A Marriage Proposal For Christmas. Carole Mortimer

and don’t expect to return to England until after the New Year.’

      ‘But I was due to go and put all the decorations up today! And what about all the food we have stored in the freezer?’ Cally gasped her dismay, having been working exclusively on the Neilsons’ Christmas for the last week. ‘What are we supposed to do with all of that?’ She groaned at the thought of all that work wasted.

      And the fact that they weren’t going to get paid!

      ‘Excuse me,’ Noel Carlton put in pointedly.

      Cally shot him a narrow-eyed glare as she easily caught his meaning. ‘Forget it,’ she bit out, at the same time knowing that she and Pam couldn’t afford to lose all the money they had expended on the Neilsons’ Christmas; the deposit paid by the Neilsons wasn’t refundable, but by the same token it in no way covered what had already been spent.

      ‘But, Cally, it would seem to be the perfect solution to everyone’s problems,’ Pam reasoned, a worried frown furrowing her brow as she also thought of the money they were going to lose.

      ‘This is my mother’s first visit to England since she remarried and moved to America twenty years ago,’ Noel Carlton argued persuasively. ‘The last thing I want to do is disappoint her and my stepfather by not giving her the sort of Christmas she remembers.’

      ‘Shouldn’t you have thought of that earlier?’ Cally frowned, not at all impressed by his attempt at emotional blackmail—even as she felt a faint stirring of concern for a woman she had never met.

      The perfectly sculptured mouth firmed, his eyes narrowing to angry slits of dark blue. ‘I did think of it. It’s just—a series of—unexpected events have unfortunately made it impossible for me to complete my plans,’ he explained.

      ‘Oh, yes? And just what sort of “unexpected events” could a man like you—?’

      ‘A man like me?’ he interrupted in a softly, dangerous tone of voice.

      ‘I think Mr Carlton has already told us as much of his predicament as we need to know, Cally,’ her sister declared, standing up decisively. ‘Mr Carlton has come here to ask for our help. Because of a last-minute cancellation, we are in a position to provide that help. I may be wrong, but I thought that was what we were in business for?’ She gave Cally a pointed look.

      They were. Of course they were. There was nothing more rewarding, after days, possibly weeks, of hard work, than to see the look of happiness on a client’s face when their particular celebration passed off successfully because of Pam’s and Cally’s efforts. Cally just wasn’t inclined to see that look on Noel Carlton’s face. Unfortunately she could see by the stubborn set to Pam’s mouth that her sister, quite rightly, was thinking of the overdraft on their bank account rather than whether or not Cally was comfortable with this commission.

      ‘We still have the Neilsons’ deposit,’ she tried halfheartedly, knowing it wasn’t enough. ‘Besides, you’re completely tied up at the moment with the arrangements for the Gregorys’ wedding on Christmas Eve,’ she reminded her sister hopefully.

      ‘Yes, I am,’ Pam confirmed, glancing down at her wristwatch. ‘In fact, I have an appointment at the florist’s in fifteen minutes,’ she realized. ‘But you, Cally, on the other hand, are totally free for the next three days.’

      ‘I’m more than willing to pay extra, petrol money, whatever, if you will just agree to help me out,’ Noel Carlton enticed.

      ‘Bribery and corruption usually work, do they?’ Cally snapped.

      He grinned. ‘Every time.’

      ‘I thought so.’ Cally gave a disgusted shake of her head.

      ‘Cally!’ Pam gasped reprovingly.

      ‘Sorry,’ she muttered, feeling as if she were swimming upstream—and rapidly losing the battle. Besides, a part of her knew that Pam was quite right to grasp this replacement commission with both hands. If only it weren’t Noel Carlton’s hands they were grasping!

      ‘There’s the added benefit that you’ll be working close to home,’ Noel Carlton encouraged, his smile one of false brightness when Cally gave him another frown for reminding her that he was her neighbour from hell. As if she needed any reminding of that!

      But, in actual fact, it would be a benefit, more so than this man probably realized, if she agreed to arrange Christmas for him and his family.

      She would be able to pick Lissa up from her sister’s house much earlier in the day. Brian was looking after the children, school having finished for the Christmas holidays. It didn’t happen very often that either Pam or herself couldn’t care for the children during the holidays, but Christmas was such a busy time that it invariably ended with Lissa staying with her uncle Brian, a self-employed accountant who worked from home, for part of the Christmas holidays. Not that Lissa didn’t enjoy being with her cousins, because she did, but it was a lot to expect Brian to cope with three children instead of two for long hours.

      ‘I really do have to go now, so I’ll leave you two to discuss it,’ Pam stated briskly, moving to collect her outer coat. ‘But, whatever the outcome, I do sincerely wish you a happy Christmas, Mr Carlton.’ She gave him a warm smile.

      In other words, Pam was leaving the decision completely up to Cally as to whether or not they took pity on the man and agreed to work for him.

      More to the point, her sister was leaving her with the knowledge that if she didn’t agree to do this because of present—and past!—resentments towards Noel Carlton, then they probably wouldn’t even have enough money in their bank account to cover their monthly rental on the shop premises.

      Great.

      Just great!

       CHAPTER THREE

      ‘I WANT YOU TO KNOW that I really do appreciate—’

      ‘Fine,’ Cally cut Noel off rudely, busy unloading the boxes of decorations from the boot of her car, not in the least mollified by the fact that her newest client had been waiting outside Parker Hall when she’d arrived ten minutes ago, with the obvious intention of helping her carry the boxes inside.

      She hadn’t wanted to do this job at all, but at the same time she was well aware of what Pam’s reaction would be if she returned to the office and found that Cally had refused to help him after all. That, she told herself firmly, was the only reason she was here at all. That, and the thought of his poor mother’s disappointment when she arrived to spend Christmas in England and found her son had done nothing about arranging it. No, she certainly wasn’t doing this for Noel Carlton.

      He straightened, arms folded across his chest as he gave her a considering look. ‘Tell me, is that heavy?’

      She frowned, looking at the box in her arms. ‘Not particularly, no.’

      ‘I wasn’t referring to the box,’ he drawled.

      Cally blinked; she really didn’t have the time to play word games with this man. In fact, she didn’t have a lot of time at all, and would have preferred it if he hadn’t been here! ‘Then what were you referring to?’ she asked distractedly.

      ‘The monumental chip you have on your shoulder,’ he said dryly. ‘Can I take a guess at that having something to do with the fact that it’s Miss Turner instead of Mrs?’

      Cally stiffened. ‘I beg your pardon?’

      Noel Carlton drew in a deep breath. ‘I said, does that monumental chip on your shoulder—?’

      ‘I heard what you said,’ she snapped.

      He nodded unconcernedly. ‘I thought that you did.’

      She scowled at him. ‘I was just giving you the opportunity