made chicken soup, and Molly had already seen there were three French sticks on the table to accompany it.
‘Oh!’ She gasped as she straightened from the fridge to find Gideon standing behind her; he moved with the silence of a feline.
‘Steady.’ He reached out and took the heavy bowl from her as it wobbled precariously. ‘Where shall I put this?’
Those raised blond brows dared her to make the answer that had sprung so readily to her lips, but Molly clamped those lips together for several seconds before answering. ‘Just on the table, thanks,’ she said briskly. ‘I think Crys and Sam need to eat something after all that worry,’ she added ruefully.
Gideon nodded. ‘Nothing ever looks as bad on a full stomach.’
Molly wasn’t so sure that a bowl of soup and some French bread would work the same magic with her, concerning spending Christmas with this man.
Gideon grinned as he seemed to guess her thoughts. ‘Well…usually not,’ he drawled mockingly.
She glared up at him. ‘Why don’t you lay the table and make yourself useful, instead of standing there tormenting me?’ she bit out crossly, having transferred the soup to a large saucepan and put it on top of the Aga to warm while she cut the bread up into more manageable pieces.
Gideon didn’t move, still standing far too close to her than was comfortable. ‘Am I tormenting you?’ he murmured huskily.
Molly swallowed hard. ‘You know that you are!’ she snapped, at the same time knowing that her voice lacked conviction.
What was it about this man that made her so aware of him? So physically aware of him—totally aware of the muscled tautness of his body, of the clean, male smell of him, of the arrogant curve to that sculptured mouth. In fact, she was so much aware of him at the moment that she could hardly breathe, let alone force her limbs to move away from him.
That dark blue gaze easily held her captive. ‘In what way am I tormenting you?’ he prompted softly, the warmth of his breath stirring the silky tendrils of hair at her temple, his mouth only inches away from her own now as he bent his head towards hers.
In what way was he tormenting her? In every way. Verbally, he more often than not left her self-confidence in shreds. Emotionally, he reduced her to a jibbering wreck. And as for physically…
She didn’t want to think about what Gideon did to her physically.
‘I must say it’s good that Peter doesn’t have chickenpox after all,’ David said with relief as he strolled into the kitchen.
Molly looked up wordlessly at Gideon for several more long seconds, unable to break the pull of that darkly compelling gaze. She felt her cheeks pale as the seconds passed, knowing Gideon was the last man she should ever have allowed to affect her in this way.
Why did he?
He was rude to her. Insulted her at every opportunity. Believed her capable of practising deceit on her best friend. Added to which, she didn’t even like him.
But as he continued to look at her she could barely breathe, let alone think straight. Not a good combination.
‘Oh, good—lunch,’ David murmured with satisfaction as he gazed in at the warming soup.
Molly dragged her gaze away from Gideon’s with effort, turning to smile at the other man. ‘Perhaps one of you would like to tell Crys and Sam that lunch will be ready soon?’ she suggested lightly, able to step away from Gideon now that she wasn’t held captive by that compelling gaze. ‘I know Peter isn’t feeling so good, but they still need to eat,’ she added ruefully.
‘I’ll go,’ Gideon offered. ‘I can always stay upstairs with Peter while they come down and eat, if they have a problem with leaving him alone.’
Molly looked across at him. ‘That’s kind of you,’ she murmured slowly.
He paused in the doorway. ‘I can be kind,’ he assured her hardly, before striding purposefully from the room.
Molly grimaced her dismay, knowing she had once again said the wrong thing. But she knew, in their present circumstances, she would be hard-pressed to say the right thing where Gideon was concerned.
‘Lovers’ tiff?’
She turned sharply to frown at David as he stood watching her, a teasing smile curving his lips, dark brows raised mockingly.
He shrugged at her obvious displeasure. ‘Sam said something this morning about Gideon coming to your rescue last night concerning a spider in your bedroom. Then the two of you went off shopping together earlier. And he was in your bedroom a few minutes ago,’ he reasoned, his smile widening at her look of obvious displeasure. ‘What else am I supposed to think?’
‘Not what you are thinking,’ she snapped disgruntledly.
‘No?’ David speculated.
‘No!’ she bit out frustratedly, a rueful smile starting to curve her lips now. ‘Last night. This morning. In my bedroom just now. This is all just some silly idea of Crys’s… I suppose you do realise that this is all some mistaken matchmaking on Crys’s part? And you’re another prime candidate?’ She turned the tables on him, knowing she had scored a point when he looked totally stunned.
‘Me?’ David was visibly dumbfounded. ‘But I thought Gideon…? Who does Crys have picked out for me, then?’ he said dazedly.
‘Me,’ Molly drawled. ‘According to Sam, she isn’t too bothered as to whether it’s Gideon or you I become involved with, so long as it’s someone!’
‘Thanks!’ David grimaced.
‘You’re welcome.’ She grinned, enjoying his discomfort after his having teased her so mercilessly.
He frowned. ‘And I thought Crys was just being kind by inviting me to stay for Christmas!’
‘Oh, she was,’ Molly instantly assured him. ‘She is. Crys is one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet.’
‘I’m glad we’re all agreed on that point at least,’ Gideon rasped as he returned to the kitchen, dark gaze narrowed questioningly as he looked stonily at Molly.
She held that gaze for several long seconds, and then she looked away, knowing from Gideon’s accusing look exactly what he was thinking. But it was impossible to defend herself against such ingrained prejudice. And with David in the room she had no intention of even trying to do so.
Besides, Gideon, at least, was unaware of Crys’s attempts at matchmaking. And Molly wanted him to remain that way.
‘Are they coming down to join us?’ she prompted distantly.
‘Sam is,’ Gideon confirmed. ‘Crys will have something later; she’s going to stay upstairs and have a nap with Peter. After her disturbed night, and with the relief of knowing it’s nothing serious, she probably needs sleep more than food at the moment,’ he added affectionately.
Molly knew how Crys felt. Her own night had been far from restful. Although she didn’t have the added worry over Peter to contend with, too.
She nodded. ‘I’ll go and take over from her later, so she can have something to eat.’
Gideon eyed her for several seconds. ‘That’s kind of you,’ he finally murmured dryly.
Deliberately. Mockingly. Tauntingly.
Okay, so neither of them had a particularly good opinion of the other. But if they continued like this it was going to make this time more difficult for the others than it already was.
‘My mother always told me that kindness is a virtue,’ she dismissed lightly, beginning to serve soup into four bowls.
‘So is loyalty,’ Gideon rasped harshly.
Molly stiffened, knowing exactly where that remark was