Cinderella's Christmas Secret - Sharon Kendrick Page 0,44

melted,’ she said baldly.

‘That’s good.’

‘Good?’

‘Sure. Unless you were planning to build a snowman. Don’t you need a change of underwear, and don’t we need to get to London? If the roads are clear, it means we can go.’

‘London?’ She looked at him blankly. ‘You never said anything about London.’

‘My jet is in an airfield on the outskirts of the city, Hollie.’ His voice was soft but his words resolute. ‘And I’m due back in Madrid for a New Year’s party I’ve promised to attend under pain of death if I don’t. As my future wife you’ll be coming with me and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t move in straight away.’

She hadn’t considered living in Madrid either. How stupid was that? ‘But I thought...’

‘What?’ he prompted softly, throwing back the pile of velvet throws to rise from the bed like a magnificent dark and golden statue brought to life, before walking towards her. ‘What did you think?’

‘That I’d...’ It was difficult to think of anything when he was standing so close and so naked. ‘Well, I’ll have to work out my notice for Janette.’

‘Seriously?’

She nodded. ‘Of course.’

He shrugged, his eyes shards of glittering jet. ‘Even though I could easily arrange for one of my staff to take your place?’

His suggestion made her feel dispensable. As if her job and her old life were of no consequence. And even though it was a simple office job which anyone could probably do, and even though Hollie had often found Janette difficult, she had no intention of disappearing in a puff of smoke simply because a rich man was snapping his fingers. If she fell in with his autocratic wishes so readily, it wouldn’t bode well for the rest of their lives, would it?

‘I’m afraid I can’t do that, Maximo,’ she said. ‘I can’t possibly break my contract. I don’t want to sneak away from Trescombe under a black cloud.’

His face darkened, as if her determination surprised and slightly irked him. ‘I am loath to be apart from you, Hollie—perhaps I’ve become a little too used to having you in my bed,’ he murmured. ‘But obviously we can work round it. We’ll just have to jet between the two places until you’re free to move, if that’s what you want.’

Of course it wasn’t what she wanted. In a way, she was terrified of being apart from him. Terrified that their affair and his subsequent proposal would get diluted by distance and prove as insubstantial as the Christmas snow itself. If she worked out her notice there was the very real possibility that Maximo would change his mind and Hollie didn’t want him to change his mind.

She wanted this. Him. The whole package.

She wanted to be his wife. She wanted him to be a father to their baby.

But if Maximo was going to get cold feet, then surely it was better if they discovered it now rather than later.

‘The month will soon pass,’ she said, with a certainty she didn’t feel.

‘You think so?’ He sighed. ‘Then I guess I must be patient—which is not an attribute I’ve ever been particularly known for. I suppose I must admire your loyalty to your employer, Hollie—but that’s all we’re going to say on the subject, because I’m taking you back to bed.’

Hollie was still glowing when Maximo’s limousine made its way up the hill towards the castle, and she began to get an idea how smoothly the world worked when it was powered by wealth. Decisions which might have taken weeks to evolve were enacted almost before you’d finished making them. Life became seamless and also a little bit scary as she was driven to her cottage and instructed to pack only the things she couldn’t bear to be without.

‘But we’re not leaving Trescombe completely, are we?’ she questioned. ‘I mean, it’s not like we’re cutting ties with the place completely. Because when you start renovating the castle—’

‘Let’s just concentrate on the essentials for now, shall we, Hollie?’

And although his words were a little clipped, Hollie couldn’t deny how comforting it was to have someone else make the decisions. She felt the tension leave her body, realising this was the first time she’d ever had someone to lean on. She had cared for her mother and supported her emotionally when she’d gone to pieces, and then she had cared for herself when her mother had died. Why wouldn’t she? Yet she couldn’t deny how great it was to let someone else take responsibility for a change.

‘Okay,’ she