Page 33 of All We Want for Christmas
Across the street, Flynn was standing by a Czech-inspired craft stall selling beautiful Christmas straw dollies with a woman carrying a baby. They were a distance away and Flynn’s companion was bundled up in a thick scarf and bobble hat. She was laughing at something Flynn said and he was smiling back. They didn’t seem uncomfortable together or as if they were strangers.
‘He might just have bumped into her …’ Jazz said. ‘She seems pretty young.’
‘Agreed,’ Lara said. Even from a distance, she and Jazz could sense that the woman was at least ten years younger than them: her clothes were on trend and she had a kind of bubbly effervescence as she laughed with Flynn and with her baby.
It was then that Lara finally twigged that the girl was Molly, the waitress.
‘Shall we go for Italian, Greek or Thai?’ Jazz asked, taking no further interest in Flynn. ‘It’s early, so we can probably get a table without having to book.’
‘Yes. Yes … of course. You choose. Call it a birthday treat from me.’
They walked in the opposite direction and chose the Greek taverna on the square, got a table and ordered mezze. With a gin cocktail in hand, Jazz told Lara about her family birthday plans and Lara listened patiently, determined to focus on her friend.
Even so, when Jazz went to the ladies, Lara’s mind turned back to Flynn and Molly. They’d obviously bumped into each other and were having a quick chat. But they did seem very friendly – friendlier than you’d expect from two almost complete strangers who’d spoken only twice previously. Twice, as far as she knew at least. Lara didn’t track Flynn’s movements. He might have been to the café after the first night of the lights.
Jazz returned and they tucked into the mezze while the bouzouki music rose in volume.
The restaurant was filling up and a couple walked in and sat down at a table across the way. They were clearly loved up, constantly touching each other on the arm or linking fingers and leaning over the table to whisper things to each other.
Jazz lowered her voice and murmured, ‘They’re having an affair.’
‘How do you know?’ Lara mouthed back.
‘He supplies our veg. She’s not his wife,’ Jazz whispered, plunging her pitta into the taramasalata.
‘Ouch,’ Lara whispered, selecting a stuffed vine leaf while worrying the couple might overhear.
‘You never know what secrets people keep,’ Jazz said, stillsotto voce. ‘Oh, that reminds me. I was going to tell you what I heard about Flynn.’
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
After checking out an issue with the extractor system, Flynn walked out of the castle kitchens and into flakes of falling snow that settled on his hair and face.
It was bitterly cold after the warmth of the kitchen, so he sheltered in a vaulted porch that led out into the courtyard. The sky was heavy with low clouds that obscured the fells completely, hiding all their beauty. A check of his weather app confirmed the news from earlier: the snow wouldn’t stick around long. The forecast was for a warmer spell with rain.
Weather brought its own challenges for the light trail, although they wouldn’t cancel unless high winds or heavy snow were forecast.
He was about to step into the courtyard when he saw Lara enter at the opposite corner through the gated archway marked ‘Staff Only’. She was headed straight over the cobbles towards the porch where he was standing. With her mobile clamped to her ear, she didn’t seem to have noticed him lurking in the doorway.
Flynn waited for her to glance up, slightly apprehensive of what her reaction would be.
He’d barely glimpsed her since their lift kiss a few daysearlier. Though disappointed, it didn’t surprise him that their paths hadn’t crossed. She was probably rushed off her feet dealing with the Christmas tours that were taking place at Ravendale during the day.
His own schedule had been non-stop too. Although the initial fevered activity of the launch was over, there was still enough to keep him occupied every minute of the working day and beyond. It was a miracle he’d managed to find time to go to Keswick the other evening, but he’d been in dire need of a break and some company from outside the castle.
After ending her call, Lara finally noticed him and slowed. Her expression – wary and inexplicably guilt-ridden – spoke volumes.
‘Hello,’ she said. Snowflakes had nestled in her hair and lay on the shoulders of her fleece, adding a fairy-tale Christmas-card effect to her pretty looks.
Lara clutched her phone to her chest defensively, clearly not having the same kind of romantic thoughts. ‘Hi there,’ she said.
‘How are you after the other day?’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘After being trapped in the lift. What else?’ He tried a charming smile.
‘Absolutely fine.’
