‘Hello,’ he said with a smile.
‘Hi, Jay.’ Lottie wished she could calm down. How had he acquired the power to zap every nerve ending?
Steph smirked. ‘Hi there, Jay. Good to see you again.’
‘You too. How’s the tree doing?’ he asked.
Steph rolled her eyes. ‘Still standing. The girls have been squabbling over whose turn it is to water it.’
‘That’s better than neglecting it.’
‘Though they might kill it with kindness,’ Lottie added.
‘They’re sturdy trees. They like plenty of TLC.’ He sipped his wine again and caught Lottie’s eye. Was she imagining that he seemed to be staring at her? Or was she reading too much into the situation. She longed to stroke the velvet of his jacket – and the skin under it.
How would she get through the evening, if she was in a state before they’d even had dinner? Dare she hope that he’d realised there’d been nothing ‘going on’ between her and Connor and they could move on?
Some of Lottie’s other workmates joined them and soon Jay was part of a small group that included Thorsten and Kerr. He seemed at home and she relaxed too, although every sneaky glance at him sent shivers of desire through her.
The dinner gong sounded and everyone peeled off to find their tables. Lottie had done the place settings herself and had placed Jay with Kerr, some of the crew from the forestry team and a couple of guys from the maintenance team.
‘I’m surprised you haven’t arranged for Jay to sit right next to you,’ Steph observed quietly, unfolding her table napkin.
‘Maybe that would have been a bit … obvious?’
A waiter appeared with a bottle. ‘White or red, madam?’
‘White, please,’ said Steph. ‘This is such a treat, Lottie. Thanks for inviting me. Last year I thought I might never go to another Christmas do.’
Steph took a gulp of her wine. Lottie wondered whether she should be having too much alcohol after going so long without it? However, as Steph had pointed out, she didn’t need a nursemaid and besides, Lottie was the last person to spoil her fun after all she’d been through.
Chapter Twenty
After dinner, the band started up. Fuelled by the subsidised bar, people were immediately on their feet, and to Lottie’s amusement, the most enthusiastic dancers weren’t necessarily the ones she’d expected. She was feeling mellower after a couple of glasses but being careful because she still had to organise the raffle which was in aid of the local cottage hospital.
Lottie’s last sighting of Steph had been in a group with Shayla, quaffing champagne. She’d been laughing at something Kerr had been saying and they looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The band switched to a ballad and people paired up to take to the floor. There were long-standing couples like Lukasz and his partner, but also some intriguing combinations. Two of the female gardeners, who Lottie hadn’t even realised were romantically involved, were entwined and Shayla was in the arms of the wine merchant who supplied the estate.
Jay wasn’t on the dance floor, to Lottie’s relief. She decided to seek him out but hadn’t made it far when he zeroed in on her.
‘Hello. I’ve been trying to find you for a while,’ he said.
‘Me too. Lucky we finally tracked one another down.’
Jay seemed transfixed by her. ‘Is it shallow of me to say you look lovely?’
Lottie flushed with pleasure. ‘I don’t mind …’ She wondered if she dare pay him a similar compliment, but ‘you look like Kit Harington and I’m going weak at the knees’ was absolutely not a good idea. ‘You decided not to wear the uniform then?’ she said as lightly as she could.
‘Yeah. I bought this jacket specially. Trevor didn’t seem too impressed.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘I’ll probably never wear it again.’
‘Welcome to my world,’ said Lottie. ‘And Trevor may love you but I don’t think he’s the best judge of fashion.’
‘Maybe not, though I did catch him lying on it the other day.’
She laughed, thinking she wouldn’t mind being Trevor, cosying up to Jay in his cottage.
‘My Christmas tree is beautiful, by the way,’ she said. ‘Thanks for bringing it. You must come and have a look, though it’s not as grand as the one in here.’
He smiled. ‘I’d like that a lot. We’ve both been so busy over the past few days.’
‘Yes. We have.’
She was aware they were dancing around each other, but not actually doing the real thing. Should she ask him? Why did she need to wait for him to make the move?
She went for it. ‘Do you want to—’
‘Dance?’
They burst out laughing that they’d both asked the question simultaneously.
‘I think that settles it,’ he said.
A moment later, they were on the dance floor and Jay’s hands were resting at her waist. His touch was so light …
It felt natural and also extraordinary at the same time, though Lottie couldn’t have explained the feeling in words. The two of them barely moved, in fact it was more of a shuffle on the spot. She didn’t know if anyone was looking. All she knew was that he smelled gorgeous and when the velvet of his jacket brushed her wrists, her skin tingled.
‘This is retro,’ he murmured, and Lottie noticed he’d moving a little closer to her and she had no objections. ‘It’s been a very long time since I went to a do where people danced together – as couples,’ he added with a soft emphasis that thrilled her.
She didn’t need to reply, simply gave herself to the pleasure of being so close to the warmth of Jay’s body. They danced slowly, saying nothing but moving closer all the time, until her face was almost touching his shoulder. She pressed her hands against his back, the velvet smooth beneath her fingertips. She heard his sigh, felt it, even, and wondered if he could sense her heart beating.
A cool current of air made her shiver.
‘Are you cold?’ he asked, searching her face.
‘No. The opposite.’
They were near the French
