‘My mistake, you know each other so well.’ Her sarcasm wasn’t one of her finest moments, set to rile him more than anything.
Darcy had the party back on track quickly, guest were offered more canapés, conversation returned to normal, drinks were topped up, but when Kyle announced he’d had enough and picked up the box of decorations, Amelia had no choice but to call it a night and follow after him.
Chapter Eight
Nathan
The lights in New York City were nothing short of stunning, not that Scarlett had any appreciation for them tonight. After Nathan whisked her away from the Inglenook Inn she’d stomped off, totally missing the magic of snow falling all around them – only lightly, but enough to put smiles on the faces of people passing by. She’d marched quite a way too. When Scarlett was in a mood she could genuinely walk faster than most people could run.
‘Are you going to keep up the silent treatment?’ he asked when they reached Times Square and she finally slowed her pace.
She didn’t answer. She stood, mesmerised amidst energetic crowds looking up at the towering digital billboards flashing in a rainbow of colours. He pulled her to one side before they both got knocked to the ground in the melee. ‘Scarlett, come on, talk to me. Perhaps get a bit of perspective.’
‘Says the man who overreacted!’
‘You don’t need to yell at me.’
‘We were kissing, Dad. I’m sixteen, he’s seventeen, I think we’re allowed. And then you totally embarrassed me in front of him and everyone else. It was awful.’
‘I’m sorry. I guess I did go a bit over the top.’
‘You think!’
‘You didn’t need to storm this far though. My legs are aching from trying to keep up.’
‘I wanted to see Times Square at night,’ she shrugged.
‘Pretty impressive. Where’s the ball?’ When she pointed up high to the top of a building, he squinted. ‘Never mind glasses, I probably need binoculars. I thought it was huge, it was in that movie we saw.’
She gave him a look as though he was a dimwit. ‘It probably is close up, but it’s a long way from the ground.’
He looked around them. ‘So this is where everyone congregates on New Year’s Eve. You know, I always thought it would be a proper square, really it’s just a junction of roads.’
‘It’d be amazing to come here on New Year’s. Kyle says…’
‘You’re allowed to mention his name,’ he said when she hesitated. He was trying to be reasonable now his anger had subsided. And since they’d left the inn he hadn’t actually thought much about catching Scarlett and Kyle together, but he had thought about Amelia, a brunette with a cute smile and a lot of personality.
‘Kyle says he’s going to come here and watch the ball drop.’
‘With Amelia?’
‘His auntie, yes. She looked like she wanted to punch you for upsetting Kyle.’
‘I hardly think she’s going to do that.’
‘Maybe think before you act next time, Dad.’
‘Hang on a minute, who’s the adult here?’
‘You, supposedly. But that means you should be able to control your emotions and your temper.’
‘Point taken. Well, I hope he and Amelia enjoy New Year’s Eve here with all the crowds.’
‘You’re probably hoping he gets trampled.’
They agreed to get off the street and enjoy the warmth of the nearest café, where Nathan bought two hot chocolates. He’d had a few beers at the inn but was stone-cold sober now and this talk needed a decadent treat with cream and marshmallows. He wanted his daughter’s attention without her getting defensive, if that was at all possible.
Cupping their warm drinks between their palms to take away the chill from walking the streets and seated at a table right near the back with its red Formica top bordered with silver and chairs of the same design, he said, ‘I don’t want to see the boy trampled. I won’t pretend I like him all that much but everyone deserves a second chance. It doesn’t mean I want to see his lips on yours particularly.’ He stopped her from interrupting. ‘No dad would be completely comfortable seeing his little girl stepping into a whole new world of being a grown-up, relationships and all the shit that comes with them.’ He didn’t even apologise for the explicit language because it pretty much summed it up. ‘I’m well aware I won’t be able to fight it forever, you’ll grow up and have boyfriends. It’s just that I didn’t expect it to happen on holiday and I definitely wasn’t prepared for it to be Kyle.’
