Carole Mortimer - A Dream Christmas

In the end it was just easier for Sophie to accept Max’s offer rather than trying to find a firm who had an available taxi that would come out this late on Christmas Eve. Most of London’s taxis would be busy driving people home from parties and clubs this evening.

However, she had no intention of losing the argument regarding staying at Max’s apartment for the rest of Christmas.

She had cautiously given Max an address that was in the general area of Sally’s flat, rather than specific to it; there was absolutely no reason why Max should ever have bothered himself to learn where his PA lived, but Sophie thought it best not to take any chances.

‘Janice isn’t supposed to have any more children,’ Max answered Sophie now with a grimace as he drove his car through the busy London streets. Christmas lights were blazing everywhere and a light sprinkling of snow had started to fall to add to the magic of the evening.

‘What does that mean?’

He shrugged. ‘She had a difficult time with Amy’s birth and the doctors advised that she not have any more children. Tom offered to have a vasectomy at the time, but Janice wouldn’t allow it. Any more than she would agree to have this pregnancy terminated when it was confirmed last month, which is why she and Tom argued and Tom moved out for a couple of weeks, hoping to shock her into changing her mind. It didn’t, so Tom’s just given up. My sister can be extremely stubborn when she wants to be,’ he added with a frown. ‘And yes, it’s a family trait,’ he said drily as he saw the knowing rise of Sophie’s brows.

‘I would never have guessed,’ she drawled mockingly, before sobering. ‘Is Janice going to be all right?’

‘Tom and I will ensure that she is,’ Max confirmed grimly; he had no intention of losing his sister too. ‘Which street and building?’ he prompted as they entered the area of London where Sophie had said she was staying.

‘Anywhere around here will be fine—’

‘It’s snowing heavier than ever, Sophie, so which street and which building?’ Max repeated evenly.

‘There’s really no need for you to—’

‘Sophie.’

Just her name, even spoken in that flat, undemanding tone, and Sophie knew that Max expected her to answer him without further argument.

Unlike the argument she knew was going to ensue when she told him she wouldn’t be driving back with him.

But he was right about the snow; it was falling more heavily. The roads remained clear because of the amount of traffic on them, but the pathways were definitely being covered in a layer of light and fluffy, and no doubt slippery, snow.

Her mouth firmed as she made her decision. ‘Take the next left and the building is halfway along that street.’

‘Thank you,’ he accepted tightly before following her instructions.

Sophie’s trepidation grew as they neared Sally’s building. So far, Max didn’t seem to have made any connection between the name of the road and his PA, and Sophie could only hope that he never did.

She had absolutely no idea what his reaction would be if he were to realise, at this late date, that it was Sally’s flat she was staying in, and that Henry was in fact her cousin’s cat.

To be fair, Sophie could have had no idea a situation like tonight would ever happen when she had persuaded Sally into letting her be the one to ‘deliver Christmas’ to Max Hamilton’s apartment. She really had thought she would just do her job, get paid and never see Max Hamilton again.

Instead of which, Sophie was now caught up in a situation that could prove disastrous for Sally, and was more than a little dangerous to her.

‘I’M GETTING COVERED in more snow the longer you keep me standing out here, Sophie,’ Max drawled pointedly as she made no effort to get out of the car once he had parked next to the pavement and come round to open the passenger door for her.

She shot him an irritated glance. ‘There was absolutely no need for you to get out of the car in the first place.’

‘There’s every reason when you’re coming straight back with me. And sooner rather than later,’ he added with a grim look up at the heavily snow-laden sky.

‘I’m not …’

‘Get out of the damned car, Sophie,’ he bit out impatiently. ‘We can argue about this again once we’re inside out of the cold.’ Max was enjoying the snow, if he was honest; it snowed so rarely in London, but especially at Christmastime, that it was rather lovely to see.

Unless it was just that he was turning into a romantic sop as a result of this unexpected and inexplicable attraction he had felt towards Sophie from the beginning? An attraction that only seemed to deepen with each day that passed.

He could think of a few people, mainly female, who would definitely find the idea of him becoming a romantic sop highly amusing.

Sophie gave him a disgruntled glance as she finally climbed out of the car, pulling up the white fur-lined hood of her red duffel coat over her hair as she did so.

‘You look like Mrs Santa Claus.’ Max grinned appreciatively as he closed and locked the car door before taking a firm hold beneath her elbow and walking with her across the pavement to the front door of the four-storey building.

Sophie shot him another quelling glance as she paused after unlocking the door into the building. ‘As I said, there is absolutely no reason for you to come up with me because I’m not coming back with you.’

‘And I said we’d talk about that again once we’re inside,’ he reminded with deceptive lightness.

Sophie’s frustration grew as she watched how the falling snow was settling lightly on the darkness of Max’s hair and the shoulders of his dark brown sheepskin jacket. The stubborn expression on his face said he had every intention of accompanying her up to the flat. And going inside.

She quickly did an inventory of Sally’s flat inside her head. As far as she could remember, it had been clean and tidy when she’d left this morning, and Sally kept all of her photos of herself and Josh in her bedroom so there were no incriminating photos of her cousin around in the main room. Henry was a bit of a problem, but with any luck he would have settled himself somewhere for the night and be comfortably asleep.

‘I’m really not coming back with you, Max,’ she repeated firmly.

‘And I’m really not going to continue arguing with you about this in the middle of the street,’ he came back mildly as he pointedly pushed open the door to the building before standing back and waiting for her to enter.

Another argument Sophie knew she had lost as she strode inside the warmth of the building, frowning as they stepped into the lift together. She once again went through every room in Sally’s flat in her head, desperately trying to remember if there was anything in the main rooms to give away the identity of the owner.

Max studied Sophie between narrowed lids as he leant back against the opposite side of the lift, noting the flush to her cheeks and the way she was fidgeting with the keys in her hand. ‘Nervous about introducing me to Henry?’ he taunted.

‘No!’ Her eyes flashed darkly.

‘You’re definitely nervous about something.’

‘I’m annoyed, actually, because of the way you bullied me into this. I’m not a child, Max, and I don’t appreciate being treated like one, either,’ she added impatiently as he stepped out of the lift beside her into the hallway.

Max had no doubt that Sophie was spoiling for another argument. Just as he was convinced that her reaction to his insistence on driving her home and accompanying her up to the flat she was staying in was slightly … off. Out of proportion to the situation, because there was no way she would be able to get back to his apartment tomorrow if the snow kept falling as heavily as it was.