Chapter 12 #2
She smiled and kissed him, feeling so much relief that he was still here and he loved her, no matter what.
She stroked his face and very quickly the kiss turned into something more.
He slipped his hand between her legs and she moaned against his lips at his perfect touch, that feeling tightening and escalating out of control before she could catch her breath.
She shouted out all manner of weird noises, gripping onto his shoulders as he took her over the edge.
She sat up and shifted so she was straddling him and took him deep inside of her.
He let out a groan of pleasure and kissed her hard.
He moved his hands down to her hips, holding her tight against him as they moved against each other.
Already that feeling was building again inside of her until her whole body felt tight and coiled ready to explode.
He pulled back so he could kiss her throat, her chest, her breasts and she felt so completely adored by this man. She lifted his chin so she could kiss him again, knowing she’d never ever get enough of kissing him.
She pulled back slightly, leaning her forehead against his, her breath heavy against his lips.
He stroked her face. ‘You are tremendous, Alexandra Campbell, and I love you so much.’
And it was those words that sent her soaring over the edge, her orgasm thundering through her like a freight train, shouting out his name as he moaned hers.
After, as he held her close, her body trembling in his arms, he stared into her eyes and whispered that he loved her again and she kissed him, knowing that she wanted forever with this man, if only she was brave enough to tell him that.
Alex all but floated home a while later, holding hands with Quinn as they walked along the snowy streets.
He was in love with her. She had never felt so utterly happy as she did right now.
It was everything she’d ever wanted. But when she thought ahead to marriage, more children, a happy ever after, that was when she started feeling scared about losing it all.
The hurt she felt when she all but lost Liam overnight, the angst of living with his addiction for eighteen months, the anger, the shouting, the nastiness, the pain of the betrayal she’d felt when he’d chosen to spend time with the bottle instead of her and his daughter.
She had lost her perfectly happy little marriage slowly and agonisingly every day and she couldn’t bear going through that again.
This way was so much safer. Live for now, not think about the future.
Although she knew that was selfish and while it might be easier for her to live like this with no commitment, it probably wasn’t easier for Quinn who was patiently waiting and hoping for her to give him more.
And she wanted to give him that. She didn’t want to keep stringing him along and hurting him without giving him something.
She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her as tiny snowflakes swirled around them. God, her heart felt so full of him.
‘I love you,’ she blurted out before she could stop herself.
He stopped and turned to face her. ‘What?’
There was no going back now even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. She wanted to give him this.
‘I know it’s weird to hear me say that when I insist we’re in a no-strings-attached, silly friends-with-benefits arrangement, but I do love you. So much. I’ve always loved you.’
A big smile stretched across his face and he cupped her face and kissed her. He pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers.
‘Well, you have no idea how happy this makes me.’
She looked down, frowning slightly, hoping he wasn’t going to get carried away.
He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head to look at him.
‘This changes nothing, I promise,’ he said, gently. ‘We’re still friends with benefits. It’s just that one of those benefits is that we love each other. I promise, I’m not going to be giving you an engagement ring come Christmas Day. I’ll wait as long as you need to be sure you can trust me.’
‘I do trust you, I’m just…’
‘Scared. I get it, I really do.’
‘You do?’
‘What you went through with Liam was horrible and heartbreaking. I know it will take a while to get over that. And I have time.’
‘Thank you.’
They walked on for a short while until they came to her house and propped up outside her gate was a small white box. Alex gasped when she realised what it was.
‘St Nick has left a bauble.’
She picked up the box carefully and peered inside. There was St Nick’s trademark white porcelain bauble, this one painted with a stunning bouquet of peonies.
‘Oh, it’s beautiful. I love it.’
‘St Nick must have known they’re your favourite flower,’ Quinn said.
‘You think he left it for me?’ Alex said, in surprise.
‘Maybe,’ Quinn said. ‘I mean, it is right outside your house.’
‘Yes, but I can’t keep it.’
‘Why the hell not? It says on the gift label, keep, re-hide or gift to someone else. Why can’t you keep it?’
‘Because everyone who has found one so far has gifted it to someone else. It would be selfish of me to keep it.’
‘That’s not the case at all. Some people have gifted them, some have kept them.
I’m sure St Nick wants the bauble to end up with someone who will find joy in that particular design, that’s why he says to gift or re-hide it if that bauble isn’t specific to the person who finds it.
But this one is specific to you, it’s your favourite flower. ’
Alex wasn’t convinced, although she really wanted to hang this on her tree. It was gorgeous.
‘Maybe someone else has found it and gifted it to you,’ Quinn went on.
‘That would be insulting to the person who gifted it to you if you were to give it away. And it was outside your door. If St Nick or the person who gifted it meant it for someone else, it would probably have been left somewhere a bit more public or communal. I think this was meant for you.’
Her heart leapt at that thought. ‘Well I certainly don’t want to offend anyone by giving it away.’
‘Come on, let’s find a place for it on your tree. And if you feel guilty about it, you don’t need to tell anyone, it’ll be our little secret.’
She followed him back inside. The house was silent as it should be in the early hours of the morning – Immy had promised Zara an all-night movie marathon but Alex knew Immy would have had her in bed way before midnight.
Although the school had already announced they would be closed the next day too, which was supposed to be Zara’s last day at school, so it didn’t really matter if they’d stayed up later.
They walked into the lounge where the tree glowed in the darkness, the Christmas lights twinkling.
‘Where will you put it?’ Quinn asked.
Alex took the bauble carefully out of the box and looked at the tree. ‘I think right here next to Zara’s roller skates would be the best place.’
She hung it on one of the branches where it caught the light of the fairy lights perfectly. It looked wonderful.
‘I love the idea of gifting these Christmas baubles secretly, and it’s certainly captured the hearts of the people of Lovegrove Bay, but there is one problem.’
‘What’s that?’ Quinn asked.
‘His anonymity means I can’t ever thank him. No one can.’
‘Oh, I think he knows how grateful people are, it’s a small town, I’m sure he is seeing all the reactions to it. Besides, someone like St Nick, doing something like this, he’s not doing this for thanks, he’s doing it to spread a little Christmas joy.’
Alex nodded. ‘This thing he’s doing is so lovely and I don’t think he realises how touching and significant it is for the people who receive them.
You saw how delighted Zara was with her roller skates bauble the other day, St Nick never got to see that.
Unless it is you then you did see it. But so many people have messaged me after seeing that Facebook post saying how happy they were to receive them, some of them have real significance because the baubles remind them of lost loved ones.
I just want to give whoever it is a big hug and say thank you.
I really hope by Christmas Eve I will have found out who it is and maybe I’ll even give him a bauble of his own.
Something he really wants or loves to say thank you for all of this. ’
‘That does sound nice. Any clues from the Facebook posts and comments?’
‘Not a single one. No one has ever seen him. How can that be?’
‘He obviously doesn’t want to be found, apart from by you.’
‘Well, if he keeps throwing me red herrings like he did with the elf hat, I’m not going to find him either.’
‘I thought it was pretty funny.’
‘I did too, but it doesn’t help.’
‘Maybe he wants the magic to last until Christmas Eve, then all will be revealed.’
Alex looked at him through narrowed eyes; maybe it really was him after all.