Sealed with a Christmas Kiss by Rachael Lucas Read Free Book Online Page B

House.
    He was sitting at his old oak desk in the library, fire burning, the brass desk lamp glowing in the midwinter darkness. Even now, mid-morning, it was dark enough in there in winter to need a
light. His laptop was open, but the keyboard was covered with papers.
    ‘Where did you get to this morning? I got back from my run and you’d disappeared. I was hoping you’d still be in bed.’
    She’d been tempted, watching Roddy climbing into his running kit, to wait for him to get home and shower, and pull him back to bed. But she’d been preoccupied with all the stress of
the other night, and she’d known instinctively that what she needed was the silence and space to think that she always found at Selkie Bay.
    ‘I thought I’d escape for a bit and clear my head,’ she explained. She twisted her hair up into a knot as she spoke, frowning, aware that she didn’t exactly look a
picture of Zen calm.
    ‘It didn’t work, I’m guessing?’
    ‘No. Not helped by my phone yelling at me as soon as I got back in reach of Wi-Fi with about fifteen messages from Sian. She’s got a plan, apparently.’
    Roddy looked at her briefly, an expression on his face which Kate couldn’t read. He reached out for her hand, pulling her down into his lap with a laugh. He seemed to be remarkably
unstressed about everything, considering.
    ‘Go and have a bath.’ He kissed her on the nose, pushed her off the chair gently and spun back to face his desk. ‘You’re freezing cold.’
    Kate lay in the bath, bubbles up to her nose, remembering the first night she’d spent in Duntarvie House. It felt like a lifetime ago – she’d fallen badly on
her first day on the island and been rescued by a gruff, not-particularly-friendly Roddy, who had, it turned out, been thinking she was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. She’d
ended up lying in this very bathroom, soaking her aching shoulder in a lavender-scented bath, whilst Jean had prepared dinner and Roddy had tended to a then-tiny Willow. And later on there had been
a huge party for Hogmanay – which he’d admitted afterwards was thrown for her benefit – and the snowy night not long afterwards when they’d ended up stranded in one of the
holiday cottages overlooking Selkie Bay.
    Sighing with the delicious memory of it all, Kate looked up at the ornate cornicing on the bathroom ceiling. It was mad to think that this was home now, and that she lived in a castle. Or a big
house, as Roddy would insist on calling it – but with its crenellated roof, ornate turrets and tower complete with flag, it felt like a castle to Kate. Not that life was particularly
princessy, mind you. There was a constant worry about money: things kept falling down, or falling off, or falling apart. And the estate workers had to be paid, and then there was the sagging island
economy, although a regular flow of wedding visitors would help with that . . . and there she was, again. She sank beneath the bubbles, closing her eyes. Was this wedding thing ever going to stop
weighing on her mind?
    ‘I’ve brought you coffee.’ Kate shoved some books aside, making space for the two mugs. Roddy’s laptop screen was a jumble of open windows, with the
mocked-up new Duntarvie House website taking pride of place.
    ‘Looks good, don’t you think?’ He stood up, motioning for her to take his place in the battered old leather chair. ‘Sit down.’
    For a moment she wondered what he was up to, but then the familiar sound of a Skype call broke through her thoughts.
    Sian Patterson
flashed the display.
    ‘Oh God, not now. I can’t face her,’ said Kate, reaching to click the ‘unavailable’ button, but Roddy got there before her.
    ‘It’s fine, I’m expecting her to ring. I texted her when I heard you were out of the bath.’
    The video call popped into life. Sian was beaming. Kate looked at her own face in the corner of the screen, rearranging her features rapidly. Her scowl was thunderous, but Sian