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Later that evening, Katrina was at home, trying and failing to concentrate on the film encyclopaedia Rhys had bought her for Christmas. Rhys was at his own flat, calling his parents. She tried not to feel hurt that he’d chosen to make the calls alone and hadn’t invited her to be with him, but he was a private man and she knew it. And he’d said he needed to sort out a few things. There was probably a lot he hadn’t told her about his past.
‘Stop being so needy,’ she told herself fiercely. ‘He’s told you he loves you. And he’s never said that to anyone. It should be enough.’
Then her doorbell rang. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Rhys on the doorstep, carrying a huge bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne.
‘Happy new year, cariad,’ he said with a smile, handing her the flowers.
She let him in. ‘But I wasn’t expecting…’
‘It’s New Year’s Eve. A time for looking back and a time for looking forward. I was hoping I might be able to spend it with you.’
Tears pricked her eyes. ‘I thought…’ She’d thought that she wasn’t going to see him that evening.
‘I love you, Katrina,’ he said softly. ‘I know I didn’t ask you to be there when I called my parents, but I wasn’t pushing you away. I was trying to protect you in case things turned nasty. After years of avoiding each other and not talking…I thought it might be awkward, and I didn’t want you upset.’ He retrieved the flowers from her arms and set them on the floor, along with the champagne, and held her close.
‘So how did it go?’
He sighed. ‘My mum…well, she is as she is. I don’t think even you could thaw her out, cariad,’ he admitted.
‘How about your dad?’
‘He’d moved. But luckily the person who bought his house was a friend of his, and gave me his new number.’ Rhys paused. ‘I’m going to see him on Saturday.’
‘Good. Because I think you both need to talk.’
‘Yes. He sounded a bit…well, guarded.’
‘You probably did, too,’ she pointed out. ‘And if it’s been a long time since you’ve spoken…’
‘It has.’ He drew in a breath. ‘Katrina, I know it’s a lot to ask, and you probably already have plans to see your family this weekend, but I was wondering…Will you come to Wales with me?’
‘Of course I will.’ There was a lump in her throat which made her words sound husky.
‘Are you sure?’
She nodded. ‘You’re asking me to meet your family. So of course I’ll go, Rhys.’
‘Don’t take it personally if they’re funny with you,’ he warned.
‘I won’t.’ She slid her hands round his neck and drew his mouth down to hers. ‘I have you. Anything else is a bonus.’
His arms tightened round her. ‘How did I get to be so lucky?’
‘I think,’ she said, ‘Fate owes you big-time.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘In a couple of hours, it’ll be the new year.’
‘Did you want to go to a party?’
They’d had enough invitations. And turned them down. She shook her head. ‘Lots of noise, low light and drunken people slurring their words and not moving their mouths properly when they speak isn’t a good combination for me. Besides, we’re both on duty tomorrow.’
‘Then I have an idea.’ He kissed again her, then disentangled himself from her arms and retrieved the champagne. ‘You, me, this and bed…and the first thing I’m going to say to you in the new year is “I love you”.’
And he did.
The following Saturday, Rhys drove them to visit his father. Katrina noted that the nearer they drew to Wales, the less he spoke, and she could see the strain in his face as he drove over the Severn Bridge.
She placed a hand on his thigh. ‘Is it that bad, coming home?’
‘Land of my fathers, and all that?’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘Yes. But it needs to be done.’ He glanced at the clock. ‘We still have a way to go—so as it’s practically lunchtime I vote we stop at the next decent-looking pub.’
‘Sure.’
The pub in question turned out to have a real open fire, delighting her. And according to the menu all the food was from locally sourced ingredients. ‘This looks fantastic, but there are loads of local specialities here and I can’t choose between them. As it’s your part of the world, what do you recommend?’ she asked.
‘I’m torn between Glamorgan sausages with mash and red onion marmalade, and lamb cawl.’
His accent had grown more pronounced, she noticed, a soft lilt. Even sexier than normal. ‘I’ll have whichever of the two you don’t have, and we’ll share tastes,’ she said.
