Page 15 of Could It Be Magic?
Charlotte crooked an eyebrow. ‘Baggage?’
‘I come with a couple of non-optional extras!’ Thea smiled in the direction of Cora and Dylan, who were both now immersed in a game of Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch.
‘But he’s great with the kids,’ Charlotte said. ‘I mean, whenever he’s been part of the group, he seems to get on really well with them.’
‘Saving a few penalties is one thing,’ Thea replied. ‘But taking them on full time is a lot more responsibility. I don’t think he’d have a clue!’
‘You never know until you try,’ Charlotte said, then held up a hand in apology. ‘I’m sorry, I’m getting as bad as your brother. Ignore me. It must be the time of year. I’ve been watching a lot of Hallmark and FilmFlix Christmas movies since December started, and they’ve obviously gone to my head.’
‘I never had you down as the cheesy Christmas romcom type,’ Thea said in surprise. ‘I thought you were far too clever for all of that rubbish!’
‘Oh, I’m rather partial to a seasonal love story,’ Charlotte laughed. ‘And don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. There was one that came out a few years ago with Finn Sanderson and Montana de Santo that I can’t help watching on repeat – God, what was it called? Oh, that’s right, A Countess For Christmas. Cheers me up every time. Makes me believe that, with a bit of mistletoe, anything’s possible.’
‘Well, that’s as may be, but I’ll stick to watching Christmas romcoms rather than trying to star in them!’ Thea laughed. She said goodbye to Charlotte and Tristan and then set to tidying up the plates and the remainder of the cake. Perhaps she’d take a slice in for Nick when she had her next shift at the shop.
‘Well, that went well,’ Lorelai remarked as she brought through the rest of the crockery and helped Thea to put it in the dishwasher. ‘I can’t believe Cora’s officially a teenager! Doesn’t seem like yesterday that you brought her home from the hospital.’
‘I know.’ Thea smiled. ‘I remember you saying that the toddler days, and then the primary school ones, would pass in the blink of an eye, and you were right.’ She flipped the switch on the kettle to make her and her grandmother a last cuppa. Now was the time to let Lorelai know about the job, she figured, while the kids were still racing each other on the Switch and they were alone.
‘Nick’s a nice boy, isn’t he?’ Lorelai said, just as Thea was drawing breath. ‘I wonder why some girl hasn’t snapped him up by now.’
‘He’s hardly a boy any more!’ Thea laughed. ‘He’s as old as I am.’
‘He seems to like you,’ Lorelai continued.
‘As a friend,’ Thea said firmly. ‘We’ve always been friends, Gran. As a matter of fact, I’m doing him a favour in the shop. That’s why he popped round.’
‘Oh, yes?’ Lorelai said. Thea rather got the impression that she was working hard to keep that neutral tone in her voice. ‘What’s that, then?’
‘I’m, er, filling in on my days off while Annabelle and Jamie are away,’ she said. ‘Just until Christmas.’
‘That’s good of you,’ Lorelai replied. ‘Well, if you need me to keep an eye on the children while you’re helping out, let me know. I don’t have anything major planned in the run up to the holiday, so feel free to ask.’
‘Thanks, Gran.’ Thea leaned forward and kissed her grandmother on the cheek. ‘I appreciate all that you do for us.’ She was relieved that Lorelai didn’t give her the third degree about her finances.
‘I know you do,’ Lorelai replied. ‘But if you find yourself under a sprig of mistletoe with our Mr Saint this year…’
‘Gran…’ Thea warned, but she was smiling. She couldn’t help but be amused by what she imagined Nick’s reaction might be if he was ever caught under the mistletoe with her. He’d been nervous enough, asking her to work the late-night shopping evening!
15
Monday morning arrived with two pieces of unwelcome news for Nick. His father’s back was still bad, so Robert was reluctantly confined to barracks, and the agency worker Nick had been expecting to cover the first three days of the week had cried off, ostensibly with the flu, but Nick suspected a better offer had come their way. Working in a farm shop in the sticks didn’t have the same appeal as working closer to home, and the trek from Taunton may have proved too much for them, he thought in resigned irritation.
That left him with a gap in the staffing and a bigger problem: the film crew would be spending most of today trying to shoot cover shots and also a short interview with him, but if he had to look after the counter as well as take in the deliveries and do his media-personality bit, he was going to be spread as thin as his Aunt Gladys’s servings of roast beef. The easiest thing to do would be to pull out of the filming, but the publicity was too good to refuse, and they needed all the help they could get.
‘Shit…’ he muttered as the net of carrots he was carrying from the trailer of goods he’d just brought from the barn split. Hurriedly picking them up, he jumped a mile when a voice behind him rang out.
Nick straightened up and mustered his best friendly smile before he turned around. ‘Hi Tally. You’re early.’
Tally gave him a grin. ‘I’m always prompt when I’m on a job. And I wanted to get a recce before the rest of the crew arrived. We’ve got a lot to cover today if we’re going to catch the light.’
‘Well, just let me know what you need from me and I’ll do my best,’ Nick replied. He considered letting her know about the staffing issue, but didn’t want to risk her pulling out of the shoot. No matter how tricky it was going to be, it really would aid their visibility as a business.
‘Oh, Nicky, darling, I’d be delighted to tell you what I need,’ Tally murmured suggestively. She gave him a mischievous grin. ‘Do you fancy a proper drink and a catch up once we’ve wrapped for the day?’ Her denim-blue eyes met his, and he got the definite impression that a drink might just be for starters. ‘We had such a great time last time I was here…’
‘It was nice, Tally, but?—’
‘How do you feel about a repeat performance?’ Tally interrupted softly. ‘I meant to call you when I got back to London, but, well…’ She shrugged. ‘You know how it is.’
