For Christmas, Forever: The Yuletide Engagement / The Doctor's Christmas Bride / Snowbound Reunion

Toby opened one eye to look at her with obvious reluctance. ‘Why don’t you tell me what you suspect—and then I’ll tell you if it’s right or not?’

‘There’s little point in doing that if you aren’t going to answer me honestly!’ she bit out sharply.

Both Toby’s eyes opened innocently wide now. ‘My big sister taught me to always tell the truth.’

‘Very funny!’ Ellie gave a humourless smile, getting up from the side of the bed to move impatiently about the room, her narrowed gaze fixed on her brother the whole time she did so. Finally she gave a heavy sigh. ‘Are you and Teresa McGrath serious about each other?’

‘Yes,’ Toby answered unhesitatingly.

Ellie nodded; it was the answer she had expected. ‘Why did Patrick McGrath agree to take me to the company Christmas dinner?’

Her brother frowned his puzzlement at this sudden change of subject. ‘I told you—’

‘I know what you told me, Toby,’ she cut in impatiently. ‘But now I want the real reason.’

He shook his head, wincing as it obviously caused him a certain amount of discomfort. ‘But that was the real reason. Wasn’t it?’ he added uncertainly as Ellie looked unconvinced.

To Ellie’s relief, her brother’s answer told her one thing at least; whatever Patrick McGrath had been up to this last couple of weeks, Toby had obviously played no part in it. Which meant it had all been Patrick McGrath’s own doing!

She had thought about several of the puzzling remarks Patrick had made this last week, about how much Toby cared for her, how her young brother felt a responsibility towards her, and all those questions about why she didn’t have someone else in her life after Gareth—questions that all seemed to lead to the same unpleasant conclusion.

She was even more convinced about it now she knew from Toby that his relationship with Teresa McGrath was a serious one: Patrick was desperately trying to clear the way—clear Ellie out of the way, if only temporarily—in order to secure his young sister’s happiness with Toby.

‘Toby, why didn’t you just tell me about Tess?’ she prompted gently.

‘But I did tell you about her,’ he answered evasively.

Ellie shook her head. ‘Only when the two of you were going out. Nothing else about her. Certainly not that the two of you are in love with each other. Why was that?’

Toby drew in a ragged breath. ‘I’m sure that was just what you wanted to hear two months ago!’ he bit out disgustedly.

Two months ago? When she had suspected that Gareth was seeing someone else behind her back—six weeks ago when she had finally found out the truth and stopped seeing him?

‘Oh, Toby!’ she cried emotionally, tears misting her eyes now. ‘I would be pleased to hear of your happiness at any time. Any time at all!’ she repeated with affectionate exasperation.

Instead of which Toby had kept the seriousness of his relationship with Tess a secret in an effort not to hurt Ellie.

Patrick McGrath, it seemed, was the one who had taken it a step further than that!

She sat back on the side of the bed, taking her brother’s hand in her own. ‘Are you and Tess going to get married?’

Toby gave a start at the directness of the question, his gaze not quite meeting Ellie’s searching one. ‘Maybe—in time,’ he answered evasively.

It was just as she had thought!

Toby and Tess were serious about each other, and until six weeks ago it must have looked as if Ellie was in a serious relationship too. But that had all come crashing down around her ears, leaving Toby feeling the responsibility towards her that Patrick had mentioned.

She could see exactly what had happened now—knew that Toby, despite numerous protestations on her part, felt he owed her an emotional debt for taking care of him after their parents died. The fact that her relationship with Gareth had fallen apart under unpleasant circumstances had triggered Toby into putting his own relationship with Teresa McGrath on hold.

Except Patrick obviously had other ideas where his sister’s happiness was concerned…

So much for what Ellie had thought—hoped—was developing between the two of them!

‘No “maybe”, Toby,’ she told her brother firmly now, standing up. ‘No “in time” either,’ she added decisively. ‘If you love the girl, and she loves you, then you should ask her to marry you.’

Toby grimaced sheepishly. ‘I already have.’

‘When?’ Ellie prompted sharply.

‘Eight weeks ago,’ he admitted reluctantly.

Ellie raised dark brows. ‘And?’

The grimace turned to a self-conscious smile. ‘She said yes.’

Ellie gave an emotional laugh. ‘You are an idiot, Toby,’ she told him affectionately. ‘You’ve asked her; she’s said yes. The next move is to buy her a ring. Then arrange the wedding. I’ll be there to dance at it,’ she promised. ‘Am I making myself clear, Toby?’ she teased.

He grinned widely. ‘Very.’

‘Good.’ She nodded her satisfaction. ‘I’ll just have to learn to cope with having the arrogant Patrick McGrath as some sort of relative.’ She frowned.

Toby frowned too. ‘But I thought you liked him?’

Too much!

She swallowed hard, straightening determinedly; after all, there was such a thing as pride involved here—her own! ‘He’s your boss, Toby; of course I had to be pleasant to him. Now that he’s going to be your brother-in-law too, I’ll just have to continue being pleasant to him. It shouldn’t be that difficult; with any luck I’ll see very little of him,’ she dismissed scathingly, turning to leave the bedroom—and finding herself face to face with a stricken Teresa McGrath!

Ellie looked at the other woman searchingly, knowing by her unhappy expression that she had heard every word of Ellie’s last statement…

Chapter Ten

‘I KNOW I said I was going to telephone, but—I did knock on the kitchen door when I arrived, and when no one answered I let myself in,’ Teresa explained awkwardly. ‘I hope you don’t mind?’ she added with a selfconscious grimace.

Mind? Of course Ellie didn’t mind the younger woman letting herself in—it was the remarks that Teresa had overheard her making about her brother that Ellie minded! It was one thing to say those things about Patrick to Toby—completely out of defence for her heart—quite another for a member of the McGrath family to have actually heard her saying them…

‘Tess…?’ Toby called hopefully from inside the bedroom.

Teresa’s face visibly brightened. ‘He’s feeling better?’

‘Much,’ Ellie assured her warmly. ‘I’ll go down and make some coffee and leave the two of you to have a chat.’ And, hopefully, regain some of her lost composure!

What she really wanted to happen was for the ground to open and swallow her up!

Ellie was shaking by the time she reached the sanctuary of the kitchen, sitting down weakly in one of the kitchen chairs before burying her face in her hands with a groan of self-disgust.

All she had wanted to do with those remarks she’d made to Toby was regain some of her damaged pride—and what she had succeeded in doing was probably alienating her future sister-in-law!

How could she explain that to Teresa without giving away the fact that she had fallen completely in love with Patrick?