Page 33 of Could It Be Magic?
‘So, what’s really on your mind, mate?’ Jamie poured them both a mug of coffee from the drip percolator and brought the mugs to the kitchen island, where Nick was sitting on one of the bar stools.
Nick added a generous slug of double cream from the jug on the island before he replied, ‘How do you know there’s something on my mind?’
Grinning, Jamie added cream and a heaped teaspoon of sugar to his own mug. ‘Don’t tell Annie – she thinks I’m cutting down.’
‘Your secret’s safe with me,’ Nick replied. ‘How’s it, er, all going?’
Jamie raised an eyebrow. ‘I won’t bore you with the details, but we’re taking it one day at a time.’ Nick watched as his brother-in-law sipped his coffee. He noticed the uncharacteristic look of sadness on Jamie’s face, and realised, for the first time, just how hard Annabelle’s miscarriage had been on him, as well as his sister.
‘But the holiday helped?’
‘Yes, absolutely.’ Jamie’s face brightened. ‘It was great just to get away from this place for a bit, you know. Annie’s been working so hard, and she didn’t really give herself enough time to recover after the…’ Jamie paused and dropped his gaze. Nick watched him swallow hard before he looked up again. ‘It hit us both pretty hard.’
‘I can’t imagine how painful it must have been,’ Nick said softly. His heart ached for them. The loss of a much-wanted baby had been a terrible thing; he remembered feeling so nervous about talking to both Jamie and Annabelle in the immediate aftermath, but Annabelle, with her first instinct to always consider everyone else, had made it easier for him to give her support, even in the midst of her own, terrible sadness and grief. He wished he was half as good at putting people at ease as she was.
‘But you didn’t come here to talk to me about all that,’ Jamie said, a brisker tone to his voice. ‘You’re good at deflecting attention away from yourself. What’s on your mind? Is it that blonde from the film crew again?’
Nick shook his head. ‘Nothing happened. She got the wrong end of the stick and thought there was more to it than there was, this time.’
Jamie gave a wry smile. ‘Probably just as well,’ he said. ‘After all, she doesn’t stand a chance against that massive flaming torch you’re carrying for Thea, does she?’
‘What?’ Nick made the mistake of inhaling his coffee, and spluttered some of it back out on the pristine white marble topped counter of the kitchen island. Grabbing a paper towel from the reel that sat to one side of him, he hurriedly mopped it up, glad of the distraction. He’d wanted to talk to Jamie about just that, but he was blindsided by his brother-in-law’s directness.
‘Nick, mate, I’ve known you for as long as I’ve known Annie,’ Jamie said, a gentler tone in his voice. ‘And if there’s one thing that’s been bleeding obvious for all that time, it’s that on-again-off-again thing you keep having about Thea.’ He gave a laugh. ‘It’s not so much a torch you’re carrying as a string of dodgy solar lights, flashing around your neck, right above your heart!’
‘Thanks,’ Nick muttered. ‘Now I really do feel like some sad stalker.’
‘Well, what are you going to do about it?’ Jamie grabbed the coffee mugs and gave them both a rapid refill. ‘Have you ever actually told her how you feel?’
Nick paused to take back his mug before answering. ‘Nope. Don’t want to risk it. Even with those texts Thea sent Annie, it doesn’t mean Thea actually wants to make us more than friends. She could just have been really pissed off.’
‘Pull the other one, mate’ – Jamie passed Nick his new mug – ‘no one sends WhatsApps like that unless they’re a tiny bit jealous. I’d say you’ve as good a shot as anyone.’
Nick put his mug down and sighed. ‘We’ve known each other for too long. It would be weird to actually ask her out now. People don’t do that, do they? Not when there’s as much history as we’ve got. And what if she said no? I’d never be able to look her in the eye again.’
‘So, you do have a thing for her, then?’ Jamie grinned. ‘Annie’ll go nuts when I tell her you’ve finally admitted to it!’
‘Oh, fuck off,’ Nick said good-naturedly. ‘You tell her, and I’ll make sure you’re on chauffeur duty for that shindig up at Cherry Tree Court this weekend instead of me.’
‘Speaking of… have you decided who your plus one’s going to be for that? Would be a shame to fly solo. I mean, especially when the answer might be right in front of you.’ Jamie raised an eyebrow.
Nick paused before answering. It wasn’t as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him already, but he didn’t want to give Jamie the satisfaction of thinking he’d come up with it first. ‘Maybe.’
‘Mate.’ Jamie’s voice was suddenly a lot gentler. ‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past year or so, it’s that you have to take each day as it comes. I know you’re worried about being rejected, but it might be time you put your big boy pants on and took the plunge. You’ve been on your own for a while now and hankering after someone just because you’re too scared to know one way or the other if they feel the same way seems to be a bit of a wuss move, to me.’
‘Says the man who’s been with the same woman since he was sixteen,’ Nick shot back. ‘It’s all right for you; you’ve got Annabelle and this life, and soon, with a bit of luck, you’ll be starting a new family. You haven’t had to take a risk for ages.’
Jamie shook his head. ‘Perhaps,’ he said, ‘but that all comes with its own challenges. And unless you take a risk and see how Thea feels about you, you’re going to end up always wondering what might have been. Are you all right with that, for the rest of your life?’
‘Oh, don’t be so melodramatic,’ Nick snapped. ‘My life is fine, thank you very much. I’m perfectly happy with things the way they are.’ He put his coffee cup down. ‘And speaking of, I’d better get back to work. I promised Annie I’d give her a hand with the Christmas shutdown stock take so we could all get away from the shop for a few days over the holiday.’
‘For what it’s worth, I think you should ask her. You can’t go on being a martyr to your own love life forever, Saint Nick.’
‘Don’t call me that,’ Nick shot back over his shoulder as he left. ‘It was a stupid nickname in school and it’s even dafter now.’
‘Blame your mum and dad.’ Jamie grinned at him. Despite himself, Nick grinned back. ‘They really didn’t think when they put that on the paperwork, did they?’
As Nick drove back to Saints’ Farm, he couldn’t help wondering about the Midwinter’s Eve Ball at Cherry Tree Court. Maybe it would fly with Thea if he framed the invitation as a simple thank you. And if it turned into more than that? His palms grew a little clammy on the steering wheel. Either way, perhaps it was worth the risk.
