thinking there was some other reason?’
‘No. I don’t know. I’m not sure what to think right this minute! Except how on earth did Matt persuade you to wear that elf hat?’
‘Oh God, I’d forgotten I had it on!’ She snatched it off quickly, smoothing a hand over her glossy dark hair, looking slightly embarrassed, ‘But basically, he had to bribe me with a salary increase! I’m taking Leo for lunch with my family, they only live a few miles from here,’ she added, ‘So we really have to leave in a minute. But just to let you know, Matt has been dealing with Leo’s family, the police, master-minding Leo’s re-hab, he was obsessed with getting the whole mess cleaned up before he mended fences with you.’ Emma shrugged, gave a wry smile, ‘Terrible for you, I know, but that’s Matt. He does the male compartmentalising thing to extreme.’
‘I see. Thanks for telling me. You obviously know him far better than I do!’
‘There’s never been anything between Matt and me, please believe that. But I do understand him.’ Emma said quietly, ‘I was fostered, and then adopted. So we have some childhood experiences in common. That’s probably how I got the job as his PA.’
‘Excuse me, Victoria, ma’am…’ Leo Kent had joined them, looking nervous, ‘I just want you to know that I meant what I said, one hundred percent, and if there’s anything, anything at all that I can do to make up for my behaviour that night, just say it!’
‘It’s alright, Leo. Apology accepted,’ she began, then stiffened as Matt spoke behind her.
‘Good job, Leo. But enough.
It’s my turn now.’ She turned to see that he’d unbuttoned the front of his Santa outfit, revealing Levis, and a silky grey polo-shirt beneath.
Emma and Leo tactfully moved away.
She and Matt stared at each other in silence for a few moments.
‘Well, that’s the elves dismissed!’ she said.
‘Yeah. That’s the problem with elves. Give them an inch…’
She met his eyes, caught between laughter and tears, her heart lurching.
‘There’s a dressing-up theme to this visit,’ she said, unsteadily, ‘How did you know the kids love Toy Story so much?’
‘What can I say? I’m indulging in childhood fantasies. Blame my deprived background.’
Swallowing a lump in her throat, she let herself look at him properly, searched his face, her whole body tensing with suppressed emotion.
‘It’s healing well,’ she whispered, lifting her fingers to touch the scar.
He reached up and covered her hand with his, caught her fingers to his mouth and kissed her palm, snatching in a quick breath like a drowning man finding oxygen.
‘I want to give this back to you,’ he said, holding out the diamond ring in its box, ‘Along with the birthday present I never got round to giving you. And the Christmas present that I got to match.’
‘Matt, you don’t have to give me diamonds.’
‘I know I don’t have to give you diamonds,’ he produced a bigger box from his pocket, and she blinked at the sight of the exquisite diamond and rose-gold pendant and earrings it contained, ‘But I want to give you diamonds, and, well, pretty much repeat what Leo said. I’ve been a complete stupid dumb-ass.’
He reached to fasten the fiery diamond pendant at her nape, so that it lay between the curve of her breasts above the scoop neck of her dress. He was looking down at her with an expression which turned her bones to water.
She caught her lip in her teeth.
‘You do realise that you can’t just keep on vanishing on me,’ she began heatedly, ‘And changing your mind every couple of weeks, every time you have a bit of a wobble or need to think something over, or deal with one of your wide variety of emotional hang-ups!’
‘I do realise that. Christ, Victoria, I’ve missed you, stop talking and kiss me.’
She moved into his arms and wrapped herself around him, sliding her hands inside the red-felt suit, turning up her mouth to his, and losing herself in the sheer joy of physical contact with him. She was breathless, and every inch of her was tingling when they finally managed to break apart.
‘If you love someone,’ she picked up her lecture where she’d left off, ‘You have to take the rough with the smooth!’
‘I do love you, and I promise to keep on loving you, rough or smooth. We can even write that bit into our marriage vows if it makes you happy.’
‘Yes, well…I love you too,’ she expelled her breath on a shaky sigh, and took the ring box, flipped up the lid, ‘So, unless you’re thinking of disappearing again, I suppose you can put this back where it belongs. And stay for Christmas lunch. And stay forever?’
‘That sounds like an offer I can’t refuse.’
And, to a small ripple of laughter and applause, and Megan singing a few bars of ‘I saw Mummy kissing Santa Claus’, Matt took the ring, and slid it onto her finger.
Also by Rosalie Ash
Unsafe Harbour
Private Property
The Gypsy’s Bride
Love by Design
The Witch’s Wedding
Hostile Inheritance
Brilliant Disguise
Calypso’s Island
Original Sin
An Imported Wife
Apollo’s Legend
Myths of the Moon
Vengeful Bride
Dangerous Nights
Ghost Bride
Marriage Vows
The Trophy Wife
A Fragile Marriage
The Ideal Father
To see some of the Rosalie Ash ‘Vintage 90’s Modern’ books that are available as e-books from Harlequin Mills & Boon, follow this link or paste it into your browser:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Rosalie%20Ash&search-alias=digital-text