All the Romance You Need This Christmas: 5-Book Festive Collection. Romy Sommer
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“Hi Trevor,” Harri said, as a tall man grabbed him in a bear hug. “Happy birthday. Sorry we’re a bit late. Traffic.”
This must be Red Pepper’s producer. Julia laughed and stood to one side as Harri disappeared into the group, who greeted him with much backslapping and raucous humour.
By the look of them all, they’d been drinking for quite some time. Harri managed eye contact with Julia and, quirking his brows, extricated himself, making the excuse that they wanted to skate while the rink wasn’t too crowded. He propelled her to one of the marquees, where they had to collect their skates.
Julia sat, trying to pull on her skating boots. “Are you sure these are the right size for me?” she complained.
“Come here.” Harri tutted in mock exasperation. He kneeled before her and helped. “How much trouble are you?” He smoothed the thin leather boot onto her ankle, his cold fingers making contact with her bare leg making her yelp.
She leaned forward so that they were nose to cold nose. “I can be as much trouble as you want,” she breathed huskily and then backtracked as she clocked his panicked expression. “On the rink, of course.”
“Of course,” Harri said, in relief. “You’ve never skated before, have you?”
“Nope.” As Julia tried to stand, she fell onto him. “Whoops. Seem to be making a habit of this tonight. I’m glad I didn’t have a drink first.” She clutched onto his sweater, enjoying the feel of his erect nipples through the wool. “You’ll have to hold me up, Harri.”
“Looks that way, bach,” Harri responded somewhat tersely. “Come on, let’s get started.”
As it happened, Harri had to hold onto Julia through most of their skating time. She proved to be as much a natural on the ice as she was in the dance studio.
“I just don’t seem to have any balance for this sort of thing,” she gasped and clung onto his arm on one side and the rail on the other. Past flirting now, Julia simply wanted to stay upright.
Harri was in mid-chuckle when the music abruptly stopped, to be replaced by the strains of ‘Happy Birthday’.
Relishing a reprieve, Julia leaned on the rail, while everyone sang to Trevor who, judging from the racket coming from one of the marquees, was still ensconced in the bar.
When it was over, Harri looked her in the eye. “I think you’re ready to try the middle of the rink out now.”
“No way!”
“Way,” he laughed. “Come on, you can still hang onto me. You can’t stay by the rails all night.”
“I rather think I can.”
“Chicken.”
Julia brought herself up to her full height. “No one calls me ‘chicken’ and gets away with it!” She glared at him and then slipped a little. “You will hold me up though, Harri, won’t you? Don’t let me go, will you?”
Harri laughed and put his arm round her waist. “Put your arm round my neck and you’ll be fine. Oh, the music’s changed again.”
And so it had. The lighting changed too. To accompany the moody notes of Elvis’ Blue Christmas the ice rink transformed from white to a greeny-blue. Dry ice shifted across its surface.
Harri and Julia made their unsteady way across the ice. It was as if they were moving underwater; it felt dreamy and romantic. Their limbs slowed to match the seductive rhythm of the old song.
Julia was only too aware of the man next to her. Although she knew she’d fall if he let go of her, she was certain he wouldn’t. She felt safe.
She also felt as horny as hell.
She stopped and slid round to face him. With her sudden movement, he staggered a little. It brought his face next to hers, within kissing distance. She felt his breath, hot on her cold face.
He put both arms around her, to hold her steady. Feeling brave, in return, Julia slipped her arms round his waist, bringing him tight into her. She gazed up at him, willing him to kiss her. Where their bodies met, a heat burned, even through their thick winter clothes.
“Far enough, I think,” whispered Harri but Julia knew he wasn’t only referring to the distance they’d come on the ice.
“Better go back now, bach. Join the others.”
Julia was shocked at how disappointed she felt. Not to mention the blow to her ego. “Okay,” she said slowly. “If we must.”
They’d joined Trevor and his gang in the bar, where she and Harri had spent the rest of the evening determinedly catching up on the alcohol intake.
Did Harri really like her, Julia wondered, as the Quickstep being announced brought her back to the present. She sensed a reserve in him, something holding him back. On occasion, she was sure he reciprocated her feelings. She vibrated with desire every time he came near her and his continued neutrality made her dry-mouthed with frustration. Maybe, it was that he simply didn’t like her that way? The group were all very hands on; forever hugging and kissing one another. Callum, still in the competition and giving Harri a run for his money as the favourite, made the most of every opportunity to squeeze and stroke in nauseating fashion. Julia gave a shudder as she remembered how he’d pinched her bottom that very morning. If anything, Harri was more restrained than everyone else was and it was still causing problems in the infernal rumba that they were planning for the Christmas special.
“You. Alright?” Jan asked in his customary aggressive manner.
Julia sucked in a deep breath. If she were to stay in the competition and maybe, just maybe, find out what Harri’s true feelings were, she needed to concentrate. Being able to see Harri most days in the training gym was a powerful incentive. She looked up at Jan. “Fine. I’m fine. Let’s just get on with it.”
Julia found herself backstage in what seemed like a matter of minutes, unable to believe what had happened. She had missed the dance off yet again and the judges had been forced to choose between Casey and Suni. Julia held her breath, hardly noticing that Harri had grabbed her hand and was holding on tight. A shout of relief echoed round when the judges voted for Suni. The whole gang, even po-faced Jan, leapt to their feet and cheered. Casey hadn’t been popular and everyone recognised Suni’s talent.
“Thank God for that. Come here, lovely girl and give me a cwtch!” Julia found herself wrapped up in Harri’s powerful arms in a rugby scrum of a hug – the ‘cwtch,’ she assumed.
“Ooh,” she managed as the air was squeezed out of her.
Harri dropped her immediately. “Sorry, got a bit carried away.” His face was flushed Julia noticed and he seemed embarrassed.
As one, the remaining contestants milled onto the studio floor and gathered round Suni, Casey and even Charlie and Carol.
Julia found herself hugging Daniel Cunningham, Casey’s professional partner. He was a lovely man she thought, tall and lean with floppy blond hair. “I’m so sorry,” she yelled at him over the hubbub.
He hugged her back. “We’d gone about as far as we could,” he said into her ear, his breath hot on her cheek. “Casey’s got a modelling contract in the States coming up. She wanted out anyway.”
Julia drew back aghast. “You mean it was fixed? The result was fixed?”
Daniel tapped his nose and grinned. “Can’t say, but she didn’t exactly have much time for training this week. Too busy on the phone – and it showed.”
“But that’s so unfair on you!” Julia said in a shocked voice. She knew how much the competition meant to the professional dancers, it was the source of Jan’s eternal frustration with her.
“It’s the way it goes,” Daniel shrugged with a sanguine smile and Julia couldn’t help but compare his reaction