Carole Mortimer - Mistletoe Magic

‘I owe you one,’ David told her ruefully as she followed Sam and Gideon outside.

She paused to grin at him. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be able to think of some way in which you can repay me.’

‘Think away,’ he invited. ‘After all, I have to keep my leading lady happy, don’t I?’ he added teasingly.

Molly was still grinning as she closed the kitchen door behind her. Although her smile faded as she turned and found herself face to face with Gideon.

Hie mouth twisted derisively as he looked down at her. ‘How touching.’

Molly opened her mouth to give a sharp reply to his obvious sarcasm. And then closed it again. What was the point? Gideon was never going to have a good opinion of her, so why bother to even try?

‘We’re supposed to be looking for Merlin,’ she reminded him abruptly.

‘Of course.’ He gave a mocking inclination of his head, putting his hand out in a gesture for her to precede him.

Molly was glad to move away from the light given out by the kitchen window, knowing her cheeks were flushed, her eyes overbright—and not from the chill of the cold night air, either.

‘Molly…?’

She froze at the sound of Gideon’s voice, her shoulders tense as she slowly turned to face him, her expression wary. ‘Yes?’ she prompted reluctantly.

He was scowling darkly, drawing in a harsh breath before answering. ‘Nothing.’ He shook his head impatiently. ‘Let’s go and look for this silly dog.’

But ten minutes of shouting and looking proved completely unsuccessful. Merlin was nowhere in sight. Sam was looking worried rather than impatient when the three of them once again joined up outside the house.

‘He’s probably gone off chasing rabbits again,’ Molly reassured lightly. ‘You know how he loves to do that.’

‘Maybe,’ Sam answered slowly. ‘I just—’ He broke off as a whining and scrabbling noise suddenly became apparent to them all. ‘What the—?’ He strode determinedly round the side of the house, with Molly and Gideon following him just in time to see him open the door to the garden shed, and a relieved Merlin rushing out into the darkness to jump up at him ecstatically.

‘Panic over,’ Gideon drawled ruefully as they strolled over to join Sam and the happily barking dog.

‘Shh, Merlin, you’ll wake Peter up,’ Sam murmured, still stroking the dog as he looked around distractedly.

‘Everything okay?’ Gideon prompted concernedly.

‘Hmm.’ Sam nodded, straightening. ‘I’m just wondering how Merlin got shut in the shed in the first place, that’s all.’ He shrugged. ‘Probably I just left it open earlier and it blew shut behind him,’ he decided.

‘He’s safe now. That’s the important thing,’ Molly said encouragingly as she linked her arm with his. ‘Let’s all go in out of the cold, hmm?’ She smiled reassuringly.

But her inner thoughts were less assured. Those strange telephone calls today—definitely not from any mistress of Sam’s! The car headlights she had seen at the end of the driveway earlier—and now Merlin somehow getting himself shut in the garden shed.

It was that ‘somehow’ that bothered her.

Sam might have forgotten to shut the shed earlier. And Merlin might have wandered inside. And the wind might have blown the door shut behind him.

It just seemed to Molly that there were an awful lot of ‘mights’ in the scenario…

‘WAITING up so that you can tell Father Christmas personally that you’ve been nice rather than naughty?’ an all-too-familiar voice drawled mockingly as Molly sat alone in the kitchen two hours later, drinking a mug of coffee.

She had drawn in a sharp breath at the first sound of Gideon’s voice, and released that breath in a heavy sigh as she registered the deliberate insult in his words. ‘My mother always told me that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!’ Molly snapped impatiently, leaning back in her chair to look at Gideon where he stood in the doorway.

Sam had settled Merlin down in the kitchen before going up to bed when they had all come in a couple of hours ago, and Molly and Gideon had followed him up the stairs to their own bedrooms. But, having undressed and gotten into bed, Molly had found herself unable to sleep. Finally she had given up the effort half an hour ago, in favour of pulling on a pair of denims and an old rugby top of Sam’s to come downstairs and make herself a pot of coffee.

From the look of Gideon he had also gone to bed. He was no longer wearing his dinner suit, but a pair of faded blue denims and a dark blue tee shirt, his hair slightly tousled.

In fact, he looked altogether too approachably attractive for Molly’s peace of mind.

He moved farther into the dimly lit room, the light over the Aga their only illumination. ‘Having now met Caroline, I appreciate what a graciously beautiful woman she is, and I stand corrected,’ he drawled, pouring himself a mug of coffee from the pot and pulling out the chair opposite Molly’s to sit down at the table.

Molly eyed him defensively. ‘Hard to believe such a “graciously beautiful” woman could be my mother, isn’t it?’ she snapped disgustedly.

Gideon gave a humourless smile. ‘I didn’t say that.’

‘You didn’t have to,’ Molly scorned. ‘You—’

‘Molly, I didn’t come down here to argue with you,’ he cut in quietly.

She eyed him warily for several long seconds, and Gideon steadily returned that gaze. ‘Then why did you come down?’ she finally prompted slowly.

He shrugged. ‘For the same reason as you, I expect; because I couldn’t sleep.’

Her mouth twisted derisively. ‘Worried in case Father Christmas doesn’t think you’ve been nice this year, either?’

He smiled as she neatly returned his jibe. ‘There is that, I suppose,’ he allowed. ‘But, actually, no.’ He sobered, frowning. ‘Molly, what do you think is going on?’

She gave him a startled look. Was it so obvious that she was in a complete turmoil concerning her recently realised feelings for this man? If it was, then she—

‘I’m talking about those telephone calls,’ Gideon continued evenly.

Molly glared at him. ‘I’ve already told you—they are not, as you suggested earlier, from any mistress of Sam’s!’

He nodded. ‘I’m beginning to agree with you.’

‘Big of you!’ she snapped scathingly.

Gideon gave a sigh. ‘Molly, whatever the argument might be between the two of us, let’s just forget it for a moment and concentrate on this other matter, hmm?’

Whatever the argument might be between the two of them…

It wasn’t exactly an argument any more, was it? Gideon either insulted her or kissed her. And as for her own feelings…

‘What other matter?’ she prompted impatiently, wishing she had never come down here for a mug of coffee. The last thing that was going to help her get to sleep was another of these heated conversations with Gideon!

‘The telephone calls—don’t jump in again, Molly,’ he said wearily. ‘Just hear me out, hmm?’ he suggested firmly. ‘You have to admit those telephone calls are odd, to say the least.’

‘Yes,’ she allowed abruptly.

‘Then Merlin disappeared and we found him shut in the garden shed,’ Gideon murmured frowningly.

‘Somehow,’ Molly confirmed.

‘Exactly.’ Gideon nodded. ‘What is it?’ He eyed Molly searchingly as she chewed on her bottom lip. ‘What else has happened?’ he guessed shrewdly.

Was her face really that easy to read? If it was, in view of the way she had discovered she felt towards this man, she had better start guarding her expression a bit more!

She shrugged. ‘It could just be nothing…’