Christmas to Come: a heartbreaking coming of age saga set in London's East End by Carol Rivers (first e reader txt) 📕

stomach and she knew all his danger signs. Somehow she managed to make him angry, but she didn't know why. 'I promise I won't say anything more, I'll just sit here and keep quiet.'

'I reckon you think more of Ron than you do of me.'

'I only care about you. I – I care a lot.' She blushed as she folded her fingers over his and gave them a gentle squeeze. 'Sit down, please.'

It was a moment before he did and shaking a fresh cigarette from the pack, he offered her one. She took it, her fingers trembling. 'Micky?'

'What?' He sucked the smoke slowly between his teeth.

'Do you really need help at your new place?'

A smile crept over his lips. 'Yeah, why?'

'I could help you on Sundays.'

He shrugged. 'If you want. But it's a case of zipping this.' He pointed to her mouth.

'I will. I promise.'

'Okay, then. I'll take you down the new gaff as soon as it's sorted.'

Bella felt a thrill of excitement. She got bored on Sundays if there were no jobs to do for Gina. She liked Mondays best when the week stretched ahead. She had always hoped Micky would call round one Sunday and take her to Piper Street to see Ron and Sean like the old days. But he hadn't and she'd given up hope of that ever happening.

'But listen,' Micky said in a hard voice that made Bella anxious all over again. 'I'm the boss, you'll be on a good earner if you can do the work, but I want no verbal in the meantime.'

She nodded silently.

After a long pause he pulled one of the chairs from another table beside him. 'Come over here.'

She got up slowly and sat on it. He reached up and slid his hand to the back of her head. 'I want my Lana Turner back, the girl with that smouldering look in her eyes. The look that was only for me. Or at least I thought it was till I found you with Casanova.'

'I've told you, Micky, Ray meant nothing to me.'

Bella felt his arm slide around her. His fingers released the grips in her hair and it tumbled down on her shoulders. 'That's my girl, my beautiful Bells. I've watched you grow up and tried to protect you and I may have my faults, but my heart's in the right place. I've got to know where I stand see? And that whatever I do, you'll be by my side.' His mouth was so close that his breath floated over her face, making her feel as though she wanted this moment to last forever. He was touching her the way she wanted to be touched, holding her as if she was a real woman, the way she wanted to be for him.

He pressed his mouth against her cheek, kissing her skin tenderly. She closed her eyes, expecting him to kiss her but just as his lips found her waiting mouth he whispered, 'Let's get out of here.'

With his arm around her waist he hurried her out of the club. She felt a sense of urgency as he held her hand and walked with her into the dark city night. He had never been like this before. Never said these things before. With the sound of late night traffic in their ears, Bella looked into his eyes.

They were dark and exciting. They promised her so much. In that moment she knew she would do whatever he wanted. Go wherever he took her. He was hers now and she was his.

Chapter 13

It was late on Christmas Eve and Bella had begun serving fry-ups at eight o'clock that morning. At midday there had been a rush for the Christmas menu, roast chicken and Christmas pud. They had sold out by three. But none of the regulars wanted to leave the carefree atmosphere of the cafe. They knew they had to return home to face the demands of their wives and family before they could get down to the pub for some serious drinking that evening.

'Let's park ourselves on a comfy chair and have a tipple before we clear up,' Gina suggested as she turned the sign on the door to Closed and walked back to the kitchen. 'Open that cupboard there and you'll find half a bottle of gin. Don't worry, it's kosher, not Lenny's rubbish.'

'The till was going non-stop today.' Bella's cheeks were flushed as she took out the gin and two glasses, following Gina into the cafe. 'If they'd been available, we could have sold twice as many dinners.'

'To be honest, it caught me on the hop, Gina admitted as they sat at the back table. 'I've never had a Christmas like it. At least, not since before the war and even in the old days, Mum only opened for a couple of hours on Christmas Eve. You know what? I'm going to spend all morning in bed,' she sighed as she pushed one shoe from her foot and massaged an unsightly corn. 'You and Terry are coming to us tomorrow teatime, right? I've saved some cold ham and we'll use the left-overs in the kitchen for bubble and squeak.'

Bella smiled but secretly she was disappointed. Even though he was supposed to be taking her out tonight, there had been no mention of taking her back to Piper Street for Christmas.

'So how are the two love birds?' Gina asked, unable to hide the note of sarcasm in her voice as she poured gin and a splash of lime into their glasses. 'He can't keep his hands off you lately.'

'You know Micky,' Bella said, blushing. When he came into the cafe now, he followed her out to the kitchen and started kissing her. She found it embarrassing in front of Gina and always quickly pushed him away.

'Oh, yes, I know Micky.'

Bella had thought that making love with Micky would be the most wonderful thing in the world. From the time he had taken her to the Indigo and she had