LITMIR.BIZ

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arms around her middle to try and find some of the warmth she’d felt in Lucas’s arms. She didn’t know exactly how Lucas felt about his ex-wife, but from Tyler’s determination to keep the relationship a secret, she guessed his reaction probably wouldn’t be good.

      ‘Do you have any idea who it could be?’ she asked.

      Lucas raised his eyes to heaven. ‘With Tyler, it could be anyone. Maybe the daughter of a competitor? Or some scandal-prone minor celebrity? Tyler’s never been exactly… discerning in his relationships. But if he figured that risking Dad finding out that he was dating his assistant was a better option… well, it can’t be good.’

      Except it wasn’t a business scandal Tyler was afraid of, Dory knew now. It was a family one. And if Lucas was determined to find out the truth…

      ‘Let’s get this tree finished first,’ she said, trying to sound light-hearted when, in truth, her heart felt as heavy as Christmas pudding.

      She needed to talk to Tyler. Needed to get him to confess to his brother, to figure a way out of this mess for all of them.

      Before Lucas found out on his own.

      ***

      By the time the tree was finished, Dory wasn’t sure she could take the frustration of being in the same room with Lucas much longer. Part of her was desperate to just yell ‘Tyler’s sleeping with your ex-wife!’ and damn the consequences. Another, equally loud and insistent part, just wanted to kiss him again, maybe even more, and with a similar regard for what happened next.

      Stepping back, Dory took in their handiwork. The tiny glass antique decorations sparkled and shone, reflecting the fairy lights and sending twinkles of lights cascading over the walls.

      ‘It does look beautiful,’ Dory said.

      Lucas placed the lid on the last of the now-empty wooden boxes that had held the decorations. ‘It looks like a picture from a magazine. Just like the rest of this house.’

      Dory turned, frowning at the tinge of bitterness in his voice. ‘You don’t like picture-perfect?’

      ‘I don’t like fake,’ Lucas said. ‘And I don’t like the idea of living a life just to fit someone else’s idea of perfect.’

      Dory glanced away, thinking of her own, fake-perfect life. ‘It’s just a tree, Lucas.’

      ‘Yeah.’ He huffed a small laugh. ‘Yeah, it is. Sorry. Just… thinking about Tyler again.’

      ‘Think about it tomorrow,’ Dory suggested. ‘We’ve got tonight’s party to get through first.’

      Lucas groaned. ‘It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.’

      ‘Well, I have to admit, I’m a little excited.’

      ‘Don’t be.’

      ‘I am!’ Dory insisted. ‘A famous Alexander Christmas Eve party, and I get to attend. It’ll be a story to tell the grandkids.’ Lucas’s gaze shot up to meet hers and Dory’s eyes widened. ‘Not that I’m saying… I mean, not… I wasn’t thinking…’

      ‘You weren’t thinking they would be my grandkids, too,’ Lucas said, putting her out of her misery.

      ‘They were hypothetical grandkids.’

      ‘Well, yeah. We haven’t even slept together. Yet.’

      Something buzzed through her blood at the word ‘yet.’ ‘No. We haven’t.’ Why couldn’t she look away from his eyes?

      After a long moment, Lucas grinned and dropped his stare. ‘Besides, if they were mine, attending a family party would hardly be such a big deal.’

      Dory forced a laugh. ‘There is that.’ A thought popped into her mind, growing and growing. If she and Lucas pursued an actual relationship… she might have to visit Midfield House – and the Alexander clan – again. Which made it all the more important that Tyler sorted out this whole affair amicably.

      Right now.

      ‘Well, if we’re done here, I need to go call home before I start getting ready for the party,’ Dory said.

      ‘Yeah, I should probably do the same,’ Lucas said. ‘Check that the farm and restaurant are coping without me.’

      ‘I’m sure they’re simply withering.’ Lucas returned her grin and, before she even registered what was happening, he had one arm wrapped around her waist again, hauling her close. ‘We said—’

      ‘Shush,’ Lucas murmured. ‘Just one more kiss.’

      He leant in, and Dory’s whole body strained to get closer. Just one more kiss. How could she possibly say no to that?

      ***

      It was a good fifteen minutes before Lucas finally let Dory slip away up the stairs, away from his arms and his kisses. He stood in the hallway, watching her skip lightly up the steps, wondering exactly how much his brother would hate him if he just dragged his assistant/fake girlfriend off to spend Christmas on his farm, instead of here, pretending not to care as his mother passive-aggressively insulted her again.

      He sighed. No. He needed to talk to Tyler first.

      ‘Have you finished?’ Felicia click-clacked into the hallway in her heels, a slight frown line marring her forehead. She stopped a few feet away. ‘Oh. It looks…’ Lucas waited for the inevitable complaint, but it never came. ‘Perfect. Thank you.’

      He blinked at his mother, trying to process what had just happened. ‘Uh, well, Dory did most of it.’

      A slight twist at the corner of her mouth at the sound of Dory’s name told him that a perfectly decorated tree was unlikely to change Felicia’s opinion of Tyler’s supposed girlfriend. He wondered if that would change were he the one to bring her home for the holidays next year.

      ‘Well, I’m sure I’m very grateful to you both.’ Felicia glanced down at her watch. ‘Now, time is getting on. I’m going to need you to start collecting guests from the station before long.’

      For once, Lucas wished his mother would actually use her immense wealth and staff, then felt bad for being selfish. ‘Don’t we have a driver who does that sort of thing?’

      ‘Of course we do.’ Felicia gave him an impatient look. ‘And he’ll be running trips, too. But for our oldest friends… you know they like to see you.’

      They didn’t, particularly, Lucas knew. But Felicia liked for them to see him. To show that he was still here, still part of the family, not wasting away drunk every night after his divorce, as some gossip rags would have it.

      ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Give me a list of train times?’

      ‘It’s already in your room.’ Felicia headed towards the dining room then stopped in the doorway, turning back towards him. ‘Oh, before you go and get changed – could you hang the mistletoe for tonight?’ She waved a hand at the table behind him and he saw the stems with their glossy green leaves and bright-white berries, waiting to trap unsuspecting party guests into locking lips.

      He hadn’t even needed it for Dory, though. The need to kiss her had been overwhelming. And he was pretty sure he wasn’t imagining that it had felt the same for her, too.

      Maybe, just maybe, if he got a quiet moment, he could catch her again later…

      ‘I’ll put it up,’ he promised. ‘Then I’ll take a shower, put on the monkey suit, and go start fetching guests.’ Talking to Tyler would have to wait a few hours. But no longer.

      ‘Thank you,’ Felicia said, her smile warmer than it had been since he arrived. She always liked him best when he was doing what he was told.

      Standing on the lower steps of the stairs, Lucas reached up and pinned the mistletoe into its usual place, in the centre of the hall. But he kept back one stem,

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