Page 93 of Not Just for Christmas

He slowly sets down his glass, his gaze steady. ‘She’s here already.’

‘What?’ I stare at him. A sixth sense sends a shiver down my spine.

‘Ever since I saw you on that beach and I asked you out for a drink, hoping to God you were single,’ he murmurs huskily.

Electricity crackles between us, I can hardly breathe. I’ve never said this to anyone, and I definitely can’t say it now, but there have been times when I’ve wondered what if … what if I’d met Dylan before Jack?

‘If I had been single, I’d have said yes,’ I whisper.

A smile lights up his face. He lets his head fall back, eyes closed. ‘You, Luce, were always the one.’

‘Always the One’. The song which has sent his star into orbit. The song we’ve chosen for our first dance tomorrow. It can’t be … had he written it about me?

‘So now do you see why my girlfriends never last more than a few months? When the girl I love belongs to my best friend?’

‘Oh Dylan. I’m flattered, really.’ My heart aches for him, he looks so forlorn.

‘Lucy.’ He breathes my name like a prayer, sending ripples of longing through me.

I don’t know how it happens, who moves first, but suddenly we’re in each other’s arms, our bodies acting of their own accord. I breathe in his delicious cologne, feel the heat of him. My heart thuds like a drum as our mouths find each other. My hands are in his hair, his are at my waist, tugging me close to him. Our kiss is hot, urgent, breathless and totally, utterly forbidden.

‘Oh my God!’ I tear myself away, horrified. ‘What are we doing?’

‘Sorry, sorry.’ He steps back, his arms outstretched, putting a barrier between us. ‘That was my fault, please forgive me.’

I shake my head. ‘This is on me too. I’m the one getting married tomorrow and I’ve just kissed another man. I am a terrible, terrible woman.’

‘I shouldn’t have said what I said.’ He turns away, rubbing his hands over his face.

‘What am I going to do?’ I murmur under my breath, as a tear rolls down my face.

‘Hey, there’s no need to do anything. This is just a silly mistake.’ He brushes away my tear with his thumb, grabs my hands, forcing me to look at him. ‘We can forget I ever said anything, and forget this ever happened.’

I nod; we have to try. ‘Jack must never find out, it would break his heart.’

We stay like that, staring at each other, until our breathing slows a little and my tears stop.

‘This was a momentary lapse of judgement. You guys are made for each other,’ Dylan says softly. ‘Everyone can see that. I promise this will never happen again. Your friendship, yours and Jack’s, means the world to me.’

‘I’m putting it down to pre-wedding jitters and too much alcohol,’ I say. ‘Let’s never mention it again. Not to anyone. Not even to each other.’

‘Agreed,’ he confirms.

We lean forward, our foreheads touching. Guilt weighs heavily in my heart, but despite that, I feel a rush of tenderness for this man. He has managed to hide his feelings for me all this time and I trust him to do it again.

I turn to the sink and pour us both a glass of water. No more alcohol tonight.

I love Jack, I tell myself, I am going to marry him tomorrow. There’s no point wondering whether the grass is greener elsewhere. I close my eyes and let out a breath. I’ve chosen Jack. And as long as we both shall live, I will always choose him.

Chapter 39

The traffic through London was nose to tail. Dylan stared out of the window as his chauffeured car inched its way past Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and Marble Arch. To his left, Selfridges sparkled in all its festive finery, red buses rumbled underneath the Christmas lights looping across Oxford Street and jostling shoppers spilled from shops and cafés and onto the pavements.

He usually loved London’s vibe at Christmas, but today all he could think about was how he’d come so close to Lucy, only to lose her again.

He’d played last night all wrong. How could that magical moment turn into disaster like it had? One minute she was meeting his desire, kiss for kiss, the next she’d pushed him away, adamant that there could never be a future for them. He cursed himself now for moving too fast, coming on too strong. But when you’ve waited patiently for something for half a lifetime, it was hard to control yourself when it finally happened.

And wow, she was worth the wait.