A Girlfriend for Christmas

Chapter One

The place was beautiful. Belle gasped as the house came into view. Neal had called it the cabin, but it was really a rather large, well-kept house, sitting right on the lake front. The only thing cabin-like about it was that it was built of wood and stone. It reminded her more of a ski lodge, though, than a forest cabin.

'It's lovely, Neal,' she said.

'Grandpa says the lake should be frozen enough to skate on,' Henry informed her.

'That sounds amazing,' she said. 'Lucky I brought my skates.'

Neal and his family had invited her to spend Christmas with them here. She didn't have family around, and Ariel and Eric, whom she usually spent Christmas with, were away for the holidays this year, so she'd been at a loose end until Neal and Emma invited her to come with them.

At first she'd demurred. 'I don't want to put your father out,' she'd said to Neal. It was his house, and he would be there too.

Neal had waved her off. 'Papa will kill me if he finds out I left you alone on Christmas,' he'd said. 'You and he know each other. You get along, right?'

Yes, they did, very well, but Belle had insisted he call his father then and there to check that it was ok that she join them. Neal had done as she asked and then smiled and handed the phone to her after talking to his father for a few moments.

'Wants to talk to you,' he'd said.

'Belle, do come,' Tristan Gold had said. 'Please, it'll be lovely to see you. Say yes.'

So she had, and now she was here, the day before Christmas Eve, climbing out of the car in the crisp air, the forest and the water and the house in her eyeline, and then the door opened and Tristan Gold appeared.

He was not a tall man, but he commanded attention. He was smart and shrewd, the best negotiator in the business, she'd read. He was famous. The deal maker, they called him, and, indeed, he must be good at it, because it had gotten him this lovely house, along with a house in Boston and an apartment in New York. He probably had property in other cities too. He was a very wealthy man anyway.

He smiled now as Henry ran to him. He loved his family. Belle had known him for a year or so, since Neal brought him along to a library fundraiser, and she'd seen him with his son and grandson several times over that time. As busy as he was with his work, he'd drop everything for his family. He'd raised Neal practically by himself, and helped out a lot when Neal and Emma found themselves young parents. Family came first for him.

He'd also been kind to her. He'd made a very generous donation to the library the night they met, and every time they'd met since, he'd shown an interest in her, chatted to her about books and art and music. They had a lot in common, and she liked him very much.

She found him very easy on the eye too. He had a lovely smile, warm brown eyes, and lovely silky-looking hair. He'd actually cut it recently, and it had taken a bit of getting used to. She had liked it when he wore it to his collar, but she found she also liked the way it curled now, and it was still long enough to bury fingers in in intimate moments.

Belle blushed at that thought, but at least she could blame her red cheeks on the cold. She really shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that about him, but he made it very difficult not to. Neal would kill her if he knew she thought this way about his father.

She smiled as Neal hugged his father now. They were very close. While things were tense with his mother, Neal had a wonderful relationship with his father.

'Emma.' he greeted now. 'How lovely.' And he hugged his daughter-in-law.

Then he spotted Belle. His smile was warm and welcoming.

'Belle, you came, I'm so glad.'

'Hello, Tristan. What a beautiful place you have here,' she enthused. 'Merry Christmas.'

He hugged her. 'Merry Christmas, Belle,' he murmured. And as soon as he hugged her, Gold knew he'd be thinking about doing just that, and more than that, for the entire holiday.

Belle was gorgeous. She was also smart and sweet and kind. Neal had introduced them last year, and, before the night was over, he'd had the thought that he'd love to ask her out, but she surely had better options in her own age range, so he didn't. A year later, and here she was, staying for Christmas, and he was even more smitten than he had been a year ago.

'Come on in and get warm,' he invited. 'There's a nice fire going, and there's hot chocolate ready, with cinnamon for grating for those who like it with cinnamon.'

'Awesome, thanks, Papa,' Neal said, heading towards the door.

'Hold on, son, you get to help me with the bags first,' Gold called.

'Right, forgot,' Neal said, turning around.

Gold rolled his eyes and Belle saw and giggled. He smiled and so did she.

Neal smirked as they stared at each other. They were so obviously into each other. If something hadn't happened by tomorrow, he was going to lock them in a room until they admitted their feelings for each other.

'I can take my bag in,' Belle said.

'Absolutely not,' Gold returned. 'You're a guest, Belle. We'll be in in a minute.'

She smiled, relenting. 'Why thank you,' she said, and skipped after Emma and Henry.

The interior was as lovely as the exterior. The entryway was light and airy, with a rose window high up and exposed beams to add to the rustic feel. The living space was open and light too, with a lovely fireplace and views of the lake and the forest. The dining area flowed through to the kitchen at the back, overlooking the lake, and she guessed that the bedrooms upstairs overlooked the lake also.

A Christmas tree stood bare in the living room, boxes of ornaments sitting beside it, waiting for the Golds to decorate it. Henry had told her it was a tradition that they all decorated the tree together. There were already decorations hung in the living room, and up along the stairs. She guessed that Tristan had been busy all day, getting everything ready for his family.

How lovely, she thought, as she took off her coat and scarf, and hung them on the coat stand. Such a beautiful, relaxing place.

Emma and Henry were helping themselves to hot chocolate with marshmallows and cinnamon in the kitchen. Belle found them and helped herself to some at their invitation, but she did without the marshmallows and cinnamon, preferring just to taste the chocolate.

'Don't know what you're missing,' Henry said, and she smiled.

'My mother used to make it with a dollop of cream and chocolate shavings on top,' she said.

'Mm, that does sound good,' Emma said. 'I'm sure Dad's got cream and chocolate somewhere.'

'I do,' Gold said, coming in. 'Would you like some, Belle? Here, let me.' And he took her cup and added a dollop of cream and some grated chocolate.

'Thank you,' Belle said softly, smiling.

'You're quite welcome,' Gold returned. 'I'm not a cinnamon person myself,' he said confidentially. 'Not sure what the appeal is for this lot, honestly.'

'Cinnamon's awesome,' Henry insisted. 'Where's Dad?'

'Bringing the last of the bags up,' Gold said. 'You brought a lot this year.'

'That was Mom,' Henry claimed.

'Hey!'

'Oh, don't worry, Emma, I know a certain person refused to leave home without his video games, and the console, and an extra controller.'

'Hey, I was just being considerate of you guys,' Henry said, shrugging, 'in case you wanted to play too.'

'Em, next year, don't let the kid bring so much,' Neal called, panting as he came into the kitchen. 'It's not like we're not gonna have to bring twice as much home, Henry,' he added, 'since a certain person buys too many gifts.'

'I know you're not talking about me,' Gold said. 'I had a word with Santa's elves after last year, so I don't think there'll be as much extravagance this year.'

'Yeah, right,' Neal returned, not believing that for a second. 'We're not gonna fit all of us in the car going home with all the gifts.'

Gold held his hands up, pleading innocence, and Belle smiled at the scene. They were such a lovely, loving family.

Gold caught her eye and winked, and she giggled. Yes, no doubt Neal was right and there would be many presents for young Henry this Christmas.

'Alright, who wants to decorate the tree?' Gold asked.

'Me!' Henry yelled.

'Not so loud, kid,' Emma said.

'Oops, sorry. Can we, Grandpa?'

'We can,' his grandfather said.

'Cool.' And Henry ran off.

Emma and Neal followed.

'Better make sure he doesn't just throw everything on there,' Neal said as he followed his wife.

'Belle, I hope you'll join us,' Gold said.

'Oh, it's your family thing. I don't want to intrude,' she demurred.

'None of that,' he scolded. 'You could never intrude. Come on, bring your hot chocolate with you.'

So she did, smiling, and the five of them had a blast arranging the ornaments on the tree.

Before they were finished, though, the jovial scene was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door.

'Who on earth can that be?' Gold wondered, going to investigate. No one else was expected. Everyone else followed, equally curious.

'Milah?' Gold said, shocked, as he opened the door to his ex-wife.

'Surprise!' she said.

'What are you doing here, Milah?' Gold asked, not at all pleased to see her.

'Well, I thought I'd join you all for Christmas. Neal said I should, so here I am.'

'Shit,' Neal growled under his breath. Emma nudged him in the ribs for swearing in front of their son. Shit, he was in so much trouble…

'Neal?' his father demanded.

'Well, I guess I kinda did?' he said sheepishly. 'Pretty sure I meant it sarcastically, though. I never thought she'd actually come.'

'Neal,' his father growled.

'Oh, come on! Ma doesn't do rustic. Who could guess she'd actually take me up on it?'

'Oh, for God's sake,' Gold said, rubbing a hand over his face.

He had a pretty good idea what had happened. His smart arse son decided to fuck with his mother on one of the rare occasions they shared a meal together. He'd probably had a bit too much to drink as well, which never helped matters, because he got very sarcastic when he was drunk, but Milah was hopeless at recognising sarcasm for what it was. Well, she was so narcissistic as well that she probably assumed everyone wanted her around all the time, so, when Neal said something like 'yeah, you should totallycome to the cabin for Christmas: Papa would love to see you', the woman had got it into her head that it was a genuine invitation.

'Well, aren't you going to let me in, Tristan?' Milah demanded. 'It's bloody freezing out here.'

He opened the door in silence. He couldn't tell her to leave. She'd spread nasty gossip all over Boston if he didn't welcome her, and he didn't need the headache of refuting whatever she said. If he let her stay, she'd get bored quickly and go back to the city. Neal was right: Milah did not do rustic, and there was not a lot to do out here that would appeal to her.

'Emma, Henry, how nice to see you both,' Milah was saying now.

'Hey, Milah,' Emma returned.

'Hi,' Henry said unenthusiasticly, sticking close to his mother. He did not like his grandmother at all. She'd never treated him with any kind of affection, so why should he?

'And who might you be, dear?' Milah asked, looking at Belle, who was suddenly aware she was intruding on an awkward family moment.

Neal suddenly had a brainwave, how to keep his mother at bay and help his father and Belle along at the same time.

'This is Belle,' he said, before she could introduce herself, 'Papa's girlfriend.'

Next time, Gold and Belle have to figure out a way to deal with that little bombshell…