Harlequin Superromance November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: Christmas at the Cove\Navy Christmas\Until She Met Daniel (21 page)

Carrie snapped her eyes open. “What? You can’t. It’s too soon for Scott to meet Belle. We’ve got so much to talk about.”
But, oh, God, it would be wonderful
. She dropped her shoulders. “It’s too soon.”

“Sweetheart, if he wants to see his child, how can Christmas not be the perfect time? Your father and I can bring Belle to Templeton and we’ll be there with you the entire step of the way. I’m not suggesting for one minute Scott sees her alone, but by having us bring her to him, with you, it will prove how serious you are about making up for lost time.”

“Maybe.” Her stomach quivered with anticipation. “But we won’t go there yet, not until it’s definite I can’t get home. Okay?”

“You call me as soon as you hear anything.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Carrie ended the call and slid her phone back onto the table.
Please, God, get me home to my baby.
Shaking off her melancholy, Carrie drew in a long breath. Everything would work out how it was supposed to, but for tonight, she’d be with Scott.

She owed him some time to tell her what happened with his family when he’d told them about Belle. If he wanted her to speak to them too, she would. Nerves rolled through her. Belle was her daughter and as much as she feared her new extended family encroaching on what Carrie thought she’d always view as her territory, she understood Scott came as a package, and his family had every right to know their granddaughter and niece.

She glanced at her watch and frowned. She’d expected him to call by now but her cell had remained ominously silent all day. She picked up her phone.

“Hey.”

Carrie’s stomach flip-flopped as she looked up and met Scott’s smiling face. She grinned. “Hey. How did you know I was here?”

“A little bird told me they saw you come in here.”

She laughed. “Once again, Templeton’s residents show their talent in knowing everything and everyone.”

His gaze slid from hers to the notepad in front of her, and his smile faltered. “What’s that?”

“This?” She put her hand on the notebook. “Just some ideas I’m working on. It seems Templeton’s a lot more inspiring than I ever thought it would be.”

He slid onto the chair opposite her and nodded toward the notepad. “May I?”

“Of course.” Apprehension rippled through her. His face was devoid of humor and his shoulders stiff. “Is everything okay?”

He didn’t answer and instead scanned the pages she’d filled with ideas and lines of dialogue, his eyes manically flitting back and forth. Carrie frowned as his cheeks reddened and his jaw grew tight.

“Scott?” She covered his clenched hand with hers. “What is it?”

He looked up. “Your work’s important to you, isn’t it?”

She glanced at the notepad, trepidation rippling through her. “Yes, but yours is important to you too.” She took his hand. “Please don’t worry about our work. It’s Christmas.”

He raised her fingers to his lips and kissed her knuckles before meeting her eyes. “I just saw my dad. In my kitchen.”

Carrie grimaced. “Oh.”

He drew in a long breath and exhaled. “They know. They know about you, about us...and Belle.”

Nerves knotted her stomach and her heart picked up speed. “Were they...happy?”

He smiled. “More than you could ever imagine.”

Relief pushed the air from her lungs and Carrie grinned. “Good. That’s really good. And your dad? How did things go with him?”

He released her hand and ran it over his face. “Better than I expected, I suppose. We’ve got a long way to go and I don’t trust him, but we’ll see.”

“You’re willing to give it everything you’ve got, though? For your mum.”

His gaze focused on her mouth. “And you.”

Carrie frowned. “For me? This has nothing to do—”

“You were right. I can’t let my resentment toward him control my life anymore. I’ve done everything over the last ten years because I love my family so much. This, us, is new to me.” His fiery gaze bored into hers. “You loved Gerard and you know how much real love can hurt. I’m still learning. So just promise you won’t turn away from me while I stumble.”

She trembled, his words rolling over her and into her heart. Tears pricked hot behind her eyes. “We can work through any problems as they come. Do you trust me, Scott? Trust yourself?”

He smiled. “Yes.”

She leaned forward and he met her halfway across the table. Taking his jaw in her hands, Carrie pressed a long lingering kiss to his lips before pulling back and dropping back into her seat, her body hot. “Good.”

“So are you ready to meet Mum, Ella and Lucy, talk to Bianca again? They love Belle without even meeting her.”

Carrie briefly closed her eyes. “How could I have forgotten you have
three
sisters?”

He dropped his chin, his eyes glinting with mischief. “I have every faith they’ll be putty in your hands.”

Carrie’s heart beat with fear of the unknown, fear for how much she loved this passionate, strong and caring man. “I love you, Scott.”

He smiled and slid from the booth, his eyes still on hers. He took her hands and pulled her to her feet, his gaze drifting over her face and hair as he pushed some strands from her face. “I love you too.”

He pulled her into his embrace, his lips touching hers and Carrie melted against the man she longed to love for the rest of her life. The man she suspected Gerard knew all along was her destiny.

CHAPTER TWENTY

S
COTT
RELUCTANTLY
EASED
her back. He needed to see her eyes, her face. “When I told my family about Belle, all hell broke loose, but they were so damn happy. The questions and reproofs will come, but for now, neither my mother nor sisters can think past the potential of having a two-year-old little girl to spoil.”

She smiled, but her anxiety was clearly reflected in her dark brown eyes. She took a deep breath. “Then I guess we’d better go and say hi.”

They stood and Scott pulled some notes from his wallet and pushed them under her plate. “I’ve got this. Let’s get out of here.”

Hand in hand, they left the bakery and Scott carefully watched Carrie as she glanced along the street. She exhaled. “I really didn’t expect this to happen quite so fast.”

“Hey, you’re going to be fine.” He brushed his lips over hers. “They’ll love you. You make me happy. They know that already.”

She nodded. “Did you bring your car?”

“It’s parked just along the road. Let’s get the introductions to my mum and sisters out of the way, and then we can decide how best to spend tonight.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

She laughed. “Hmm...like you haven’t already thought that through.”

He grinned and tucked her hand into his elbow. There would be no more times that he doubted her or himself. They would stumble and fall, hurt and love, but Carrie and he were meant to be together. He’d never felt surer of anything in his life. In less than half an hour, Carrie would meet his mum and sisters before she left Templeton to spend Christmas with their baby.

He had every intention of being on that train with her.

They reached his car and got in. The atmosphere grew more fraught with tension as they neared his house. The fifteen-minute drive passed in silence, but Scott constantly glanced at Carrie and squeezed her hand in way of encouragement. When he met her parents, he’d be full of nerves, needing them to like him. Carrie’s self-assurance usually came from her in waves, but the clenching and unclenching of her hands right then told him this meeting was something equally as terrifying for her as being without Belle on Christmas day.

He pulled into his drive, relieved to see his father’s sedan had now gone. He parked his car behind Bianca’s, cut the engine and turned in his seat. “You okay?” Carrie stared at his house and he followed her gaze. “Sorry about the decorations. Mum’s like a kid at Christmastime.”

She smiled. “It looks amazing. Belle would love it.”

He cast his gaze over her profile. She looked amazing. Her skin glowed from the flickering white and red bulbs covering his porch and windows, not to mention the lights strung all over the trees and bushes in the front yard. “Maybe next year she’ll get to see it.”

She met his eyes and smiled. “Maybe she will.”

He leaned closer and kissed her, inhaling the soft scent of her skin and gliding his fingers through her hair to hold the back of her head and pull her closer. He poured his entire heart and soul into the kiss, hoping it gave her the strength and tenacity to believe in him and whatever the future might hold for them.

Eventually, they parted and she blew out a shaky breath. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

With a final kiss to her cheek, Scott yanked on the door handle and got out of the car. Carrie met him in front of the hood and slid her hand into his. Together, they approached the front door. Before he had a chance to push his key into the lock, the door swung open.

Scott didn’t know whether to laugh or curse.

His mum and sisters stood in a line, their faces identically drawn into comical expressions of complete ecstasy, each frozen to the carpet and not speaking.

Scott cleared his throat, “Mum, this—”

“I know who she is.” Her paralysis broke and his mum came forward and took Carrie’s hands in hers, urging her inside. “Welcome, Carrie. Welcome to Scottie’s home. You are...” She pressed a hand to her breast. “Just beautiful.”

Carrie laughed, albeit shakily as she allowed his mother to drag her over the threshold and into the throng of his now chattering sisters. If he hadn’t put his foot in the door, Scott could’ve sworn it would’ve been slammed in his face.

He shut the door and fought his smile into a frown. “Mum, won’t you at least let Carrie take her coat off?”

His mother laughed. “Of course. Sorry, Carrie, it’s just so exciting to have you here. I’d like to say I’ve heard a lot about you...” She flicked a meaningful glare in Scott’s direction. “But all I’ve heard has been secondhand. I can’t wait to get to know you better.”

Carrie smiled. “You’re very kind to have me here, Mrs. Walker.”

“Mary, please. Here, let me take your coat and bag.”

Scott exchanged a series of facial expressions and wide-eyed glares with each of his sisters before his mother practically threw Carrie’s coat and bag into his arms. “Here, Scottie. You take care of these, will you?”

Glaring at his mother’s turned face, Scott did as he was bid and was just about to tell them all to let Carrie have a bit of breathing space when Carrie spoke. “I love how you’ve decorated the house, Mary. It’s amazing.”

His mother beamed with pride. “Fit for a little one, don’t you think?”

“Mum!”

Scott joined his sisters’ chorused reprimand and then they all laughed when Carrie laughed louder than all of them. “It certainly is, Mrs. Walker...Mary.”

His mother clasped Carrie’s elbow, her smile as wide as her face. “Would you like some hot chocolate?”

Carrie nodded. “Sounds perfect.”

Scott stared after them, shaking his head as the five women who made up his entire life disappeared into the kitchen. He clenched his jaw. Add just another small female and he had a funny feeling his life would be complete.

When a unified cackle of laughter rose and burst from the open kitchen door, he quickly hung Carrie’s coat and bag before shrugging out of his coat and scarf. He took a couple of steps toward the kitchen and then halted when Carrie’s phone rang from inside her bag.

Turning around, he grabbed the bag and carried it through to the kitchen. He had to shout above the volume of female joviality. “Carrie, your phone’s ringing.”

She turned and he held the bag aloft.

When she came to him, his heart kicked to see her eyes shining with happiness and her smile wide. It felt so right to have her in his home. She took the bag. “Thanks.”

She rummaged inside, but the phone had stopped ringing.

Scott frowned. “Do you want to go into the hallway to call whoever it was back?” He glanced at his sisters and mother dotted about the room in varying stages of making hot chocolate or setting the table with bowls of sweets, crisps and nuts. “They may be a while. When guests come at Christmastime, Mum tends to go a bit overboard. Actually, scrap that, she tends to go overboard whatever the time of year.”

When Carrie didn’t answer, he faced her. She was already calling back whomever it was she’d missed. She pushed her bag into his chest with the phone to her ear. “Mum? It’s me. Where are you? Mum? Can you hear me? What’s that noise?”

She wandered into the hallway, her free hand pressed to her other ear in a futile attempt to block out the noise of his boisterous family. Scott strode after her and she reached back to grasp his hand. “Mum, you’re going to have to speak up, I can’t hear you.” She screwed her eyes shut in concentration...and then snapped them wide open. “You’re on your way here? To Templeton. Oh, my God. Is Belle with you?”

Scott’s heart thundered and his mouth drained dry. He stared at Carrie, his entire body wired with adrenaline and hope. Each second felt like an hour.
Please let them be bringing my daughter to me.

Carrie met his eyes. They stormed with love, disbelief, laughter and fear. “Oh, Mum. I don’t believe it.” She nodded, her eyes locked with his. “You’re bringing her to us.”

To us. For a moment Scott couldn’t move. Belle was on her way. He was going to spend Christmas with a daughter he never knew existed until four days ago. Smiling, he pulled Carrie closer and pressed his lips to her forehead. The rest of Carrie’s conversation with her mother faded into the background...

* * *

C
ARRIE
ENDED
THE
call and pulled back from Scott’s arms to look him in the eyes. “She’s coming to Templeton. I don’t believe it.”

Scott grinned. “That’s good, right? It means you don’t have to leave. We can spend Christmas together...as a family.”

Fear skittered through her and Carrie pulled out of his grasp. She turned her back to him, her mind racing and her heart aching. “This feels too soon. You still have so many unresolved issues to sort out with your father. How can I be sure that Belle won’t be hurt in the end? How can I be sure that things won’t go wrong between us and we end up hating each other?” Tears burned and Carrie wrapped her arms tightly around her body.

“Carrie.”

She shook her head, refusing to turn around and face him. She had to think of Belle. Her baby was her constant. Her baby wouldn’t leave her. Her baby would never die...Her sob caught in her throat and Carrie covered her mouth with her hand. Where was all this panic coming from? She closed her eyes. It was now or never. Scott would soon see his little girl for the very first time. There would be no going back for any of them after that most precious moment.

Scott came behind her and the scent of the man she loved encompassed her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. “Hey, don’t cry. We’re going to be okay. We’re going to make it, and Belle will be at the center of everything. Look at me.”

Trembling, Carrie turned in his arms and met his eyes. He lifted his thumbs to her cheeks and wiped at her tears, his lips gently brushing hers. “You’re afraid.” He smiled wryly. “I’m terrified. Let me just ask you one thing.”

She sniffed. “What?”

“When you found out you were pregnant, did you jump for joy? Shout it from the rooftops? Or did you have the exact same feeling you’re having now?”

Shame infused her. “I had the same feeling as now...” She shook her head. “But that lasted for a matter of days. This isn’t the same. Once I accepted I was pregnant, that I could raise a baby alone, I wasn’t afraid anymore. I wanted my baby, your baby.”

“And what you’ve just described is the exact journey I’ve been on since you walked into my garage four days ago. I’m ready, Carrie. I’m ready to be Belle’s daddy for the rest of my life.” He grinned. “Let me meet her. Let me see her.” He glanced toward the closed kitchen door. “Let us all spend Christmas together. Your family, my family, our family. We’ll spend a few days together and then you’ll see what I already know. We’ll be okay. We’ll have the elusive happy-ever-after. I know we will.”

“You can’t know that. Neither of us can.” Cursing the doubts and fear rushing through her, Carrie stepped away from him. “Gerard always said Belle and I were his happy-ever-after.” Her breath caught. “And look what happened to him. He’s dead, Scott. He’s dead and a year later I’m here with you, and my daughter is on her way to Templeton with my parents. How did that happen? How did my trip here become so big?”

“Because it was meant to be this way all along. Gerard was the right man for you at the time, Carrie. He was what you needed when you found out you were pregnant and had a baby. He was what Belle needed for the first eighteen months of her life. If I had been there, who knows? Maybe I would’ve royally messed up. But now?” He pushed his fist against his chest. “Now I know I want you and her more than anything in the whole damn world. I’m the right man for you now. I’m the right man for Belle. If it takes me my entire life to prove it to you, I will.”

Carrie’s heart swelled for the man standing in front of her, opening his soul and baring his vulnerability, yet standing strong and refusing to let her fear override a second chance at long-lasting love. She took a deep breath. “I told my parents to take Belle to The Christie when they arrive.”

He pulled back his shoulders. “Ring your Mum back. Ring her back and ask them to come here.”

“What?” Her eyes widened. “But—”

He grinned. “We can eat together. Mum will have more food on the table than any of us could possibly manage once I tell her your family are coming.” He rolled his eyes. “She started making food for Christmas in April, I swear.”

Swiping at her face, Carrie smiled. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

She laughed. “Okay.”

Smiling, Scott took her in his arms and when he kissed her, his silent promise seeped into Carrie’s soul and nestled in her heart. They would be okay. She felt absolutely certain of it after coming full circle in a matter of days. God only knew how much better they could be together in the years to come.

“I love you, Carrie.”

She smiled and her desire for him heated her body as he lifted back her hair to leave a trail of kisses down the curve of her neck...just how he knew she liked it. She inhaled a shuddering breath. “I love you, too.”

* * *

S
COTT
GLANCED
AT
Carrie for the thirtieth time in as many minutes as she stood staring through his living-room window. When she’d called her mother back, they had already left Templeton train station in a cab and were on their way to The Christie. After a hurried delivering of Scott’s address, he, his family and Carrie now nervously waited for Carrie’s parents...and Belle’s arrival.

Inhaling, Scott rose from the sofa and went to join Carrie at the window. She held back the curtain and together, they watched the falling snow in silence. The muted onslaught of shuffling and not-so-subtle coughing behind him told Scott his mother and sisters had tactfully decided to leave him and Carrie alone. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “You okay?”

She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide and anxious. “I don’t know.” She smiled. “I think so.”

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her hair, inhaling her scent. “I know the feeling.”

She turned and put her arms around his waist. “You meeting Belle was my sole intention when I came here and now it’s happening....”