A Kiss in the Snow - Rosie Green Page 0,61

me against him with his other hand.

‘Ronan. His name’s Ronan.’ I try subtly to extract myself but I seem to be clamped to his side with no escape. If his hand was any higher on my waist, he’d be feeling up my left boob. With Ronan here, it all feels just a bit…well, squirmy awkward.

Ronan flashes me a cool smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Right, well, I’ll leave you to it. I just need something from the car. Leave the door open, will you?’

In the living room with Adam, hearing Ronan come back in and stride into the kitchen, I feel a bit like a naughty teenager who’s stayed out past her curfew and snogged the sort of boy she really shouldn’t have.

‘Come and sit next to me.’ Adam, sprawled on the sofa, holds out his hand to me as I make myself busy closing the curtains properly.

‘Actually, I’m quite tired. Do you mind if we – um - talk in the morning?’

He looks surprised. ‘Er, no. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of your beauty sleep.’ He winks cheerily. ‘Not that you need it, of course.’

‘No, of course not.’ I grin, suddenly thinking I might get fed-up with Adam’s non-stop jokes if I had to live with him. ‘I’ll just go and get you some bedding.’

‘Carrie?’

‘Yes?’

‘So will you be my girlfriend?’

‘Maybe.’ I smile at him. The last time someone asked me that, I was probably about eight. I can’t deny, it feels very nice… ‘Can we talk about it in the morning?’

He nods, leaning back on the sofa and closing his eyes.

‘Missing you already,’ he calls, as I head upstairs to the landing cupboard, and I find myself cringing a little, wondering what Ronan is thinking…

*****

Later, I lie in bed, thinking about Adam’s astonishing declaration. Can he really be in love with me? Having been obsessed with my twin, is it likely that his feelings can have changed so quickly? Or has he always liked me, but just didn’t realise how much?

My insides are in an uproar and I don’t know what to think.

Adam wants me to be his girlfriend?

I fall asleep thinking that I really need to talk to Krystle about all of this, before I make any decisions. I’d need to know that she wasn’t interested in going out with Adam herself before I could ever think about giving our relationship a whirl…

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

I’m woken next morning by an enormous crash from downstairs.

My heart beating fast, I grab my dressing gown and run onto the landing, colliding with Ronan who’s doing the same. Except that all he’s managed to pull on, in his haste, is a pair of Calvin Klein boxers. He must sleep naked.

‘What the hell was that?’ he demands, as he races ahead of me, and I get a rather spectacular view of broad shoulders and long smooth back, tapering to the perfect bum and long, muscular legs.

In the living-room, it’s clear Adam’s had a disaster with the Christmas tree.

He’s trying to haul it back up again but to my dismay, some of the lovely baubles are lying shattered on the floor. Our lovely tree!

‘Sorry, sorry.’ He looks so guilty, I feel sorry for him. ‘I didn’t know where the light switch was and I charged into this thing and knocked it over.’

‘Never mind. I’ll get the hoover.’ I head for the hall cupboard. ‘Don’t stand on any sharp bits.’

‘I’ll do it. You see to Adam.’ Ronan is at my side, reaching for the hoover, and I get a flash of finely muscled arms, broad chest and a flat, washboard stomach. The musky male scent of him drifts up my nose, interfering with my logic and stirring parts of me that really shouldn’t be stirred – not while Adam’s in the living room, expecting an answer to the question: Will you be my girlfriend?

While Ronan is seeing to the tree, I make Adam breakfast. He seems a little subdued this morning and I wonder if he’s regretting all the things he said to me the night before.

‘I need to get back,’ he says, over toast and coffee at the kitchen table. ‘I’ve got a commission I need to finish today.’

‘Okay. Do you want a shower before you go?’

He grins. ‘Only if you have one with me.’

Ronan pops his head round the door at that moment, and hot colour shoots into my face.

I laugh to disguise my embarrassment. ‘Not this morning.’

He pulls a mock disappointed face. ‘In that case, I’ll be going. Don’t want