‘I’ll babysit,’ Meg’s mother said immediately, but Dino shook his head.
‘I’d like you to come. And Jamie. Ellie and Ben are bringing their kids, and Sean and Ally. They can all go downstairs to the den and watch a film. Jamie can choose his favourite.’
‘Wow, thanks.’ Jamie was buzzing with excitement. ‘We can come, can’t we, Mum? A Christmas party. Will Santa be here?’
Dino didn’t miss a beat. ‘He’ll be here.’
Meg hesitated. A party with the mountain rescue team and children present wouldn’t be formal, would it? No more long dresses and wearing things that she just didn’t feel comfortable in. ‘I’d like that. Thanks.’
‘Good.’ He looked at her for a long moment and then smiled. ‘So, don’t we have a Christmas tree to buy?’
‘This one?’ Dino winced as another fir tree tried to lacerate his skin. They’d been in the forest for an hour and still they hadn’t found a tree that satisfied Meg.
He knew, because he was watching her face all the time. He couldn’t stop looking at her. Somehow, after the passion of the night, her hair had curled again and it bounced around her face in golden curls. Her mouth was curved in a permanent smile as she laughed with her child. She looked slightly ruffled, natural, as if she’d just climbed out of bed.
Which she had.
Lust thudded through him. If it hadn’t been for the child, he would have tumbled her down onto the floor of the forest and had her gasping his name within seconds.
‘Not the right shape. Try that one.’ She pointed and Dino lowered the tree he was holding to the ground and picked up the other one, unable to see the difference. They all looked the same to him. A tree was a tree, wasn’t it?
‘I like that one, Mum. Can we have it?’ Jamie jumped on the spot and Dino watched him, envying the child’s ability to live in the moment. For a child, it was all about now. Yesterday was gone and tomorrow was too far away to merit a single thought.
He thought about Hayden, and wondered how any man could be stupid enough not to want to be a part of his child’s life. People could be selfish, he knew that from his own family experience. And then the child suffered. Except that no one could think Jamie was suffering. Not with Meg as a mother.
‘Turn it around—I want to see the back.’ Blowing on her hands, she peered at the tree from every angle and eventually pronounced it perfect.
‘Are you going to buy a tree, Dino? You’re going to need a really big one for your house. Or maybe two trees.’ Jamie was glued to his side and Dino was a
bout to answer when he saw the expression on Meg’s face.
She was watching Jamie and her heart was in her eyes.
She was so afraid he was going to hurt her child.
‘I’m not planning on buying a tree, Jamie.’ He focused his attention on the boy. ‘I’ll be on my own on Christmas Day, so it isn’t worth it.’
Jamie looked puzzled. ‘How can you be on your own? Where’s your family?’
Doing their own thing, as they always had.
‘My parents spend Christmas in the States. My sister goes to stay with her husband’s family.’
‘And they don’t invite you?’
Dino wondered how best to deal with the questions without shattering the child’s illusions about the world. ‘I’m a grown-up, and grown-ups don’t always get together with family at Christmas.’
‘Yes, they do.’ Jamie frowned. ‘Grandma is grown up. And she always spends Christmas with us. We all have Christmas together. I think it’s mean that they didn’t invite you. You can’t be on your own. It isn’t right, is it, Mummy? You can come to us. Grandma always cooks a turkey and it’s massive. We eat it for weeks. You could help.’
Unbelievably touched, it took Dino a moment to answer. ‘That’s kind of you, Jamie—’
‘So you’ll come? Great. That’s great, isn’t it, Mum? Dino is going to spend Christmas Day with us.’
Meg’s face was pink. ‘Jamie, he may not want to—our house is really small, and—’
‘I’d love to.’ Dino watched her face, trying to read her mind. They hadn’t had a chance to talk about what had happened since she’d bolted from the bed that morning. About where this was going. But he knew where he wanted it to go.
All the way.