Chapter Five
The next morning, Deanna woke with her head smooshed into a soft velour pillow and a plush blanket pulled up to her chin.
She was surrounded by a hushed silence that was totally not normal.
No traffic, car horns or the neighbours’ clanging hot water pipes.
No doors slamming and definitely no aircraft noise.
So, she wasn’t in her apartment or her mother’s flat in London.
Not on a plane or in a hotel room on a work trip, either.
Then her whole body heated as she remembered. The lodge. The snowstorm. The blackout. And Cal. The way he’d touched her, making her forget everything, even her own name. The chemistry between them was amazing, something she’d never felt before.
But wait, where was Cal?
She raised her head and rubbed at her bleary eyes with one hand, then pushed a loose curl out of her face.
The fire was still burning but it was smaller than last night.
Deanna sat right up and tucked the blanket around her.
She was wearing Cal’s t-shirt and her own PJ pants, since it was freezing overnight.
Last night, after they’d worn each other out, Cal had been so sweet.
He’d dressed her attentively, then wrapped her in his arms and told her to get some sleep.
Which she obviously had, because the lemon-yellow morning light was filtering through the gaps in the heavy curtains covering the lodge’s windows.
Deanna blinked at the sight of her two suitcases lined up on the other side of the sofa. Right. She’d left them in her cabin before the hole in the roof and everything else. Cal must have fetched them for her. That was thoughtful.
Wait. Was this a sign he wanted her to leave? Maybe he was telling her to get ready to go. He might have already called a tow truck for her stranded car. Or did he think she had a flight booked today? They hadn’t had a chance to talk properly, not with all the other things keeping them occupied.
Deanna got up, feeling a pleasant soreness in certain areas, stretched her spine and went over to where her bags were.
A shower was in order. She opened her larger case and found her wash bag and a change of clothes.
Placing them on the sofa beside her, she was about to zip up her bag again, but her gaze caught on the package from her mum.
Hesitating, not sure whether to touch it, she reached for the thing, treating it like a bomb set to explode, even though it was wrapped in pretty gold paper. No, she couldn’t face opening it yet, whatever was inside. Not before a shower and coffee, anyway.
Deanna grabbed her things and headed upstairs to find the bathroom. Okay, maybe she was snooping too, because she opened the door on the left of the landing to find a master bedroom that was obviously Cal’s.
Deanna stuck her head inside to check it out.
The dark blue quilt and navy and white striped sheets on the massive king-sized bed were masculine.
There was a neatness about the place that seemed like him.
Then there was the collection of sci-fi novels and IT and computer coding textbooks on the dark wood bookcases.
Framed photographs caught her eye – city scenes of New York, London and Paris.
Cal was pictured in a few of them. He was a traveller, like her.
Two pairs of shoes were lined up by the door – Ugg boots and some leather work boots.
The doorway at the back of the room must lead to his ensuite, and it was calling her as if it was a portal to Narnia. Was it weird that she was poking around in here without permission? Absolutely. Was she doing it anyway? Absolutely, yes.
When she entered the bathroom, Deanna found a large glass-framed shower that was the answer to her wishes.
She popped her things on the bathroom vanity and went to turn on the shower, only now hoping that the lodge didn’t rely on electric hot water.
But luckily the water was hot. She let it run for a few seconds as she stripped off, shivering in the cold room.
As she ducked under the shower, she heard a thud of a door closing downstairs. At least, that’s what she hoped. It was probably Cal coming back from wherever he’d been, and not an axe murderer or random weirdo barging in while she was in the buff.
“Deanna?” Cal’s deep voice was unmistakable, even muffled, coming from downstairs and with the water falling around her.
“In the shower!” she yelled, then her face heated as she imagined him barging in on her. She also flushed at the idea that she’d invited him in without meaning to.
She rinsed quickly, using Cal’s herbal shower gel. A knock on the bathroom door had her tensing. But then, it was his house. And he’d already seen everything, or close enough.
“Come in if you like. The water’s fine.” Deanna pressed her lips together, but a giggle escaped anyway.
Next thing she knew, Cal was there, just outside the shower. She heard his groan, and Deanna looked over her shoulder since she had her back to him. Her skin tingled, liking his attention, the way his gaze was fixed on her.
Dark eyes smouldered at her, making her more confident that he wasn’t going to kick her out and send her packing.
“Pretty as a picture.” He cleared his throat and a crease appeared on his forehead. “I um, let you sleep-in when I woke up at five. I’ve been into town and the power’s still out. The main road out of town is still blocked off too. Lots of snowfall last night.”
She turned around to face him. Water ran down her back and splashed over her breasts too. “Okay. I wondered if you were trying to get rid of me when I saw my suitcases downstairs. But I hope not.”
Cal’s gaze roved over her body and his gorgeous, full lips parted. “Deanna, I–” He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the waves adorably. “I won’t ask you to leave. I want you… I want you to stay. As long as you wish.”
“Good.” She shrugged, playing at being unbothered.
Actually, the heat in her belly was cranked up to almost inferno level. His eyes on her, his unguarded expression full of want, was enough to get her going.
“I don’t have anywhere urgent to be. I wanted a vacation.” She shot him the type of smile that used to make her mum call her a ‘cheeky rascal’.
Then a shrill ring made them both startle.
Cal’s face fell. “Ah, I guess the phone is still working. I’d better get that.” He pointed behind him, out the door.
“Okay.” Deanna spoke mainly to herself. The conversation was obviously to be continued.
A few minutes later, Deanna emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed in her fresh clothes with a towel wrapped around her wet hair.
Cal was still on the phone, sitting on the edge of the bed with the receiver pressed to his ear.
“Absolutely. I’ll bring some of the honey you like from the farmer’s market.
” He nodded to whoever was on the other end of the phone.
“Er, there was something else. Would you mind if I bring a guest to your place? In a few days. I have a friend staying here.”
Even from where she was sitting, Deanna heard excited babbling from the other end of the phone.
Cal laughed, low and throaty. “How did you know Deanna would be here, Mum? What the hell?”
Cal glanced across at Deanna, pointing at the phone, then at her. He placed the receiver against his chest. “My mother wants to speak to you.”
“To me?” She blinked and sat down on the bed, close beside Cal.
He passed her the receiver with a puzzled expression on his face, no doubt matching her own. She brushed her fingertips against his, sending sparks flying. Everywhere.
Deanna regained her wits enough to press the receiver to her ear and speak. “Hi Priya.”
Priya’s high-pitched squeal from the other end of the line had her raising her eyebrows. “You’re really there? Hello, my darling.”
“Um, yes? It’s nice to hear from you.” Baffled. She had absolutely no idea what was happening.
“I’m so glad I caught you there with Cal. You know, your mother was a wise woman. When she wrote to me, oh, six months ago, and said you would be joining Cal for Christmas, I thought she’d lost her marbles. With the treatment, you know. Very nasty stuff, that chemotherapy.”
Deanna bit her lip. She had no idea what was going on. “You wrote to Mum?”
Distantly, she was aware of Cal putting his arm around her waist.
“Oh yes, we always emailed and talked on the phone to keep in touch. I told her about Cal and his horrible breakup, and she told me about you flying all over the world. But you never had a nice boyfriend, she said. Certainly, no one handsome and charming and intelligent, not like my Cal.”
“Okay. I agree. Cal is all of those things.” She paused, looking up into Cal’s eyes, tempted to add that he was also incredibly sexy. “But I don’t understand what you mean. You said Mum knew I’d be here for Christmas?”
“Maddy organised it all. The lawyer called you to his office to read the will in the week before Christmas. He told you about the lodge in New York State, gave you all the details, about how you inherited a share of the business. She knew you’d be looking for a place to go, somewhere to rest. She sent you there, to meet Cal again.
She didn’t want you to be lonely after she passed. ”
Cal had pressed his forehead against the side of hers, and he could obviously hear his mother’s words. He kissed Deanna’s temple, making her want to cry.
She brushed her free hand over her eyes. “Mum deliberately set me up with Cal?”
It was ridiculous, and sweet, and exactly the type of thing her mum would do. Maddy was always scheming and matchmaking. She had wanted Deanna to be happy above all else.