A Bride for Christmas Read online

  Harriet was speechless. Cristian was getting closer. Very close. Practically touching. Harriet was almost in his arms. And there was an intense look on his face as he stared at her. She licked her lips, and Cristian’s eyes locked onto her mouth. Harriet thought her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

  “Cristian…”

  She was cut off when Cristian placed a finger to her mouth. Then his hand brushed across her jaw.

  “Don’t talk,” he whispered, lowering his head. “I don’t want to ruin this.”

  The kiss was sweet, gentle. Harriet hadn’t expected anything like that before. She jumped, and then found herself leaning into his chest. Cristian’s arms slid around her waist, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss. He made a growling sound that had Harriet shivering.

  She didn’t want him to stop.

  “Cristian!”

  Harriet jumped away from Cristian so fast she stumbled. Cristian caught her before she fell over, righting her onto her feet again as if she were weightless. They turned to the door, which Cristian had forgotten to close.

  A curvy woman with black hair pinned up in a bun and a red dress was standing in the doorway. Her eyes blazed with undisguised fury.

  Harriet’s heart sank. She didn’t need to guess who this was. From the way Cristian had tensed, he knew exactly who she was as well.

  “Lauren? What are you doing back here?”

  “I came looking for you.” Lauren looked at Harriet, her expression turning to one of distaste. “And it looks like I came back just in time.”

  Harriet wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. But Cristian wouldn’t let her move, tightening his arm around her.

  “Lauren, this is Harriet, my sister’s lodger. She’s here from Philadelphia. Harriet, this is my ex-wife.”

  “You what?” Lauren snorted. “Ex-wife? We’re not divorced.”

  “I did divorce you, remember?”

  “I never signed any papers to say we were being divorced.” Lauren sneered at Harriet. “And now I walk in here and catch my husband kissing another woman.”

  Cristian barked out a sharp laugh. “After what you’ve done? Coming from you, that’s real cheap!”

  Lauren bared her teeth in a snarl. Harriet wished she could leave. Now, she was beginning to feel like she was getting between a couple. Despite Cristian saying they were divorced and he clearly held a lot of resentment toward his wife, Lauren’s expression suggested she had other ideas. She believed that she had caught her husband committing adultery and Harriet would be no part of that.

  Harriet tried to leave, but Cristian pulled her back.

  “Don’t go, Harriet,” he said quietly, but Lauren sneered.

  “Yes, go, Harriet. You’re not needed.”

  Harriet was beginning to realize that. She could feel a hard lump in her throat, tears on the cusp of bursting from her eyes. She needed to get out of here.

  “Cristian? Harriet?” Natalie appeared in the doorway behind Lauren. “What’s going…? Lauren?” She stared at the other woman before she narrowed her eyes in a scowl. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here wanting to have a word with my husband.” Lauren stared at Cristian, ignoring Harriet and Natalie. “I’ve made a mistake and I wanted to see Cristian.”

  She was back. Harriet could feel a heavy weight resting on her shoulders. She felt like an interloper, her chest tightening while she fought back the panic. Cristian’s arm was still tight around her shoulders, but now he was moving her toward his sister.

  “Natalie, could you take Harriet out for a while? I need to talk to Lauren.”

  “What?” Natalie cried. “You’re not seriously going to get back with her, are you? After what she’s done?”

  “Natalie, just go.” Cristian pressed a kiss to Harriet’s head. “I’ll come and find you later, Harriet. I promise.”

  “Don’t bother.” Lauren snorted, essentially pushing Harriet aside as she wrapped her arms around Cristian’s neck. “She won’t be welcome here.”

  “Let me go, Lauren.” Cristian untangled himself and stepped back. “And don’t talk about Harriet like that.”

  “Why not? She isn’t welcome.”

  “Wrong, Lauren,” Natalie snapped. “This is my house, not Cristian’s. You are not welcome here. And when I get back, you’d better be gone from here... for good.”

  With that, she took Harriet’s arm and led her out of the house.

  Harriet was still shaking as they went into the yard. It became too much for her and she collapsed onto the ground, burying her face in her hands.

  Natalie knelt beside her.

  “Harriet?”

  “I can’t believe this,” Harriet sobbed. She could barely speak. Her stomach was done up in knots. “This is a mess.”

  “Oh, honey.” Natalie put her arms around Harriet’s shoulders. “Cristian wasn’t leading you on. Those two are not together anymore. He hates her.”

  “How do I know that?” Harriet drew a shuddering breath. The tears were starting to fall. “I’m scared, Natalie.”

  “Scared about what?” Then Natalie’s frown cleared as realization dawned. “Oh, love. You’ve fallen for my brother, haven’t you?”

  Harriet couldn’t say it. It was too embarrassing after everything that had happened. She nodded.

  Natalie drew Harriet into her arms and hugged her.

  “I’m so sorry.” She drew back and withdrew a handkerchief, wiping away Harriet’s tears. “Listen, let’s go and see Mary Stanier. She knows how to cheer people up. Mainly by asking if anyone wants a cuddle with her son. That always makes everything better.”

  Harriet couldn’t argue with that. Cuddling children always made her heart sing and it would chase away the gloom of this awful mistake.

  She was beginning to miss her nieces and nephews. She glanced back at the house. Then Cristian appeared in the doorway. He was looking right at them. Harriet tore her eyes away. She couldn’t look at him, not when she knew there was someone else at his side.

  “Take me anywhere, as long as it’s not here,” she mumbled.

  “Absolutely.” Natalie drew Harriet to her feet. “Come on. I won’t walk away from you right now.”

  Chapter Seven

  Cristian watched with anguish as Natalie led his sister toward the stables. They would be going into San Francisco, and Cristian would have to spend hours hunting the streets looking for them later. Once they got into town, they were going to be disappearing into shops. He worried he wouldn’t be able to find them easily and he had to make this right.

  Much as he hated shopping, Cristian would rather be with them right now. He wanted to be with Harriet, to see her smile again. He had felt her withdrawing from him, which had pained him. Had he lost her? That wasn’t what he wanted.

  With startling clarity, Cristian realized that he wanted Harriet for good. This wasn’t just a passing fancy. Seeing her walk away from him was painful. Very painful. Even more so than when Lauren left him.

  That was a humbling thought.

  Angrily, he turned to Lauren, who was walking around the living room like she owned the place. Now he could see the sneer on her mouth, the nasty glint in her eyes, the blemishes of her skin. Lauren had been out in the sun. While she looked healthy enough, she didn’t look as attractive as before. It was like the magic had disappeared. All Cristian felt toward her was resentment.

  “What do you want, Lauren? You know you’re not welcome around me.”

  “I went to our house but someone else was living there.” Lauren turned to him. “They told me you had left a year ago, so I guessed you were with your sister.”

  “But that doesn’t explain why you’re here now.” Cristian folded his arms. “You’ve got two minutes.”

  Lauren pursed her lips. She looked like a petulant child. She sighed and approached him.

  “I realized that I’d made a mistake.” She reached for Cristian, who stepped away. Her arms fell to her sides. “I wanted
to come back and find you.”

  “Did Ben or Carl not meet up to your standard of living, then?” Cristian asked amazed that the pain she had caused him was gone.

  Lauren sighed.

  “Ben and I didn’t work out. I’ve been alone for two months now.”

  “Two months? That’s a record for you, I think.”

  “Don’t be like that, Cristian.” Lauren reached for him again. “I missed you. Can’t we start over again? Start afresh?”

  If it had been earlier in the year, Cristian might have considered it. But not now. He grabbed her wrists before she could touch him, glaring at her.

  “After what you’ve done? You seriously expect me to welcome you back with open arms?”

  Lauren winced. She had the decency to look abashed.

  “I made a mistake, that’s all. Can we forget it all and start over?”

  Cristian couldn’t believe the gall of the woman. She thought she could come back and go back to how things were.

  “It’s not as simple as that, Lauren. We’re divorced now. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  “I never signed the papers. We’re not divorced.”

  “Which makes what you did even worse.”

  “Oh, really?” Lauren sneered. She planted her hands on her hips. “What do you call what you were doing with that fat lump?”

  Cristian heard himself snarling. It caused Lauren to jump back with a gasp. He bared his teeth at her.

  “Harriet is not a fat lump,” Cristian snapped. “If you’re going to insult her, go and look in the mirror.”

  Lauren’s mouth opened and closed. Cristian guessed that she hadn’t expected this much resistance. She had planned to waltz back into his life and expected he would welcome her back eagerly. Lauren thought her ex-husband was wrapped around her little finger. Cristian was disgusted at her attitude.

  “Oh, Cristian,” Lauren simpered. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t.” Cristian folded his arms again. “Why are you really here, Lauren? You shouldn’t be here at all. I told you never to contact me.”

  “I told you, I want another chance with you. I love you, Cristian.”

  “You didn’t love me when you went off with another man. Or men.”

  “I was blinded. I just want to get back with you now.”

  There was something going on. Cristian was certain that Lauren was up to something. She would never have come back unless there was an ulterior motive for it. Now he took a closer look at his former wife. Lauren had always been a curvy woman, pleasantly plump. It had looked good on her, and Cristian had found her very attractive. But she was looking a little rounder. Especially around the belly.

  It dawned on him. “You’re pregnant?”

  “I…” Lauren blinked and nodded, her hands going to her belly. “I am. I’m going to have a baby. We’re going to have a baby.”

  “We? What do you mean, we?”

  Cristian felt like he had been slapped. Lauren reached for him, making Cristian dart away.

  “You couldn’t give me a baby, Cristian, but I wanted one with you. Ben will not be a good father at all, but I know you will be.” Lauren beamed, rubbing her hardened belly. “We can raise this baby together.”

  Cristian felt sick. This wasn’t right. Had this been her plan all along? Anger was building back inside him fast. He grabbed Lauren’s shoulders as she approached him, setting her away from him.

  “No!”

  “No?”

  “I am not raising another man’s baby!”

  “Why not? Men do it all the time.”

  “But I won’t be doing it, not like that,” Cristian snapped. “If I can’t have children, I’m happy to be on my own. If I do get married again and we can’t have children, that won’t bother me, who knows, we might even take on a foundling.”

  The enthusiasm was starting to fade in Lauren’s eyes. She was beginning to realize that her plan to get back into her ex-husband’s life wasn’t going to work. Panic crossed her face.

  “You can’t marry anyone else!” she protested. “We’re married.”

  “I still think we’re divorced,” Cristian shot back. “And as soon as I leave here, I’m going to the local Justice of the Peace to have it confirmed. I won’t be the cuckolded husband, Lauren. And I don’t love you anymore.”

  He meant it. His love for Lauren had died on Christmas Day a year before. Lauren jerked back. She looked like she had been slapped. Then her lip curled in a sneer.

  “But you love that woman, do you? Harriet?” she hissed. “She won’t be here long. I don’t know what you see in her.”

  Cristian squared his shoulders. He hadn’t admitted it to himself, but now it hit him with some clarity. He did love Harriet. It had just taken this long to realize it.

  “I love Harriet because she’s a genuine person. She’s not pretentious at all. She’s honest, decent, kind, and patient, just what I need in my life.”

  Lauren snorted. “She won’t last long. You’ll come back to me.”

  Cristian found himself laughing at the ludicrous suggestion.

  “I won’t go back to you at all. There’s not a chance, Lauren. Now, you’ve got five seconds to leave my sister’s house before I go to the sheriff to report you for trespassing. Natalie won’t be appreciative of the fact you’re here. Lift up your skirts and walk right back where you came from.”

  “But…but…” Lauren was starting to flounder.

  Cristian felt some satisfaction seeing that the odds were not going in her favor, and Lauren was only just beginning to realize it. “Cristian, please don’t do this. What about the baby?”

  “If you’re so concerned about the baby, go back to the baby’s father. Marry Ben and make the child legitimate.”

  “But you’re my husband!”

  “No... I’m not. You threw my love away, you threw me away. I’m no longer married to you and I will confirm that shortly.” Cristian walked to the door. He needed to get out of there. “Goodbye, Lauren. I hope I never see you again.”

  There was a lot of wailing behind him as Cristian stepped into the yard. But he felt like he could finally breathe again.

  Chapter Eight

  “He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?”

  Harriet smiled at Elijah as he slept in her arms. She was standing in the dining room with Mary. As soon as Natalie had brought Harriet into the mission station, Mary had come in with Elijah and passed him across. It was like she knew that Harriet needed someone to cuddle; someone innocent to smile and make the world and all its problems go away.

  Elijah could do that with just a smile and a wave of his chubby fingers. He had been awake and a little fussy, but he quickly settled down with Harriet holding him.

  “He is.” Harriet couldn’t believe how sweet the child was. She looked up at Mary, who was every bit the proud mother. “You must be very proud of him.”

  “I am.” Mary bit back a yawn. “Even if he does keep me up at night.”

  Harriet managed a smile, even as her cracked heart threatened to crack even more.

  “That’s babies for you. We love them to death, but they don’t know when to be quiet.”

  Mary laughed. “That sounds about right. But I don’t mind. He’s worth it.”

  Harriet could see why. Whenever a baby looked at her, she simply melted. Having a child of her own would be a dream. But that wouldn’t be happening. Now that her heart had ended up being given to Cristian, whether she liked it or not, Harriet couldn’t think about having a child with anyone else. She knew Cristian wasn’t able to have children, but Harriet didn’t care. As long as she had Cristian, she would have been happy.

  But that wasn’t on the horizon now. For a moment, Harriet had thought things would be blossoming. That it would be a perfect Christmas gift. Now Lauren, the ex-wife, was back, and she had a prior claim to Cristian. Despite his obvious resentment for his spouse, Cristian would be going back to her. He had to still lo
ve her somewhere.

  Harriet felt sick. She felt like she had been used. She was going to have to leave Natalie’s house and find somewhere else to live. Maybe even move away to start again... once more.

  Harriet couldn’t go back to Philadelphia; her family wouldn’t take her back. And they would tell her they knew it wouldn’t happen, that she wasn’t marriage material. Her new found self-esteem wouldn’t let her go back there.

  She was stuck. Stuck and alone. Not even Mary’s matchmaking magic would be able to help her. Mending a broken heart, Harriet realized, wasn’t as easy as that. You couldn’t snap your fingers and think things would be fine again. This was a complete mess.

  “Mary?”

  Harriet looked up. Gareth was in the doorway, looking nervous.

  “What is it, Gareth?”

  “Cristian Maffi’s here. He wants to see Harriet.” Gareth looked at Harriet. “Do you want me to find Natalie or send him on his way?”

  Natalie had made herself scarce shortly after Mary joined them. Harriet had no idea where her friend was. But she knew running away from Cristian was just going to make him follow her even more. He was a persistent man.

  It was better to head this off now. Taking a deep breath, Harriet passed Elijah back to his mother.

  “I’ll see him now. On my own.”

  “Are you sure?” Mary frowned and glanced at her husband. “I can get Gareth to stay, if you wish.”

  But Harriet shook her head.

  “No. I’ll be fine. Just as long as he’s not with his ex-wife.”

  “You got it.”

  Mary left the room, carrying Elijah. Gareth followed his wife, giving Harriet a sympathetic look before he, too, disappeared into the hall.

  Harriet couldn’t sit still and wait. She resorted to pacing, her fingers twisting together so tightly she was surprised she didn’t twist them off.

  Footsteps sounded in the hallway.

  Then Cristian was in the doorway. He looked hesitant to cross the threshold. Just the sight of him left Harriet breathless.

  Cristian gave her a bashful smile, leaning against the doorframe.