Something Beginning With Mistletoe (Something Borrowed Book 3) Read online

  ‘Okay.’ He cleared his throat and took both her hands in his. Prepared his solemn face as his heart jittered. ‘Faith…’

  ‘Yes?’ She dragged in a ragged breath. ‘Yes, Blake?’

  ‘Would you like more turkey?’

  ‘Not that. You…oh my God, I love you very much.’ She burst out laughing then, and the tension was gone and it was just them, honest and pure and perfect. And then it was serious. Because this what he wanted more than anything in the world. She was what he wanted, heart body and soul.

  ‘Faith, I love you.’

  ‘And I was such an idiot. I didn’t want to take that jump, but you’ve shown me what love can be. You’re so kind and giving and you get me. You understand me and yet you still love me.’ She wiggled her eyebrows. ‘Weird, I know. But you’ll do.’

  ‘So marry me, Faith? Please. I love you with everything I have. I want to make you happy. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We’ll take it slow, take it fast…however you want. Just say yes.’

  She blinked. Twice. Then a single tear edged down her cheek and she looked at him with such love in her eyes he knew what her answer was going to be. ‘Yes, Blake. Oh, yes. Yes.’

  And then she kissed him long and hard, and she was in his arms—the right place to be.

  When they managed to take a breath she pulled away and put her fingers to his lips, and smiled. ‘Hey, Blake,’ she whispered. ‘What do you know? The magic is real, after all.’

  Epilogue

  One year later…

  Faith looked around at the bustling pub and breathed out deeply. In one minute the new year would be here. A fresh start. Something new.

  She smiled as she looked up at the little white berries pinned above the bar and her heart squeezed. Something beautiful had begun with that kiss under the mistletoe.

  But he was over there. She was here. There’d be no New Year’s kisses…at least not until later. They’d make up for it then. Plenty.

  The guy on the TV was starting the countdown and everyone turned to watch. She glanced round the room and saw hopeful couples, drunk couples. Old Billy and Patrick deep in conversation, ignoring the whole thing. Just here for the late drinking hours.

  And company. Because, on special days and ordinary days and every day in between, it was best to spend time with family. And that’s what they all were.

  Someone slid in behind her and wrapped arms around her waist. ‘Hey, beautiful.’

  ‘Hey?’ She twisted to see his face. Kissed him long and hard and felt the familiar exquisite jolt of joy she had at his touch. Every. Single. Time.

  He broke away. ‘Happy New Year, Mrs Delacourte.’

  ‘Happy New Year, Blake. I thought you’d be busy over at the party? I’m sorry I couldn’t get there. See how manic things are here?’

  He stroked her hair. ‘I didn’t want to see in the New Year without you.’

  ‘I missed you too.’ She leaned against his chest and breathed him in. Citrus and hops and Blake. ‘How’s Brad doing?’

  He grinned, proudly. ‘Well. Really well. I think he’s found his calling. Finally.’

  ‘I’m so glad you made him a business partner. You two work well together.’ They’d developed the business over the last year, so much so they’d taken on new managers. Business was booming, the kids were thriving. Brad was happy. Life was good.

  Blake kissed her head. ‘How those children can fall asleep above that noise I don’t know.’

  Faith smiled at the memories of being lulled to sleep by the pings and beeps of the slot machine. Imagined those two little ones snoozing above Ginspiration. ‘You learn to. It becomes a soundtrack, a lullaby if you like.’

  ‘Now that we have our own place, she won’t need to.’ He ran his hands round her swollen belly and the look of love in his face was so intense she thought her heart might burst out of her chest. Their family was going to be growing soon and Blake couldn’t wait. Neither could she. It was more than she’d ever dared hope for. So much more.

  ‘Oh, wait…’ She shifted his hand. ‘Feel, she’s kicking.’

  ‘So she is. You’re an amazing woman, Faith.’ He held his hand against her bump and then kissed her. ‘Did I ever tell you I love you?’

  ‘Yes, maybe once or twice…or a hundred times a day. But never stop.’

  ‘I won’t.’ Then he told her again, just to make sure she knew.

  Dear amazing reader,

  Thank you so much for picking up Something Beginning With Mistletoe. I hope you enjoyed Faith and Blake’s snow-filled romance!

  I have apologise, though, for not giving every one in the book group their own stories …yet! But I’m working on it. Don’’t miss the next book in the series; Kat’s story.

  As, one by one, Kat’s friends are slowly getting paired off she watches from a distance. Love and family are not on her agenda and she’s happy sinking all her energy into her new job but when a stranger walks into the bar and declares something beyond wild to her best friend, Chloe, Kat knows she needs to step up. Chloe is, after all, the closest to family she’s ever really had.

  So, who is the stranger? What does he want? Can he be trusted? And why can’t she tell her friends her new secret?

  Gabe and Kat’s journey to love is not at all smooth but I, promise you, you’ll enjoy the ride as sparks fly.

  Gabe and Kat’s book is called Something Secret. Here’s a little excerpt for you:

  Something Secret:

  ‘Working hard?’ a voice boomed from the dark corridor behind her.

  Shoot! Kat almost dropped the phone as she stuffed it into her pocket, her heart thumping hard against her ribcage. ‘Whoa, Gabe! What are you doing here? You made me jump.’

  ‘Clearly.’ His gaze flicked to her phone and then back to her face. ‘Up to no good?’

  ‘Of course not.’ He’d meant it as a joke, she realised too late, and her response was defensive. Dragging her bag onto her shoulder, she noted her hands were shaking. The man flummoxed her. Even before she’d known who he was, he’d made her jittery, and now everything was a zillion times worse. But she didn’t want to let him see that, so she stood tall and strode down the corridor with purpose. ‘I’ve just finished working.’

  ‘It’s nine thirty.’ He fell into step with her. ‘Do you always work this late?’

  ‘I’m thinking of moving in permanently.’

  ‘Oh? A bit young for that.’

  ‘Not the way I’m feeling right now.’ Or had been feeling. Suddenly the aches in her feet had scarpered and her heart was tripping along like a teenager’s. At least he wasn’t wearing that leather jacket today, just a casual shirt that gift-wrapped his muscles and those battered jeans that fitted like a dream. Her body prickled with awareness. She only hoped he couldn’t see how he made her feel. ‘We had a quarterly exec meeting. I thought you might be there.’

  ‘Ah, so you do know who I am.’ A smile toyed with one corner of his mouth, and for a brief moment she thought it was because he’d won. He knew. She knew. First round to Gabe Cassidy.

  But then she wasn’t so sure. Was it even a battle? Was this all in her head because she was protecting her friend?

  Plus, she still felt immeasurably irritated that she hadn’t done her due diligence and learnt all the names of the bigwigs in the parent company. Irritation and embarrassment made her defensive—at least, that was her excuse.

  Irritated, embarrassed, aware, excitable, flummoxed—she was running out of adjectives. After she’d spoken to Marie, she’d rushed back to the office and looked up everything she could about GC Holdings and discovered, to her dismay, her client had been right. Oh yes, add dismay to the list. ‘Well, I know one of your personas, at least.’

  ‘I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, I’m just Gabe Cassidy. And don’t worry, I’m very happy with the management team here. I’m not involved with the day-to-day running and have no intention of changing that. You won’t see me butting in on meetings or checkin
g up on you.’

  At least that was something. She tried to dampen down the defensive and stay purely professional. As much as she could do anything when excitable and flummoxed kept pushing themselves to centre stage. ‘It was my first time presenting to the board, but it went well, I think.’

  ‘It usually runs very smoothly. I can’t imagine it’d be any different now with you on board.’ Given he owned the place, he’d find out one way or another. Something about him was different today. He seemed a little more relaxed. Probably because they both knew who trumped who in the pecking order. ‘There have been no complaints so far.’

  She stopped walking and looked at him. ‘You asked? You just said you wouldn’t check up on me.’

  ‘I don’t need to ask. Everything’s been quiet where Sunny Days is concerned. We’re full and have a waiting list. Turnover of staff is low, and we run a profit. That all speaks volumes to me. More than anything, Marie’s happy here.’

  ‘We try hard to make everyone feel welcome.’ Almost everyone. Kat’s heart rate kicked up a gear as she remembered she’d considered evicting him from the retirement village. ‘It’s late to be visiting. Is Marie okay?’

  ‘She beat me at whist. Three times. We drew at chess, which was a surprise, as I usually manage to get one over on her. So I’d say she was bordering on brilliant.’

  ‘She is.’ If not a little meddlesome. Kat remembered how Marie had brought the subject round to Gabe and about Kat being single. ‘I like her a lot. She’s gutsy.’

  He smiled, sadly. ‘For a while there I wasn’t sure she’d make it.’

  ‘Oh? Marie didn’t mention anything about being critically ill, just that she’d broken her hip and it took her a while to get mobile again.’

  ‘After she fell, all her spirit leeched out of her. She said some things about not wanting to be a burden, which she wasn’t. But she can’t bear to be anything less than capable at everything. It’s good to see her back to her old self.’

  He shrugged, but that casual lift of his shoulder, accompanied by a relieved half-smile, spoke volumes. This was a glimpse into the human side of Gabriel Cassidy. Far from being a cold-hearted scammer, he had the capacity to care deeply— for Marie, at least.

  Kat had clearly misjudged him and now she felt terrible. ‘I’m glad she’s coming right. You must have been so worried.’

  ‘That’s why I insisted she move in here. That was a fight, I promise you.’

  ‘But you won.’ She got the feeling he always won, even with Marie.

  ‘Let’s just say we both agreed it was for the best.’

  And as far as she understood, he’d also smoothed the process so it didn’t stress Marie any further. The frost that had glazed her opinion of Gabriel was starting thaw, and she didn’t seem capable of stopping it.

  Maybe they needed to start over. After all, they both had valid reasons for being here, and she had to get along with him. ‘Look, I need to apologise for the way I spoke to you.’

  ‘Oh? When exactly?’

  Unfortunately, she remembered each moment keenly. ‘Always. Every time. I’m just protective of my friends and my clients.’

  ‘Good to know, and I’m grateful you protect our clients so well. But it does send out a signal.’

  ‘That’s the whole point. But I realise I got it wrong this time. I’m sorry.’

  ‘It sounds as if we both have some apologising to do. I probably should have mentioned I own G C Holdings as soon as I realised you worked here.’

  ‘Did Marie tell you to apologise?’

  He laughed and she felt the thaw begin to spread to him too. ‘Not exactly. But if she knew what had been going on, she’d have said something, believe me. And I should have handled the Chloe situation better. Differently.’ He rubbed his palm across the side of his head and turned to look at her directly. ‘Did you give her my number?’

  ‘I did.’ And Chloe hadn’t called. There was something in his eyes that twisted Kat’s heart, but when she looked back, it had gone. He might be controlled now, but for a brief moment he’d been hoping, and that made her ache for him. This was a matter between him and the Cassidys, and she didn’t want to interfere, but her heart tugged a little knowing he was still hanging on, waiting for Chloe to contact him. ‘She’s busy with her wedding planning business and generally not feeling great.’

  ‘Oh? Is she okay? Still got that sickness bug?’

  Also known as pregnancy. This baby could be his niece or nephew. And somewhere along the line, she felt he had a right to know that. Or a right to something. Maybe he didn’t. Wow, she could see why Chloe would be genuinely confused about letting him into their lives, especially with all the tumult of pregnancy and hormones and everything. But it still wasn’t her secret to tell, and she didn’t want to get drawn into anything further. ‘I’m sure she’ll be fine. Look, I need to go. I want to get home before I fall asleep on my feet.’

  ‘Maybe I should speak to Brian about the hours we’re expecting you to work.’

  ‘No way. Don’t ever—please don’t interfere. I like my job. I like working here. I don’t need anyone to make things difficult.’ More difficult these days, given she’d already insulted the top boss. More than once. In fact, so many times she’d lost count.

  ‘That’s an interesting response. Most people would jump at fewer hours.’

  One corner of the top boss’s lip twitched. ‘You need to prove yourself, right?’

  She laughed. ‘I need the job.’

  ‘There’s more to it than that, I think. You definitely have something to prove.’

  ‘You don’t know anything about me.’ She bristled, unnerved at how on point he was. Yes, she had a lot to prove, to herself mainly.

  Gabe’s eyes narrowed. ‘When you talk about things you’re passionate about, your eyes darken but your face lights up. Your whole body becomes animated. Your voice gets a note higher and you can’t help but speak out. You don’t want to, but it just happens, because your need to protect overrides your self-preservation instinct.’

  Oh. Wow. Blood heated her cheeks. ‘Like when?’

  ‘When you were being all protective over Chloe and Marie from—’ He coughed. ‘—me.’

  ‘I think that was more about being annoyed with you than anything else.’ He made her blood spike in a way that made her lose track of everything else and focus only on him. On his eyes and his mouth and the tone of his voice. And made her wish life wasn’t so complicated and that she was freed up to think about how gorgeous he was without guilt and anxiety. Made her wonder how it would be to just let herself like someone and not worry about ulterior motives.

  He smiled, and she believed it was totally genuine. ‘You care about people, Kat. That’s a good thing.’

  ‘I like to think so.’

  ‘You like to toe the line at work with your monochrome outfits. Black skirts just to the knee, no shorter. White blouse buttoned to an appropriate place.’ His eyes heated a little as he said that, and his gaze flicked to the buttons on her blouse… and an inappropriate place. That made her suddenly hot all over. His head lifted and his eyes fixed on hers. ‘But you choose outfits to reflect the rebel in you when you’re outside of work. Like the red shirt and the glitter sneakers and ripped jeans of the other night. You have three holes in your ears but only one earring in each lobe. And a tiny hole in your nostril, which makes me think you had a nose stud once. But you took out all the extras because it’s not fitting for a manager to have them. Am I close?’

  Oh. Well, he was right on that too. What amazed her was that he’d noticed. ‘That’s some serious Sherlock Holmes stuff you have going on.’

  He nodded. ‘Am I right?’

  ‘I like to be professional and taken seriously, and sometimes people judge others on appearances.’ As did she, apparently, thinking he was someone he wasn’t just because of the way he dressed. And therefore jumping to conclusions, and not giving him the benefit of the doubt. Sorry, Nana. ‘And everyone likes to pla
y a bit, right?’

  ‘Oh yes, Kat, everyone likes to play.’ His smile was filled with tease and heat and yet somehow serious too, with the promise of something more, something deeper than this bickering back and forth. Gabe Cassidy wasn’t just being observant—he saw her.

  Her gaze clashed with his, and she saw raw heat there. A mirroring warmth slowly spread through her, and for a moment, she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.

  It was just attraction, she told herself. Just physical. She could move on from that. It was emotional connection that caused all the problems. But just to be on the safe side, she dredged up a smile and stepped back a little, putting distance between them. ‘I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I’m sorry, I’m tired and I need to go home. I wouldn’t want to fall asleep on my feet and drool over your shoes. Never a good look.’

  ‘Bed it is, then.’ He held the door open, and she walked through it into the dark night. His arm brushed against her and she turned to him, rocking on her heels and tumbling only slightly, but enough to put her hand out to stop herself from falling. She pressed her hand to his chest and felt the thud of his heart resonate against her palm, and little tingles zap over her skin.

  She was close enough to breathe in that masculine scent and to see the heat in his eyes. So close. Too close. Awareness slammed through her. Her eyes darted to his mouth, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him.

  Then she shoved that idea to the recesses of her head. Tried to. But the thought of kissing him lingered front and centre of her stupid brain.

  His head tilted slightly to one side, the tease still there in his eyes, mixed with a seriousness that was all kinds of sensual. It would have been so easy to tiptoe to his mouth. For a wild crazy second, she almost wanted to. Dared herself to.

  How would he like that? Judging by the way he was looking at her, he’d like it a whole lot.