Page 13 of Made Up for Love
Her mouth curved into a smile. “Please do.”
He ordered coffee and the works again, pleased to see that Lydia was already tucking into the same.
“What are your plans for today?” he asked.
“Refreshing my app to see if I can get a flight home?” He hoped she was joking.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve got my PA looking for flights for both of us.”
Lydia’s brow furrowed, her eyebrows knitting together. “What? Seriously?”
Joel nodded. “Yep. She would be looking for mine anyway, so what’s another one? I thought it might be nice if we travelled home together. You said you’d be going back to London City?”
“I am, but my airline will automatically rebook a flight for me. Which reminds me, I should check what’s happening with that.” Lydia reached into her bag to find her phone.
“Oh.” Joel’s response was tinged with disappointment as she looked over at him.
“What?”
“Well, it seems a shame that after spending this time together, we’ll be heading our separate ways at the airport. Maybe even before the airport.”
Lydia wrinkled her nose as she contemplated what he had just said. “I could always cancel the booking and get a refund. Then I’d be able to pay you back straight away.” She paused. “I can’t believe you’d do that for me. It’s a really nice thing to do.” She gave him a smile.
Joel’s breakfast appeared and despite his earlier troubles, he wolfed it down. When he got home he’d definitely have to start thinking about eating more healthily.
“Now you don’t have to worry about finding your own way home, what are you going to do?”
She shrugged. “No idea. I don’t exactly have a lot of my stuff with me and luckily, I don’t have any work booked in for a few days as I was meant to be helping Megan. I could always go online shopping for a dress.”
“Why don’t we try here?”
“Wait, what? You mean go outside in this weather? I don’t have a jumper and these boots weren’t exactly made for walking in snow.” She waggled her foot at him, showing her heels.
“I can lend you a jumper.” Joel always overpacked and was ready for pretty much every eventuality that might arise, although he wasn’t sure he could offer Lydia alternative footwear. “And I’ll hold your hand to make sure you don’t fall over.”
Lydia’s expression was sceptical, although she brightened when he suggested holding her hand. After a moment, she relented. “Ugh, I can’t say I’m delighted to be leaving the comfort of the hotel, but you’re very persuasive. Let’s give it a try.”
An hour later, they were standing on the steps of the hotel.
“I don’t think I can do it.” Lydia gazed apprehensively at the blanket of barely trodden snow. “What if I slip and break an ankle? Megan will kill me if I spoil the party photographs with a hideous cast.”
“I told you, I’ll hang on to you. We’ll go slow. Then when we get to the shops, we’ll get you a pair of snow boots.” Joel tried to hide a smile. He was looking forward to holding on tight to Lydia. As if to demonstrate his point, he linked his arm in hers and took baby steps.
Lydia was definitely a scaredy cat. As the two of them made their way carefully through the slush, she let out tiny shrieks every time she thought her feet were coming from under her. Joel gripped her tighter to ensure she wouldn’t fall, and thus take him with her. He didn’t fancy spending Christmas in a plaster cast either.
What would, under normal circumstances, have been a swift ten-minute walk took them almost double that, but eventually they arrived at the shopping centre. Once inside, their first stop was at a coffee shop as Lydia insisted on treating them to hot chocolates and mince pies to celebrate their safe arrival.
“I feel like I’m skiving,” admitted Joel, as he took a bite out of the mince pie. They weren’t his favourite, but for Lydia he’d give them a try.
“What would you normally be doing this close to Christmas?” Lydia licked the spoon that she’d dipped into the whipped cream on top of her drink. “What did you do last year?”
Joel fell silent. This time last year he’d been blissfully happy, totally unaware that his fiancée was about to cheat on him, wrapping presents, planning dinners, looking forward to the season.
This year, he felt nothing.
As Lydia licked the spoon again, a flicker of desire fluttered through him. Maybe he did feel something, after all. And if that was the case, Lydia deserved to know the truth.
“Last year was a bit shit, to be honest. I split up with my fiancée just before Christmas. I caught her with someone else and that was it. I spent Christmas Day with a meal for one and a hell of a lot of whisky.” He took a big gulp of his hot chocolate, savouring the creamy, comforting taste.
