Chapter 45
‘Ssh!’ Thea hissed as she pulled Nick through the front door and closed it quietly.
‘The kids are finally asleep, and I really don’t want to wake them up again.
’ It had been a hectic Christmas Eve, and Thea had been looking forward to flumping on the sofa and relaxing for a couple of hours before heading off to bed herself.
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day of family, fun and, if Lorelai was on her usual form, far too much food, so a couple of hours to herself was a must. However, Nick was on her doorstep now, and her body and mind were telling her she wanted something entirely different.
‘Your wish is my command,’ Nick murmured. ‘I won’t make a sound, I promise.’
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked. ‘Shouldn’t you be bracing yourself for the Saint family Christmas shindig?’
‘I’m not expected at Mistletoe Barn until mid-morning tomorrow,’ Nick replied.
‘And since Charlotte, Tristan, Annie and Jamie are all tied up with their own last-minute preparations, I found myself lonely and at a loose end on the night before Christmas.’ He turned hangdog eyes on her that looked so self-consciously gloomy, Thea couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Well, I’m sorry to hear I’m your last resort!’
‘You were my first, actually, but I didn’t want to interrupt your family celebrations.’
‘The kids would have been pleased to see you,’ Thea replied. ‘You can do no wrong in their eyes since you rustled up the tree for them.’
‘Glad they liked it,’ Nick said. His face suddenly grew serious.
‘There was something else, as well.’ He reached into the pocket of his thick winter jacket and pulled out a small, gift-wrapped box.
‘Don’t panic,’ he said. ‘It’s not that. I’m not quite so impulsive as to propose three days after we’ve slept together. ’
Thea snorted back a laugh, still mindful of the kids upstairs. ‘Sometimes I forget we’ve been friends forever.’
‘Me too.’ Nick’s eyes met hers, and she felt the warm, welcome pressure of his lips as he somehow managed to keep the present in one hand and move her closer to him with the other.
His mouth began to explore hers, and her knees grew weak.
It had only been a few days since their night together, but she was suddenly aching for more.
Deepening the kiss, she pressed closer to him, slipping her arms inside his jacket so she could feel him against her.
Thea could feel Nick’s body stirring, too, and she wished she could just whisk him upstairs and make love to him with the same freedom they’d had on the night of the Midwinter’s Eve Ball.
Gasping slightly, she eventually pulled away again. ‘You are far too good at that,’ she murmured. ‘You’re a dirty kisser, Nick Saint.’
Nick raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’ His tone might have been confident, but the flush on his face gave away the effect the kiss had had on him, too. ‘I can’t believe I’m going to have to leave here with this ridiculous hard-on!’
Thea smirked. ‘If my children weren’t upstairs, I’d deal with that, but they’re both light sleepers, and it’s far too risky.’
Nick pulled her close again and groaned. ‘My ears hear you, but the rest of me is determined to ignore the warning…’
Thea giggled, then, shocked at the sound, she kissed him again.
‘So I can feel.’ She reached a hand downwards and felt Nick pressing back against her.
It was so tempting to keep playing, right here in the hallway.
Nick gently pushed her back against the wall, and they continued to kiss for a little longer, until both of them were flushed and breathing heavily.
‘I want you so much, Thea,’ Nick breathed into her neck, sending tingle after tingle over her skin.
‘I want you too,’ Thea replied, her voice low and slightly shaky. ‘You are the best Christmas present I could ever have.’
‘And I’m desperate to be unwrapped.’ Nick’s voice was little more than a groan. ‘Promise me you won’t leave me hanging for too long…’
‘Oh, God.’ Thea felt as though every inch of her was on alert, and desperate to touch and be touched. ‘How the hell are we going to get through Christmas Day?’
Nick laughed. ‘I’ll be thinking of you every minute.’
Slowly, tantalisingly, they disentangled themselves.
‘I’d better go,’ Nick said. ‘If I don’t leave now, you’ll have to explain why you’ve got a breakfast guest on Christmas morning to the kids.’
Thea pulled back from him. ‘I wish you didn’t have to go, but it’s better we take this one step at a time.
The kids have never seen me with anyone else other than their dad.
I want to give them the chance to get used to the idea that there might be someone new in our lives.
Maybe dinner together sometime after Christmas would be a good start. ’
‘I absolutely understand,’ Nick said. ‘I’d love to.’
Thea grinned. ‘Shall we say teatime on the twenty-eighth, then? Unless you’ve got other plans?’
Nick smiled. ‘It’s a date.’
Thea’s head spun as they kissed again. ‘Lovely…’
Nick shook his head. ‘I still can’t quite believe that things are happening between us.’
‘Neither can I,’ Thea agreed. ‘But I like it. I like it a lot. And I like you more than a lot.’
‘Glad to hear it.’ Nick smiled down at her. ‘Now. Take this present and put it under the tree. I hope you like it, too.’
Thea’s face fell. ‘I didn’t buy you anything…’
Nick’s warm hand on her cheek reassured her before he spoke. ‘I don’t want anything else other than you,’ he said. ‘I know that sounds sappy, but it’s true. You’re the best Christmas present anyone could ever have.’
Thea’s eyes filled with tears. No one had ever talked to her like Nick did. He’d always been a good talker, but now, seemingly smitten, he’d developed an eloquence that made her heart soar and ache at the same time.
‘Have a lovely Christmas,’ she said as she walked him back to the door.
‘You too.’ Nick smiled at her. ‘Call me when you’re ready to see me again. I can’t wait to pick this up where we’ve left off.’
Thea smiled back. ‘Neither can I.’
As he walked down the short path to the kerb where his Land Rover was parked, Thea followed him with her eyes.
How was it that someone she’d known her whole life could mean something so new, and so different to her now?
She had the very real feeling that, if she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall head over heels for Nick.
The thought should have scared her, but instead she felt as though something had finally fallen into place in her heart.
For the first time in a long time, she, too, was smitten.