Page 94 of The Merry Christmas Project

I stepped forward and reached around his neck to pull him close, burying my face in the front of his jacket. His arms tightened around my waist and I squeezed my eyes shut, drinking in his closeness. ‘Better ?’ I asked.

‘Much,’ came his reply, his warm breath tickling my cheek.

‘Hester !’ I gasped suddenly, jerking away from him. ‘I completely forgot, she’s ready to go home and she asked me to find you.’

‘And I thought you’d come to check if I was OK,’ he laughed. ‘Hester will be fine for a minute or two, I just want to pop into the old bank before I go back ; we must have left a light on earlier. Will you come with me ?’

‘Sure. I was heading there too.’

He took my hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world and we crossed the cobbles towards the old bank.

‘Merry ?’ His hand gently squeezed mine and when I met his eyes, there was a look of vulnerability about him that made my heart turn over. ‘Those candles you were making ?’

‘Yes ?’ At once I knew where this conversation was heading.

‘The ones that reminded Hester of Sauvage by Dior.’

‘I know the ones.’ I swallowed.

We reached the door and Cole released my hand to dig in his pocket for his keys.

‘Was it a coincidence that that’s what I usually wear or …’ He let the question dangle in the air between us.

My heart thudded and I looked away to compose myself. This was it. The moment I’d find out whether my feelings for him were reciprocated or not. But when I looked back at him, all my doubts flew away. It was there in his gaze, in his hopeful smile. Slowly I shook my head.

‘Not a coincidence.’

‘You made a candle that smelled like me ?’ His voice was filled with wonder.

All at once, I wanted him to understand what he meant to me. Honesty and openness, right from the start. I took a step towards him and he did the same, until our bodies were pressed together and I could feel the heat radiating from him.

‘That first time you took me in your arms and held me close, your scent lingered on my skin for hours afterwards and it made me feel … safe.’ I ran my hands slowly up his chest and tipped my chin up to his so that our faces were almost touching. ‘I wanted to feel like that again, so I thought if I could recreate the aroma and make a candle from it, you’d be there with me whenever I wanted.’

‘Oh, Merry.’ Cole’s voice was gruff as he lowered his head to mine. ‘I’ll be right here for you, whenever you want.’

Then his mouth met mine and the taste of him on my lips sent shockwaves through me. I’d dreamed about this moment so many times, but the reality of his kiss was far, far better than anything my imagination could have conjured up. I pulled him closer and felt him sigh with pleasure as his hands cupped my face, deepening the kiss. Then we pulled apart, laughing and breathless with delight. He was leaning on the door and flapped a hand to brush away the feather which was tickling his cheek and then I remembered.

I lifted my eyes upwards to where a hanging bouquet of green stems studded with white berries formed a festive canopy above our heads.

Cole looked up and then looked at me and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. ‘It would be rude not to.’

‘And maybe if I hang around here, I might bump into “the one”,’ I said, pulling his face towards me again.

He gave a low sexy laugh which made my every nerve-ending tingle. ‘They say anything can happen at Christmas.’

This time our kiss was slower, more tender and I felt myself melt into him as our bodies pressed together. The world around us faded away, the sound of the Christmas music in the marketplace a faint melody in my ears until there was just us and the moonlight and a huge bunch of mistletoe.

‘Wow,’ I said, when the kiss ended. ‘That mistletoe is magical.’

‘You are magical,’ he said, tracing a finger tantalisingly slowly along my cheek. ‘Same time tomorrow ?’

‘It’s a date,’ I said, and we stared at each other, completely and utterly mesmerised by what had just happened.

‘Uh-oh, here comes trouble,’ said Cole, straightening up, as behind me I heard the sound of laughter. I turned around to see Hester, grinning from ear to ear.

‘Finally !’ she said, her voice warm with amusement. ‘Now please may we go home ?’

Chapter 29