'That was incredible, Jasper.' The dark haired man patted his son on the back after watching him perform a few spins. Holly had spent only an hour showing them to him at the end of her first shift. 'Thank you so much,' Jasper's dad turned to her, 'I really appreciate it.' He grinned charmingly, forest green eyes twinkling.
'No problem,' she said faintly.
'Come on, Jasper,' he turned to his son, 'let's go do a few laps around the rink.'
Holly stared after them. She'd known Jasper would pick the skating up quickly, but what was flooring her, what was making her heart squeeze up her chest and into her throat, was who his father was.
She turned accusing eyes on Noel where he was lounging against the other side of plastic wall, and skated over to him. 'Matt Reilly is Jasper's dad? Matt Reilly is your best friend?'
'One of my best friends.' He corrected, straightening and plunging his hands into his coat pockets. 'But uh,' he cast his eyes up as if the darkening indigo sky contained all sorts of interesting things, 'yes.'
'Matt Reilly. The Matt Reilly. Mega-famous, mega-rich music producer. The guy in all the magazines-'
'Yes, all right, I get it.' He dropped his gaze back to hers. 'He's got the wow factor.' His jaw clenched, 'And you think I should have told you, but if I had, security precautions would have clicked in because Matt's so overprotective and I wanted Jasper to have normality, just for a few days, while his nanny is away. You wait and see, as soon as Matt thinks people are clocking who he is, he'll take Jasper and vanish.'
Holly watched Matt and Jasper skate around the rink, arms down by their sides. 'Still…'
'Be cross if you want, but I was thinking of Jasper. Like I said earlier, it took a lot of persuasion for me to be able to bring Jasper back and let you work with him. Matt seriously dislikes anything drawing attention to his kids.'
'I- I guess I can't judge. You know him better than I do. And I suppose you were keeping it from me for the right reasons. Still, I wished you'd told me, you can trust me-'
'We hardly know each other,' Noel stepped back, voice cold, 'I've had people I know and trust far more than you let me down.'
Direct hit. It was a good thing she wasn't seriously interested in him, or that one may have hurt. The sharp sensation in her side was a stitch. Just a stitch.
His eyes flickered over the top of her head. 'As predicted,' he nodded at Matt, who was beckoning to Jasper to hurry up as a couple of people started to notice them, 'time to go.'
'Noel, wait-'
'Yes?' he bit, face hard.
There were so many things she could say but Matt was bearing down on them fast, and Noel looked so unwelcoming she doubted he'd listen anyway. 'Nothing, you'd better go. Take care then.' She spun away quickly.
She didn't wish him a Merry Christmas, there was no point. Besides, there was work to do.
'Bye,' he said to her back, and there was a tone to his voice that hinted he wanted to say more. But when she checked over shoulder, he was already striding away with Matt, both their heads down, Jasper between them. That was it then. He was gone.
Making her way into the skate entrance building she stomped off to staff quarters to have a rest and something to eat before getting ready for the club night.
Her eyes stung and she knew moral support was needed. Pulling her phone out, she tapped the screen. 'Carly? It's me. Fancy coming clubbing with a difference tonight?'
Noel leaned up against the rink wall by the oversized Christmas tree, hands stuffed in his pockets for warmth, face burrowed in the depths of his navy scarf. He must be mad, standing in the freezing cold like this.
He hadn't planned to be here. Originally he was supposed to be at home, like he usually was on Christmas Eve, drinking beer, eating a take-away and watching unashamedly non-Christmassy TV. Then Matt had persuaded him to spend a few hours with him and the kids, and this year for some reason Noel had softened and agreed. But as he'd stared blankly at the crackling flames and logs in Matt's fireplace, he'd known he couldn't leave it like that with Holly. So unfinished. He hadn't thanked her properly for everything she'd done for Jasper, or - even as he thought it, he realised how true it was - told her how much he'd enjoyed her company. He'd got up from his chair and found Matt in the kitchen.
'Look, Matt, I need to-'
'Don't tell me. You've changed your mind and are heading home to hibernate,' his friend joked as he made coffee using the space-age looking machine. It probably cost more than Noel earned in a month.
'No. But I am heading out for a while.'
'You going back for the girl? I saw the way you looked at her.'
He thought about denying it but settled on a shrug. 'She's nice. And I just need to clear the air, that's all.'
'Right. Still flying the no complications flag then?'
He avoided an answer, because he wasn't sure he knew it himself. 'I hardly think you're one to talk, mate.' He smiled to take the sting out of it, 'I'll see you a bit later.'
Matt threw a bunch of keys across the kitchen. 'Take the P1, and park in my usual space at the hotel.'
'Thanks.' Noel caught the keys and pocketed them. Matt drove an environmentally friendly Prius but had a few other cars and had insured him and Stephen on them all a long time ago. The P1 was Noel's favourite; sleek, sexy, low to the ground and fast.
Stephen charged in, shrugging into his jacket. 'I'm coming too,' he insisted. 'I want to have a look at the hot blonde totty who's taught Jasper all these tricks. Maybe she can teach me a few things.'
'That's not what I said about her,' Matt protested.
Noel threw Stephen a dirty look. 'I don't think so.' He ground out. 'She's far too nice for you.'
'Come on,' Stephen spread his hands, 'I'm not that bad am I? I wine and dine the ladies.'
Silence greeted his comment. They all knew that while he was good at romancing women initially, he was not good at anything that came after that. Like returning their calls, being honest with them or telling them when the relationship was over.
'Thanks.' Stephen sighed heavily, green eyes mocking. 'Can I come if I promise to behave?'
Noel blew out a breath. 'If I say no, are you going to turn up at Somerset House anyway?'
'Of course.'
'You might as well get a ride with me then.'
'So where is she then?' Stephen asked now, jumping up to sit on the plastic wall, ignoring the dirty look he got from a passing member of staff. He seemed unaffected by the cold, leather jacket open over a white open necked shirt.
'I don't know,' Noel scowled as the DJ started a club anthem up, lights starting to spin across the ice.
He looked around, unable to see her in the heaving crowds of skaters and spectators. And then he did.
Wow.
Jasper had asked Noel to help hang the Christmas stockings above the fireplace the night before, but as Holly skated gracefully onto the ice, and Noel caught sight of an expanse of long, lean thigh encased in black tights below a short, twirly figure-skating dress it was a different type of stocking he was thinking of. Black sheer stockings that ended as lacy hold-ups on upper thighs, leaving inches of bare skin sexily bare below lacy black knickers…he gulped. Shit. He had the hots for Holly. Pity he'd blown it by acting like such a cold bastard earlier.
He watched as she helped someone up off the ice, and then checking she had enough room, went into a series of spins and jumps to the beat of a remixed Ellie Goulding track. Some kind of diamanté studding on her skates flashed and caught the lights and the way she moved her body was stunning. She had control and precision but a flair in the flick of her arms. The way she went so low down to the ice with one leg bent in front of her and