‘Which is why I’ll be round first thing tomorrow morning.’
‘Sorry?’
‘He feels that this Christmas he would like to celebrate with a real tree instead of the silver make-do one you’ve used since your mother died—and maybe a party.’
‘What?’
‘New beginnings and all that.’
‘Rocco, you weren’t supposed to be talking aboutnew beginnings and all that.’
‘The subject of how life will change with a baby was going to arise and I had no intention of hiding from it. At any rate, like I said, I like your father. I like the fact that he doesn’t talk much, but what he says is worth hearing. Makes a change from most of the population. So, if a request for a Christmas tree was made, then I’m not going to suddenly play coy and tell him that I’m not interested, because we’re supposed to be just good friends, and as such my role is to hide in a cupboard of your choosing whenyou point to it. So the upshot is, I’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning and we can go and choose a tree.’
‘Wait, don’t you hate Christmas?’
‘“Hate” is a strong word.’
‘But you’re willing to go tree hunting for my dad?’
‘I’m not the ogre you think I am and more than that…’
She heard the smile in his voice but the undertone remained deadly serious. ‘What…?’
‘More than that, I’m willing to go beyond the extra mile because this is a situation that demands it. Think about that, Ella. Can you say the same for yourself?’
Chapter Seven
‘Have you forgiven me?’
Leaning against the doorframe, Rocco looked at Ella as the front door was pulled open and she shuffled her way out into the cold.
‘More to the point, don’t I get a cup of coffee?’
‘I thought it best that we get the tree-buying done and dusted. Dad’s out inspecting some fences…and forgive you for what?’
Ella had been up since six. She’d made her dad his usual pot of coffee and inwardly winced when he’d said, in his usual direct, vaguely sheepish way, ‘Liked the man.’
‘He’s…er…’ She’d struggled to find the right words to talk about friendship and reliability whilst avoiding the thorny issue of what happened next. ‘A nice guy.’
‘Guess that’s why you fell in love with him.’ Her father had looked at her in silence, his flask of coffee in one hand.
‘About that, Dad…’
‘Good men are hard to find. The man seems a good one to me.’
So much for her down-to-earth father having no time for a richer-than-rich billionaire, Ella had thought. Instead, she had realised uncomfortably, he had managed to do the one thing she was finding so difficult to do—he had accepted Rocco Mancini for the man he was instead of judging him because he was attached to a big bank balance.
The truth was that Rocco’s parting shot had given her food for thought. He was prepared to go the extra mile. Buying aChristmas tree might be a small thing but what it represented was much bigger—a willingness to put himself out because the situation demanded it, as he’d said.
He’d asked her to marry him. She’d immediately seen that as unacceptable, because it clashed with the dreams and hopes she’d had for herself of being in a relationship where she was treasured and loved. She had made it all about her, but there was a baby inside her that they shared and, tough though it was to admit it, wasn’t her immediate refusal of that marriage offer tied up with the fact that he didn’t love her the way she knew, deep down, she loved him?
That was the sobering thought that had kept her awake for a lot of the night. She could rant and rave about Rocco not being the man she had given her heart to—and for sure, when she had first set eyes on him, the sophisticated billionaire with the cool, self-assured attitude hadn’t matched the easy-going charmer she remembered—but now… The qualities she’d fallen for were still there.
‘Penny for them.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Your thoughts. You’re a million miles away.’
