AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was a playful kiss at first. Just a peck on her lips, but as his soft mouth met hers, something sparked between them and their lips locked into a more intense kiss.
How dare he! How bloody dare he? Grace shrieked silently in her head. How … Oh God! How delicious!
His arms tightened around her and he eased her upright, pulling her even closer until her breasts were pressed tightly against his hard chest. He deepened the kiss, and moved one hand up her body and into her hair, his fingers caressing and yet possessive.
Grace couldn’t stop the moan of desire escaping as his lips teased hers and then the kiss grew deeper still.
‘Griff! … Griff!’
The sound of Russell’s voice calling out to his brother, seemed distant at first and then it grew louder and more determined and Grace quickly pushed herself away from Griff’s warm and welcoming body.
Griff stared at her as if he couldn’t breathe. As if she had sucked all the oxygen from his lungs and he needed her desperately.
And Grace was also struggling to find her breath. It took all her strength to turn away from him and rush into the hall leading to the kitchen before Russell found Griff and her together. Because it would be obvious to anyone who saw them, what had just happened between them.
She didn’t know how she felt about it herself so she didn’t want anyone else passing judgement. Not until she knew what might happen from this point forward.
Fifteen
NowthatRussellwashome there were even more hands-on deck and outstanding items for the Mistletoe Dance were being ticked off the list at lightning speed.
The white poinsettias arrived, along with the pots, and everyone stepped in to tie the pots with ribbons.
The Christmas trees arrived on Saturday, one week before the Mistletoe Dance. Each was manoeuvred into position and dressed as Grace had previously told Griff they would be.
Hanna had finished the trompe l’oeil and the artwork was stunning. Snow covered mountains and forests, frozen lakes and waterfalls, soaring white eagles in the skies and polar bears below on icefields made the trees pop far more than just one big tree.
The wreaths were fixed to the front doors and the silver bells jingled every time the doors were opened.
‘Mum would have loved these,’ Griff had said when they had arrived, and Russell had agreed, as had Archie.
Grace had taken Griff to the caterers for a tasting and he had been delighted by the food. Most of the food for the Mistletoe Dance was also white, silver, or green, with carved turkey breast being classed as ‘white’, along with bao buns, and freshly baked bread rolls, but a few exceptions were allowed although they were displayed beneath a camouflage to hide the fact that they didn’t comply with the colour scheme. The whole concept was fun and fresh and in line with the winter wonderland theme.
The poles running the length of both sides of the drive had taken time to fix into place, because they had to be secure enough in case of high winds. The lights nets also required securing into place. No one wanted to see a net of lights flying around the village. Some might think it was a spaceship. They ran between the poles like walls of light and across the top, so that they made a tunnel for the guests to walk through, just as Grace had said. The drive itself glistened beneath the glow and seemed to have a sort of ethereal sheen.
Other than the tunnel of lights and the wreaths on the front doors, there were no lights outside at the front of the house, but in the garden at the rear, various lighting techniques had been used to light the lake and fountain, and each of the knot garden, rose garden and other sections.
The copse of trees became a sort of haunted forest and lights outlined the zig-zag path and the raised terrace. Even the ornate gates leading down to the steps which in turn lead to the beach, were lit up.
Back inside the house, each of the rooms had a colour theme to match the colour of the room, so the morning room was lemon and white, the sitting room was red and gold, the drawing room was navy and gold, the kitchen was a rainbow of colours, and so on.
Griff’s bedroom, which Grace had arranged with Russell to secretly decorate, was burgundy and cream, and whilst no one was looking, Grace had played at being Goldilocks and had tried out Griff’s king size bed. The thought of Griff sleeping beneath those sheets had made Grace think things she knew she shouldn’t. she mustn’t build up her hopes if Griff wasn’t planning to ask her out.
‘It’s funny isn’t it?’ said Hope, the day before the Mistletoe Dance, ‘Just two weeks and one day ago, Grace was hoping this would be the year her Christmas wish might come true. And now she’s hoping it won’t.’
‘Ah,’ said Grace, ‘that’s not quite true. I had two Christmas wishes. One was for Russell to ask me to be his date for the Mistletoe Dance, and the other was to wipe that sardonic smile off Griff’s face. I’m still hoping at least one of those might come true. And I think you can all guess which one.’
‘My Christmas wish might come true,’ said Pat smiling at Granny Joy. We got the results of Mum’s tests today and it seems she has a tumour on her brain. But no need to panic, the doctor says it’s benign and should shrink with treatment and time.’
‘We’ve all got to go sometime,’ said Granny Joy. ‘I’ve had a good life and I’ve been blessed with good friends, and a wonderful family. When my time is up I won’t complain. I’ll be reunited with my darling husband and all the lovely dogs we’ve owned over the years. Who could grumble at that? But I’d like to enjoy one more of my darling daughter’s Christmas dinners before I go. And a glass or two of Bailey’s and maybe some champagne.’
‘Cheers to that,’ said Hope. ‘I don’t have any Christmas wishes. What about you, Dad?
‘I’m surrounded by mine each and every day. My family are the only thing I’ve ever wished for.’
‘What about you, Lady E?’ Grace asked the family dog.
Lady E barked and stuck her nose in the air.
