Once Upon a Christmas

Still feeling uneasy about the whole thing but not knowing why, Bryony gave a shrug. ‘Seven-thirty?’

‘Seven-thirty is perfect. There’s just one thing …’ He pulled up in the ambulance bay and yanked on the handbrake. ‘You haven’t told me who you’re going out with.’

There was something in his smooth tones that made her glance at him warily but his handsome face was impassive.

She paused with her hand on the door. ‘David.’

‘David Armstrong? The paediatrician?’ Jack’s expression didn’t change but she sensed something that made her uneasy.

‘Look, Jack—’

‘I’ll be there at seven-thirty. Now, let’s get on. I need to get antibiotics into Martyn and call the surgeons. That wound is going to need some attention.’

And with that he sprang out of the vehicle, leaving her staring after him.

Jack was going to babysit while she went on a date?

It seemed harmless enough, generous even, so why did she have such a strong feeling that something wasn’t quite right?

CHAPTER THREE

‘MUMMY you look pretty.’

‘Do you think so?’ Bryony surveyed her reflection in the mirror, wondering whether the dress was right for the evening that David had in mind. He’d said dinner in a smart restaurant, but she never went to smart restaurants so she wasn’t that sure what to wear.

In the end she’d settled for the little black dress that her mother had given her three Christmases ago and which she’d never worn.

She’d fastened her hair on top of her head, found a pair of pretty, dangly earrings and dabbed perfume over her body.

And she had to admit that she was looking forward to going out with a man.

So much so that when the doorbell rang she opened the door with a wide smile.

‘Hi, Jack.’ Her face glowed and she stood to one side to let him in. ‘There’s a casserole in the oven. I assumed you wouldn’t have eaten—’

‘I haven’t eaten.’ His eyes slid down her body and he frowned, his expression suddenly hostile.

Bryony felt the confidence ooze out of her. She’d thought that she looked good but, judging from the look on Jack’s face, she obviously didn’t.

‘Come through to the kitchen,’ she said quickly, suddenly wishing that she’d worn something different. Obviously the black dress didn’t suit her. ‘We’ve got time for a quick drink before David gets here. He was held up in clinic.’

Jack’s mouth tightened with disapproval. ‘So he’s going to be late, then.’

‘Well, only because a child with asthma was admitted at the last minute,’ Bryony said mildly, tugging open the fridge and reaching for a bottle of wine. ‘You know how it is.’

‘Do I?’

Instead of settling himself at her kitchen table as he usually did, he prowled round the room, his eyes constantly flickering back to her dress.

Trying to ignore his intense scrutiny, Bryony poured two glasses of wine and handed him one. ‘Here you are. Cheers.’

He took the wine and put it on the table, his eyes fixed on her legs.

Bryony felt her whole body warm with embarrassment. She hardly ever showed her legs. She usually wore trousers for work because they were more practical, and when she went to the pub with the rest of the mountain rescue team she wore trousers, too.

But tonight, for the first time in ages, she’d put on a pair of sheer, black stockings and she was beginning to wish she hadn’t.

‘You hate it, don’t you?’ she croaked, and his eyes lifted and welded to hers.

‘Hate what?’

She swallowed. ‘The way I look. My dress. Me. You’re staring and staring.’

Jack let out a breath. ‘That’s because I don’t think you should be going out with a man dressed like that,’ he said tightly. ‘It sends out all the wrong messages.’

She frowned at him, totally confused. ‘What messages?’

He tensed. ‘Well—that you’re available.’

‘Jack,’ she said patiently, ‘I am available. That is the message I want to send out.’

‘So you wear a skirt that’s up to your bottom?’ He glared at her and she stared back helplessly, totally confused by his attitude.

She’d met some of the girls that he’d dated and they were almost all blondes with skirts up round their bottoms.

‘Jack, my skirt is just above the knee,’ she pointed out, glancing down at herself to check that half her dress hadn’t fallen off without her knowledge. ‘It is nowhere near my bottom.’

‘Well, it’s definitely too low in the front,’ he said hoarsely, reaching across the kitchen table, yanking a flower out of a vase and snapping it halfway up the stem. ‘Try this.’

He walked up to her and slipped the flower down the neckline of her dress and stood back with a frown.

‘That’s a bit better.’

‘Jack—’

Before she could say anything, Lizzie came running into the room wearing a pink gauze fairy dress and wearing wings. ‘Jack, Jack!’ She flung herself into his arms and he picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

‘Hello, beautiful. Shouldn’t you be in bed?’

‘I was waiting for you.’ Lizzie curled her legs round his waist and waggled her finger at him. ‘Look. I’m wearing three rings. They’re sweets really, but aren’t they great?’

Jack dutifully studied her finger. ‘Really great. And if you get hungry in the night you can eat them.’

Lizzie beamed. ‘Can we play a game, Jack?’

‘Sure.’ Jack put her down gently and smiled indulgently. ‘Any game you like. Just name it.’

‘Weddings.’