‘I didn’t want to wait that long. Why not early spring?’
‘Ruby needs time, Dylan, and this will give her that. And besides, my dad and Teresa have already booked to come over next Christmas.’
‘You never said.’
‘I only got the text late last night and you were asleep when I left this morning. They booked yesterday as soon as the new fares were released.’ Once upon a time Cleo hadn’t got along with her stepmother Teresa, but now she appreciated how happy she made her dad and they’d gradually become friends who spoke on the phone regularly.
‘I guess it would make sense for the wedding to wait until then if they’re already coming.’
‘Exactly. And do you realise, it’s supposed to be the girl pressuring the boy to hurry up and get married, not this way around?’
‘Since when have we ever done anything conventional?’
‘Good point.’ She pulled the lapels of his coat so he came towards her and she kissed him decisively. ‘Next winter it is.’
‘We need to lock in a date, book a venue.’
‘Any ideas?’
‘You mean you don’t spend every waking moment planning where we’ll get married?’ He put a hand against his strong chest beneath his coat. ‘I’m shocked, offended.’
‘Get away with you,’ she grinned. ‘Can we keep it to ourselves for now, tell the kids once we fix the date?’
‘I’ll do anything to get you down that aisle.’
‘Great, and I’ll add Wedding to my never-ending to-do list.’
‘As long as it’s ahead of markets or knitting, that’s fine.’
Cleo wanted to find a venue, set the date, and then she could deal with Ruby and the emotions that seemed to have gone on spin cycle inside the ten-year-old, probably with a big push of the button from Prue.
Rushed off her feet for the rest of the day, Cleo managed to eat her sandwich between taking payments, putting out more stock from the boxed-up supplies she’d brought with her today in Mitch’s truck and answering questions about the sizing of the women’s cashmere and merino socks, and by the time the moon came out from its hiding place high above the cold Manhattan streets she’d had a text from her friend Amelia to say she was here, in New York City, and couldn’t wait to meet up.
And Amelia was a pro when it came to managing kids. Cleo had always been fiercely independent but even she wouldn’t mind admitting that welcoming Amelia was going to be a bit like greeting a fairy godmother who, with one wave of her wand, could eradicate any misgivings Cleo was having right now. Amelia was used to dealing with problem kids and all Cleo hoped was that she could offer some advice when it came to Ruby, who had told her the other day that if she kept frowning like that the wind would blow through town and her face would stay that way forever. Cleo had been left in no doubt the phrase came right from Prue along with the attitude, and it was time to sort things out.
Only then would she be happy to get married.
Chapter Two
Amelia
‘It’s positively tropical,’ Amelia laughed once the flight attendant had made the announcement to passengers that local time here at JFK airport, New York, was three o’clock in the afternoon and the temperature was a shivering two degrees.
Her attempt to inject humour was lost and she got nothing more than a grunt from her nephew, Kyle, whose gaze had been fixed either on his phone or out of the window for the last eight hours, unless he heard the offer of food, in which case he was straight on it.
‘Well, I’m glad I’ve got my scarf and coat,’ she smiled, nerves making her more vocal as usual. Her ex-boyfriend Paul had always told her she talked too much when she was nervous, as though she processed her thoughts out loud rather than in her head. ‘I can’t believe we’re here, are you excited?’ She watched Kyle, slumped in his seat as the plane taxied to the gate. It would soon be time to disembark into a city she’d only ever dreamed of or seen in films and she wasn’t going to let her spirits be dampened by a sulky seventeen-year-old at her side. At least Cleo had replied to her text to say they’d arrived with enthusiasm, and all of a sudden she was glad that on the other side of the world she’d have a good friend to talk to. She suspected she’d need one with Kyle in tow.
‘Yeah, it’s gonna be a blast,’ he muttered, which was at least something. And it was the longest sentence he’d said to her since his mum, Connie, had left her house in London to set off back to Cornwall. Amelia had tried not to resent the fact that Connie was socialising and about to have freedom when she herself was taking Kyle away to try to make the kid see sense, realise he couldn’t throw his life away by drifting along now he’d left school with no job and absolutely no direction. He’d been getting in trouble too and Connie was at the end of her tether. It would’ve been easy for Amelia to dismiss Kyle as not being her problem, but she’d never been that sort of auntie. Ever since Kyle was a baby they’d been close and she cared what happened to him, so regardless of how frustrating it was to be relied on yet again, she only hoped these four weeks away could do some good. She’d planned on having some time with Kyle anyway, seeing as she suddenly had leave from her job, and when Cleo suggested she have a holiday and come here to New York she thought Kyle tagging along could be a positive move.
She hoped she didn’t end up regretting her generosity.
‘It’s just over three weeks until Christmas,’ she chimed, perhaps a little too eagerly. ‘The city will be festive, we might even get snow.’
‘I hope not. Can’t stand the stuff. Don’t get hardly any in Cornwall, it’s about the only good thing about living there.’
‘Come on, Kyle, give me something. A little smile, a bit of enthusiasm.’ Nothing. ‘Snow will make New York really Christmassy.’
‘With snow you get slush, ugly grey slush. Cars stop moving, everyone is sick and snivelling from the cold.’
