All the Romance You Need This Christmas: 5-Book Festive Collection. Romy Sommer

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СКАЧАТЬ assistant into being your fake girlfriend in return for a plane ticket home for New Year.’

      Tyler nodded. ‘That’s about it.’

      ‘You did what?!’ Cheryl screeched. ‘So what? You’ve been playing happy families with her all weekend?’

      ‘Look, you two can fight out that part of it later,’ Lucas said. ‘What I want to know is – when did you tell Dory about Cheryl?’ Because if she’d known all along, if she’d agreed to this ridiculous scheme knowing exactly what she was doing… he wasn’t sure he could forgive that.

      ‘I didn’t,’ Tyler said, miserably. ‘She figured it out this morning, when she answered my phone when Cheryl called.’

      ‘I was trying to get hold of you to tell you I’d be here tonight,’ Cheryl said, defensively. ‘I wanted to talk about telling everyone about us. I didn’t know you had your other woman here.’

      ‘She’s not… it’s not like that. She was doing me a favour, so my family could have a nice, straightforward Christmas without all the angst.’ Tyler sighed. ‘I just didn’t want to drive my brother away entirely. Was that so bad?’

      Lucas didn’t want to sympathise with him, but it was hard not to. He had a point, after all. If he’d known Cheryl was coming tonight, he’d have headed home hours ago. If he’d known she was dating Tyler, he might not have ever come back. It was hard enough leaving his real life behind a few times a year to pretend to be an Alexander again. But despite everything, he loved his parents, even his brother. And he’d always figured that he could give them this much, at least, to keep his family together.

      Looked like he and Tyler were more similar than he’d ever wanted to admit.

      With a sigh, Lucas dropped into a chair, his anger rapidly fading. ‘So this… thing with you two. It’s serious? You’re really engaged?’

      Tyler gave him a sheepish smile. ‘I love her, man. I always have. Since the first day I saw her.’

      ‘Oh, baby!’ Cheryl launched herself at Tyler, and Lucas looked away into the fireplace.

      Since the first day I saw her. How had he not noticed? His brother had been in love with his wife and he hadn’t even known. Even when he figured out that Cheryl most wanted him for his position and prestige – and not at all once he’d changed, once he’d given those things up. And the equally hard realisation that he’d loved what she represented – success, his place, his parents’ approval – more than he loved Cheryl herself. Did she really love Tyler? Or was this more of the same?

      Did it matter, when Tyler loved her so much?

      It did, Lucas knew. But it wasn’t his problem to fix. Tyler had what he wanted, at last. And Lucas had his own life to sort out.

      Dory hadn’t known, not all along. But she’d lied to him that afternoon and kept it secret from him that evening, even as she fell into bed with him. What the hell was he supposed to do with that?

      He needed to talk to her, even if he had no idea what to say. Getting to his feet, he started for the door, but stopped at the sound of Tyler’s voice.

      ‘Lucas? About Dory… She wanted to tell you, man. She wanted me to tell you, to make things right between us, and when I wouldn’t… she was going to.’ Tyler winced. ‘I might have… well… threatened her. Just a little bit.’

      Cold fury rose up in Lucas’s chest; all the anger he hadn’t felt watching Tyler kiss his ex-wife exploding now at the thought of him threatening Dory. ‘What did you do?’ he asked, keeping his fists clenched at his sides. But if his brother’s answer didn’t satisfy him, he might not be responsible for his actions.

      ‘I told her that if you found out the truth before we left here on the 26th, she wouldn’t get her ticket home for New Year.’ Tyler glanced down at the floor. ‘And, uh, I might have suggested that she wouldn’t have a job afterwards either.’

      ‘When was this?’

      ‘A couple of hours ago, I guess. She’d just finished getting ready for the party.’

      And she’d come to his room. She’d come to tell him and he’d dragged her into bed.

      ‘Look, tell her I’m sorry, yeah? And the job’s still hers if she wants it.’ Tyler pulled an envelope with a bow on it from his jacket pocket. ‘And give her this?’

      Her ticket home. Scowling, Lucas took it. ‘I need to talk to Dory. You two… be happy or something.’ Lucas yanked open the library door. He was going to fix this mess, once and for all. And then he was taking Dory back to bed, with no secrets between them this time.

      ***

      Dory crammed her belongings into her case in record time, but Felicia still had a cab ready and waiting when she got down the stairs. She’d changed into jeans and a sweater, leaving her burgundy dress on the floor of the bedroom. She was never going to wear it again, and she needed the suitcase space.

      There were no lingering goodbyes; Lucas and Tyler were still in the library with Cheryl, and Felicia didn’t even feign disappointment about how things had turned out. Dory bundled into the cab and asked for the station, plugging her headphones in the moment they pulled away to avoid having to talk to the driver. The soothing sound of Christmas music reminded her that she was going home. Home, at last.

      Things could be a lot worse, she told herself, and almost believed it.

      She got lucky with trains and made it to the airport in the early hours. It was Christmas Day and she was going home come hell or high water. Her eyes were scratchy and sore, her whole body ached and she knew that if she stopped moving for a moment she’d start crying, so she kept going.

      The airport was eerily quiet for the holidays; she supposed the number of people wanting to fly on Christmas Day itself wasn’t huge. Dragging her bag along behind her, she scanned the boards for flight times. The next flight to London left at six a.m. and her luck must have changed because she managed to get a seat on it for less than the limit on her emergency credit card. Checking her bag, Dory headed for security.

      But when she got there, she found Lucas Alexander leaning against a pillar in the almost-empty terminal, watching her approach.

      Her heart, which had stopped sometime in that hallway with Felicia, started thumping again, blood pulsing in her ears. ‘How did you get here?’

      ‘I drove,’ he said, as if the last few hours hadn’t happened. ‘Quicker than the train.’

      ‘I meant… What are you doing here?’ Dory let her carry-on bag drop to the ground. Apparently her miserable Christmas Eve wasn’t over just yet. She had to deal with the man she’d fallen for, hating her in person, first.

      ‘Catching you,’ he replied. ‘You forgot these.’ He tossed something at her and she caught it, just.

      She blinked at the packet in her hand. ‘You drove all the way here to give me ginger chews.’

      Lucas shrugged. ‘You get travel sick. Besides, you left before we could talk.’

      ‘I’m leaving,’ Dory said. ‘I’m going home, confessing everything and staying there. СКАЧАТЬ