Page 12 of Made Up for Love
“Hey, Megan.”
“You are awake then.”
I am now,thought Lydia, although she restrained herself from saying it aloud. “Of course I am.”
“Good, so you’re ready to meet me now?”
“Um, not quite.”
“What do you mean ‘not quite’? I told you to get an early night when you got back from Scotland.”
“Well, there’s a bit of an issue with that. I’m still there.” Lydia paused and waited for the explosion on the other end of the phone.
She wasn’t disappointed as Megan ranted at her without pausing for breath, telling her she was the worst sister and daughter ever, how could she let her parents down, it was a special family occasion and did Lydia not know just how much work Megan had already put into the party? Lydia held the phone away from her ear, not needing to put it on speaker.
“Megan,” she said, when her sister finally finished speaking. “It’s not my fault. All the flights were cancelled because of the snow. It’s been on the news; didn’t you see it?” Lydia couldn’t believe that she would have missed it because Megan loved nothing more than being up to speed on everything, and that included the weather.
Her sister mumbled something that sounded like ‘if you were serious about helping, you’d have found a way home’, but Lydia chose to ignore it.
“In fact,” she said, “I had to be rescued by a charming man because I had no money to pay for a hotel room. We had lovely dinner together last night.”
“Lydia Hendrick! Did you ask a stranger to bail you out? Why didn’t you call me?”
Because you’d never have willingly let me loose with your credit card details. “I didn’t think to.” That part was true. Lydia had been so flustered by the whole thing that Megan had been the last person on her mind. “Could you do me a massive favour though, sis?” Lydia sucked in her breath, preparing for a flat no.
“Do you need some money?” Megan was nothing if not perceptive. “I know you were up there because Jacinta’s sick and I’m guessing a day’s work with Sadie Starr pays quite well, so I know I’ll get my money back quickly. How much do you need?”
Lydia couldn’t believe her ears: Megan offering her money without her having to beg. “Enough to pay for the hotel and repay my saviour with dinner. Oh, and if you’re feeling benevolent, some extra so I can look for a dress?” She might as well try her luck.
Megan sighed. “Sure, I’ll lend you a grand. But I want it back the minute Sadie’s cash hits your account.”
If she weren’t over four hundred miles away, Lydia would have hugged her sister until she couldn’t breathe. “That’s brilliant, Megan. Thank you so much.”
“Just make sure you’re back before the party. Do you think there will be a flight today?”
Lydia dragged herself out of the comfortable bed and went over to the window. She pulled back the curtains and looked out. The snow was still there, a fresh layer carpeting what had already fallen. The sky was an interesting shade of grey-blue and the clouds looked threatening, as if they could dump a few more inches of the white stuff any moment.
“I’m not sure. Maybe later today or tonight.”
“Well, keep me posted. I’ll transfer the money when I get to work. Speak to you later.”
After Megan hung up, Lydia checked her app again for any news on flights. It still said the same as the previous day. She looked at the meagre selection of clothes in her suitcase. She’d have to try and leave the hotel today; she had no clean knickers.
8
Joel didn’t sleep at all well. Whether it had been the lasagne that sat heavy in his stomach or the wine, he found he couldn’t get comfortable and every time he was about to fall asleep, the image of his and Lydia’s gawky goodbye came back to him. He wondered if she’d had the same problem. He couldn’t work out why someone he’d only known a matter of hours was having this much of an effect on him.
When he couldn’t take any more of the tossing and turning, he gave up and switched on the twenty-four-hour news channel. The focus was, unsurprisingly, the weather and the fact that it hadn’t been this terrible, this close to Christmas, in many years. He checked whether there was any news on flights and found there were none. Sophia was already in the office and had advised him that the travel office had said there weren’t likely to be any until much later that night, more likely in the morning.
It looked as if he was going to be in Stirling for at least another day.
He could stay in his room, catch up on his emails, start that report he’d promised he’d have for Rupert before the Christmas break. Yes, all those things. A small voice in his head asked him whether he’d rather do that or maybe go down for breakfast, perhaps see if Lydia was around, possibly go exploring for the day.
The latter appealed far more to him and he threw off the covers and headed towards the bathroom. After a refreshing shower, he pulled on the same clothes he’d worn to dinner the previous evening. He couldn’t be away for much longer; he was running out of clean boxers.
There was a definite spring in his step as he headed downstairs, the aroma of bacon tempting him into the restaurant. He spotted Lydia sitting at the same table she had the previous morning. She glanced up as he walked in and fluttered her fingers at him. When the waiter came to seat him, he asked if he could sit with her.
“Mind if I join you?”
