Christmas Cracker 3-Book Collection by Alexandra Brown

Author:Alexandra Brown [Various]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2015-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Rob had stood up, dropped the popcorn, kicked the bowl so hard it flew to the other side of the room, smashing into the wall. It arced tiny yellow kernels through the air as it went, scattering them all over the carpet like golden hail. He kicked again, and the chair fell backwards, banging down to the floor, its leather back crunching into the popcorn. Other than the monitor, there was nothing left to kick, so he forced himself to calm down as much as his blood pressure would allow.

Damn. His mother must have finally convinced her to go on a date with Rick. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew Dorothea liked Leah, saw her as some kind of redemption. Knew that she wanted to make him jealous, make him realise what he had to lose, as though he was a teenager again. Well, it looked like she’d won – she’d persuaded Leah to take Rick up on his offer. And it looked like Leah had enjoyed every single minute of it, if the giddy look on her face was anything to go by.

And can you blame her, he wondered, when you all but pimped her out yourself? He’d sat there, hungover at the dining table, feasting on his own pain, and told her in front of witnesses that it was time for her to move on. Told her, in that cold voice he’d put on to try and close her down, that it was time for her to find someone new. Okay, he’d been hurting, deep in the darkness that surrounded Meredith and her death, but he’d been so harsh. Rejected her, in front of his family, like the bastard he was capable of being.

Even then, she hadn’t given up. She’d still tried to reach out. Still clearly believed that they could be friends, that she could help him.

In return, he’d spent the next week wallowing in work and self-pity, stomping on every olive branch she held out. He’d sent his own message, loud and clear: back off. He hadn’t even thought about how that would make her feel; how much that might cost her on top of the recent wedding fiasco. Hadn’t thought of anything but himself and his own peace of mind. He’d been blinkered and selfish and cruel.

So now it served him right if she was finally doing it. Finally backing off. He’d made his bed, and Rick got to lie in it.

He picked up the chair, righted it, and sat down, shell-shocked. Tried to calm down. Did some deep breathing that made him sound like a congested seal. Stamped on some stray popcorn, grinding it into the shagpile. Told himself this was a horrifically predictable he-man reaction. He’d come home determined to get Leah out of his life. All this was doing was giving him a helping hand, and if he could switch his testosterone levels down from Neanderthal, he might even welcome it.

What Leah does, he told himself, and who she does it with, is officially None Of Your Business.

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