Once Upon a Christmas

by Sarah Morgan

  Oliver gave a weary smile. ‘Helen’s made her choice.’

  Tom frowned. ‘That doesn’t sound like you. If you love her, fight for her! You’ve always fought for everything you believed in. Literally, when you were younger. You had permanent black eyes at one point.’

  Oliver shook his head. ‘The one thing I can’t fight is her love for another man, Tom. It has to be her decision. And she’s made it.’

  Helen stood on the freezing platform, wishing the train would arrive.

  Once she was safely on her way, maybe she’d lose the desperate urge to run back to Oliver.

  She glanced around her, realising that she was the only person waiting for the train.

  Five more minutes. Five more minutes and then the Lake District would be part of her past.

  And so would Oliver.

  From the tiny station car park she heard the slam of a car door, a masculine shout and then footsteps. Her heart lifted, only to plummet again as she saw Tom striding towards her.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ She looked around her but the platform was still empty, which meant that she could be the only reason for the visit.

  ‘Plenty.’ Tom raked long fingers through his dark hair. ‘Look, I’m probably going to say the wrong thing here—heaven knows, I’ve made a complete mess of my own love life so I’m certainly not qualified to tamper with anyone else’s—’ He broke off and took a deep breath. ‘Do you love Oliver?’

  Helen looked at him, startled. ‘Sorry?’

  Tom gritted his teeth impatiently. ‘Do you love my brother?’

  ‘Well, I—’

  ‘It’s a simple question, Helen. Yes or no?’

  ‘Yes,’ she croaked, rubbing the toe of her boot on the frosty surface of the platform. ‘Yes, I do. But it was just a bit of fun for him.’

  Tom gave a disbelieving laugh. ‘You may love him, but you don’t know him very well, do you? He thinks you’re reunited with David. He doesn’t want you to feel guilty about going back to him. He’s making things easy for you. It’s pure Oliver.’

  ‘Easy?’ Helen stared at him and swallowed hard. ‘Seeing Oliver so cool this morning was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to bear, particularly after last night—’ She broke off and blushed, realising what she’d just said, but Tom gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

  ‘So you’re not going back to David?’

  She shook her head. ‘No. I couldn’t. I love Oliver.’

  ‘Then why are you going back to London?’

  Helen glanced down the track and saw the train approaching. ‘Because I can’t live here and see Oliver every day. It would hurt too much, knowing that he doesn’t love me.’

  ‘He does love you.’ Tom swore under his breath and stared at the approaching train with something close to desperation. ‘No wonder the path of true love never runs smoothly,’ he muttered. ‘People don’t tell each other the truth.’

  ‘Oliver has only known me for three weeks.’

  ‘Oliver loved you from the first moment he saw you,’ Tom said. ‘He moved into Bryony’s cottage, for goodness’ sake, just so that he could be with you because he couldn’t bring himself to leave you on your own.’

  Helen frowned, suddenly confused. ‘He was having his roof done.’

  Tom sighed. ‘Helen, Oliver’s roof is fine. Rock solid. Not a leak in sight.’

  Helen stared at him. ‘But—’

  ‘He was determined to watch over you. Pure Oliver again.’

  Helen’s mind was racing. Oliver had stayed in the cottage just so that he could be with her? ‘That doesn’t mean he loves me. That just means he’s kind. As you say, “Pure Oliver.” He would have done the same thing for anyone.’

  ‘You need more evidence?’ Tom thrust his hands in his pocket. ‘In order to create a job for you, he bought his practice nurse a flight to Australia so that she could afford to visit her daughter.’

  Helen shook her head. ‘But she’d wanted to go for ages.’

  ‘But she couldn’t afford it,’ Tom said gently. ‘Oliver paid for the ticket and gave you the job because he decided that you needed the distraction of working to get you out of bed in the morning. He was afraid that if he left you on your own all day, you’d brood.’

  Suddenly Helen remembered Hilda’s surprise at hearing that Maggie had decided to go to Australia at such short notice.

  ‘He didn’t need a practice nurse?’

  ‘Maggie is a perfectly good practice nurse.’

  Helen swallowed in disbelief as she assimilated the enormity of the gesture. ‘He did that for me?’

  Tom nodded. ‘He loves you, Helen. Enough to let you go because he thinks you love David.’

  Helen stared at the train as it slowed and then turned her eyes back to Tom. ‘He loves me?’

  ‘And you love him.’ Tom picked up her bags. ‘So I suggest you cash in that ticket you bought and let me drop you back in the village. Last time I saw him he was dragging on his walking gear. It’s what he always does when something stresses him. He takes to the hills.’

  Helen was digesting everything that he’d said.

  Had Oliver really thought she was going back to David?

  Had he thought that he was making the decision easier for her?

  She stood for a minute and then gave Tom a smile. ‘Do you know where he’s gone?’

  ‘I’ve got a good idea.’

  Helen breathed a sigh of relief. ‘In that case, do you think you can drop me at the cottage so that I can borrow Bryony’s walking clothes one more time? And then I need you to point me in the right direction.’

  She found Oliver by the lake, at a place they’d walked to together several times over the past month.

  He was sitting on a rock, throwing stones into the water. He stood up as she approached, his expression neutral.

  ‘You shouldn’t walk in the mountains by yourself—you might get lost.’

  Helen shrugged. ‘I was careful. You see, I have this friend who taught me a game.’

  The wind played with his dark hair. ‘And what game is that?’

  ‘You memorise different landmarks on the way.’ Helen turned to look back down the path she’d taken. ‘I passed a boulder shaped like a sheep, a patch of ice shaped like Africa. If I had to find my way back without getting lost, I could.’

  He was silent for a moment, a muscle working in his lean jaw. When he finally spoke his voice was slightly hoarse. ‘What are you doing here, Helen?’

  ‘Looking for you.’ She closed her eyes and breathed in the air. ‘It’s lovely here.’

  ‘Helen …’

  He looked so remote, so unlike Oliver, that for a moment her courage faltered. And then she remembered everything that Tom had told her and that gave her the strength she needed.

  ‘Actually, I’m here because I need to ask you a question. If I ask you a question, will you give me an honest answer, Oliver?’

  His expression was wary. ‘That depends on the question.’

  As a response it was less than encouraging, but she ploughed on anyway. This time she wasn’t going to give up until she’d told him how she felt.

  ‘Do you love me, Oliver?’

  He flinched as though she’d struck him and dragged his eyes away from hers, staring out across the mountains. ‘What sort of a question is that?’

  ‘An important one.’ Suddenly her hands were shaking and she had butterflies in her stomach, but still she carried on, trying not to be put off by the fact that his hands were thrust firmly in his pockets. ‘Last night you told me you loved me. I want to know if you meant it, or if it was something you say to every woman you make love to.’

  He didn’t move and he didn’t look at her. ‘I don’t say it to every woman.’

  ‘So, is that a yes?’

  His hard jaw tensed and for a moment she thought he wasn’t going to answer.

  Then he stirred. ‘Yes. I love you. Now what?’

  Her heart lifted but he still didn�
�t turn to face her so she walked around until she was in front of him.

  ‘Now you can ask me a question.’

  Finally his eyes met hers. ‘Helen, I—’

  ‘I expect you want to ask me about David,’ she said quietly, ‘so I’ll just tell you anyway. I don’t love David, Oliver. I’m not going with David. In fact, I should probably tell you that I intend to settle down in the Lake District with my family.’

  Oliver was silent for a long moment, his blue eyes fixed on hers, his expression unreadable. Then he cleared his throat. ‘Your family?’

  ‘That’s right.’ She was taking a huge risk but she’d decided that it was worth it. ‘For a while there’s just going to be me and the man I love, but pretty soon I’m sure we’ll have babies because I’m dying to be a mother and he’s going to be a great dad. And if we’re going to have lots of children we need to make a start.’

  There was a long, pulsing silence and Oliver finally stirred. ‘This man you love …’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘He doesn’t live in London?’

  She gave a smile. ‘He’d hate living in London. The man I love was born to live in the mountains. They’re part of who he is.’

  ‘Sounds a pretty weird choice of partner to me.’ Oliver’s voice was hoarse and he still hadn’t touched her. ‘Why would a London girl like you love a man like that?’

  ‘You want to know what I love about him?’ Helen’s voice was soft. ‘I love the fact that he cares so much about everyone. I love the fact he cares enough to see patients on his day off and pretend his roof needs fixing just so that he can keep an eye on a friend of his sister’s that he doesn’t even know.’

  Oliver sucked in a breath. ‘Helen—’

  ‘I love the way he laughs all the time and I love the way he kisses.’ Helen paused, digging her nails into her palms. ‘And I love the way he pretends that he doesn’t love me so that I can leave without feeling guilty.’

  Oliver’s eyes locked on hers. ‘But you don’t want to leave?’

  She shook her head. ‘Never again.’ She huddled deeper inside her coat and stamped her feet to keep warm. Surely he’d touch her soon? ‘My home is here. With you. If you want me, that is.’

  And finally the tension seemed to drain out of him.

  He gave a groan and dragged her into his arms, his voice muffled as he buried his face in her neck. ‘Oh, God, Helen, I thought I’d lost you. When I saw you with David I thought I’d lost you.’ He squeezed her tightly and then pushed her away slightly so that he could look at her. ‘Once I heard you say you were glad he’d come, I thought that was it.’

  ‘When you walked out, I almost died.’ Helen put her arms around his neck, sliding her fingers into his hair, loving the way it felt. ‘I couldn’t get rid of David fast enough. But then I came to the surgery and you were so cold.’

  ‘It was the only way I could stop myself from breaking down and begging you to stay,’ he confessed in a raw tone, ‘and I didn’t want to do that to you. I wanted you to make the decision yourself, without pressure from me. I thought you’d already made that decision.’

  ‘I’d already sent David away when I found you at the practice. I came to tell you that I loved you,’ Helen told him, oblivious to the biting wind which buffeted both of them. ‘But after you told me that last night was a mistake, there didn’t seem much point.’

  Oliver groaned and cupped her face in his hands. ‘Last night wasn’t a mistake, angel.’ He lowered his mouth to hers, his kiss so hot and full of promise that she felt her body shiver. Only when both of them were struggling for breath did he lift his head. ‘Last night was the single most perfect thing that has ever happened to me. When I woke up this morning and you were already downstairs, I assumed I’d frightened you away by telling you that I loved you.’

  ‘I think I frightened myself,’ Helen admitted, colour rising in her cheeks. ‘It was so … I mean, I never—’

  ‘Neither did I.’ Oliver kissed her again. ‘And when I saw you with David …’

  ‘I told him that I was glad he’d come, because I thought there were things I wanted to know,’ Helen said quietly. ‘I wanted to know how he could have ended our relationship the way he did, without seeing me face to face. Then I saw him and realised that actually I didn’t even care anymore. I didn’t care why he did it that way. All I cared about was you.’

  ‘You were in his arms.’

  ‘He pulled me there. I left them very quickly,’ Helen said and Oliver let out a long breath.

  ‘He’s rich, Helen.’

  She glanced around her, breathing in the air and sighing with pleasure as she looked at the mountains. ‘What’s rich?’ She turned back to him. ‘Rich is being with the person you love.’

  He cupped her face in his hands. ‘I thought you didn’t believe that love could happen quickly.’

  ‘I’ve learned a lot of things in the past few weeks,’ she said softly. ‘Like the fact that I love mountains. And that I don’t want to go back to London. And that love can happen in a breath and when you’re least expecting it. I arrived here broken-hearted but you made me see that what I felt for David wasn’t love. Love is what I feel for you.’

  ‘And is it enough?’ His voice was hoarse and he stroked a hand around her face and tilted her chin. ‘Is it enough to make you leave behind the stilettos and the suits? Your big city life? Is it asking too much of you to make you live here?’

  She smiled. ‘I want to live here. I want to be here when Hilda moves into her new flat. I want to know how things go with Anna and her new boyfriend and—’ her eyes twinkled ‘—I even want to know about Howard Marks’s sex life.’

  Oliver grinned. ‘I can assure you, you don’t!’

  Helen laughed. ‘Well, what I mean is, I want to be part of this great community. I know I can’t carry on being your practice nurse, but I still want to be part of everything.’

  ‘Ah.’ Something flickered in Oliver’s eyes. ‘About the practice nurse job …’

  Helen’s gaze softened. ‘I can’t believe you paid for Maggie to visit her daughter just to create a job for me.’

  Oliver rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. ‘It seems my generous gesture has rather backfired.’

  ‘How?’

  Oliver gave a wry smile. ‘Maggie called this morning to say that she’s enjoying herself so much she’d like extended leave of absence. I need a new practice nurse.’

  Helen’s mouth fell open. ‘Oh!’

  ‘Yes—”oh.”‘ He shook his head. ‘I must admit I didn’t have the best morning. First I saw you with David and then my practice nurse decides not to come back.’

  Helen kissed him. ‘But the day is improving,’ she said softly, ‘because I happen to know someone who would make a great practice nurse. If only in the short term.’

  Oliver dragged his mouth away from hers reluctantly. ‘Short term?’ His voice was husky and his eyes were still on her lips. ‘Why short term?’

  She blushed slightly. ‘Because we were both a little carried away last night, that family of ours may be arriving sooner rather than later.’

  Oliver stared at her and then a huge smile spread across his face. ‘I might have made you pregnant—’

  ‘Stop sounding so smug. If you have, you’ll soon be interviewing a new practice nurse.’

  ‘I don’t care.’ Oliver gave a groan and kissed her gently. ‘I hope I did make you pregnant. I want to have lots of babies. I probably should have told you that before.’

  Her insides melted. ‘If you’re the father, I want lots of babies, too. I love you.’

  ‘And I love you, too.’ He glanced back along the path she’d taken. ‘Can you remember the way home?’

  ‘Of course. Boulder shaped like a sheep and ice like Africa. ‘Why?’

  His blue eyes gleamed wickedly. ‘Because I don’t think we should leave this baby thing to chance. We should go home and try again.’

  She lifted her mouth to his. ‘That, Dr Hunt
er, sounds like a very good idea.’

  All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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  ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS

  © Harlequin Enterprises II B.V./S.à.r.l. 2012

  Originally published as The Doctor’s Christmas Bride © Sarah Morgan 2004 and The Nurse’s Wedding Rescue © Sarah Morgan 2004

  ISBN: 978-1-408-99794-9