A baby for Christmas (Season of Romance Book 1) (5 page)

“It’s nice to meet you, Ethan.”

“The pleasure is mine.” He grasped her
outstretched hand.

“American?”

He nodded. “Yes ma’am, North Carolina,
up in the mountains.”

“I just love your accent,” she said.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Oh my God, Belle, he’s delicious.”

Belle laughed. “Take no notice of Lily
she falls in and out of love at the drop of a hat.”

He laughed. “Ma’am I appreciate the
complement.”

 “Stop, Ethan or we will have to
pick her up of the floor.” Belle smiled and walked towards the boxes. “Let’s
get these unpacked before the kids come in.”

Lily started opening them. “Belle you’re
so good to us. The women and children are sure going to love all of this.”

“It’s nothing.”

He watched Belle’s cheeks redden, and
knew she was embarrassed by the fuss.

There was so much food, and all the
gifts were wrapped and tagged. Ethan realised in that moment that he was so
lucky to have what he had. There were so many people out there struggling and
he hadn’t really realised how much he took for granted. Belle had shown him
that it didn’t take much to help another person out, to be kind and caring.
Damn, if he didn’t fall deeper in love with her than he already was. All he had
to do now was convince her that he was for real.

“Merry Christmas, Lily.” Belle stepped towards
her car muttering under her breath. She couldn’t believe the stupid thing Ethan
had just done…she was furious.

“Since when do you get off organising my
life?” Belle hissed as the cold snowflakes hit her heated skin cooling her
flaming cheeks. The sound of Santa’s bells ringing could be heard. Normally it
was a sound that made her smile but at this moment she was spitting flames she
was so mad. Ethan told Lily that they were getting married and the squeals
coming from her friend was still ringing in her ears.

“Are you totally out of your mind?” She
stared at him as soon as the door closed behind them.

“No, I’m perfectly sane.” He held her
arm and walked her around to the passenger side of the car, opening the door
for her to climb inside.

Belle crossed her arms in front of her.
“I am not getting in that car until you explain to me what the hell is going
on.” She widened her eyes waiting for him to reply.

“Belle.”

“Yes,” she answered as the snowflakes
came down around them landing on his hair making it almost white. His cheeks
were smoothly shaved and the cold had given them a ruddy glow.

He sighed. “Get in the car before Lily
comes down from the window she is looking out of, to see what is going on.”

Belle looked behind her and indeed her
friend was grinning at the window like a Cheshire cat. Damn. She waved before
stepping into the car and leaning back on the old leather seats so cold she
shivered.

Ethan braced his arm on the top of the
car as he bent his head to look directly at her. She could see from his eyes
that he was irate. He stood close and his cologne permeated the air around her
and she felt the warmth of his breath as he spoke. Belle was cross with herself
as her body became a traitor to her thoughts as his nearness teased her senses
to distraction.

“I told you before, you’re carrying my
child, and I don’t intend for you to do this on your own.”

Belle was about to reply when a beeping
horn made her jump. Someone wanted to pass on the narrow road and her open door
was blocking the way. With a curse, Ethan slammed the door shut and he had
climbed into the driver’s side and had the car started before she even realised
that he was driving.

Ten minutes later they pulled up outside
her house. The silence in the car was as frosty as the air outside. She opened
the door before he had chance to come around and open it for her. He followed
her to the front entrance and for a split second, she wanted to be juvenile and
slam it in his face but she just knew that in doing that it even that wouldn’t
deter him.

Neither of them spoke as he followed her
into the kitchen. Belle knew if she did she would end up shouting at him.
Focussing on picking the kettle up and filling it while keeping her mouth
tightly closed took a will power that surprised her.

Belle braced herself for battle, it was
clear he was not going to let her get on with things the way she wanted to. The
plans she had made for her life with a baby had not involved the father. They
had not involved him. Belle reached up to the cupboard to take out two mugs and
couldn’t help but make more noise than necessary.

Her body tensed with frustration at the
thought of her private life slipping away from her, and she didn’t like it one
bit.

“You and I need to get married. I will
not let this child grow up without a father.”

“What about love and respect? Where in
your happy family’s equation is that written?” Belle felt a tremor creep up her
spine.
A marriage, without love.
What kind of life would that be for a
child to grow up in and what about other children? She wanted more than one?
Marriage was for life.

“We can have those things, Belle…we have
a connection, we can make work.”

“How?” she frowned running her fingers
through her hair and then smoothing it back down. “Our lives are so different.
For God’s sake, Ethan, you live on the other side of the world. How is that
ever going to work?” She could hear her voice begin to rise trying to make him
see sense.

“Look, Belle I would never make you do
anything you don’t want.” He moved toward her and stood leaning against the
table top. “But you must see that it would be a lot easier if we do this
together. Have you any idea how hard it would be to try and look after a baby
and run this business on your own? I want to help.” He reached out and undid
the buttons of her coat and laid his hand on to her growing bump. “This is my
child too.”

 She breathed in; the warmth of his
touch was powerful and even more so because their baby lay beneath where his
hands lay.

“It took two of us to make this child
and it will take two of us to look after him...her.” He said.

“One parent families manage very well;
my Gran brought me up singlehanded and ran this business. Are you saying she
did a bad job?”

“No, of course not I’m saying that. She
didn’t have a choice…you do.”

“What about if you meet someone you want
to marry…someone you fall in love with? What then? Because I don’t believe in
divorce?”

“Neither do I. Belle, we have a strong
connection that’s why we’re in this position now, there’s chemistry between us.
The minute I come near you, I can feel it. We can build on that.”

Belle felt her heart beat painfully
fast, and swallowed down sudden nausea.. He wasn’t going to back down but then
she knew that he wouldn’t he was that kind of guy. Perhaps unconsciously she
was aware that if she had tried to find him he would have insisted on being a
part of her life.

“Come and sit down.” He took her hand
“You’ve gone deathly white, are you okay?”

She nodded and sat in the chair he
pulled out. He turned and took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and
unscrewed the top for her. Her mind was racing with the conversation they were
having. The weight of the last hour was weighing heavily on her slumped
shoulders.

“Here, sip some of this.”

Damn why did he have to be so nice? How
could she hate someone who cared about her welfare? The ice cold liquid was
cool against her lips relieving the dryness of her throat.

“Come on, you need to take a nap.”

She looked up at him as he pulled her to
her feet.

“Don’t be ridiculous I’ve got too much to
do.” She looked at her watch “It’s only just after eleven.”

He took hold of her hand and proceeded
to walk through the hallway and upstairs with her. She should have said
something more, but truth be told the whole morning had exhausted her and a small
nap would help her get through the rest of the day. It was Christmas Eve and
she needed to prepare for Christmas Day especially now that Ethan was staying.

They stopped outside her bedroom door
and he opened it. Belle entered and turned to shut the door.

“Thank you.” On impulse she reached up
and kissed his cheek. It was smooth and soft and her body tingled at the
thought of lingering just so she could smell him, his scent was warm and musky
with hints of cedar. It was a scent that was embedded inside her memory.

He smiled. “That was nice.” He put his
hand up to where her lips had been.

“Yes, well don’t get used to it.” She
pushed the door shut but there was a smile on her face. He was so nice to have
around but at what cost? This was her home, the only place she’d known all her
life…to leave it all behind? Blinking away the tears as she shrugged out of her
coat her weary body lay beneath the quilt cover her Gran had made for her
sixteenth birthday.  Huddling up into a foetal position her hand automatically
lay on her tummy and the other hand beneath her ear and thought nice happy
thoughts of previous Christmases with a woman she’d loved her whole life.

****

Ethan had busied himself doing some work
on his laptop and speaking with his family. He would miss them; this was the
first Christmas he’d been away. But it was worth it.

 Belle and their baby would be his
family; he was hoping to persuade her to come home with him for the New Year
celebrations although at the moment that was looking very unlikely. Perhaps
they could work out some sort of schedule where they spent half the year here
and the other half at Pine Tree Valley.

It was going to be difficult, and he
hadn’t completely convinced Belle that getting married would work. But he
would, he was already in love with her so he was halfway there.

He could do it. He could make her love
him and if he couldn’t then at least they could be friends. It had worked in
marriages before…being in love wasn’t everything, was it? A strong family
environment and a happy home for their child…children because he wanted more
than one. Ethan had always wanted a large family.

He’d made some soup for lunch. He
grinned—well he’d opened a tin. He was just about to go and wake her up when he
opened the kitchen door and walked smack into Belle.

“Whoa, sweetheart,” he said as he
reached for her waist and steadied her. “What’s the hurry?”

Belle threw her whole body against him
and for a second he was taken aback.

“I wanted you to feel.”

“Feel what?”

She took his hand, lifted her sweater
and placed it on her belly. “Feel this.”

As his palm touched the warm skin he
felt her hold her breath. And then, a small movement like a muscle twitch. Then
he felt it again harder almost like a small hand or foot thumping against the
skin. His own heart punched against his ribs…it was the most incredible thing
he’d ever felt in his life.

“Is this the first time you’ve felt him
move?”

She nodded, “Him?” her voice teased.

He flashed a sheepish smile. “Or her, I
don’t mind.”

Ethan looked at Belle, his hand staying
against her satin-soft skin.” Does it hurt you?”

“No.” She covered his hands with hers.
“It feels like a butterfly flapping its wings against my stomach.”

“Truly amazing…unbelievably exciting. I
‘m so glad I was here to feel it.”

“Thank you,” she said breathless from
her obvious delight.

His brows joined with confusion. “For
what?”

She looked back up at him keeping her
gaze steady. “You stayed and helped me with the gifts and food this morning,
and you put up with Lily’s remarks about your accent and making a pass at you
every time you turned around.”

He laughed. “She was a bit full on but
that’s okay I figured it was a front, something to hide behind.”

“You’re so observant. She does it to
keep people or rather, men at a distance.”

“I guessed as much.”

He looked down at her smiling face, the
joy so apparent in her expression as her hand covered his. It was a long
charged moment and finally he couldn’t resist. He dipped his head and kissed
those soft lips.

The kiss was everything he remembered
about her, sweet, hot and so very tempting. Months of searching and days of
restrained desire tipped out equally from them both in a kiss that reaffirmed
his love for her.

“Wow,” she whispered when they finally
pulled apart. “I forgot how potent you were.”

He turned her so that her back was
against the wall and he caged her in, his body completely covering her tiny
frame. Huge green eyes stared up at him and he gently smoothed the frown that
furrowed her brow with his fingers.

“I've wanted to kiss you since the first
moment I saw you and a thousand times since. Every time you move your lips.
Every time your scent fills the air that I breathe.” He took a deep breath as
he tried to find the words that would tell her how much he cared for her, and not
just the baby they had created. “Whenever your body touches mine I want to make
love with you, each and every single minute that passed and I didn't know where
you were... all I could think about was you. Kiss me, Belle. Let me feel your
lips against mine.”

He felt his heartbeat thump against his
ribs, never had he felt like this with any other woman. He’d known the moment
he set eyes on her that she would be special…he just knew that he wanted to be
part of her life.

With her head thrown back and her neck
offered up to him, he couldn’t resist raining kisses upon her soft, silky skin
until she moaned with desire.

“Ethan,” she whispered as her skin
flushed when her eyes made contact with his.

“What, sweetheart.”

“I want us to…I want us to make love.”

His hands gripped her hips as he
breathed in her scent, filling his lungs with the temptation that was Belle. He
wanted to bring her closer to him but she was already against him. Ethan closed
his eyes for a second, he wanted her to climb inside his body and keep her
close to him forever. God he wanted her so much.

“You have no idea how hard this is for
me to not to take you here and now against the kitchen wall.”

“The wall sounds good to me,” she spoke
in a breathy voice as her hands stole across his chest and around his neck.