‘Yep. That’s Scarlett, sixteen going on twenty-one.’
‘Must be a handful.’ Amelia hadn’t missed Kyle already giving the girl the eye. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her at the markets the other day and it seemed the attraction was reciprocated by the way Scarlett was smiling.
‘Hard to manage at times, but then you’d know.’ He covered his face with one hand, shook his head. ‘Sorry, that wasn’t a dig about your son, I was trying to be a parent who gets it, that’s all.’
‘No worries.’ Kyle and Scarlett seemed to have hit it off and from where Amelia was standing she could see their heads locked together in chat away from the other adults in the group. It was then she wondered whether perhaps Scarlett had given away the location of her accommodation when talking to Kyle the other day and that was why he’d made an effort tonight. ‘And Kyle isn’t my son, he’s my nephew.’
‘Really? So he’s on holiday with you for a while? What happened to his parents?’
‘His mum is having a hard time.’ He didn’t need to know that Kylewasthe hard time.
‘What about his dad?’
‘He passed away a few years ago.’
‘That sucks.’ Wait, was that a modicum of sympathy? ‘My brother died when I was younger and then as an adult I lost my wife, Scarlett’s mum. Death is a shit thing for anyone to deal with, let alone someone Kyle’s age.’
She was almost lost for words at first with how much he’d shared. ‘I’m sorry to hear that, it must’ve been rough. All of it,’ she stammered. Perhaps it was the beer making him so open and honest; whatever it was, she kind of liked it. Paul had rarely talked about his feelings – he’d been more of a moody type when something was wrong. Maybe if he’d been more open they could’ve worked through whatever it was that drove them apart.
‘It was.’
‘Kyle needs a break,’ she explained, ‘so I played the auntie card and here we are.’
‘It’s very generous of you.’
‘It’s family.’
‘You’re a natural parent.’
‘How so?’
‘You stood up for him against me for a start, kids need somebody on their side.’
Conversation lapsed into jobs, his and hers, where they lived in England, the sights they’d already seen in New York, those they wanted to see again. Nathan’s visit to the big city had already involved ice-skating and he’d still got the bruising to prove it.
‘I’m making Kyle go tomorrow,’ she admitted. ‘I went to Ground Zero with him, to the museum too, so that was the deal.’
‘Fair enough.’
Now it was her turn to talk. She’d never been one to keep things bottled up. ‘Kyle’s dad was a firefighter. I think the reason Kyle wanted to go to Ground Zero was to remind himself of his dad’s bravery, the job he’d done, the lives he’d saved before he lost his own. Rather than remembering losing his dad, he was remembering the man he was before. If that makes sense. Which it doesn’t, not now I’m saying it out loud. I don’t know, I can’t read him, I don’t know what he’s thinking. What, why are you smiling?’
‘You’re rambling.’
‘I am, aren’t I?’
‘I get it, you’re processing,’ he smiled. ‘Just out loud, that’s all.’ Nathan was far removed from the angry man in the park on their first day here in the city as he told her all about the firefighter mural his daughter had shown him and she made a mental note to mention it to Kyle – he might be interested in that or he might hate the idea.
‘It’s hard to be on holiday and think of things you both like to do when there’s a generation gap,’ said Nathan.
‘It is, but I think it’s been good for Kyle and for me.’ She wondered, ‘What do you think you’d be doing if you were here on your own?’
‘Nothing that would involve ice-skating.’
With the tree, the fireplace and the twinkly lights and garlands sneaking up the banisters the Inglenook Inn oozed warmth and, helped along by the champagne, Amelia felt the most relaxed she’d been since she arrived in New York.
‘How are you doing?’ Darcy was offering around more cranberry and ricotta canapés.
Amelia shook her head after Nathan popped one in his mouth. ‘No more for me, I’m surprisingly full. Your chef is a star.’
