Mills & Boon Christmas Delights Collection. Rebecca Winters

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      Mikey looked down at me and I held his gaze firmly.

      ‘I said, sit. Please.’

      A flicker of a smile played on his lips and he obeyed.

      ‘Tea.’ I handed him the mug I’d made.

      ‘You’re kind of bossy sometimes. You know that, don’t you?’

      ‘It’s not bossiness. It’s called being sensible and organised.’

      ‘Are you always sensible and organised.’

      ‘Pretty much.’

      ‘Let me guess. You were a wild child growing up but you’ve got all that out of your system now.’

       Boy, he couldn’t be any farther from the truth if he’d tried.

      ‘Not at all. Now. If I pull stuff out, then you can tell me whether it’s still wanted and we can start finding homes for it.’

      Something caught my eye and I crossed the room to get it. Upending the pile of goodness knows what that had almost covered it, I found a beautiful footstool upholstered in pale blue and white Toile de Jouy. Bending to lift it, I was halted in my tracks.

      ‘Don’t you dare.’

      ‘Excuse me?’ I said turning to find Michael approaching me. ‘And I told you to sit down.’

      ‘I’m not going to sit there and watch you heave furniture about. I know you consider me some misogynistic Neanderthal – ’

      ‘I never said that.’

      ‘You never say a lot of things.’

      I stuck my tongue out and he laughed, wincing again as he did so.

      ‘It’s a footstool. I’m not proposing I move a sofa on my own. Although, for your information, I’m quite capable of doing so and have done in the past, more than once.’

      ‘Then your clients should be ashamed of themselves for letting you do so.’

      ‘It wasn’t a client and that’s a very old-fashioned view.’

      ‘One I make no apologies for. So who was it? Not the boyfriend.’

      ‘No. And I’m surprised you’re not more modern than that. I can’t imagine Janey lets you get away with your dinosaur values.’

      ‘Janey is a very intelligent woman. She has no qualms about getting any and all heavy lifting done by someone else if it’s at all possible. You could learn a few things from her.’

      ‘I’ve already learned a few things from her,’ I said, raising an eyebrow.

      Michael looked at me and tilted his head back a little more, bravado kicking in. ‘Oh? And what things would those be?’

      The truth was I hadn’t learned anything about Michael from Janey that he hadn’t confirmed himself but the tease seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

      ‘Nothing you would be interested in. Just girl talk, you know,’ I said, airily.

      He narrowed his eyes at me.

      ‘Now. Can you please go back and sit down so I can get on with things?’

      ‘If by getting on with things you mean moving furniture, then no.’

      I threw my hands up. ‘You are entirely impossible.’

      ‘I am. At last, we actually agree on something.’

      ‘Fine,’ I conceded, ‘we’ll do it together then.’

      He smirked.

      ‘Oh, grow up.’ I said, which only proceeded to make him laugh and wince again.

      ‘Right. Ready? Go.’

      We moved the footstool, with me directing, to the sofa where he’d been sitting.

      ‘Down.’

      Michael glanced at me, but obeyed.

      ‘I thought this was going to be for you to sit on.’

      ‘It’s for your foot. I think it’s best elevated.’

      ‘Kate. You’re fussing way too much. It was just a bump.’

      ‘So you didn’t hit an open car door, get catapulted across a busy London street and narrowly avoid being squashed into the ground by passing traffic?’

      The thought, now voiced, made my blood cold and I felt the colour drain from my face. I sat down quickly on the footstool, my head feeling suddenly light. I knew it was just because the thought of Janey losing someone she loved would be so awful. Obviously I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Michael either, but I hardly knew him well enough for me to be as upset as I felt at this moment. I guessed it had to be some sort of ‘referred’ upset.

      Large, warm hands on my shoulders brought me back into the moment.

      ‘I’m fine Kate. Honestly.’

      I took a breath. ‘Yes, all right. But you should still rest. It’s common sense – something that was clearly knocked out of you during your exploits. Now please sit, before I have to ring your sister.’

      Mikey sat.

      ‘Foot up,’ I said, pointing at the footstool I’d now vacated.

      He looked at me.

      I raised an eyebrow.

      ‘I’m fine.’

      ‘You won’t be if you don’t do as you’re told. You’ll be nursing another broken rib. Now just put your damn foot up and stop being such a pain in the arse.’

      Michael burst out laughing and immediately regretted it. Unable to stop he countered the action by holding his chest tightly until he calmed.

      ‘You really are something,’ he wheezed.

      ‘I dread to think what you believe that “something” to be so I’m going to suggest we move right along now. OK. Let’s start with this pile.’

       Chapter Eight

      Four hours later and we’d made quite an impact. There were four boxes full of items for the charity shop and another full of recycling. I’d chucked the rubbish straight out. In between the organising, I’d made more tea and persuaded Michael to take some painkillers as it was obvious he was in more discomfort than he was letting on. As they began to kick in, his face relaxed and I felt a little more at ease with his decision not to be taken by the paramedics for a check-up.

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