‘Tania,’ he said, the words soft and warm in her ear. ‘I’ve got to go.’
She frowned, unable to process his words. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s gone eight, and I promised David I wouldn’t be late.’
‘Late? For what?’ She was struggling with the lack of warmth, the cold air spiralling into the space where his body and his lips had been moments before.
‘He’s planned a whole elaborate engagement dinner for Niamh. It’s supposed to be a surprise, although I’m sure she’s already guessed what he’s up to. And as the best man I need to be there. I said I’d be there.’
She frowned. Where had all these other people appeared from? A moment ago, it was just her and Gull, the only two people who existed, possibly on the entire surface of the planet. Suddenly there was a brother and his fiancée and a whole host of others crowding in on their moment.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, taking one of her hands in his. ‘I wasn’t expecting to be here this evening. I wasn’t expecting any of this.’
She shook her head. Nor was she. ‘We’d better get back, then.’
He pulled her against him again, kissing her briefly, but with an intensity that had her reeling again. ‘This week was supposed to be uncomplicated,’ he said, more to himself than to her, then he smiled. One of his searing, bright smiles, which disappeared as quickly as it appeared. A bolt of lightning that blinded and then was gone. ‘Can we agree that this needs to be filed in the “to be continued” category?’
All Tania could do was nod. As they headed towards civilisation, the starlight replaced gradually by the lights of Snow Pine Lodge and the rest of Près du Ciel, Tania trod into the ice her plans to tell him that flirting with him had been fun but was ultimately pointless. Because for the first time in her life she wasn’t sure that it was pointless. It couldn’t be if it made her feel like this, could it?
‘Can we meet, tomorrow? Spend some time together on the slopes perhaps?’ he said as they neared the lodge. His eyebrows furrowed together.
She wondered if the expression on her own face mirrored his. They knew next to nothing about one another and yet Tania had never felt so desperate to be in someone’s company.
By the time they reached the driveway, Gull had messaged her phone, so they had one another’s number, and a provisional plan was in place to meet the following afternoon.
As he checked his watch again, a pained expression settled on his features. Rather than speaking, he enveloped her in a hug and she reached her hands around his neck, tipping her head in the hope that he might kiss her again. Instead, he pulled a hand from a glove and ran a finger gently down the contours of her cheek.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said, the words phrased more as a question than a statement.
She nodded.
‘In the meantime, have a think about what kind of dog we should get,’ he said, disentangling himself from her. He grinned and headed across the drive.
‘Dog?’
‘For when we get a place together?’ he said. ‘I’d put money on you wanting a Pekinese,’ he said, the grin broadening. ‘Maybe one of those teacup dogs?’
Tania responded by gathering a handful of snow, balling it in her palms and launching it in his direction. Gratifyingly, it hit him squarely in the chest.
‘No. Fair enough,’ he said, brushing the snow from his jacket. ‘My mistake. I’ve got it, now. A pug, right?’
She started to laugh as she scooped up more snow, but she didn’t throw it, she just watched as he held up a hand in farewell and headed away from her, down the curving driveway and into the darkness.
Madeleine heard the main door click open from two floors up. It wasn’t as if she were listening for it. Nothing like that. Of course not. She wasn’t on tenterhooks waiting for Tania to return, she was completely relaxed about it …
Her fork paused midway to her mouth as she strained her ears to hear more. The rice she had balanced on the prongs jiggled and cascaded back onto her plate. Sliding the fork alongside them, she had to admit she couldn’t hide her curiosity any further.
‘Rose, did you hear the door?’ she said.
‘No. Is she back?’
‘I think so, I definitely heard the door.’
There was no sound of voices. A single set of footsteps ascended, paused, ascended again. Tania bounced her hand on the top of the banister, her focus a million miles away.
‘Irish wolfhound,’ she said. ‘Maybe a Dalmatian.’
‘Excuse me?’ Tom said. Closest to her and standing in the kitchen, he obviously thought she was talking to him.
