Mills & Boon Christmas Delights Collection. Rebecca Winters

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ not to respond in kind. And I might have done, if I hadn’t suddenly felt so tired. Knowing that Michael didn’t hate me or think I was some sort of destroyer of families had released a knot of tension I’d been carrying since that night. Like I’d said, I hadn’t even known why his opinion of me mattered so much. What other people thought of me wasn’t usually high on my priority list. Unless I cared about them.

      ‘You look exhausted.’ Michael gently tipped me forward enough to whip out the extra pillow he’d used to prop me up to eat. ‘Why don’t you get some rest? We can talk some more later.’

      I made a half-hearted effort to nod, my eyelids already closing.

      ‘You’re not alone any more Katie.’ The deep lilting voice drifted into my dream as I felt a large, gentle hand softly stroke the hair from my face.

      Some time later, my eyes still closed, I became vaguely aware of the sound of snoring at exactly the same time as realising that there was someone else in the room. As, in theory, I was the only one asleep it led me to conclude two things: that the noise was emanating from me and that I wasn’t alone to hear it. These things all declared themselves in my brain at roughly the same time, culminating in me waking up, sitting bolt upright and announcing that ‘I wasn’t snoring’. Even though clearly I had been.

      The figure in the room moved. Michael. He was folded into the nearby chair reading, one long leg dangling over the arm, a lamp beside him providing enough illumination without keeping me awake. Unfortunately. He leant forward, swinging his leg down and over Pilot who was sprawled out on the floor in front of the chair.

      ‘You know, it’s not a big deal. Women worry too much about that sort of thing.’

      I must have looked even more horrified than I felt. Although, admittedly, that might have been hard.

      Michael began laughing. ‘Relax. It wasn’t you.’ I realised then that I could still hear the snoring. Michael pointed at the dog. ‘It’s him. You and the rescue centre conveniently forgot to tell me he snores like a hippo with a head cold.’

      Having flopped back down, I now rolled onto my side to look at the dog.

      ‘I can’t say I ever noticed it before. Maybe it’s just when he goes into a deeper sleep, and he wasn’t relaxed enough in the kennels to do that. It’s not unusual.’

      ‘The snoring?’ Michael grinned. ‘It might not be unusual, but it’s loud.’

      ‘It’s not that bad. We can’t all be perfect.’ I reached down and stroked Pilot’s ear.

      ‘That’s true. It did at least drown your snoring out, so there’s that.’

      My hand stilled and I shifted my eyes to him. He was rubbish at keeping a straight face and it was written all over his beautiful features.

      ‘You’re not supposed to be mean to the afflicted.’

      ‘I know. I’m sorry. Couldn’t resist.’

      ‘But you could give it a try Mikey,’ Janey said, entering the room and flicking his ear as she passed him.

      ‘Ow!’ He frowned, but it did nothing to cover the laughter dancing in his eyes.

      ‘How are you feeling sweetheart? Apart from being irritated by this lummox.’ She thumbed at Michael who mumbled something like ‘charming’ before bending down to stroke the dog. Pilot groaned, stretched, opened one eye briefly and then went back to snoring.

      Janey placed the thermometer on me again.

      ‘That’s good. It’s not back to normal yet but it is lower.’

      ‘Does that mean I can go home?’ I asked. The truth was, it wasn’t the thought of sitting alone in my flat still feeling decidedly rough that held appeal for me. It was that I desperately wanted a shower. Having apparently sweated out most of the bug I’d picked up, I now felt decidedly icky.

      ‘Nope. But you can have a shower or a bath if that’s what you’re thinking.’

      Oh God. I ponged! I surreptitiously tried to give a sniff but Janey caught my eye. ‘I just thought you might feel better for it. That’s all. Don’t go getting all wobbly in there though.’

      ‘I promise.’

      ‘I can give you a hand and make sure if you like. For safety reasons only. Obviously.’ Michael winked at me as Janey turned to leave.

      She rolled her eyes at me, ignoring him. ‘You know where everything is. There’s a towel, toothbrush and some clean jammies waiting in there for you.’

      ‘Thanks Janey.’ I took her hand and reached up for a hug, my eyes unexpectedly, and inexplicably, filling with tears. Janey wiped a rogue one away as she stood.

      ‘You’re very welcome.’ Her smile was soft and said so much more than her words. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘We’ll leave you to it.’ She looked at Michael meaningfully. He got the hint and I could see he was about to wake the dog too.

      ‘Pilot can stay. I mean, if you don’t mind. It seems a shame to wake him. Unless you’re leaving, of course.’ I loved the feeling of having the dog lying there contentedly, keeping me company. And I knew it wasn’t just the dog’s company I would miss.

      Michael gave a brief smile. ‘No, we weren’t planning on leaving just yet.’

      I shifted in the bed, scooting myself up a little more, ready to get out. Janey prodded the back of her brother’s leg with her knee.

      ‘She doesn’t need an audience.’

      He tilted his head down at her. ‘Jesus, you’re bossy.’ But there was nothing but adoration in his eyes. OK, there was a little mischief there too.

      ‘See you later,’ he smiled.

      I gave a wave and they both left, leaving the snoozing dog and me to our thoughts and a much needed shower.

      When I got back I could immediately see the sheets had been changed and a steaming cup of something sat on the bedside. Mentally I made a note to send Janey the biggest bouquet of flowers I could find when I got back home. The hot herbal tea instantly soothed as I snuggled into the freshly plumped pillows. I closed my eyes and sipped the tea.

      Pilot had now moved his head and was now sounding less like a pneumatic drill. His steady, even breathing added to the calm I’d felt developing inside me ever since Michael and I had talked about the whole Calum thing. I’d hated hiding the truth from him, although how much I’d hated it still surprised me. Perhaps it was because I detested lying so much. And yet I’d found myself doing just that in order to prevent him putting an end to the organisation process – a process I knew was working for him, and making Janey happy. That had to be the reason. There wasn’t really any other explanation.

      They say that bacon sandwiches have been the downfall of many an ex-vegetarian. From the smell drifting up this morning, I totally got that. Not that I’d ever been a vegetarian. I freely admitted to loving bacon sandwiches far too much to ever give them up. Although I was feeling so much better than two days ago, even this morning’s ablutions had made me feel like I’d just spent three hours prepping for the next Olympics. I sat on the bed, waiting for СКАЧАТЬ