‘You took the children?’
‘Ruby was insistent. We ran a little marketing survey, which I told her she had to keep a secret when we saw you yesterday. She loved the clandestine nature of it and she interviewed most of the women. There’s no yarn store in Inglenook Falls itself and some of these women don’t drive so can’t go to stores farther afield. Some of them order online, all of them love to buy yarn and knitted garments at craft fairs and Christmas markets.’
‘You have done your research, haven’t you?’ Finally she turned to him and smiled. ‘Why do all this though? It’s a lot of effort to go to. Why not tell me about it and let me make up my own mind?’
‘I suppose it’s because I still feel guilty. But more than that, I wanted to do it in time for Christmas. I didn’t want the uncertainty hanging over you, I didn’t want you to be stressing over the holidays about what you could do. I know you said you weren’t going to do that, but if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to help myself.’
She took a deep breath in and let out a long sigh. ‘There’s only one problem, Dylan.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I can’t afford to buy a store. And I don’t think I’d be able to get a loan either.’
‘Now that’s where I come in. The money for the premises in the West Village was too good to refuse and that’s why I sold up. I paid off all my debts with plenty left over. I have enough money to help. I would be happy to buy the store and you could pay me back.’
She laughed. ‘It’d take me forever. I’d be in your debt for the rest of my life.’
‘And what’s the problem with that?’ His feet crunched in the snow beneath him as he moved closer and put his hands on her cheeks.
‘Dylan, I don’t know. There’s the distance for a start. Where would I live? I can’t commute this far each day.’
‘There’s an apartment above the store. No more excuses, Cleo.’
His mouth, centimetres from hers, silenced any more protest and he no longer felt the cold around them. When they pulled apart, she looked up again at the sign.
‘Please tell me you’ll think about it,’ he said. ‘And there’s another surprise for you.’
‘Do I need to close my eyes for this one?’
He grinned and turned the key in the lock. They stepped inside the store and he flicked on the lights. Spread out before them was a long dining table—actually he knew it was two fold-down picnic tables ingeniously covered with a thick red tablecloth to look like one big piece of furniture. Tall, pillar candles stood in the centre, each place setting had a silver cloth placemat with white crockery sitting on top. Glassware sparkled beneath the lights and a silver runner ran from one end to the other, ready to accept serving dishes for their Christmas Day feast.
‘What’s all this?’
‘It’s Christmas, together. If it’s what you want.’ He took both her hands.
Cleo leaned back against the wall and pulled off her hat. He’d made sure the heating was on last night to warm the place up and it was working a treat.
‘Dylan, this is too much.’
He stepped towards her. ‘No, it’s not. I’ve wanted you from the first night we met. Out on the porch swing. When I talked to you it was as though I’d known you my whole life, and the only reason I’ve held back until now is because I was trying to do the right thing.’ He reached up and hooked her hair behind her ear as the breeze blew it across her face. ‘But I knowyouare the right thing now.’
‘I’m a thing?’
He grinned. ‘What do you say?’
She unbuttoned her coat and hung it on the back of a chair. ‘Dylan, I’m not the woman for you.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’m more complicated than you know.’
‘We all come with baggage, Cleo. Mine is kids and an ex-wife.’
She pulled out a chair and sat down and he followed suit.
‘I told you my mum died,’ she began, ‘but I didn’t tell you the whole truth.’
He took off his coat and let it fall behind him on the back of his chair. ‘Do you want to tell me now?’
