Cinderella's Christmas Secret - Sharon Kendrick Page 0,22

appointment and you can easily walk back.’

Behind her frozen smile, Hollie felt as if she were in pieces, chewed up by a growing feeling of dread at the thought of seeing Maximo again. Their last meeting had been bad enough. The awkwardness and embarrassment of facing the reluctant father of her baby was an episode she wasn’t eager to repeat. But without having to explain why she didn’t want to go—and just imagine Janette’s reaction if she did that—common sense told her that refusal simply wasn’t an option.

Common sense.

How ironic that something she had relied on all her life had deserted her when she needed it most. If she’d been sensible she wouldn’t have fallen into bed with him—seduced by a lazy smile and a hard body, and a smooth line in seduction.

She glanced out of the window, where the main street was bustling with last-minute shoppers, and as she looked up at the sky she could see that Janette hadn’t been exaggerating. The heavy pewter clouds looked bloated and full and there was a strange saffron light radiating downwards, making the seasonal colours in the shop windows even more vivid than usual.

Christmas trees were laden with baubles and strings of fairy lights created magical grottos. Branches of greenery and berries were swathed in thick, fake snow—but occasionally a flake of the real stuff fluttered down to lie on the glittery pavement. Strings of tinsel sparkled as brightly as the midday sun and jolly figures of Santa were tempting little children to tug on their mother’s hand to try to get them to linger.

Hollie’s heart slammed against her ribcage.

Little children.

That was what she would have before too long. A child of her own. First there would be a baby and then the baby would grow into a toddler and then...

But, no. Before she started trying to imagine an unimaginable future, she needed to deal with the present and there was one thing which couldn’t be put off any longer. She would deliver the wretched cake to Maximo and get him to sign the papers. She would do both these things in a calm and outwardly relaxed manner, and if he brought up the subject of his lawyer again, she would tell him that these things would probably be better addressed once the seasonal break was over and the dust had settled.

At just after three, Dave’s rather beaten-up old car dropped her off at the bottom of the lane and, carefully clutching the cake box, Hollie began to climb the steep hill towards Kastelloes. From here the ancient grey castle looked faintly forbidding as it dominated the green landscape with its turrets and its towers. It hadn’t been a hotel for a long time but Hollie’s excitement at the thought of it being brought to life again had been somewhat dampened by the dramatic changes in her own fortune.

She tried to imagine bringing a new life into the world. Would she still be able to open her tea shop with a tiny infant in tow—was that going to be possible, despite all the proud protestations she’d made to Maximo? As her reluctant steps carried her closer to the castle, she noticed that the snow was starting to fall more heavily and coating her cheeks with big white blobs.

There was no sign of life as she walked over the drawbridge and past the old gatehouse. No Maximo rushing out to relieve her of her burden as she came to a halt in front of the ancient oak door. If he wasn’t in, then he wouldn’t be able to sign the papers, would he? And Janette would just have to accept that. But an upwards glance showed a golden light gleaming through one of the mullioned windows, indicating that someone was home, and, although her heart was plummeting, Hollie knew she couldn’t back out now.

She paid the driver and, after putting the cake box down on the doorstep, pulled the bell and heard a faint ringing from somewhere deep inside the castle. She looked around as she waited, trying to enjoy the vision of the falling snow covering the stone pots and statues with a fine layer of white. But more importantly, it allowed her to look away from the door, because she didn’t want Maximo opening it and finding her staring up at him with anxiety written all over her face. She needed to show him she was in control, even if she didn’t particularly feel that way.

Her hands were cold and