Chapter 34
Lauren heard the shouts of victory and exasperation from the living room and wondered what she’d let herself in for. She slipped off her boots in the hallway and paused for Marc to do the same with his wellies.
‘I feel I ought to warn you, my youngest brother, Joel, is also staying for Christmas,’ Marc murmured, close enough to her ear that his breath made her neck tingle. ‘He can be… a lot.’
‘Now you tell me,’ Lauren murmured back. But nothing could take away from the pleasure she felt at being invited to join Marc’s Christmas celebrations. She was used to all kinds of people passing through the café; if it came to it, she could just treat Joel like a chatty customer.
‘Ready?’ Marc turned to her. He looked adorably uncertain. Lauren reached out and squeezed his hand. She sensed that he, too, was nervous. And she had an inkling why.
‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘I know you’re cautious about giving too much away in front of the boys. Just friends, this afternoon?’
Marc nodded. ‘Is that okay?’ He blinked a couple of times. ‘I don’t want them to think… They’re so young…’
Lauren touched his cheek with her other hand. ‘Just friends,’ she repeated. She was shocked at how much she wanted to kiss him again, but she had to respect his boundaries where the twins were concerned.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered. They breathed together for a moment or two, and then Marc pulled back so they could see each other better. ‘Brace yourself!’
Lauren followed after him, and she couldn’t help the smile that spread over her features when she saw Liam and Luca contorted on the Twister mat, with Noah stretching over them, trying valiantly to reach the furthermost red circle with his left foot.
Bella, cross-legged on the floor, was in charge of the spinner, and Joel was laughing his head off on the sofa.
‘Give it up, bro!’ Joel called, raising his glass to his lips. ‘They’ve beaten you twice already.’
‘Never surrender,’ Noah grunted, finally landing his foot on a red circle. He managed to hold it for three seconds before his legs gave out and he crashed with an ‘oof!’ onto the mat.
‘We win!’ Liam and Luca chorused.
‘What, you’re tag-teaming? No fair!’ Noah panted. He rolled off the mat, and Lauren watched him slide towards Bella and steal a kiss before hoisting himself onto the sofa. ‘Must be your dad’s turn now.’
‘Nah, I reckon it’s Uncle Joel’s.’ Marc grinned at Lauren briefly. ‘But before you take to the mat, Joel, come and meet Lauren, my, er, friend from the café.’
Lauren noticed Joel’s quirked eyebrow at Marc’s introduction, but – determined not to give anything away in front of the boys – she smiled at Marc’s brother as he stood up and loped across the living room. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’
‘You too.’ Joel gave her an appraising glance. ‘I didn’t realise Marc had made any new “friends” since he’s been living here.’
Marc’s warning look ensured that Joel didn’t push it, though. They were all, clearly, mindful of the boys and their reactions.
‘Can I get you a drink, Lauren?’ Joel raised his nearly empty glass. ‘I could do with a top-up myself.’ He turned and winked at Luca, who was getting ready for another game on the Twister mat. ‘And anything to get me out of a match against the twins!’
‘Just a cup of tea would be great, please,’ Lauren replied.
‘Sure I can’t tempt you with something stronger? We’ve got enough booze in the house to survive an apocalypse.’ Joel gave her what she was sure was his best persuasive smile.
‘She said just tea, Joel.’ Marc’s voice, while still light, carried the hint of an admonishment. Joel got the message and headed off to the kitchen to put the kettle on.
‘Sorry,’ Marc muttered. ‘He likes to stir the pot.’
Lauren smiled. ‘It’s fine.’ She settled herself on the sofa and was soon enjoying a decent cuppa that Joel brought in, along with another glass of champagne for himself.
The warmth of the Hathaway family was infectious, and it didn’t take long for her to relax.
She was still extremely aware of Marc sitting close to her on her left, but, determined not to give anything away to the boys, she stopped herself from moving any closer to him.
Noah kept glancing in their direction, clearly curious, but he, too, seemed to respect the need to keep things light in front of the children.
‘So Marc tells me you’re a businesswoman?’ Joel said, after a sip or two of champagne. ‘Will Starbucks and Costa be looking to their laurels, or Laurens?’
Lauren shook her head. ‘Not really. It’s a very small place.’
‘Small places grow,’ Joel replied. ‘Don’t limit your horizons.’
‘I’m sure Lauren doesn’t need business advice from you.
’ Marc’s tone was light, but again, Lauren picked up on a warning.
The three brothers looked at ease, on the surface, but she got the impression that there was more to their relationship than this happy Christmas afternoon would suggest. Intrigued, she looked Joel square in the eyes.
‘The café’s pretty tiny, but it suits me fine,’ she replied firmly.
‘Maybe you should come in for a coffee when we’re open again. ’
‘Perhaps I will.’ Joel grinned at her.
He looked as though he was about to ask her more questions when Marc interrupted his flow. ‘I think it’s your turn on the mat, Joel.’
Lauren smiled. She sensed that Marc was trying to protect her from Joel’s searchlight charm, and although she was sure she could handle it, she felt flattered. She hoped there would be more time, eventually, to get to know everyone better.
‘I don’t know which is the better option,’ Marc murmured as, with a groan, Joel heaved himself off the sofa and towards the game of Twister, ‘playing with the twins or answering Joel’s questions!’ She shivered as he gave her hand a brief stroke with his fingertips. ‘Christmas, eh?’
‘I’m enjoying it,’ she murmured back. ‘Thank you for inviting me in.’ She turned her head towards him, and his eyes widened as she met his gaze.
There was an aching pause between them, both torn between wanting to move closer and the impact it might have on the rest of the family in the room.
It was with a combination of regret and relief that Marc pulled back from her as his mobile, sitting on the coffee table next to the sofa, started to ring.
‘Sorry.’ He turned away and grabbed it. Lauren saw a strange expression crossing his features. ‘Excuse me a sec?’
‘Of course.’ She sipped her tea as Marc hurried out of the room with his phone.
Noah looked after him as he left, as did Bella, and even Joel, preoccupied with his next move on the Twister mat, gave him a glance.
She felt a prickling sense of unease, of being out of the emotional loop, somehow, but didn’t want to dwell on it.
‘Hey.’ Bella sat down on the other side of the sofa. ‘Hope it’s not too full-on for you. These Hathaway boys, all of them, take a bit of getting used to.’ She rolled her eyes in the direction of Joel and the twins. ‘Especially the adult ones!’
Lauren laughed. ‘I see what you mean.’ She desperately wanted to ask Bella more, to find out what she knew about the trio of brothers who appeared to be so different from each other, yet had chosen to spend Christmas together, but she didn’t want to pry.
Marc, hopefully, would open up to her in his own time.
The twins, having already beaten Joel, had jumped on top of him and were whooping loudly, burning off the excesses of Christmas, when Marc walked back into the living room. Lauren looked across at him, and her heart sped faster at the strange expression on his face.
She wasn’t the only one who clocked it. Noah, reading his brother immediately, sprang up from the floor where he’d been sitting supervising Twister. ‘Everything all right, mate?’
‘Yeah.’ Marc smiled, but it seemed forced. ‘That was Susanna. She wanted to wish us all a merry Christmas in our new house.’
The split-second silence between the adults told Lauren that whoever Susanna was, she was important. Bella turned back to her, murmuring in clarification. ‘Susanna is Marc’s wife’s younger sister. She lives in London, where her parents are, too.’
Lauren nodded, grateful to be enlightened, but feeling more keenly what an outsider she was. ‘Oh, I see. It must be hard for her, this time of year.’
Marc looked at Lauren, as if he was struggling to get back to the moment. ‘She said she’ll call back later, when things are a bit quieter, to speak to the boys.’
Even Joel, who Lauren surmised was about as subtle as an earthmover, had sprung up from the mat and was drifting towards Marc, still hovering in the doorway. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked gently.
‘Fine, fine.’ Marc brushed off the question, obviously not wanting to dwell on the phone call. Joel nodded and went to refill his glass again. ‘Er, Lauren, how’s your tea? Can I get you another?’ Marc added.
Lauren pushed herself up from the sofa. The mood in the room had subtly changed, and she wasn’t sure how to interpret the mixture of signals, but she got the impression that the family needed to be alone.
‘Thanks so much, but I’d better get off,’ she said.
‘It’ll be dark soon, and it looks as though it’s getting even colder out there. ’
‘Are you sure?’ Marc walked towards her. ‘I’m happy to walk you back later, if you want to stay.’
Lauren smiled at him. ‘That’s really sweet, but I don’t want to outstay my welcome on Christmas Day.’ She turned back to Bella, Noah and the twins. ‘Thanks for letting me hang out with you.’
Liam and Luca said goodbye, and Bella, Noah and Joel did the same.
Marc followed her through to the hall again.
‘Thanks for coming in,’ he said softly. He seemed to be regaining some of his equilibrium.
‘Sorry about just now. Susanna isn’t one to call, really – she tends to drop us the occasional WhatsApp but she’s still struggling with losing Tess.
’ He shook his head. ‘It’s a reminder that we’re not the only ones who miss her. ’
Lauren glanced back towards the living room, making sure no-one was watching.
‘Marc, you don’t have to apologise. It’s only natural Susanna would want to talk to you and the boys today.
’ She put a hand on his arm and drew a sharp breath when he reached over and squeezed it, as if he was trying to take some strength from her touch.
‘Thank you,’ he said gruffly. Their eyes locked, and Lauren could see that he was struggling with something. Was it the weight of the past, or the promise of the future, she wondered. ‘Can I see you again? Soon? I’d like to…’
Lauren nodded. ‘So would I.’ She gently removed her hand from his arm. ‘Take care, Marc.’ She leaned upwards and pecked him on the cheek.
‘You too.’
As she walked down the driveway and back along the path, Lauren mulled over everything that had happened today. By the time she got back home, she’d come to the conclusion that, despite the complications of Marc’s life, she wanted to be part of it.