Текст книги "Christmas at Lilac Cottage"

Автор книги: Holly Martin

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Chapter Seven

Penny could see Henry in the shed, moving around and looking completely at ease as he worked.

Feeling the need to repair their tentative friendship, though she wasn’t sure why, she cut a big slice of Christmas cake, made a mug of tea and carried it out to the shed.

He didn’t notice her at first. A small foot-long piece of wood was clamped to the table and he was chipping into it with a small chisel. It looked like the beginnings of a small reindeer.

She watched him run his hands lovingly over the wood, brushing away the sawdust. His hands were big and strong and very capable. He had a huge smile on his face as he worked, evidently loving the creativity of what he was doing. He was obviously very talented and if he could create something this detailed and small by hand, it was little wonder White Cliff Bay Furniture Company had hired him. He paused for a moment and she stepped forward.

Either sensing or hearing her move, he turned around and his face lit up into a huge smile when he saw her, which warmed her from the inside. That feeling faded very quickly as she suddenly felt very foolish for coming to apologise to him when clearly he hadn’t been bothered at all by what had passed between them a few hours before. Now, standing there with a slice of cake and a redundant apology drying on her lips, the offer of a cake looked flirtier than she had wanted. It reminded her of Jade arriving with an Italian the night before. She really didn’t want to be lumped in with the women of the town throwing themselves at him. She groaned inwardly. Why was he making her second-guess everything? She felt so raw around him, as if a plaster covering an eight-year-old wound had been ripped off and he was poking at it without even realising it.

‘Hi,’ he said, the grin not disappearing from his face.

‘I thought you might be hungry,’ Penny said, cringing inwardly at how awkward this was, though he hadn’t seemed to notice.

‘Thank you.’ In two large strides he was in front of her. He took the cake gratefully, taking a huge bite. His eyes locked on hers.

She forced her gaze away from him and focussed on the reindeer. Now he had stepped away from it, she could see it in all its glory and it was stunning.

She stepped away from him and his intense proximity to look more closely at it. ‘This is beautiful.’ She ran her fingers over the tiny intricate antlers. ‘Do you make them to sell?’

He shook his head as he swallowed down the cake. ‘No, just for fun. I always make a new tree decoration every year for Daisy, it’s kind of a tradition, that and making terrible mince pies on Christmas Day. Daisy has started making her own wooden tree decorations too and we exchange them on Christmas morning.’

‘I love that idea.’

He stepped closer. ‘You do? Maybe I’ll make one for you this year too.’

She looked up at him and then back at the reindeer. His flirting was making her uncomfortable. He would hurt her. If she let herself be swept away by the comments and looks of affection, she had no doubt that he would break her heart after a few weeks. He didn’t want anything serious.

‘You’re very talented,’ Penny said, annoyed at the crack in her voice. She didn’t want him to know how much he affected her. She blushed as she realised that what she had just said was very flirty too. She really had no idea how to act around men. She had never properly dated. Chris had been her only real boyfriend and he had instigated their relationship. She had never tried to impress him or say the right things because in the first month or so he had been completely smitten with her. Though her shine had clearly rubbed off very quickly.

‘Making furniture is what I’m most comfortable with. This is just a bit of fun for me, it’s nothing like the kind of sculptures you produce,’ Henry said, leaning round her to brush away some more sawdust. ‘I bet you could do something like this very easily. Have you ever carved with wood before?’

Penny swallowed as his sweet, spicy Christmassy scent enveloped her. She shook her head.

‘Have a go.’ He picked up a tiny chisel and offered it to her.

‘Oh, I couldn’t, I don’t want to ruin it.’

He leaned round her, bracketing her with his arms as he took her hands and placed them on the chisel. Goosebumps exploded on her body at his touch. She moved the chisel to the thick fur around the reindeer’s neck. Henry’s hands stayed over hers even though they both knew it wasn’t necessary. As Penny had told Daisy this morning, the skills were completely transferable. She obligingly chipped a few small chunks of wood away, making the fur collar more defined. It was fun to work on a different canvas. This one was a lot more permanent than the carvings she created.

A cough came from behind them and Henry immediately stepped back away from Penny.

Daisy was standing in the doorway, with a slight scowl on her face. She turned her attention away from her dad and looked at Penny. ‘There’s a man here to see you. Josh?’

Penny nodded. ‘Can you tell him I won’t be a second?’

Daisy hesitated for a second then left.

Penny let out a breath she hadn’t realised she had been holding and brushed the hair off her face in frustration.

‘I’m not sure what is going on here, whether all this – the flirting, looks, touches and comments – is just some kind of game for you, or you are just incapable of not flirting with a woman, but nothing is going to happen between us so you can stop it now.’

Henry looked stunned. ‘You’re flirting with me.’

‘I am not.’

‘You brought me cake,’ Henry said, with exasperation.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realise cake was the international sign language for I want to get you into bed. If that’s the case I must have been flirting with my friend Maggie every Saturday for the last five or six years.’

‘I’m rubbish at reading women, but I thought you made it pretty bloody obvious you were attracted to me.’

Penny felt her mouth fall open. What had she done to give him that impression?

He stepped closer. ‘Your breathing accelerates when I come near you, your pupils dilate, I can see your pulse hammering against your throat, your body goes into goosebump overdrive whenever I touch you,’ he said, softly laying his finger on her arm and her body betrayed her by proving his point.

‘Fine. I am attracted to you.’

‘I’m very attracted to you, so what’s the problem?’

‘You.’ She gestured frantically at him and all his spectacular gorgeousness. She suddenly stopped her protests for a second to appreciate his wonderful words. He was attracted to her. The endless flirting hadn’t just been a bit of silly fun for him, he actually was attracted to her. Very, was the word he used.

‘What’s the problem with me?’ Henry asked.

She stared at him, realising he wasn’t the problem, she was.

‘I can’t do a relationship. I go into them with everything I have. I’m sure that’s not the kind of thing you’re looking for.’

He didn’t argue against it but finally he spoke. ‘You’re right, I’m not looking for anything serious right now.’

‘And I’m not looking for anything casual. I haven’t been in a relationship since the last one ended in the most heartbreaking way possible. If I go into a relationship again, it has to be with someone I can trust not to hurt me. You seem lovely and kind and Daisy adores you, but you also seem the sort that can get any woman he wants and I certainly don’t think you want to put up with all my insecurities and baggage and crap. So can we please put a stop to all of this flirting, because it’s killing me.’

Penny was suddenly aware of Daisy standing in the door again, she quickly turned to face her.

‘Sorry, Penny, Josh says he’s in a bit of a rush.’

Penny nodded and with one more glance at Henry’s dumbfounded face she hurried out. Well, if she wanted to put Henry off her for good, she’d certainly done that with all her crazy. The men of the town really were right. She was damaged goods.

Henry watched her go, confused by how quickly and disastrously that conversation had gone. He didn’t know why he was so drawn to Penny; only a few hours before he had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t pursue things with her but he couldn’t seem to stay away from her. He looked back at Daisy, who fixed him with a glare as she folded her arms across her chest.

‘What?’

‘You said you weren’t going to get involved with her.’

‘I didn’t say that.’

‘We agreed that she was an all-or-nothing kind of girl. You’re not capable of anything serious. You’re going to hurt her and I really like her. She’s said she’s happy to teach me about carving and that I can work with her part time around school and she will pay me to carve. You have no idea how much I want to work with her. My first proper job doing something I absolutely love and you’re going to screw it all up for me.’

‘I won’t screw it up. I have no intention of hurting her, that’s the last thing I want.’

‘But you will. Look at Rosie. You broke her heart.’

‘Rosie was never anything serious.’

‘It was for her.’

He knew he had hurt Rosie when he broke up with her and he felt bad for that, but the worst thing was how upset Daisy had been by the break-up too. He shook his head. Why was he trying to justify his relationships to his sixteen-year-old daughter? Surely it should be the other way round.

‘She was never going to be a good fit for us.’

‘She doesn’t need to be a fit for us, she needs to be a fit for you. You finished it with her because she was getting too close.’

It was true that he found it hard to imagine ever trusting or loving someone enough to have them in his and Daisy’s life permanently. He always kept women at a distance. But Daisy had lectured him about his commitment issues after he had split with Rosie and he had tried to prove he didn’t have these issues by bringing Emily into their life, which had resulted in the very thing he had tried for years to protect Daisy from. Daisy feared rejection, he knew that, that she was scared that one day he would leave her just as her mum had. But what Henry feared was any woman he was with rejecting Daisy, making her feel for one second unloved and unwanted, and Emily had done just that. It would be a long time before he could trust someone enough to let them into his life again.

‘Look, I like Penny and the ice carving is important to me. If you break her heart she is hardly likely to want me around any more. Be nice to her, be friends with her, but please don’t sleep with her,’ Daisy said.

‘Hang on, you don’t get to dictate who I do or don’t go out with. I would never presume to tell you who you can or can’t date.’

‘Oh, if that’s the case, you’ll be OK with me dating the huge tattooed guy who was just flirting with me in the kitchen.’

Henry let out an involuntary growl. ‘That’s different and you know it.’

‘I have never asked you not to date anyone before, not even bitches like Emily.’

‘Watch your language.’

‘The point being I hope you can see how important this job is to me. I like living here. I know it’s small but the views are incredible and I really like living next door to Penny and Bernard. I think she’s lovely.’

‘I do too.’

‘So do you really want to ruin what could be a fantastic friendship for you two and ruin my first job just for a few weeks of fun?’

Henry couldn’t help feeling like the naughty child called in front of the headmaster.

Daisy walked back towards the house and Henry rubbed his head with the sudden complications. But if it really was that important to Daisy, he would have to forget about being with Penny once and for all.

Daisy was right, he didn’t want anything serious and Penny didn’t want to get hurt. It was better all round if he stayed away from her.

Henry knocked softly on the connecting door later that night as Daisy tucked into the Italian with great relish. The girl was like a gannet, eating everything and anything in sight, and she still stayed stick-thin.

‘Save some for the rest of us, greedy guts.’

Daisy grinned up at him with her winning smile and carried on eating at full speed.

There was no answer from Penny so Henry tentatively let himself in.

He didn’t want to call out if she was working in the cool room; if he scared her whilst she was working with some of those tools she could end up cutting off one of her fingers. He opened the cool room door but the room was empty. He closed it and that was when he saw her lying on the sofa in the darkness of the front room.

He moved closer and noticed she had evidently fallen asleep reading some romance book. He carefully took the book out of her hands, marked the place with a piece of paper and put it on the coffee table. She was sleeping peacefully, her mouth parted slightly, her long eyelashes dusting her cheeks. He sat down on the coffee table feeling mildly creepy watching her sleep, but finding her peaceful slumber incredibly alluring too.

He ran his hand up her arm, giving her a gentle shake and her eyes fluttered open.

‘Hey,’ he said softly. ‘Dinner is ready and if we don’t get in there soon, the hungry caterpillar in there will eat it all.’

She looked around in confusion. ‘Did I fall asleep?’

‘Evidently.’

She sat up and swung her legs off the sofa, but he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her getting up. ‘Give yourself a moment to wake up.’

‘I never fall asleep during the day.’ She rubbed her face and looked up at him. Her hair was sticking out at all angles and there was something just so achingly endearing about her.

She stood up and shivered. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it round her and with his hand on her back he guided her towards the connecting door.

As they walked into the kitchen, Daisy looked up at them in horror at Penny’s appearance. With the bright red blanket, pale face and hair everywhere she did look like she’d just been rescued from a hurricane or plane crash. Henry made frantic gestures behind Penny’s back so Daisy didn’t say anything to make Penny feel self-conscious. Thankfully, after sixteen years of living together, she knew him well enough to understand him.

‘Here, sit down,’ Daisy said gently, as if Penny had just received some bad news and needed tender loving care.

Daisy patted the seat next to her and Penny sat down, obviously still waking up.

Penny started helping herself to some of the food and Daisy mouthed over her head, asking if she was OK. Henry nodded and mimed that she had been sleeping. Daisy sighed with relief.

Daisy liked Penny and it was easy to see why. He really liked her too. But it was almost unheard of for Daisy to like the same women he did. She had never really liked any of his girlfriends apart from Rosie and, although he hadn’t the best track record for choosing wisely, he did wonder whether some of it was to do with not wanting to share him after she’d had him to herself for the last sixteen years. He didn’t want to upset Daisy and he worried over how much his daughter would still like Penny if he ever got involved with her, or if she would find fault in her just like all the others. Daisy had practically made him promise not to pursue things with Penny and he had to remember that.

They ate and chatted about the upcoming ball for a while and then Daisy got up and started clearing away the plates.

‘We better get going,’ Henry said, glancing at his watch.

Penny nodded. ‘I’ll just grab my shoes and coat, I won’t be a second.’

Sure enough, she was back in the kitchen a few seconds later, with her shoes on, fastening her coat, her hair still a wild, tangled bush.

Henry bit his lip. As much as it didn’t bother him in the slightest going out with her looking like this, he knew it would bother her.

‘Erm… maybe you should, er, brush your hair first,’ Henry said.

Penny looked at him in shock. ‘Why, what’s the matter with it?’ She glanced at herself in the reflection of the window and her eyes widened. ‘Oh my god, why didn’t you tell me I looked such a state?’

‘Because we’re friends, and if you came to dinner in your tattiest stained pyjamas, I wouldn’t give a shit.’

Penny turned to look at him, a huge genuine smile forming on her face. ‘We’re friends?’

‘Yes of course.’ He wasn’t sure what had caused her to smile so much but he liked it a lot. Penny didn’t say anything else, she just walked out, presumably to do something about her wayward hair, but she had the biggest grin on her face.

He looked at Daisy in confusion and she came and hugged him. ‘You know, for all your grumpiness you can be very sweet sometimes.’

‘What did I do?’

Daisy let him go. ‘I’m just going to grab my hat.’

She ran upstairs and he stared after her. Women, he’d never understand them.

Penny came back in with her hair suitably brushed and swept up in a loose ponytail and he caught her arm as she moved towards the door.

‘Look, I’m sorry about…’ he gestured towards the shed, ‘the flirting and everything. I don’t want to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable and I certainly don’t want to do anything to hurt you, but I would like to be friends. I promise no more flirting from now on.’

She eyed him speculatively for a moment then smiled. ‘I’d really like to be friends too.’

She stuck out her hand for him to shake and he smiled as he took it. The feel of her skin against his was like a jolt to the stomach. Her eyes were alight with happiness, trusting him so easily, when he barely trusted himself. Being friends was for the best.

Penny’s heart sank a little as they walked down towards the seafront and she realised that the ice rink was directly outside The Pilchard, Chris’s parents’ pub, a place she had tried to avoid for the last eight years. His parents had been lovely while they were dating and had been very excited about the arrival of their first grandchild, even if her pregnancy had come very early in their relationship. But after the miscarriage, and shortly after, the break-up, Chris had tried to tell anyone who looked badly on him for leaving her mere days after she had lost their child that she was unhinged, deranged and completely psychotic. Thankfully, most people hadn’t believed it. She wasn’t sure what his parents believed but the fact they had never been to see her in the months after their grandchild had died probably meant they had believed everything their son had fed them. She’d seen them around town occasionally but they always scurried off in the opposite direction whenever they saw her, making an already awkward situation worse. Thankfully Chris didn’t live in White Cliff Bay any more, but he did pop back occasionally to see his parents and the thought of running into him when she still felt so much anger towards him was not one she relished.

She looked at the ice skating rink, determined she was going to enjoy her night out and not let any of her feelings ruin it for Henry and Daisy.

Standing just in front of the rink was a fire breather, enticing the crowds with his fiery talent, and the golden glow of the flames stood dramatically against the icy backdrop of the ice rink.

The ice rink looked magical and enticing as they approached. Fairy lights were strewn across the top of the rink in a criss-cross star pattern and they sent orbs of lights over the black waves immediately behind the rink. With only nine days until the Christmas Eve ball, it seemed that the Christmas festivities were well underway.

Penny smiled as couples old and young clung to each other as they slid gracefully past, families with small children linked between them creating small chains of people as they skated round the rink.

They paid and got changed into their skates. Penny stood up, wobbling on the blades. How was anyone supposed to walk in these things, let alone move with any kind of skill or grace? Her feet really hurt inside them, but she guessed that was to do with the muscles she was using to stay upright. She hobbled towards the entrance, knowing that if she had been trying to impress Henry, she was a million miles away from looking sexy right now. Daisy got on the ice first, skating off and zooming round with all the ease of someone who had been doing it for years. Henry got on and patiently waited for her, both hands out towards her for her to hold.

She grabbed them and stepped onto the ice. Immediately her legs were like Bambi’s underneath her, sliding in opposite directions to each other and she tried to run on the spot to try to stop herself from falling. She squealed, drawing a lot of unnecessary attention down on herself. Henry immediately hauled her up against him, holding her steady, with his arms round her back and her face squashed against his chest.

Oh god, it felt too good in his arms. He was warm and strong and so solid. She tentatively rested her hands on his hips, trying to steady herself, but the rush of emotions that stormed through her at being held did nothing to quell her nerves.

‘Don’t panic, I’ve got you, I’m not going to let you fall, trust me,’ Henry said softly, with all the patience and tenderness of addressing a frightened child.

Holding on to her forearms firmly, he pulled back slightly, holding her up.

‘OK, relax, bend your legs a little and lean forward slightly, I’m going to pull you round. Look at me, not your feet.’

She stared up at him and unbelievably he started skating backwards, taking her with him. He cast an odd glance over his shoulder now and again, but other than that his eyes stayed on hers the whole time.

‘You’re doing great, don’t look down.’

She cast a look around and was surprised to see almost everyone on the rink and the spectators were watching her and Henry. Was she doing that badly that she was keeping everyone entertained with her wobbly gait? She flushed with embarrassment.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘People are staring.’

‘They’re not, don’t be so self-conscious.’

She glanced around again. ‘No, they’re definitely staring.’

Henry looked around as well, and she saw him frown as he saw all the eyes that were watching them.

‘They’re probably looking at me, you know the new guy in town, people are curious,’ he said, trying to placate her.

She looked at some of the townsfolk. Some were smiling at her encouragingly and Suzanna, one elderly lady she knew quite well, gave her a big thumbs up and a toothy wink as they passed. Suddenly Penny realised why they were getting all the attention: they thought she and Henry were a couple and they were all smiling because it was the first time that Penny had been with a man in over eight years. It was embarrassing because it wasn’t true.

‘They think we’re together,’ Penny said, quietly. ‘Sorry, these guys don’t get out too much and me holding hands with a man is big news.’

Henry smiled. ‘I’m not remotely bothered by it, so you shouldn’t be either. If they want to think I’m going out with a beautiful woman, then I’m totally fine with that.’

Penny flushed again at the compliment.

‘Right, start picking your feet up a little like this, so you can practise distributing your weight onto your different feet.’ He demonstrated lifting each of his feet off the ice ever so slightly and repeating it several times.

Penny blocked out the stares and studied his feet and attempted to do the same. It was surprisingly easy.

He gave her a few more pointers about pushing her legs back so that soon she was propelling herself across the ice. Even though he was still holding her hands, she felt like she was doing most of the work. He was a great teacher, so patient and demonstrative.

He stopped her and moved to her side, still holding one of her hands. ‘Let’s try it like this for a while, I won’t let you fall.’

She knew he wouldn’t. She tentatively pushed off and was pleased that she seemed to have the hang of it, though her legs felt like they were shaking under the strain. Her feet were still hurting and there were muscles screaming in her legs that she never knew she had. She caught sight of Daisy, staring at them. The last thing she wanted was for Daisy to feel left out so she pulled to a stop, clinging on to the side.

‘I’m just going to have a rest for a little while. Why don’t you skate with Daisy for a bit and I’ll get back on in a few minutes?’

Henry nodded and escorted her safely off the ice, before tearing after Daisy and chasing her round the rink.

Penny sat down on a bench, took her skates off and leaned back against the sea wall. The waves were crashing onto the rocks about twenty metres below and she looked out at the little red and white striped lighthouse warning ships of the rocky islets that surrounded the bay.

Over the sound of the waves, she heard a shout of laughter come from the other side of the sea wall.

Penny knelt up and peered over the wall. The slipway behind her, used for the launch of boats, looked empty, but suddenly movement at the very bottom of the slip where it joined the water caught her eye.

She squinted against the bright lights of the ice rink to see two boys, Sam and Alex, playing just a few feet from the water’s edge. The waves were crashing theatrically against the sea wall, mere inches from where they were standing, and the boys didn’t seem fazed at all.

Where were Mike and Pippa, the kids’ parents?

Loads of kids played on the slip during the day, but normally only when the tide was out. Three big shipwrecks had happened in the cove over the years and wonderful little treasures like cups, plates, coins, jewellery and various sailing paraphernalia washed up on the slip on an almost weekly basis. Most of it was completely worthless, but for the children of the town it was like a little treasure trove down there. She watched Sam and Alex now, filling their buckets up with bits of sea glass, and other wondrous delights.

She looked around for Mike and Pippa. Surely they hadn’t let them go and play down there when the tide was in?

Suddenly a huge wave crashed against the slip, covering the boys completely, and to Penny’s horror, when the water receded, there was only one boy left on the slipway.