Kiss Me on This Cold December Night by Charlotte Phillips Read Free Book Online Page A

he’d done the right thing in not looking for her when she’d run out on him. It had been the only way to silence the nagging thought that it was a mistake, letting her go like that without a fight. Not that he would have had much of a headstart on tracking her down, she’d made sure of that.
    He’d known her name, but really, how many Ella Scotts were there in the world? And was she really Ella, or was it some shortened version of loads of other possible names? . He and Ella had lived so deeply in the moment for that night that he hadn’t even picked up on how little she’d volunteered about her family and background. He’d kicked himself after she’d gone for that, so self-absorbed had he been in talking about himself. Their conversations had been about hopes and dreams, future plans. They’d truly lived in a bubble of perfection.
    He’d left her in the past, believed that it was for the best. And now a couple of hours in her company and he wasn’t so sure.
    ***
    He caught up with her as she went to return her skates. She pulled her boots back on, being careful not to use him to lean on for balance. Physical contact with him seemed to scramble her brain, and that spelled danger.
    â€˜You didn’t need looking after back in Devon either,’ he said. ‘Remember when we met? That guy claiming you’d short-changed him with his bill.’
    A smile rose on her lips at the memory.
    She remembered the flickering tea lights on the tables in the restaurant. The too-big Christmas tree in the corner that had snagged her clothes every time she walked past it with plates balanced on her hands. She’d worked in smarter restaurants in her time, but the pay had been good, a friend of hers had got her the job for the busy festive season and she was grateful for the distraction. Her first Christmas without her Gran. Celebrating didn’t even make it onto her to-do list. It hadn’t really done that since either. Christmas was a money making opportunity to her, and that was the way she kept it.
    â€˜He was drunk as a skunk and chancing his luck,’ she said. But you stepped right in,’ she grinned as she remembered. ‘You were still squaring up to him, even as I got the sack and we were both thrown off the premises!’
    He laughed and she smiled back. He’d been the most stunning guy in the room, sharing a table with a group of mates, a cut above the local clientele with his relaxed designer clothes and dark good looks. The other waitresses had clamoured to serve his table. Not Ella. She needed money, not complications. And yet when he’d stepped in like that he’d elevated himself above the usual dross. Because she wasn’t used to having family or friends stick up for her, let alone total strangers.
    â€˜You did pour a pitcher of beer over his head,’ he pointed out. ‘I don’t think I can take the full credit.’
    How cold and fresh the salt air had been after the heat of the restaurant and kitchen as the door had slammed shut behind them and she’d found herself alone and looking up at him on the icy pavement. The first person to wade into a battle for her since her Gran had gone. That was where it had started for her, they’d been together for the next fifteen hours, but with the benefit of hindsight she knew now that her heart had been vulnerable to him from the moment he stepped in. Awareness was a great thing. She knew her weaknesses now when it came to him, and getting in too deep this time around just wasn’t going to happen.
    â€˜Exactly my point,’ she said. ‘I didn’t need your help.’
    She could enjoy his company, spend a few days with him, but at the end of it she knew she’d be able to walk away.

CHAPTER FIVE
    He handed her a cup of mulled cider and she blew on its steaming surface, breathing in the delicious scent of sharp apple and sweet cinnamon. They found a bench and he