And I know I hurt you. But it’s you I want, not Tatiana. Can I come in?’
* * *
Five minutes later, sitting beside the fire listening to Daniel, Laura felt as if she were in a dream.
‘I’ll admit it,’ Daniel said. ‘I was blinded by her celebrity. And obviously, you know, she’s pretty.’
‘Obviously,’ said Laura.
‘But, as soon as I woke up this morning, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.’
‘Why was that? Because she didn’t give you the money you needed to bail out your play?’
Even Daniel had the decency to look shamefaced.
‘Money
was
part of it. I’ve been under so much financial pressure, Laura, you don’t understand. But that wasn’t the only thing. I didn’t intend to fall in love with you. But I have, and last night made me realize that.’
‘Mmm hmm.’
Laura looked at Peggy, who made her feelings clear by farting loudly.
I agree
,
thought Laura. Daniel went on.
‘Tati flew to Kitzbühel a few hours ago. She’s got some rich bloke out there, evidently. But I don’t care. All I want is to be with you, here. To have Christmas together like we planned.’
‘But Daniel,’ Laura said slowly. ‘You dumped me in front of three hundred people. You slept with someone else.’
‘To be fair,’ said Daniel, taking Laura’s hand in his. ‘We hadn’t made a commitment to each other. You said as much yourself last night. We weren’t exclusive. But I’d like to be now. If you knew how much you mean to me Laura …’
With a jerk, Laura withdrew her hand, as if she’d been stung by a bee.
‘I know it’ll take time.’
‘Daniel?’ Laura said softly.
‘Yes?’ Daniel’s handsome face lit up with hope and expectation.
‘Get out of my house. Get out before I throw you out and never,
ever
,
come back.’
The loving look in his eyes soured like curdled milk. He stood up, slipping the Tiffany box back into his pocket and throwing the flowers down churlishly on the table.
‘Fine. If that’s how you feel.’
‘That’s how I feel.’
‘You’re making a big mistake you know, Laura,’ he said nastily. ‘It’s not as if you have so many other, better offers on the table.’
Laura sighed heavily. What had she ever, ever seen in him?
‘Fuck off, Daniel!’
With a slam of the door he did.
For a moment Laura stood rooted to the spot, listening to the roar of Daniel’s engine as he drove away. Then she laughed out loud. What a dickhead! What a total and utter dickhead. She contemplated going back to her writing, but the moment had been lost. On a whim, she put on her coat and boots and walked out into the snow.
She wasn’t sure where she was going. Not to The Fox. She wasn’t in the mood for socializing. She just felt a need to be outside and walking and
free
. Above her the dark night sky twinkled with stars, and the smoke smell from her own fire hung deliciously in the crisp air. The lane shone bright white with compacted snow, and all around the hedgerows and scenery were laden with thick frosting, a true winter wonderland. It wasn’t actually snowing at this moment and there was no wind, which made for a pleasant walk. After about a quarter of a mile, she was close enough to hear noise from the village and was on the point of turning back when a familiar voice startled her.
‘Laura? What are you doing out so late? Are you all right?’
Gabe Baxter loomed in front of her like a big, broad statue emerging suddenly from the darkness.
‘I’m fine. I just felt like a walk. I thought you were at the pub.’
‘I was for a bit.’ He came closer, so Laura could make out his features in the moonlight. The broad jaw, broken nose and mischievous eyes were the same as they’d always been, but something in Gabe’s expression was different. ‘But then I remembered I needed to do something.’
‘What did you need to do?’ asked Laura.
‘This.’
Grabbing her around the waist with both arms, he pulled her to him and kissed her, hard and strong and for a
* * *
Five minutes later, sitting beside the fire listening to Daniel, Laura felt as if she were in a dream.
‘I’ll admit it,’ Daniel said. ‘I was blinded by her celebrity. And obviously, you know, she’s pretty.’
‘Obviously,’ said Laura.
‘But, as soon as I woke up this morning, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.’
‘Why was that? Because she didn’t give you the money you needed to bail out your play?’
Even Daniel had the decency to look shamefaced.
‘Money
was
part of it. I’ve been under so much financial pressure, Laura, you don’t understand. But that wasn’t the only thing. I didn’t intend to fall in love with you. But I have, and last night made me realize that.’
‘Mmm hmm.’
Laura looked at Peggy, who made her feelings clear by farting loudly.
I agree
,
thought Laura. Daniel went on.
‘Tati flew to Kitzbühel a few hours ago. She’s got some rich bloke out there, evidently. But I don’t care. All I want is to be with you, here. To have Christmas together like we planned.’
‘But Daniel,’ Laura said slowly. ‘You dumped me in front of three hundred people. You slept with someone else.’
‘To be fair,’ said Daniel, taking Laura’s hand in his. ‘We hadn’t made a commitment to each other. You said as much yourself last night. We weren’t exclusive. But I’d like to be now. If you knew how much you mean to me Laura …’
With a jerk, Laura withdrew her hand, as if she’d been stung by a bee.
‘I know it’ll take time.’
‘Daniel?’ Laura said softly.
‘Yes?’ Daniel’s handsome face lit up with hope and expectation.
‘Get out of my house. Get out before I throw you out and never,
ever
,
come back.’
The loving look in his eyes soured like curdled milk. He stood up, slipping the Tiffany box back into his pocket and throwing the flowers down churlishly on the table.
‘Fine. If that’s how you feel.’
‘That’s how I feel.’
‘You’re making a big mistake you know, Laura,’ he said nastily. ‘It’s not as if you have so many other, better offers on the table.’
Laura sighed heavily. What had she ever, ever seen in him?
‘Fuck off, Daniel!’
With a slam of the door he did.
For a moment Laura stood rooted to the spot, listening to the roar of Daniel’s engine as he drove away. Then she laughed out loud. What a dickhead! What a total and utter dickhead. She contemplated going back to her writing, but the moment had been lost. On a whim, she put on her coat and boots and walked out into the snow.
She wasn’t sure where she was going. Not to The Fox. She wasn’t in the mood for socializing. She just felt a need to be outside and walking and
free
. Above her the dark night sky twinkled with stars, and the smoke smell from her own fire hung deliciously in the crisp air. The lane shone bright white with compacted snow, and all around the hedgerows and scenery were laden with thick frosting, a true winter wonderland. It wasn’t actually snowing at this moment and there was no wind, which made for a pleasant walk. After about a quarter of a mile, she was close enough to hear noise from the village and was on the point of turning back when a familiar voice startled her.
‘Laura? What are you doing out so late? Are you all right?’
Gabe Baxter loomed in front of her like a big, broad statue emerging suddenly from the darkness.
‘I’m fine. I just felt like a walk. I thought you were at the pub.’
‘I was for a bit.’ He came closer, so Laura could make out his features in the moonlight. The broad jaw, broken nose and mischievous eyes were the same as they’d always been, but something in Gabe’s expression was different. ‘But then I remembered I needed to do something.’
‘What did you need to do?’ asked Laura.
‘This.’
Grabbing her around the waist with both arms, he pulled her to him and kissed her, hard and strong and for a
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