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“And I guess they’ve got a lot of interests,” she said with a laugh. “If this place is anything to go by.”
“Yes.” He paused at the doorway to another room. “But you know, something occurred to me since seeing your lovely little flat.”
“Oh?” She smiled at the praise.
“There is a distinct lack of festivity here.” He reached down and put a hand over her eyes. “And I thought you could help me fix that.” He guided her through the doorway then released the makeshift blindfold.
Melinda gasped. The tree in front of her was at least twice the height of hers, and it was a real tree, with that delicious smell of fur pine and alpine forests. This room had the same enormous windows that overlooked the river, but it was a formal dining room, with a table stretching through the middle. One end of the table – that which was nearest to the tree – was festooned with boxes and boxes of brand new decorations. In the middle of the table, there were platters of food. When she got closer, she saw that they included mince pies and star-shaped shortbread.
Melinda shook her head in wonderment, turning to Ra’if but he held up a hand. “Wait, wait.”
She watched as he pressed something on his phone and old-fashioned Christmas carols, just like she liked to listen to, began to pipe through the room. She burst out laughing. “You know, this could be a tad too much.”
He grinned. “I think the way to your heart might be through Christmas traditions.”
It sobered her, but not completely. She folded her smile away, processing his words, but he was close to her now, looking at her, his face so light-hearted that she knew he’d been joking, or modifying an old expression just for fun. They’d agreed this relationship wouldn’t get serious. She couldn’t do serious. Could she?
“Will you help me decorate it?”
“Right now?”
“Well,” he murmured, “I wanted to invite you here tonight, but I know that might be difficult.”
She nodded. “And I have plans with Jordan this weekend.” The realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks. She turned away from him, on the pretence of studying the Christmas decorations. She loved the weekends, when she finally got to spend time with her son. The weeks went so quickly, with her up early to travel into the city, and Jordan almost ready for bed by the time she got home again. It felt disloyal in the extreme to want to be shirking those responsibilities now to see more of Ra’if.
“Melinda,” he was right behind her, his hands on her shoulders. “I have never dated a woman with a child before.” That he knew of. It wasn’t like he’d ever stuck around long enough to know much about them. “I can understand why you don’t want to introduce him to a man you’ve just met. But if you decided differently, I would enjoy spending time with both of you. I’d even promise to keep my hands off you for the duration, as much as it would kill me.”
/> She laughed and shook her head. “It’s not that. Well, it is. I mean, we’ve agreed that this is just … fun … so I don’t want to confuse Jordan by having him get to know you. But really, it’s the whole thing with Brent too.”
Ra’if stiffened momentarily, not sure which of her statements he found less palatable. “When did you last see him?”
“Oh, about a month ago. And before that, not for over a year.”
“You said his mother helps with Jordan. Does she see Brent?”
“No. They’ve tried to help him, but he pushes everyone away. It’s only because of Jordan that he’s still in my life.”
“It can take a lot of attempts before someone really succeeds at rehabilitation.”
“And lots of people don’t get there,” she responded quietly, turning back to the tree. She changed the subject and Ra’if was grateful. They’d strayed into grounds that were dangerously close to topics he didn’t want to discuss.
“I guess we could make a start.” She reached for the fronds, running their smooth bristles through her fingers. “But a tree this big would take hours to do properly.”
“Then we’ll start now, and come back to it another time.”
She nodded, moving towards the decorations. He watched as she lifted each, studying them thoughtfully. “You’ve gone for a lot of red and white.”
He shrugged. “My assistant assures me it’s very ‘in’ this season.”
She grinned. “Your assistant has great taste.” She lifted the strand of lights first. “Okay, Mister. Seeing as you clearly have the size advantage, why don’t you start with the lights.”
“Show me where you want them.”
She nodded, pointing at the base of the tree. “I usually start low and wrap around, until you reach the top. If there’s enough length, you can cross over and loop back in reverse.”
“Right.” He began to do as she’d instructed and Melinda watched, her eyes enjoying the sight of him reaching all the way to the top of the tree.
“Do you celebrate Christmas in Dashan?”
