The Loving Gift. Carole Mortimer

that she even accepted you.'

      Understood and accepted—–? Dead women didn't give their husbands ‘signs’ like that! Besides, she didn't like the idea of possibly being instrumental in that ‘sign'—it made her feel uncomfortable, to say the least. The very least!

      ‘There's only one problem with that notion,’ she bit out sharply. ‘I have no wish to be in your life.'

      He grimaced. ‘After the stunt I pulled earlier by not instantly correcting you over the mistaken identity, I'm not surprised, but—'

      ‘What were you doing playing Father Christmas instead of Simon?’ Curiosity got the better of her.

      ‘Surprising Penny,’ he explained ruefully.

      Remembering how pale the other woman had gone when she had instantly realised the man behind the Father Christmas suit wasn't her husband but his younger brother, she would say he had succeeded very well in achieving that!

      He sighed, undeterred by Jade's silence. ‘You see, we haven't seen each other for—a number of years. My fault, I'm afraid,’ he admitted heavily. ‘But when the two people you love most in the world remind you too painfully of the one person you ever loved more than them, the easiest—and probably the hardest, too!—thing to do is put them out of your life at the same time as you block out the pain of losing that special someone you loved.'

      Jade felt as if she were being privileged with an insight into this man very few people were ever honoured with. And she, of all people, didn't want it, drew back from the intimacy of the confidence.

      ‘That's understandable,’ she dismissed stiffly, once again wishing the journey over.

      David's mouth twisted. ‘Fortunately Penny and Simon feel the same way about it that you do—otherwise my surprise could have ruined more than one Christmas.'

      And instead only her own plans for the festive season seemed to have been affected. The Kendricks had invited her to spend several pre-Christmas celebrations with them during the next few days, but with David Kendrick obviously now in on those invitations too… She would rather go back to her original plan of spending a quiet few weeks with Wellington than deliberately thrusting herself into this man's company.

      ‘We all used to spend so much time together,’ David murmured absently, obviously deeply lost in thought. ‘Penny and Simon, Sara and me.’ He gave a wistful sigh. ‘Penny and Sara were more like sisters.'

      ‘I was at college with Penny's younger sister,’ Jade blurted out as a change of subject, knowing she hadn't quite succeeded when David smiled his satisfaction.

      ‘Penny somehow seems to have a natural affinity with the women I'm going to marry,’ he said with satisfaction.

      ‘How many of us were there at the last count?’ she felt stung into retorting.

      David gave her a reproving look. ‘Do I look like the sort of man who's had a string of wives?'

      He looked like the sort of man who had never given marriage a thought, the perennial bachelor, in fact. But that could be because, by his own admission, his marriage to Sara had been so long ago.

      Jade sighed. ‘You look like the sort of man who has had a string of women in his life,’ she taunted challengingly.

      His expression became completely serious, those deep blue eyes looking almost black in the darkness. ‘A few,’ he admitted thoughtfully. ‘Although not necessarily in the way you mean.’ He smiled, as if he couldn't help himself. ‘Ask me to introduce you to Dizzy and Christi some time. They are the only two women who have been in my life for some time.'