Once Upon a Christmas

‘Sure, why not?’ Before Dr Armstrong had time to get too hot and over-eager. Suddenly driven by an urgency that he couldn’t explain, Jack grabbed Lizzie’s hand and dragged her into the kitchen. ‘We’ll ring her mobile.’

Lizzie looked at him uncertainly. ‘Grandma says we only ring if there’s an emergency.’

Jack was already pressing the keys. ‘Trust me, this is an emergency,’ he assured her, his mind still mentally on Bryony’s creamy breasts. His mouth tightened. ‘A big emergency. Her baby girl wants to say goodnight.’

Trying to ignore the fact that Lizzie was looking at him as though he was slightly mad, Jack held the receiver and waited for Bryony to answer.

As the phone rang and rang, his heart started to thud in his chest.

Why the hell wasn’t she answering?

Unless she wasn’t at dinner after all. What if the rat had taken one look at that dress and whisked Bryony back to his flat?

‘Uncle Jack, you’re breathing really fast,’ Lizzie said, climbing onto a kitchen stool, her fairy wings still attached to her back. ‘And you look weird.’

He felt weird.

Why wasn’t she answering?

David sat back in his chair. ‘Is that your phone?’

Bryony looked at him, startled, and then picked up her bag. ‘Oh, my goodness, yes.’ She fumbled in her handbag, her stomach turning over. ‘I hope nothing is wrong with Lizzie. I don’t usually get phoned …’

She delved amongst tissues, make-up, notebooks and various pink hairbands that belonged to her daughter and eventually found the phone.

Feeling distinctly nervous, she answered it. ‘Jack?’ She cast an apologetic look at David. ‘Is something wrong?’

She listened for a moment and then frowned. ‘I’m in the restaurant, Jack. Where did you think I was? Well, I couldn’t find my phone.’

At that moment the waiter delivered their starter and Bryony smiled her thanks, trying to ignore his look of disapproval. She knew that mobile phones were banned from lots of restaurants but she refused to turn hers off in case Lizzie needed her.

But it seemed that all Lizzie wanted was to say goodnight. Strange, Bryony thought as she spoke to her daughter and then ended the call. Lizzie was normally fine. Especially when she was with Jack. She loved being with Jack.

‘Everything OK?’ David looked at her quizzically and she smiled.

‘Fine. Sorry about that.’

She picked up her fork and tucked into her starter, determined to relax. Part of her mind was still dwelling on the fact that Jack had hated her dress, but she ignored it. David seemed to think she looked nice and that was all that mattered.

They chattered about work and the mountain rescue team and they were just tucking into their main course when her phone rang again.

This time Bryony heard it immediately and stopped the ringing before the waiter had time to glare at her.

It was Jack again, this time telling her that Lizzie was refusing to take her fairy wings off.

Bryony frowned. This was a guy who could save a life halfway up a mountain in a howling gale with nothing more than a penknife and a piece of string.

And he was calling her about fairy wings?

‘Just take them off when she’s asleep, Jack,’ she muttered, smiling apologetically at David as she slipped the phone back into her bag.

She tried valiantly to resume the conversation but when Jack called for the third time, David raised his hand and gestured to the waiter.

‘I think I’ll take you home,’ he said dryly. ‘Then you can answer Jack’s questions in person and he won’t have to keep calling you.’

‘Sorry.’ Bryony blushed slightly. As a first date it had been less than perfect. ‘I honestly don’t know what’s the matter with him. He and Lizzie are normally fine together.’

David drove her home and then walked her up the path to her cottage. At the front door he paused, his expression thoughtful as he looked down at her.

Bryony stared back, feeling slightly awkward. Was he going to kiss her?

Suddenly she felt a flash of panic. She wasn’t actually sure that she wanted him to kiss her.

His head was bending towards hers when the front door was jerked open and Jack stood there, broad-shouldered and imposing.

‘You’re home. Great.’

Bryony looked at David. ‘Would you like to come in for coffee?’

‘He needs to get going,’ Jack said coldly, his face unsmiling. ‘The roads are icy tonight and they’re forecasting snow.’

David was silent for a moment, his eyes on Jack. ‘Right. In that case I’d better make a move.’

‘OK, then.’ Secretly relieved by the decision, Bryony stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. ‘Thanks for tonight. I enjoyed it.’

‘Me, too.’ David was still looking at Jack and then he gave a funny smile and turned to Bryony. ‘I’ll see you at work.’

With that he turned the collar of his coat up and strolled back down her path towards his car.

Bryony followed Jack into the cottage and slipped her coat off.

‘I’m sorry Lizzie was such hard work tonight, Jack.’ She strolled into the kitchen and flipped the kettle on. ‘She never normally wants to call me. And she doesn’t normally care if she’s lost the book she was reading—she’ll just pick another one. It doesn’t sound as though you managed to relax at all.’

‘I managed.’ Jack sank onto one of the kitchen chairs and put his feet on the table in his usual pose. ‘I expect she was just a bit unsettled by the thought of you going out with a strange man.’

Bryony frowned slightly. It was Lizzie who had suggested this whole daddy business, so why would she be unsettled? On the other hand, perhaps she hadn’t really thought the whole thing through. It was certainly true that Lizzie wasn’t used to seeing strange men in her life. She saw Jack and her two uncles and that was about it.

‘She’ll get used to it.’

‘Maybe.’ Jack sounded noncommittal. ‘So—did you have a good evening?’

There was something in his tone that she couldn’t interpret and Bryony lifted two mugs out of the cupboard, not sure how to answer. Had she had a good evening? If she was honest, she didn’t really feel she’d had a chance to talk to David. Every time they’d begun a conversation the phone had rung.

Poor Lizzie.

She’d talk to her tomorrow and see how she felt about the whole thing. She certainly didn’t want to go on dates if it was going to upset her daughter.

‘I had a nice evening,’ she said finally, not wanting to admit to Jack that it had been anything less than perfect. ‘It’s a shame David wouldn’t come in for coffee.’