Page 55 of Someone For Everyone

‘…Or avoid dealing with the issue, in which case the problem never goes away.’

He lowered his hand, perplexed by her reasoning. ‘My problems are not going to be solved by the size of the tree we buy.’

She lifted her hands. ‘How do you know that?’

‘Okay, I’m taking you to A & E.’ He caught her hand and dragged her away, ignoring her laughter. ‘You need medical assistance. That splinter was obviously infected and you have tetanus.’

Still laughing, she tugged on his hand, pulling him to a stop. ‘Think how great you’re going to feel when we overcome the challenge of tree versus car, and we arrive back at the home with the most amazing specimen anyone’s ever seen. You’ll be thanking me for pushing you.’

He turned, causing her to bump into his chest. ‘Are you serious?’

‘As a heart attack.’ And then she gasped. ‘Oh, shit. Sorry!’ Her hands covered her mouth. ‘God, I’m so sorry, Cal.’ Her expression was part mortification, part laughter.

He had no idea why, but her calling himCalalmost wiped his feet out from under him.

Maybe it was the challenging glint in her eye as she’d said it, daring him on, or the way she was smiling, inviting him into her batshit crazy world of lunacy… but to his utter shock, he opened his mouth and said, ‘Fine. The bigger tree it is.’

Chapter Thirteen

Tuesday, 14thDecember

When the alarm sounded on her phone, Kate couldn’t believe it was midday already. No wonder she kept working through her breaks: time flew by when she was engrossed.

Switching off the alarm, she stood up from the desk and stretched, stiff from sitting for so long. Her back was sore from trying to lift and transport a six-foot Norwegian Christmas tree home yesterday, the memory of which made her smile. She wasn’t sure which part amused her most: trying to secure the tree to the roof of Calvin’s car, watching him drive home while unable to see through the mass of branches flopping onto the windscreen, or the pair of them standing in the lounge, having finally erected the damned thing, soaking wet and covered in pine needles.

Smiling, she closed the lid on her laptop and went in search of Calvin.

Yesterday had certainly been a day of contrasting emotions. One that had seen her fluctuate from the depths of despair to laughing so hard she hadn’t been able to breathe. The end result had been utter exhaustion, and she’d collapsed into bed last night and slept better than she had in months. She hadn’t even woken when the windows had blown open in the night, so they were still banging about this morning when she’d finally surfaced. Waking up to find the room freezing hadn’t been pleasant, but she’d happily trade that for a decent night’s sleep.

Walking across the lobby, she stuck her head around the dining room door, surprised to find it empty. There was no one in the kitchen either, which was odd, considering it waslunchtime. Geraldine would normally be in there, singing along to the radio as she prepared lunch. Where was everyone?

In fact, when she stopped to listen, she realised the care home was eerily quiet.

Puzzled, she returned to the library and tentatively knocked on Calvin’s door. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake as last time and march into his apartment unannounced. The recollection of him stark naked still had the ability to send waves of heat coursing through her. Not that her behaviour since had been much better. Continually making a fool of herself seemed to be her default setting. As yesterday had proved, when once again she’d emotionally imploded, and he’d been there to not only witness it, but also pick up the pieces.

A soft voice called out, ‘Come in,’ and she slowly eased the door open to peer inside.

If she’d been shocked to discover him naked last time, she was even more thrown to see him slowly pacing the room with Jacob cradled in his arms. The sight did nothing to dampen the heat in her cheeks.

‘He’s just gone to sleep,’ Calvin whispered, his face breaking into one of those kilowatt smiles. ‘Everything okay?’

She wasn’t sure what rattled her most: the unleashing of his dimples or the sight of him cradling a baby. Her insides squirmed with longing, and she had to forcibly squash her hormones, which had gone into overdrive. Life really wasn’t fair sometimes.

‘Everything’s fine,’ she whispered, wanting to move closer, but resisting for the sake of self-preservation. ‘Where is everyone? The place is empty.’

‘Esme and Rowan have taken a taxi into Ashford to do some Christmas shopping. Geraldine made an early lunch for Deshad and Priya so she could take the afternoon off, and Larry’s out for the day with his son, who’s visiting from the States.’

‘And Hanna?’

‘Hanna’s asleep upstairs.’

Kate couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d said Hanna’s favourite colour was blush-pink. ‘Really? During the day?’ Maybe she really was a vampire.

‘She was up all night covering for Natalie. I insisted she get some rest. Natalie’s not feeling so great, so she’s gone to see the doctor.’

‘Ah, which explains why you’ve been left holding the baby.’ Kate risked moving closer, unable to resist taking a peek at a sleeping Jacob. ‘Do you mind looking after him?’

‘Mind?’ He looked surprised. ‘Look at him. He’s adorable.’

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