Page 42 of A Recipe for Romance in Brambleton

Lauren smiled. She sensed that Marc was trying to protect her from Joel’s searchlight charm, and although she was sure she could handle it, she felt flattered. She hoped there would be more time, eventually, to get to know everyone better.

‘I don’t know which is the better option,’ Marc murmured as, with a groan, Joel heaved himself off the sofa and towards the game of Twister, ‘playing with the twins or answering Joel’s questions!’ She shivered as he gave her hand a brief stroke with his fingertips. ‘Christmas, eh?’

‘I’m enjoying it,’ she murmured back. ‘Thank you for inviting me in.’ She turned her head towards him, and his eyes widened as she met his gaze. There was an aching pause between them, both torn between wanting to move closer and the impact it might have on the rest of the family in the room. It was with a combination of regret and relief that Marc pulled back from her as his mobile, sitting on the coffee table next to the sofa, started to ring.

‘Sorry.’ He turned away and grabbed it. Lauren saw a strange expression crossing his features. ‘Excuse me a sec?’

‘Of course.’ She sipped her tea as Marc hurried out of the room with his phone. Noah looked after him as he left, as did Bella, and even Joel, preoccupied with his next move on the Twister mat, gave him a glance. She felt a prickling sense of unease, of being out of the emotional loop, somehow, but didn’t want to dwell on it.

‘Hey.’ Bella sat down on the other side of the sofa. ‘Hope it’s not too full-on for you. These Hathaway boys, all of them, take a bit of getting used to.’ She rolled her eyes in the direction of Joel and the twins. ‘Especially the adult ones!’

Lauren laughed. ‘I see what you mean.’ She desperately wanted to ask Bella more, to find out what she knew about the trio of brothers who appeared to be so different from each other, yet had chosen to spend Christmas together, but she didn’t want to pry. Marc, hopefully, would open up to her in his own time.

The twins, having already beaten Joel, had jumped on top of him and were whooping loudly, burning off the excesses of Christmas, when Marc walked back into the living room. Lauren looked across at him, and her heart sped faster at the strange expression on his face.

She wasn’t the only one who clocked it. Noah, reading his brother immediately, sprang up from the floor where he’d been sitting supervising Twister. ‘Everything all right, mate?’

‘Yeah.’ Marc smiled, but it seemed forced. ‘That was Susanna. She wanted to wish us all a merry Christmas in our new house.’

The split-second silence between the adults told Lauren that whoever Susanna was, she was important. Bella turned back to her, murmuring in clarification. ‘Susanna is Marc’s wife’s younger sister. She lives in London, where her parents are, too.’

Lauren nodded, grateful to be enlightened, but feeling more keenly what an outsider she was. ‘Oh, I see. It must be hard for her, this time of year.’

Marc looked at Lauren, as if he was struggling to get back to the moment. ‘She said she’ll call back later, when things are a bit quieter, to speak to the boys.’

Even Joel, who Lauren surmised was about as subtle as an earthmover, had sprung up from the mat and was drifting towards Marc, still hovering in the doorway. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked gently.

‘Fine, fine.’ Marc brushed off the question, obviously not wanting to dwell on the phone call. Joel nodded and went to refill his glass again. ‘Er, Lauren, how’s your tea? Can I get you another?’ Marc added.

Lauren pushed herself up from the sofa. The mood in the room had subtly changed, and she wasn’t sure how to interpret the mixture of signals, but she got the impression that the family needed to be alone. ‘Thanks so much, but I’d better get off,’ she said. ‘It’ll be dark soon, and it looks as though it’s getting even colder out there.’

‘Are you sure?’ Marc walked towards her. ‘I’m happy to walk you back later, if you want to stay.’

Lauren smiled at him. ‘That’s really sweet, but I don’t want to outstay my welcome on Christmas Day.’ She turned back to Bella, Noah and the twins. ‘Thanks for letting me hang out with you.’

Liam and Luca said goodbye, and Bella, Noah and Joel did the same. Marc followed her through to the hall again. ‘Thanks for coming in,’ he said softly. He seemed to be regaining some of his equilibrium. ‘Sorry about just now. Susanna isn’t one to call, really – she tends to drop us the occasional WhatsApp but she’s still struggling with losing Tess.’ He shook his head. ‘It’s a reminder that we’re not the only ones who miss her.’

Lauren glanced back towards the living room, making sure no-one was watching. ‘Marc, you don’t have to apologise. It’s only natural Susanna would want to talk to you and the boys today.’ She put a hand on his arm and drew a sharp breath when he reached over and squeezed it, as if he was trying to take some strength from her touch.

‘Thank you,’ he said gruffly. Their eyes locked, and Lauren could see that he was struggling with something. Was it the weight of the past, or the promise of the future, she wondered. ‘Can I see you again? Soon? I’d like to…’

Lauren nodded. ‘So would I.’ She gently removed her hand from his arm. ‘Take care, Marc.’ She leaned upwards and pecked him on the cheek.

‘You too.’

As she walked down the driveway and back along the path, Lauren mulled over everything that had happened today. By the time she got back home, she’d come to the conclusion that, despite the complications of Marc’s life, she wanted to be part of it.

35

Later that evening, stuffed from an excess of treats, Marc leaned back on the sofa and took a sip of his brandy-laced coffee. The boys, knackered after food, Twister and Christmas films, had crashed out in their bedroom, so Marc finally felt able to kick back and relax with the adults.

‘How are you doing?’ Noah asked him as he rejoined him on the sofa. Bella was stretched out on the other settee, dozing, and Joel had slipped away, ostensibly to check his emails. Marc suspected this was tactical – who checked their email on Christmas Day? – but didn’t push it. Joel had been drinking steadily all day and probably needed a lie-down.

‘I’m okay,’ Marc replied. He’d phoned Susanna back before the boys had gone off to bed, and they’d somewhat shyly spoken to their aunt, and also their grandparents. Relations had been a touch frosty for the past few weeks, since Marc had declined their invitation to go and spend Christmas at their place, but he’d felt things thawing after they’d all spoken.

‘That first call from Susanna threw you a bit, didn’t it?’

Marc nodded. ‘I wasn’t expecting it. Daft, really, it is Christmas, after all. I should have known she and her folks would reach out.’ He took another swig of his coffee.