A Christmas Affair

‘Mm.’ She smiled confirmation. ‘You knew my sister is married to his brother?’

‘I believe you did tell me,’ Dominic nodded abruptly. ‘But I also thought he wasn't—into family occasions?’

‘Oh, all that's changed,’ Cathy laughed happily at the thought of how loving Jade had changed David's life. ‘It promises to be a wonderful Christmas with all the family together again at last.’

Dominic thrust his hands into his trouser pockets, turning away to gaze out of the window at London's bleak skyline. ‘Then I'd better not keep you any longer.’

It should have been her turn to say, ‘Just like that?’ No matter what she had said in the last few minutes, she couldn't believe this was really goodbye. But she knew that it had to be, and the uncompromising set of Dominic's shoulders beneath the tailored jacket didn't encourage her to say the actual words to him.

She took one last lingering look at the room and the man before rushing out of the door.

How she managed to say goodbye to Mary and the other secretaries in the outer office she didn't know; her throat was aching with the effort of holding back the tears by the time she got outside the building, and she almost fell inside the taxi she hailed.

And then the tears fell like a waterfall.

The driver shot her a worried glance in his driving-mirror. ‘Christmas party?’

She would have laughed at the suggestion if she could have stopped feeling miserable long enough; the closest Dominic came to recognising Christmas was to let his staff leave an hour earlier than usual!

But she nodded anyway, because it was what the driver obviously expected to hear, and also because she was starting to cry again.

Thank God she had packed her case and done her few errands before going to the office this morning. Now she just wanted to get away, pausing only long enough to change into warm clothes for the journey ahead of her. The last thing she wanted was to be alone in her flat any longer than she had to be.

Which was why she muttered and mumbled to herself as the doorbell rang just as she was bending down to pick up her suitcase. It was probably the janitor calling for his Christmas tip!

She stared dazedly up at Dominic as he stood outside her door, no longer the suave executive in the formal suit, but looking just as devastatingly attractive in fitted black trousers and a thick Aran sweater worn beneath a black leather jacket.

Having resigned herself to the possibility of perhaps never seeing him again, Cathy could only stare at him in stunned surprise.

‘As you're so adamant about going down to Devon again today,’ he told her in measured tones, ‘I've decided to drive you.’

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_e710cdc0-09a1-5f69-8dd1-b36f900826cc)

CATHY forgot about how devastated she had been such a short time ago at the thought of not seeing Dominic again, completely forgot her joy of a few moments ago when she had opened her door and found him standing there, too.

All she could think of at the moment was his damned typical arrogance!

She made no effort to open her apartment door wider or invite him to come in. ‘Isn't it usual to ask?’ she snapped tautly, controlling her anger with great difficulty.

Dominic shrugged dismissively. ‘I knew you never would.’

Her eyes widened incredulously. ‘I wasn't talking about me!’ she gasped.

His eyes narrowed, and he walked past her into the apartment with easy familiarity, despite Cathy's unwelcoming attitude. ‘Why would I need to ask to drive you down to Devon?’ he said with genuine amazement. ‘I'm the one doing you a favour.’

Cathy had followed him agitatedly into the elegantly furnished lounge. ‘You can take your favour and——’

‘I've already spoken to your brother-in-law, and he agrees with me——’

‘You've telephoned Simon?’ she gasped again, her eyes even wider than before.

Dominic gave an arrogant inclination of his head. ‘Actually, during the course of the conversation he invited me to spend Christmas with you and the family,’ he revealed distantly.

Simon would. Her brother-in-law was one of the kindest, most warm-hearted, most generous people she had ever known, and the thought of someone spending the festive season on their own would easily move him to make the invitation to Dominic. And he would have meant it sincerely, too.

Goodness knew, Dominic was far from being a stranger to Penny and Simon; even though the other couple had never actually met him, Cathy had talked about him often enough!

And she hadn't yet had an opportunity to tell Simon and her sister that she was no longer working for Dominic.

She eyed him warily across the room. ‘And what was your answer?’

His mouth twisted mockingly. ‘Don't worry, I don't willingly go where I know I'm not wanted.’

‘Oh, but I'm sure Simon——’

‘I wasn't talking about your brother-in-law,’ he drawled dismissively.

Her cheeks burned with heated colour. ‘It has nothing to do with me whom Simon chooses to invite into his home,’ she told him stiltedly.

‘Nevertheless,’ Dominic's mouth firmed, ‘despite your brother-in-law's kind invitation—which, incidentally, I'm sure was genuine—I have no intention of intruding upon the Christmas that means so much to you.’

Considering Dominic never acknowledged the festive season by so much as a sprig of holly in his office, Cathy couldn't imagine that he had ever seriously considered the invitation anyway! She certainly didn't feel as if she was depriving him of anything by being the real reason he had declined!

‘All the more reason for you not to drive me down to Devon,’ she dismissed.

‘I don't have anything else to do.’ He shrugged broad shoulders. ‘And as we are both well aware——’ his mouth twisted derisively ‘—the whole world grinds to a halt at Christmas.’

‘That's never seemed to stop you before,’ Cathy recalled drily.

He shrugged. ‘This year I seem to be without my capable PA. And a few hours’ notice isn't time enough for me to be able to train up another one,’ he added hardily.

She didn't even blink at his sarcasm. ‘I have no wish to talk about work.’

‘Neither have I,’ he drawled, glancing out of the window of her flat. ‘Snow looks imminent, so if you want to leave …’

‘I'll go when I'm ready.’ She spoke with more stubbornness than good sense, because snow did look imminent.

‘Strange.’ Dominic looked at her consideringly, just as if he were viewing a somewhat wayward child in his presence. ‘I never considered you a foolish person until today.’

Possibly because today was the first time he had seen her as even being halfway human, rather than just a business extension of himself!

‘Stubborn and foolish,’ she derided. ‘What makes you think you're any more capable of driving to Devon than I am?’ she challenged, her eyes glittering a dark smoky grey.

‘I don't,’ he surprised her by answering. ‘But at least with the two of us there we could take it in turns to do the driving, and in that way we could halve the strain.’

Cathy hated it when he made good sense, especially when it was about something as important as this! How could she refuse his help now without looking absolutely stupid? Especially when she was well aware of the fact that she couldn't possibly be upsetting any of his own plans for Christmas; he had probably intended to hibernate until all the ‘childish emotion', as she had once heard him describe it, was over.

‘I'm still not prepared to talk about my resignation,’ she told him firmly.