‘Don’t worry, we’re cool.’
‘Cool? Just like that, you’re fine with him, with him and Scarlett?’
‘I wouldn’t go that far, but they’re on holiday, I’m going to do my best to appreciate the location and the time away from work and stop worrying so much.’
‘Liar.’
His laughter echoed around the inside of the chalet, mingled with puffs of cool white air against Manhattan’s chill. ‘I’m doing my best here, all right?’ He was about to ask her how business was going, settle into a conversation like the one they’d had at the inn when they were relaxed and getting to know each other, when his phone pinged with a message from Scarlett. ‘She wants to head out to Connecticut tomorrow,’ he related. ‘Although I’m not sure why when she’s in New York City. Seems like the dull option to me.’
Amelia pulled a face. ‘That’s possibly my fault.’ She straightened a purple sweater at the front so it sat comfortably next to a smooth mint-green one. She tucked in the sleeve beneath a sky-blue woollen cardigan that a customer must’ve unravelled. ‘Scarlett and Kyle came by a minute ago on their way back from grabbing hot chocolates and she heard us talking about going to Inglenook Falls.’
He took a deep breath as he made the connection to something Darcy had mentioned to him once. ‘Kyle is going to the Christmas tree farm,’ he concluded, adding Darcy’s name to the mix to explain how he already knew.
‘I think it’ll be good for Kyle to spend the day at the farm. Mitch said he’ll let him use the axe to chop up logs they sell there too.’
‘Does he realise how hard that is?’
‘You’ve chopped wood?’
‘Tried it once.’ He flexed his muscles but his jacket was zipped up tight, which didn’t make it easy. ‘You’re right, though, a bit of grafting will probably do him good. Although you’re not really selling the idea to me, sending Scarlett off with a boy I’m unsure about and one who will soon be wielding an axe.’
‘Give him a chance.’
‘I think he might’ve refused my apology had Scarlett not been standing there.’
‘He takes a while to warm to people, especially those who might have prejudged him.’
‘Can you blame me when we’ve crossed paths before?’
‘I guess not.’ She broke the conversation to sell a fawn scarf with matching gloves to a customer and when the transaction was made said, ‘He’ll move on soon enough, he’s not one to hold a grudge. And he and Scarlett might think they’re all grown up but really they’re still kids, and vulnerable at that.’
‘They have all the confidence, not always all of the common sense.’
‘Totally agree,’ she smiled.
‘There’s a first time for everything.’
Amelia was a beautiful woman when she wasn’t scowling or when his vision wasn’t clouded by a teen about to get his own teen in trouble. Her wavy dark hair was held in place beneath her woolly hat and every now and then she swished a bit away from where it was making her chin itch. She wore deep-red lipstick he’d noticed at the party but here it seemed brighter, glossier beneath the light globes dotted at intervals up one side of the pointed chalet roof and down the other.
‘I’d be happy to watch out for Scarlett tomorrow,’ Amelia assured him. ‘I’ll be in Inglenook Falls checking out their markets, catching up with my friend Cleo at her knitting stall. Scarlett can spend time with Kyle or with me and it’s only a small town, she’ll be very safe.’ She served another couple of customers and when he told her he should go to meet Scarlett she stepped out of the chalet after him. ‘Why don’t you join us tomorrow? Come to Connecticut.’
‘Scarlett would love that,’ he laughed.
‘Don’t make out you’re only going to keep an eye on her. Tell her you want to see Inglenook Falls for yourself after you heard so many good things about it at the party.’
‘Which I did. It sounds like a slice of America that’s a little different to the big city.’
‘Exactly. And this way you get to spend time with your daughter, you see a new place, and you won’t be pacing the sidewalk here, wondering what she’s doing and whether Kyle has mastered the use of an axe.’
‘OK, you’re on.’
‘Great,’ she smiled. ‘Then we’ll meet you both in Inglenook Falls. Kyle and Scarlett can text the exact arrangements.’
‘Or we can too, if you give me your number.’ He was pretty sure he noticed a contented smile as she took out her phone and texted him when he told her his own number. ‘Sorted, see you tomorrow.’
And when he walked away he felt as though he’d just arranged a date. Only it wasn’t an official date, and they’d have a couple of teenagers on the periphery.
*
