Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,120

again. But would she really throw it all away over one stupid thoughtless moment?

She suddenly looked angry. ‘You have no right to be hurt over this, everything was perfect and you ruined it. You promised that you would never hurt me and you did.’

He gritted his teeth. ‘Shit, I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you.’ He kissed her softly but she didn’t kiss him back. He looked at her but her eyes were hard. He kissed her again but she still didn’t respond. Panic surged through him again. He’d lost her. She was alive and breathing and wrapped in his arms but he had lost her due to his stupid temper.

‘I’m sorry.’ He kissed her throat, trailing tiny kisses across her collarbone. ‘I talked to Daisy, she told me everything you said to her. You were wonderful, you handled it so much better than I ever would. I was just blindsided. I never expected for one second to walk in there and find her in that compromising position with the condoms that you gave her. It was a shock and I know I overreacted but I’m so sorry.’

Tears filled her eyes again. ‘I don’t think I can do this, Henry. If you really cared about me as much as I care about you, you wouldn’t shout at me like that. You wouldn’t get so angry that you finished with me.’

Henry stared at her. It was over. She wasn’t prepared to fight for him. Well, he was damned well going to fight for her.

‘Wait a minute. I love you. I fucking love you so much. I thought you loved me too. Daisy told me what you said about making love to your second boyfriend and how perfect and beautiful it was. I know you meant me and it was perfect and beautiful because we were made for each other. When you love someone you love everything about them, you love them when they’re sad or angry or stubborn or overreact. You love them through the good times and the bad. When you love someone, you love them when they snort with laughter, when they turn up in your house for dinner with their hair like a tangled bush, you love them when you kiss them with morning breath, you love them when they make cakes just because they’re angry, you love them because they make you laugh and cry. I love you and if you love me you’ll forgive me.’

He watched her face soften slightly.

‘I’m sorry, I really am.’ He kissed her and was relieved that after a few seconds she kissed him back. ‘We’re OK, aren’t we?’

She raised a weak hand to run through his hair and eventually nodded and he kissed her again. He pulled her tighter against him. After just a few moments the kisses turned to something more; it was needful and the need had come from her.

Her hands wandered down his back to the top of his jeans and slid round his hips to the front

He pulled back slightly. ‘Penny, I think we should get you to a hospital, just in case. I…’

She kissed him again and he hated that she was crying, that he had caused her to cry.

She fumbled at the front of his jeans again and he helped her, wriggling out of them as quick as he could.

He knelt up and pulled her up too, his mouth not leaving hers as he dragged her bra off her and her knickers. He lifted her onto his lap and as she straddled him, he pushed inside her. She wrapped her arms round his neck, kissing him hard and without any space between them, they started to move. It was fast and urgent and desperate and, as they both tumbled over the edge, he knew he could never let her go.

* * *

Penny lay on top of Henry’s chest watching the flames dwindle and die as he played with her hair. Her breathing was just about returning to normal.

‘I think we’re OK,’ Penny said.

‘I am sorry. I promise I’ll never shout at you again,’ Henry said, running his hands down her back.

She looked up at him. ‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep. We will have rows and we will shout at each other, but you can’t break up with me every time you get angry. It’s not fair.’

‘I know, I’m sorry. I’m not handling any of this well. I’ve not had a relationship like this before. Even with the semi-serious relationships, they never felt like