Christmas at Butterfly Cove: A delightfully feel-good festive romance!

Although her father had tried to prepare her for the changes in Vivian, her first sight of the birdlike figure lost in the harsh whiteness of the bed stole Nee’s breath. Strands of wispy, almost-colourless hair straggled around her mother’s face. The knotted hanks were so far from the gleaming coiffure of her memories that she knew little of the woman she’d known remained. Making her way quietly into the room, Nee noted the potted plants and bright accessories scattered around, and felt a quiet appreciation for the owners of the home for trying to minimise the institutional feel of the place.

The bed, though, was like those found in every kind of hospital. They’d positioned it where Vivian could look out of the window to the gardens below, although whether she had any awareness of the view remained to be seen. Memories flooded her mind of all the times she’d seen her mother supine on the couch beneath the window of her bedroom at home. The picture of delicate, ethereal beauty, almost professionally weak and wan. Helplessness had always been Vivian’s stock-in-trade – a damsel in distress, unable to cope with the pressures of life. That façade had fooled many, but not Nee. She remembered too clearly the cynical glitter in her mother’s eye as she twisted poor Kiki round her little finger.

A ghost of the anger she’d nurtured for so long against her parents began to stir in her stomach. If either one of them had faced up to the basic realities of life, then it wouldn’t have been left to Mia to try and raise a baby sister when she’d been little more than a child herself. Kiki, too, had done her best for Nee, offering every ounce of love in that big heart of hers to ensure she never lacked for affection. She clasped a hand over her stomach to try and settle the beast stirring within. Sometimes it felt like she’d been angry for ever.

The tempest of emotions had served her well in the past, bringing a fire and passion to her earliest artwork that caught the attention of teachers and, later, college tutors. Feed the fire, they’d urged her, so she’d tapped the well and poured it forth into every line drawn, every handful of clay moulded. She developed a reputation for dark, brooding pieces and the juxtaposition with her sweet, elfin appearance had intrigued more than one patron. Whispers had rippled through the art world of a bold, bright new star-in-the-making and she’d been encouraged to dream big.

Her dreams had crystallised into the ultimate goal for a young sculptor – a chance to study under the tutelage of Devin Rees, the mercurial, undisputed master of their medium. Even applying for a place at the Reinhold Institute had seemed like the ultimate act of hubris, and when her submission had gone unanswered for months, Nee had shrugged it off. London was more than good enough for her, and she’d thrown herself wholeheartedly into the trendy art scene, determined to make her mark. She’d found a group of like-minded souls, and had been out celebrating a friend getting signed by an agent when a fallen angel with the devil’s smile walked into her life.

She hadn’t known it was possible to be so happy. Luke filled every dark and lonely place inside her with a passion so raw, so intense, it consumed her every waking moment. Finding out how much she’d missed out on as a child, he’d made it his mission to spoil her. A trip on the London Eye, a magical sunset safari tour at the zoo, where they’d ridden the kiddies’ train and eaten huge whippy ice-cream cones, lying back in the Planetarium as they travelled through space and time. So many cherished memories crammed into a couple of magical months.

He’d taken her to his favourite place—the beautiful garden created in the magnificent ruins of St Dunstan’s in the East—and when he’d dropped to one knee in the shadowed corner beneath an elegant stone arch wrapped in vines, the only word on her lips had been yes. Drunk on champagne, love and the euphoria of becoming Mrs Luke Spenser, she’d believed herself satisfied with the path her life had taken.

Then the email with a plane ticket and an eight-hour deadline had arrived.

Chapter Four (#ulink_5cffeca4-ca0e-59ab-a963-4253c62f2257)

Having moped around his flat for a couple of days, it had been on the tip of Luke’s tongue to refuse Kiki’s invitation when she called him about Aaron’s ‘surprise’ party. She’d confessed the adults all knew Charlie had let the cat out of the bag, but the children were so excited about the prospect, they’d agreed to keep up the pretence. Much as he might have liked to see the growing bonds in his brother’s new family, he hadn’t wanted his presence to be a wet blanket.

Poised to decline, his words froze on his lips when Kiki said quietly, ‘He misses you, Luke. We all miss you. Please come.’

Once he’d agreed to attend the party, there was no getting around the fact he would be coming face to face with Nee again. Aaron had been right; they needed to resolve things between them. For the sake of both their families. He had two choices – forgive her, or let her go for good. Leaving him had been a mistake; she’d said as much during their brief, anguished exchange at the wedding. He’d already admitted to himself he still wanted her, had spent the last twelve months waiting for a call, an email, anything from her and then let his bloody pride get in the way. If she thought it was a mistake, that meant she wanted to try again, didn’t it? God, he hoped so.

Feeling lighter and more hopeful than he had in weeks, not even the rain lashing the small platform at Orcombe Sands station could dampen his mood. Hunching down into his thick jacket to try and avoid letting the rain inside his collar, Luke shouldered his bag and splashed across the small gravel car park towards a familiar blue hatchback. Tugging open the back door to throw in his bag, he stopped short as a mournful howl greeted him from the small plastic crate on the seat. He ducked his head into the car and met Kiki’s worried brown eyes as she stared at him over her shoulder. ‘Who’s your friend?’

‘This is Tigger. He’s Aaron’s birthday present from the children.’

A tiny, pink-tipped nose poked out through the bars in the front of the crate, and Luke forgot the rain soaking his back as he started to laugh. ‘You’ve bought him a dog?’

Kiki shook her head, a look of despair on her face. ‘Don’t. Just don’t. I can’t believe I let the kids talk me into it.’ She cringed as another heart-wrenching noise split the air. ‘He’s been like that since I picked him up half an hour ago. I was supposed to collect him tomorrow, but the shelter’s short-staffed so they asked if I could do it this afternoon because Saturday is always their busiest viewing day.’

‘Poor fella, he’s probably scared.’ Luke dumped his bag on the far side of the back seat, then unhooked the catch securing the crate closed. Reaching inside, he scooped out the tiny brindle puppy and the soft, blue blanket he was huddled in. Unzipping his coat, he tucked the dog inside then jumped into the front passenger seat. A pink tongue peeked out to lick the underside of his chin as he secured the seatbelt around himself, and Luke was instantly smitten. He tried to lift the puppy out to get a better look at him, but it squirmed in closer to his body, so he decided to leave it where it was. At least the howling had stopped.

Kiki blinked at him. ‘Are you some kind of dog-whisperer?’

He shoved the damp curls off his forehead and gave her a wink. ‘Just irresistible,’ he said, making her laugh. ‘So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?’

She peered through the rain-soaked windscreen as though seeking out some blue sky. ‘I’m opening the tearoom as usual, but closing early after lunch to get everything set up. If the weather stays like this, I won’t get many customers, but there’s usually a few of the guests who wander in for a bite to eat. Mia is winding down the guest house for the winter, so she’s only got one couple staying, but the studios have a few guests. Leo’s back down for a few days, so he’s coming to the party too.’

Luke grinned. ‘I bet he’ll love that.’ The artist was both a client and friend of his brother, and had taken something of a shine to Kiki when he’d first stayed at the studios for their grand opening weekend.

Kiki’s tut didn’t cover the slight colour rising in her cheeks. ‘Behave yourself.’ Flicking the wipers onto their highest setting, she negotiated her way across the car park, avoiding the biggest puddles under which potholes lurked.

‘No chance.’ He settled back into his seat with a smirk; winding Aaron up was his duty and teasing him about Leo fancying Kiki would be too good an opportunity to pass up.

The car bumped over the curb as they exited the car park, causing the puppy to whimper and squirm inside his jacket. Lowering the zip, Luke adjusted the blanket until the little dog rested across his lap. Black button eyes blinked up at him and a pair of typical French bulldog bat ears twitched. ‘Oh God, he’s adorable.’

Kiki flicked a glance across at him when she paused at the crossroads leading to Honeysuckle Cottage, the chocolate-box home she shared with Aaron. ‘I know. The children were smitten the moment they laid eyes on him. Charlie cried when she realised we couldn’t bring him home immediately.’ She turned left into the lane, sticking to the centre of the quiet road to avoid more deep puddles. ‘Thank goodness we passed the inspection from the shelter, or I’d have had a mutiny on my hands.’

They pulled into the short driveway and Kiki parked as close to the front door as possible. Even the miserable weather couldn’t dim the beauty of the place. Luke lifted the puppy up to show him the pretty white cottage with a thatched roof. ‘Hey, fella. What do you think of your new home?’ Tigger yipped, a funny little high-pitched sound, and a trickle of warmth slid down Luke’s wrist and into the sleeve of his coat. ‘Gee, thanks,’ he said as the tang of dog pee filled the air.

‘Oh dear, I’m so sorry.’ Kiki’s apology might have been more convincing if she hadn’t been laughing quite so hard. Luke tucked the uncontrite dog back into the blanket and, shielding him with one half of his coat, ducked out into the rain. Kiki dashed out to join him, but her key had barely scraped against the lock before the front door swung open to reveal two giggling, very excited children.

‘Did you get him?’ Matty barely spared Luke a glance as he fixed his sparkling eyes on his mother. Luke grinned and pulled aside the edge of his jacket to show the wriggling bundle.

‘Yes. Shh, not so loud or you’ll spoil the surprise.’ Kiki pressed her finger to her lips and tried to herd the children further into the hall so she could close the door against the driving rain.

‘Surprise?’ Inevitably, the commotion had drawn Aaron from his study. Hands in the front pockets of his jeans, he stared in bemusement at the impromptu party before him. ‘I guess you guys really missed Luke, huh?’

Caught red-handed, it was too late for Luke to tuck the puppy out of sight. The dog began to squirm in earnest and worried about dropping him, he sank to his knees and placed the blanket on the red-tiled floor. The puppy yapped and wriggled free of the soft material, his tiny claws skittering on the tile as he took a couple of cautious steps forward. Charlie made a grab for the pup, but Kiki held her back, whispering to the little girl to be gentle.

Aaron crouched down. ‘Who’s this then?’ He extended his fingers towards the puppy and it gave them a tentative sniff, then a quick lick.

Matty hunkered down beside him, keeping his voice low to match Aaron’s. ‘This is Tigger. He belongs to you.’

Luke watched his brother glance from the boy next to him to Kiki. She raised her shoulder in an apologetic shrug. ‘I asked the children what they wanted to give you for your birthday, and they were adamant.’

Matty put his hand on Aaron’s knee. ‘Remember when we were at the beach and that man let us play with his dog? You said you’d always wanted a dog when you were my age, but you weren’t allowed one at home. You have a new home with us now, and we decided you should have whatever you want.’

Luke coughed around the big lump forming in his throat and he caught a suspicious glint in his brother’s eyes. ‘That’s very kind of you both.’ Aaron’s voice came out so rough it sounded like he’d been gargling rocks.

Matty leaned in closer to his side. ‘And we didn’t want you to be lonely. When Charlie goes to school, you’ll be all on your own during the day. Now you’ll have Tigger to keep you company.’

Tigger yipped, like he was accepting the responsibility, and wiggled his bottom in the air. Moving slowly, Aaron scooped the puppy up in one big hand and lifted him close against his chest. ‘Hello, Tigger. Hello, good boy.’ He touched a finger to each of the dog’s little ears then let Matty give him a pat. Mindful of her mother’s soft warnings, Charlie edged closer, giggling when Tigger licked her hand with a tiny pink tongue.

They painted such a picture of domestic bliss, Luke felt like an intruder amongst them. Tightness spread across his chest, and he pushed to his feet. ‘I’ll grab my bag.’ He held his hand out to Kiki for the car keys. ‘Just the crate from the back, or is there anything else?’

She smiled up. ‘There’s a few things in the boot.’

Aaron shifted his weight, like he meant to get up. ‘I’ll give you a hand, Spud.’

He waved him down. ‘No, stay put. No point in both of us getting soaked.’

By the time he’d hauled in his bag and about a ton of doggy essentials, the others had decamped to the kitchen. A zesty-chemical smell rose from a shiny patch on the floor tiles and Matty was busy spreading sheets of newspaper by the back door. Tigger had obviously made his mark again. Shrugging out of his wet jacket, Luke held it up to Kiki. ‘Any chance of sticking this in the wash?’

‘Of course.’ She nodded to the sleeve of his sweatshirt, ‘You might want to add that too.’

Luke examined the wet cuff ruefully. ‘How can such a small dog have such a big bladder?’ The soft patter of liquid on newspaper was the only response.

With the kids finally ushered upstairs by Kiki, Luke and Aaron finished tidying up the kitchen and settled at the table, each with a beer in hand. On the right side of a double helping of chicken stew and dumplings, Luke was drowsily full and grateful he’d changed his mind and decided to come for the weekend. He raised his bottle towards his brother. ‘Happy Birthday, Bumble.’

Aaron clinked beers with him and grinned with a hint of smug satisfaction, ‘It bloody well is at that.’ A snuffling sound came from the big basket they’d corralled behind a temporary barrier made from a laundry rack with cardboard sellotaped around the bottom half of the rungs. ‘I still can’t believe they got me a dog.’ He sounded pleased as punch about it.

An image of his big, strapping brother walking the tiny puppy on a lead came into Luke’s head and he covered the laugh welling in his chest with a swig of beer. He was sure Aaron would take to looking after this new addition to his household as well as he had the rest of it. The affection he held for the children showed in every look, every small, reassuring touch he shared with them. And as for him and Kiki… Luke’s heart fluttered at the prospect of once again sharing a love like that. ‘It suits you.’

Aaron cocked an eyebrow in query so Luke stretched his arms out wide. ‘This. Domestic bliss. A lovely woman, two point four kids and now a dog. You’re a cliché, mate.’

His brother shook his head. ‘Not sure about the point four. Two seems to suit us just fine, and it’s two more than I ever expected to have. Besides, I don’t even know if Kiki wants any more…’