WARM WINTER KISSES a feel good Christmas romance novel (6 page)

Chapter 7

That’s not to say there weren’t any hiccups during those first weeks. There were a few, like the one with the puff pastry that refused to puff. Fortunately, neither I nor Paul or Dave felt the full wrath of Rocco’s temper on that front although the recalcitrant pastry didn’t fare so well. It was dumped unceremoniously in the bin.

‘Anyone with any sense would buy a packet,’ he said, echoing my own feelings and wondering if, at last, Rocco and I could be bonding on the culinary front.

‘Should I run to the shops and get some?’

He glared at me as if I’d suggested murdering my own mother.

‘This is a cookery programme we’re producing here, Beth, not a bloody kids
’
jamboree. How will I teach the nation to cook if I can’t show them how to knock up some pastry? I’ll do it again.’

Once we’d got over that small issue, and then the one about the missing side of venison, as well as the close shave with a mandolin that left Rocco dripping blood for half a morning, not to mention the constant interruption of Rocco’s throbbing mobile, everything went pretty much as it should have done. I fielded most of Rocco’s telephone calls. Journalists wanting to arrange interviews, clients wanting to see if he could persuade his maître d' in London to magically conjure up a table in the overbooked restaurant (even I knew that was an impossibility) and Pandora checking in at what seemed like ten minute intervals. I lost count of the number of times her name flashed up on the display, but I was under strict instructions.

‘I haven’t got time to speak to her. Don’t even bother answering it.’

‘But Rocco . . .’ I protested more than once.

‘If it’s urgent she can leave a message. I’ll catch up with her later.’

In a relatively short space of time I’d come to feel sorry for Pandora. As far as Rocco was concerned she was needy and anxious and from what I could see he treated her with utter disregard. Not that I’m an expert or anything, but they didn’t seem to me to be the actions of a man headlong in love.

At first, remembering how she’d treated me during our first meeting, pushing the reject button every time her name popped up on Rocco’s phone gave me a quiet sense of satisfaction. Ungracious, I know, but a little warm glow filled my stomach. Now though, I was left wondering why he couldn’t just be straight with her. If he didn’t have the time or the desire to behave civilly towards her, then he should say so to her face. I hated all that game playing.

‘Fancy a drink?’ Rocco asked me later, when filming had finished for the day and we were tidying up the cabin. I’d been on washing up duty for most of the day, working behind Rocco, clearing what space I could in the tiny galley kitchen. ‘We’re going to pop into The Anchor for a quickie.’ I swear his eyes twinkled suggestively. ‘But if you’d prefer to get back to the house?’

It was true what I’d heard. The man was an outrageous flirt. As far as he was concerned any woman was fair game. As long as I retained my professional business persona then everything would be fine. Just fine.

‘No, a drink sounds great.’ I was parched and the thought of sitting down with a chilled glass of wine was lovely. I folded the damp tea towel neatly over the range and faced Rocco with a smile.

‘Let’s go,’ I said.

Ten minutes later I was clasping a glass of Orvieto in my hand and sitting happily ensconced in the corner of the snug bar with Paul, Dave and Rocco and, most bizarrely of all, I had the eerily familiar face of rock superstar, Zak Stranger opposite me. We’d walked in and there he was, perched on a stool wearing black leather trousers, a black and white striped shirt, velvet waistcoat and his customary fedora, supping on his pint. He greeted Rocco eagerly, standing up and embracing his friend in a bear hug.

‘All right, babe?’ he said when Rocco made the introductions.

‘Hi!’ I grinned inanely, failing miserably to look as though I was used to meeting living legends on a regular basis. Funny thing was, because his crumpled face, spiky hair and wonky smile were so familiar, it was like sitting down with a favourite uncle for a chat and a catch-up and any butterflies I had quickly disappeared at the sound of his friendly rasping voice.

‘So how are you finding it here?’ Zak asked later, when Rocco went up to the bar to get another round in. ‘Working with Rocco?’

‘Oh, I’m settling in slowly. It’s a completely new world to me, but I’m enjoying it immensely.’

Zak nodded sagely, picking up his pint glass, supping on the contents and leaving a frothy white moustache on his top lip. I giggled. He smiled and wiped it away with his shirt arm.

‘Rocco, he’s a good bloke.’ Zak leaned back in his seat, looking across at his best friend. ‘Don’t take any notice of all that crap you read in the papers. It’s all a load of bollocks. He’ll see you all right as long as you know what you’re doing.’ He winked at me, in a freeze frame of an image I’d seen on many a magazine cover. ‘Pandora’s the one you’ve got to watch. She can be a bit flaky.’

‘I know.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘I’ve already met her.’

Zak’s gaze met mine and he chuckled. I wanted to ask why, if the general consensus was that Pandora was a nightmare, Rocco was hanging around with her. But then I remembered. Angelic face. Heavenly figure . . . The answer was obvious.

‘What about you then, love? You shacked up with anyone?’

I might have taken offence if it had been anyone else asking. I’d only just met him and there he was questioning me about my love life. But Zak’s lack of guile and no-nonsense approach defied you to take umbrage. Besides, it felt as I’d known him forever. Thinking about it, I probably had. Well, his music at least.

‘No, I’m resting, so to speak.’

He laughed. ‘Ah, I know where you’re coming from. Me too; I can do without the hassle.’ From memory, there were two ex-wives, two long-standing girlfriends, five kids and a couple of houses dotted around the countryside. Standard rock star stuff, I supposed.

Just as Rocco came back with a fresh round of drinks, my mobile bleeped, Lexi’s name flashing up onto the screen.

‘My sister,’ I said, standing up and edging my way past Rocco. His eyes twinkled into mine as our upper bodies touched fleetingly, sending an exhilarating sensation through my body. Really, it was becoming most disconcerting how every time I got close to this man my body went into overdrive. What was wrong with me? Probably something to do with my bruised and fragile ego, I decided. It was a revelation though. I’d forgotten my body could perform those kinds of manoeuvres. ‘Excuse me a minute, would you, please?’ I muttered, aware that the two sets of eyes of the most eligible men in the country were following me as I went out.

* * *

‘Lexi! Hi! How’s things?’ I walked through the bar, pressing the phone hard to my ear to try and hear above the babble of the pub and slipped outside into the evening air, relieved to be away for the moment from the claustrophobic atmosphere surrounding Rocco.

‘Great. Absolutely dreamy. I’ll tell you all my news in a minute. But how’s it going with you? What’s it like working for a kitchen tyrant? A sex-god one at that!’ Lexi’s distinctive giggle travelled down the phone.

‘Actually, I haven’t seen much of his tyrannical side. I think he’s a bit of a pussycat really. But, yeah, it’s going well. We’re just having a drink, actually and you’ll never guess who with?’

‘Oh God, not Pandora? Please tell me that in the flesh she has spots and cellulite and looks like a dog.’

‘No, not Pandora. Although I have met her and sadly she has none of those things. No, Zak Stranger.
The
Zak Stranger! I’m having a drink with him now. Can you believe it?’

‘You’re kidding me. Really? How amazing. Could you get his autograph for me, maybe? God, Beth, after all this jet-setting lifestyle with all these famous people you won’t want to know me.’ She paused, an expectant silence drifting my way. ‘I don’t suppose you’ll be remotely interested in my news, then?’ I recognised a mischievous tone in her voice.

‘Lexi? Come on then tell me, what is it?’ From experience, I guessed it would be a new handbag, pair of designer shoes, an exotic holiday booked or maybe even a new man.

‘Oh Beth, it’s so exciting. Mitch has asked me to marry him. It’s all been so unexpected. We decided at the weekend. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am.’ Her words fell out in a torrent. ‘We’re going to have a small engagement party in a few weeks’ time, that’s why I’m calling, to make sure you’ll be able to come. And then we’ll get married a couple of months after that.’

‘Married? A couple of months?’ My mind was doing mental gymnastics. Mitch? Had I even met him? Yes, I remembered. He was the fit, sporty one. Worked as a personal trainer. Good-looking in an overly muscular, tanned kind of way. If that was the sort of thing that floated your boat.

‘Yes, well,’ said Lexi, taking a sharp intake of breath, ‘we want to get everything sorted before . . .’ She paused and my heart stopped as I realised with dread what was coming next. ‘The . . . baby arrives.’ I heard a nervous giggle. ‘Of course, it was a shock when we found out, but now. Oh, Beth, I couldn’t be happier.’

‘A baby?’ This was my younger sister talking. It didn’t happen this way. There was a natural order to these kinds of events and this wasn’t it. I still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that she was having sex. I was so dumbstruck, all I could do was repeat Lexi’s words. ‘A baby? But you’ve only just met him.’

Lexi spluttered. ‘Beth, you’re so funny. I’ve been seeing him for ages
—
at least three months.’ Exactly, I felt like blurting out. Three months. It was no time at all.

‘But that doesn’t matter,’ Lexi continued. ‘What does matter is that we’re crazy about each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to wait. The thing is,’ Lexi babbled, ‘it’s true what they say. When you meet that special person you just know. I knew instantly. And Mitch says the same too. You don’t have all those nagging doubts in your head, wondering whether it’s going to work or not or whether they’re right for you. You just know.’

‘Oh, I see,’ I said, not seeing at all. Was it really possible to feel like that? To meet someone and know almost immediately he was the one. I was with Martin five years and never even got close to that feeling.

‘Well, you could at least pretend to be pleased for me,’ said Lexi, petulantly. ‘You’re going to be an auntie, isn’t that fantastic?’ My heart sank to the bottom of my high-heeled shoes.

A maiden aunt. Well, that was a pretty exciting prospect. Childless, husbandless, possibly even jobless after this little interesting interlude came to an end, my glittering future shone before me. I was sitting on one of the benches outside the pub, gazing into the still waters of the canal. The thought crossed my mind briefly that maybe I should jump in.

Dismissing my momentary self-indulgent thoughts, my mind returned to Lexi’s jaw-dropping news.

‘No, I am happy for you, Lexi, if this is what you really want and it sounds as if it is. I’m just a bit shocked that’s all. Er, gobsmacked even. Have you told Mum and Dad yet?’

Lexi laughed. ‘We’re shocked too. But happy. And no I haven’t told Mum and Dad; I thought I’d send them an email. They’ll be made up though, won’t they?’

‘Thrilled,’ I said, nodding automatically.

‘And you will be able to come to the engagement party, won’t you? It’ll be a small do. If not, I’ll just rearrange it for another time.’

‘No, that Saturday will be fine, it’ll be great,’ I lied, hoping that the obvious amazement stretched over my face would have adjusted by then, and I could recover the ability to converse coherently in such a relatively short space of time. ‘We can catch up on all the news,’ I said, lamely.

When Lexi hung up, leaving a heavy silence throbbing in my ear, I stared at the phone blankly for a moment before wandering back into the pub.

‘Anything wrong?’ asked Rocco, standing up to greet me when I got back to the table. ‘Not bad news, I hope?’

I shook my head.

‘Just my sister. Good news, in fact. She’s getting married, and expecting a baby too. It’s all happened rather suddenly.’

‘Oh well, that is good news. From the look on your face, I thought someone had died.’

I eked out a smile. Maybe a small part of me had just died. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me down to sit next to him.

‘Sounds to me as if we ought to have another drink to celebrate.’

‘Best idea you’ve had in a long time, mate,’ said Zak, laughing.

I laughed too, although I wasn’t sure the joke reached my insides. My mind was still swimming at the thought of Lexi’s news. We’d always been such a team, she and I. Team B beside the A-team of Mum and Dad. We’d relied on each other so heavily, confided in each other, shared everything together and now this
—
this mammoth thing had swept down without warning, lodging itself firmly between us.

I stared into my wine glass looking for answers, feeling outraged that there were tears pricking my eyes. What about me? I couldn’t help thinking.

Sighing, I turned to look up at Rocco who was observing me thoughtfully. I wondered how long his arm had been stroking my shoulder. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, his finger lightly traced a pattern through my cotton blouse, making me squirm inwardly with pleasure. Those deep probing eyes never left my face, and that’s when I knew. A tingling feeling swept through my veins and I realised that my eyes were smiling too. God, what was the matter with me? My head was all over the place. In that moment, in the noisy pub, I ached with longing and lust for the man sitting next to me.