A Christmas Kiss Read online

  ‘Same here, but funny you should say that, I’ve brought some supplies; I was supposed to be cooking a special meal tonight – long story – but things didn’t turn out quite how I’d planned, so I brought it all here with me, rather than let it go to waste.’

  Zander notice a shadow fleetingly darken her face. Was she running away from something, or someone? That would make two of us.

  ‘Oh, okay,’ he said. ‘And there’s no one joining you later in the week that you could save the ingredients for?’

  ‘No, no one’s joining me.’ Livvie paused, staring into her coffee cup. ‘In fact, no one knows I’m here, apart from you, of course.’

  The sudden sadness in her eyes made him want to throw his arms around her and pull her close to him. She looked small and helpless, and he felt the need to protect her. Instead, he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his jeans and did his best not to give in to the urge.

  ‘So now you’ve told me that, you probably don’t want to hear that I am actually a mad axe murder and Alf is really the hound of Hades in disguise as a soft lump of a black Labrador, and is just waiting for the command to tear any living thing limb-from-limb.’ He smiled, hoping to encourage hers to return.

  ‘No.’ She giggled. ‘I’d really rather not hear that.’

  ‘Right, well, seeing as neither of us is driving anywhere tonight, how about we crack open a bottle of wine?’ Zander asked.

  ‘Ooh, that sounds lovely.’ Livvie got to her feet. ‘And how do you fancy some tornado rossini with all the trimmings?’

  ‘Tornado rossini? Wow; sounds fabulous, but are you sure you can be bothered?’

  ‘I love cooking; I can always be bothered.’

  ‘Well, that’s good to hear, cos I love eating, and I can always be bothered to do that. Looks like we make the perfect team.’ What the …? Where the bloody hell did that come from? Will you shut the fuck up with your cheese!

  11

  Livvie

  Livvie watched Zander fill two glasses with wine. ‘I take it you’re okay with red? It’ll go nicely with the steak, but if you’d prefer something else …’

  ‘Mmm, I love red.’ In truth, she was more of a Prosecco drinker, but she didn’t want to look ungrateful or fussy. Donny was the red fan, but he only ever bought cheap, harsh stuff.

  ‘Here you go.’ Zander passed her a glass and raised his own. ‘Cheers.’

  ‘Cheers,’ she said, feeling a huge smile take over her face and noting how incredibly blue his eyes were; a striking contrast to his dark, almost black, hair. He was tall and towered over her diminutive five-foot-two by a good foot. Livvie’s heart fluttered; she had a weakness for tall men.

  ‘To new friends,’ he said.

  ‘To new friends.’ They locked eyes as they clinked glasses. It triggered a swirl of something unfamiliar but exciting in her stomach.

  She took a small sip of wine and was pleasantly surprised by the burst of berry flavours that erupted in her mouth. ‘Oh, wow. That’s delicious!’

  Zander smiled. ‘It’s my favourite; I’m glad you like it.’

  ‘Oh, I do, it’s lovely. The reds I’ve had before have always been a bit too dry for me and nowhere near as nice as this.’ She took another sip and looked up to see him smiling down at her. Her cheeks flushed in response.

  ‘By the way, I’ve just checked my phone and there’s no signal,’ said Zander, leaning against the Aga. ‘It’s never particularly great in this part of the moors, but I’m guessing the snow has wiped out what little there is; I don’t suppose it’ll be back on tonight. And there’s no landline in the cottage, so I hope you don’t need to contact anyone.’

  ‘Oh, right, er, that’s fine, there’s no one I need to contact tonight.’ The only person Livvie would consider getting in touch with was Bryony, but that could wait. Her friend would just assume the romantic evening with Donny was a roaring success and that she was too “busy” with him to think about her phone. Livvie didn’t want her to think anything other than that at the minute; her friend had her own life to enjoy.

  ‘And are you sure you don’t mind preparing all this food?’ asked Zander, casting his eyes over the shopping Livvie had retrieved from the fridge.

  ‘Nope, not at all. I love cooking – and I can’t wait to use the Aga – and it won’t take long; especially if you help.’ She flashed him a cheeky smile.

  ‘Goes without saying.’ He pushed up his sleeves. ‘Just tell me what I need to do.’

  A thought of what she’d like him to do, that had nothing whatsoever to do with prepping food flashed through her mind; Zander’s lips on hers, before scorching their way down towards— Stop that, you wanton woman! Livvie could feel her cheeks blazing once more; she hoped he hadn’t noticed.

  ‘Right, well, you can make a start on those potatoes; I was originally going to make fondants but that’ll take a bit too long, so I think I’ll par-boil them then sauté them with some garlic and herbs.’

  ‘Sounds good. So you want me to peel them then chop them into what size?’

  ‘Chop them into cubes about so big.’ She demonstrated the size with her fore-finger and her thumb. ‘And while you’re getting stuck into that, I’m just going to get changed; I don’t want my PJs smelling of cooking when I go to bed.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’

  She looked up into his bright blue eyes and took another sip of wine. There was definitely something in the air tonight.

  Upstairs in the bedroom, Livvie quickly peeled off her pyjamas and swapped them for a pair of plum coloured batik harem pants she’d made herself and a bottle green long-sleeved T-shirt. All the while, her mind running over what had happened since she’d arrived at the cottage. She’d wanted to get away from it all, from everyone, and have some time alone, but this situation with Zander had changed that; she didn’t want to be alone, she wanted to spend time with him. She didn’t know how it was possible with someone she’d only just met, but there was an undeniably strong connection between them and she sensed he could feel it, too.

  She stopped for a moment, realising it had been a while since she’d thought about Donny. When she’d left Rickelthorpe, she thought she’d be spending the whole evening with her mind occupied by him and his misdemeanours, weeping buckets and feeling devastated. She wondered what he was doing with himself right now; he was no good at being alone and always needed to be entertained. He put her in mind of a spoilt little boy. What had he thought when he’d got back to the flat and found it empty? She shivered as she recalled her lucky escape earlier that evening when he’d almost caught her leaving. For a moment, hurt crept in as the image of him with that women pushed its way into her mind, causing tears to brim in her eyes. ‘Tosser!’ She snatched the tears away. She was going to enjoy being in Zander’s company tonight and thoughts of her self-centred, cheating bastard ex-boyfriend weren’t invited. ‘Screw you, Donny!’

  ‘You okay.’ Zander looked up as she walked into the room.

  ‘Yep, I’m fine thanks.’ She picked up her wine and took a slug, watching him work on the potatoes. He was incredibly easy to be around.

  ‘That was delicious.’ Zander sat back in his chair at the kitchen table. ‘You’re a talented cook.’

  ‘Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.’

  ‘Thanks, but I was just the sous to your head chef. I do quite a bit at home, as a way of winding down; I do a mean roast dinner.’ He picked up the bottle of wine. ‘More?’

  ‘Just a smidge.’

  Through the course of the meal, they’d shared small details of their personal lives; what they did for a living, where they called home. They’d even touched on the subject of their respective families – though Livvie didn’t go into too much detail about hers; there was no way she was going to share with him how low she was viewed by the people who should love her most and want the best for her, especially when his family sounded so supportive and loving.

  ‘So, is it just you at home, or is there a Mrs Zander?’ The wine
had made her bold; ordinarily, she wouldn’t ask such a direct question, but their circumstances were a little unusual and, she figured, the everyday rules didn’t apply.

  She noticed him pause and think for a moment, gnawing on his bottom lip.

  ‘Look, you don’t have to answer that; I shouldn’t have asked, I was being nosy. Just ignore me.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ he replied. ‘You weren’t being nosy; I’ve been wondering if there’s a Mr Livvie.’

  ‘Ughh!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Where to start with that?’

  ‘Ah. I’m guessing that’s the reason for your last-minute booking of this place.’

  She nodded. ‘’Fraid so. And you?’

  ‘Mmhm. I wanted to get away from a … let’s just call it a “situation” back home, hence turning up here at such a late hour.’

  ‘Want to talk about it?’

  ‘Do you?’

  Livvie swirled the wine around in her glass and shook her head. ‘Not tonight. I’m having such a … such a … I’m having a really lovely time and I don’t want to spoil it.’ She looked across at Zander, all too aware of the electricity that crackled in the air around them, and from the look in his eyes, he could feel it, too.

  He reached across the table and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb across her fingers. ‘Same here.’

  The moment was shattered by a loud snort from Alf, who was lying flat on his back in his bed, gangly legs splayed in an ungainly manner. It was quickly followed by another, much louder one.

  Livvie looked wide-eyed at Zander and burst out laughing. ‘Was that from him?’

  ‘It was; he’s such a stylish hound. Honestly, I can’t take him anywhere.’

  Zander eased his hand away and a moment of silence fell between them. Keen to pull things back, Livvie asked, ‘So, how did you come by such an adorable character as Alf?’

  ‘It’s a long story and the beginning, I’m afraid, isn’t a very happy one.

  12

  Zander

  ‘Seven years ago, I split up with the girl everyone expected me to marry.’

  ‘Oh … right.’

  ‘Her name was Clara and she was sweet-natured, kind and beautiful; perfect, some would say.’ Zander paused. ‘Maybe too perfect.’

  He took a slug of wine, conscious of Livvie’s eyes on him.

  ‘How did you meet?’ she asked.

  ‘Steff and John were having a summer party one Saturday afternoon. Clara was a work colleague of John’s and he’d invited her along.’

  ‘Do you think it was a set-up?’

  ‘Oh, very much so. Of course, Steff and John denied it at the time but owned up and took all the credit when Clara and me got together; Clara had been completely in the dark, too.’

  ‘Families.’ Livvie gave a resigned smile

  ‘Tell me about it.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘We’d been together for five years and lived together for three of them; she moved in with me in my house in Leeds. My family adored her and she slotted in from the moment she met them at the barbecue. So much so, we regularly used to join them on holidays; she’d even go shopping with my mother and my sister, make plans with them. It actually started to feel a bit weird that she spent more time with them than I did; like it was her family and I was the outsider.’

  ‘I can imagine.’

  ‘The last couple of years we were together, it was getting pretty obvious that Clara was keen to settle down and start a family. I couldn’t help but feel that there’d been a subtle campaign building; like she’d joined … not “forces”, that’s too strong a word … it felt like she and my family had got their heads together and decided that it was time we got married; even Toby, who didn’t usually get involved with stuff like that. ’

  ‘And you didn’t want to?’

  ‘No, and it kind of had the opposite effect really; it made me realise that I wasn’t ready to settle down and get married – I was only twenty-nine, hadn’t been out of medical school that long, and felt I was still finding my feet. I didn’t know what all the rush was about. But it made me suddenly realise that Clara wasn’t the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.’ He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. ‘That makes me sound like a real shit, doesn’t it?’

  ‘No, it makes you sound honest.’

  ‘That’s not what everyone else thought; least of all Clara’s parents.’

  ‘Oh dear.’

  ‘It started with little comments dropped into the conversation here and there, at family get-togethers, meals out; pretty much any time we all met up, no one seemed to waste an opportunity. Drip, drip, drip; her family, my family, they were all doing it. I didn’t realise at first, but then Clara started to leave magazines out at home, open on pages advertising wedding venues, or engagement rings, anything and everything wedding related. She even managed to find excuses to look in jewellers’ shop windows on the pretext of getting me a new watch – which I didn’t need.’

  ‘Wow, that sounds fairly intense.’

  ‘It was, and it began to feel pretty stifling.’ Zander could feel his heart begin to race at the thought. I tried talking to my mother about it, but all she could say was that Clara and I were perfect together, that Clara adored me, and that I was being too pig-headed to accept it.’

  He could see Livvie’s mind processing what he’d just told her, her brow furrowed by a frown.

  ‘Can I say something?’ she asked.

  ‘Feel free.’

  ‘From the point of view of a total outsider, I kind of get the impression there was a thread of subtle manipulation running through the whole situation. I’m sure Clara didn’t realise that she was actually doing it, but nobody likes to feel they’re being manipulated.’ Her face suddenly took on a worried expression. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying all of that.’

  Zander was struck by her astute take on the situation. ‘Quite the contrary; that’s exactly what I started to think, and my best mate Noah was the only other person who could see through it, too. It was so frustrating; I felt like my family just wouldn’t listen, couldn’t understand my point of view.’

  ‘It must’ve been hard for them too. They probably just saw a sweet girl who was desperately in love with you, but marriage is a serious business and you’ve got to be true to yourself.’

  Zander sighed. It was a relief to talk to someone who really understood what he’d been going through without thinking he’d been a total bastard. And weirdly, it felt like a massive relief; as if a huge burden of guilt that had loitered at the back of his mind for all those years had suddenly been lifted. It had been hard for his parents to accept that he’d broken up with sweet, kind Clara or that she’d actually been capable of manipulation, no matter how subtle.

  ‘One night over dinner, Clara was telling me how she’d been out for lunch with my mother and Steff at a newly renovated country pile that had started to hold wedding receptions. She was going on and on, saying how perfect it was, how that’s where she’d choose for our wedding, saying how she’d got the perfect day planned. Then she suggested we pop in for afternoon tea over the weekend and something inside me just cracked. It felt like the pressure was building and building; it was too much, and I’d reached a point where I’d had enough. I tried to change the subject, but she just kept going on and on about it. In the end I, er … er, I told her it was over.’ Zander flinched as he recalled the look in Clara’s eyes.

  ‘Oh, right. I’m guessing she didn’t take that news too well.’

  He was relieved to see Livvie didn’t look outraged or disgusted.

  ‘That’s an understatement. She’s a sensitive soul, and I felt terrible because she sobbed and sobbed but I had no doubt in my mind that it was the right decision; it felt like a massive weight off my shoulders after I’d said it. I was dreading telling my family, but in a funny way, their campaign had helped me realise that, yes, I loved Clara, but not enough to want to make the commitment to marry her.’

  ‘So what happened?’ />
  ‘Would you believe she ran to my parents’ house in tears?’

  ‘Your parents’ house?’

  Zander nodded. ‘Yep.’

  And where did you go?’

  ‘I went for a drive. A long drive.’ He sighed.

  ‘That doesn’t seem very fair.’ The look of concern on Livvie’s face reached in and touched his heart. ‘Clara went to your parents’ house, meaning that you couldn’t.’

  ‘Yes; it would’ve been nice if I’d had the chance to speak to them first, but at the time, with everything that had been happening, it didn’t seem so unusual. It didn’t stop it from being frustrating though.’

  ‘I’m not surprised.’

  ‘Which brings me very nicely to answering your original question; how did I come by that wayward boy you describe as an “adorable character”.’ He smiled, affection etched all over his face, nodding towards Alf, who was still sprawled out in his bed.

  Livvie giggled. ‘I must admit, I’m very curious to know how splitting up with your girlfriend has anything to do with you getting Alf.’

  Zander swallowed hard; it wasn’t a memory he was keen to revisit if he could help it.

  ‘Well, it was when I was on that drive after we’d just split up. I drove for ages and ended up pretty close to your neck of the woods actually. I pulled up by a green, it had a river running along the bottom, some massive oak trees edging it.’

  ‘Down the long bank, opposite the kids’ play area?’

  ‘That’s the one.’

  ‘That’s Scaggleby.’

  ‘Yes, that sounds familiar. Anyway, I pulled up in the parking area. Being dusk, it was quiet and there were no other cars around, so I decided to go and sit on the bench by the trees, hoping to clear my head and make sense of what had just happened.’