Page 67 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
By now some of the faces were becoming familiar, and Kate waved and smiled at the people she recognized from previous dates. There were at least two people from the salsa night, a tall blond woman from the cookery class, and a couple she vaguely remembered from cocktail making.
Kate made her way toward a rep in a plum-colored puffer jacket; the woman’s teeth chattered as she tried to hold her pen steady between gloved fingers. Kate stated her name and a man in a deerstalker hat and a navy-blue parka turned round to join them.
“Kate!” he said. “There you are.” It was Phil. “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it. Quite a few people have dropped out of today.”
Kate smiled.
“It would take more than a bit of snow to put me off,” she said brightly. “Hi.” She held out her gloved hand and Phil shook it, smiling.
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said. He had a rich Australian accent and his teeth shone white against his tanned skin.
“Have you been on holiday?” asked Kate.
Phil laughed.
“I’ve just come back from a snowboarding trip in Canada; I guess I caught the sun,” he said. “But my parents are Italian, so I really only have to look at the sun to get a tan.”
“Lucky you,” said Kate. “My skin has two states; pasty or burned.”
The male rep called the group’s attention.
“Okay, folks,” he shouted. “I think everyone who’s going to show up is here, so let’s get moving before we freeze to the spot. We’re going to do a ten-kilometer round trip, and we’ve got camps set up around the forest for refreshments. Everybody ready?”
The gaggle of hikers nodded and gave their assent. The reps went out in front to lead the way, although a few of the more competitive hikers were hot on their heels. Kate and Phil hung back and adopted a gentler pace; they both agreed they had nothing to prove. Kate could more than hold her own on a hike, and Phil could have given her ex-partner Dan a run for his money in the fitness stakes.
The snap of trampled twigs echoed through the crisp clear forest air. Brambles shivered as birds and other creatures scurried in and out of them, knocking the powdery snow from their thorny branches to dust the ground like icing sugar. Gray squirrels—not at all afraid of people—scaled tree trunks and darted to and fro across the forest path with jerky speed.
Phil was as easygoing as his looks suggested, and Kate quickly rubbed the idea of discounting him because of Richard from her head. He owned three extreme sports stores: one in his native Australia; one in Newquay; and his newest store in Surrey, which he planned to let his son manage.
“How old is your son?” asked Kate. She had imagined him to be no older than primary school age.
“He’ll be twenty-two in the spring,” he said. “He’s been studying for a leisure and tourism degree back home and when he’s done, he’s going to be my business partner.”
Phil smiled broadly. His face—already friendly and open—positively glowed when he talked about his son. Kate found herself basking in his sunny disposition and earmarking him as a possible sperm donor if she decided to go it alone.
“Wow,” said Kate. “That’s brilliant. I totally thought your son was about four years old.” She laughed.
Phil chuckled.
“Yeah,” he said. “I get that a lot. Me and his mum were really youngwhen we had him. It didn’t work out for us as a couple, but she’s an amazing woman; she made sure I was a part of his life, even when I was being an idiot. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have the relationship I do with my son. I probably wouldn’t have the businesses either.”
“She sounds like an inspiration,” said Kate.
“Well,” he said, “you could say that. Butformidablesuits her better. She’s like a force of nature. She doesn’t suffer fools; you shape up or you ship out. If I didn’t want to ship out of my kid’s life, I had to shape up.”
“And she’s happy for him to move to Britain?” asked Kate.
“Happy?” Phil laughed. “She’s over the moon. It gives her an excuse to come to England with free accommodation.”
Kate didn’t find it hard to understand why Phil had never married. He was clearly in awe of his son’s mother, even after all their years apart.
Kate and Phil ambled amiably together along the forest path. They talked about their travel experiences and Kate’s brief foray into the world of extreme sports with her ex.
Phil told her about how a surfing trip to Fistral Beach when he was twenty-five was the start of a love affair between him and Cornwall. He intended to go back there to live when his son was safely ensconced in the Surrey shop. Kate pondered the potential for new fabric designs inspired by Cornwall. She’d been several times on holidays; could she envisage leaving Kent for Cornwall?
By now there was a clear demarcation around each couple in the hiking party and they walked in a queue like a primary school day trip.
“So, what made you decide now was the time to find a partner?” asked Kate.
