Maids Under The Mistletoe Collection. Christy McKellen

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       CHAPTER NINE

      EMMA SMILED IN stunned wonder at the woman who greeted them warmly by name and invited them to board one of the luxurious glass-domed pods that gradually travelled upwards to give the rider an unsurpassed view of the London skyline.

      Tightening his grip on her arm, as if sensing she needed a little persuading to believe this was actually real, Jack guided her along the carpet and into the dimly lit interior of the pod, where the doors immediately swished closed behind them.

      It hit her then exactly what this meant.

      Jack had remembered how she’d once talked about wanting to commandeer the whole wheel for her own personal ride one day, so she could look down on the sprawling metropolis at midnight—how it was on her whimsical bucket list to gaze down at the city that had always held such excitement for her in her youth and feel like a goddess of all she surveyed.

      He’d remembered that and gone out of his way to make it happen for her.

      Her heart did a somersault in her chest at the thought.

      In fact the only thing missing from her fantasy was—

      ‘Champagne!’

      Swivelling to face him, she was totally unable to keep the astonished grin off her face. ‘You arranged for a bottle of champagne on ice for us to drink up there?’

      ‘I did.’ The look of deep gratification in his eyes at her excited response sent shivers down her spine.

      Deftly popping the cork out of the bottle, he filled two flutes and handed one to her.

      She took it with a trembling hand, first clinking it against his then taking a long sip in the hope the alcohol would help calm her raging pulse.

      ‘Cheers,’ he murmured, taking a sip from his own glass but keeping his gaze fixed firmly on hers.

      Unable to maintain eye contact for fear of giving away her nervous excitement at what he’d done for her and what it could mean, she moved away from him, taking a long, low breath in an attempt to pull herself together. She shouldn’t read too much into this. After all, he’d made sure to tell her it was a reward for helping him out, nothing more.

      Walking further into the pod and taking another large gulp of fizz, she noticed that the large wooden bench in the middle had been covered in soft red velvet cushions for them to sit on.

      ‘You know, for the want of a camping stove and some basic provisions I could probably live in here for the rest of my life,’ she joked nervously, walking over to look out of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows as the pod continued its breathtaking ascent.

      The hairs stood up on the back of her neck as she felt him come to stand behind her, so close that she could feel his warm breath tickling the skin of her cheek.

      ‘Beautiful,’ he murmured, and she wasn’t sure whether he was talking about her or the view.

      She was trembling all over now, unable to keep her nerves at being here alone with him from visibly showing. It terrified her how much she craved to feel his arms around her, holding her tightly as they enjoyed this experience together.

      Taking another big gulp of champagne, she was surprised to find she’d finished the glassful.

      ‘Here, let me refill that for you,’ Jack said, taking the flute gently out of her fingers.

      She stared sightlessly out at the view, her senses entirely diverted by the man moving purposefully around behind her.

      He returned a moment later and she took the refilled glass gratefully from him, recognising a desperate need to maintain the bolstering buzz of courage that the alcohol gave her as it warmed her chest.

      ‘Em? Are you okay?’ she heard him murmur behind her, the power of his presence overwhelming her senses and making her head spin.

      ‘I’m fine, Jack.’

      He put a hand on her arm, urging her to turn and face him.

      Swivelling reluctantly on the spot, she looked up into his captivating eyes.

      ‘You were amazing tonight, you know,’ he said, pushing a strand of hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear, sending a rush of goose bumps across her skin where he touched her. ‘You conducted yourself with such integrity, a quality a lot of the people there tonight would never be able to claim for themselves.’

      ‘Thank you.’ Her words came out sounding stilted and coarse due to a sudden constriction in her chest. ‘Well, I’m glad I didn’t let you down as your—’ she swallowed ‘—wife.’

      He snorted gently and glanced down, frowning. ‘You’ve never let me down, Em.’ When he looked back at her his eyes were full of regret. ‘It was me that expected too much from you too fast after your father died, then gave up on you too quickly. I’ve been selfish and short-sighted.’

      She blinked, shocked by his sudden confession and not sure how to respond to it.

      He sighed, his shoulders slumping. Moving to stand next to her now at the floor-to-ceiling window, he rested his forehead against the glass and stared out across the vast, night-lit city. They were a good way up in the air now, much higher than any of the buildings that surrounded them.

      Together, but alone, at the top of the world.

      ‘I hate myself for the way I treated you back then. I don’t know what made me think it was okay to expect you to jump, just because I asked you to. I was an arrogant, naïve fool who had no idea how a marriage really worked.’

      Pushing away from the window, he turned to face her again, his expression fierce.

      ‘I miss what we had, Emma.’

      He took a small step towards her and her heart rate accelerated.

      ‘I remember everything from our time together as if it was yesterday,’ he murmured, his gaze sweeping her face. ‘How beautiful you look when you wake up all tousled in the mornings, the way your laugh never fails to send a shiver down my spine, how kind and non-judgemental you are towards every single person you meet.’ His gaze rested on her mouth, which tingled in response to his avid attention.

      ‘You’re a good person through and through, Emma Westwood.’

      Adrenaline СКАЧАТЬ