Page 74 of All We Want for Christmas
‘I’m sure he will,’ said Lara, gritting her teeth yet again. She’d grind them right down at this rate. ‘I’ll pop in to collect them, shall I?’
On Saturday afternoon, after she’d collected their costumes, Lara saw Flynn in the topiary garden sitting on a bench, gazing out over the view as if seeking solace or answers in the snow-topped hills. She thought of avoiding him and then took pity. He looked so alone and at a loss.
She walked up to him and said, ‘Hi. I just picked up your costume from Fiona.’ She handed over the suit carrier, gladto have it off her hands. The two together were surprisingly heavy.
‘Oh, shit,’ Flynn said, before looking skywards. ‘Sorry, ignore me. Dressing as Dick Turpin at a ball is the last thing on my mind right now.’
‘I’m sure,’ Lara murmured, thinking that she wasn’t in the party mood either.
‘I appreciate it. Really.’ Finally, he smiled, and her pulse sped up.
‘You’re welcome. How’s it going? If I dare ask.’ She sat beside him and rested her own costume on her lap.
‘Work or the other stuff?’
‘Both, although you seem to have the work stuff under control.’
‘It might look like it, but I lost it a bit with Carlos the other day.’
‘He can be a difficult character to deal with.’
‘Yeah, but it was unprofessional of me.’ He scuffed the gravel with his boot. ‘How about you?’
‘OK. It’s the final day of the guided tours, thank goodness. We have a guide down with flu and we’re trying to spread ourselves way too thin. Tempers are fraying all round. People are tired and trying to juggle work and getting ready for Christmas.’
‘And I’m worried that I’m turning into the kind of grumpy sod I always resolved never to be,’ Flynn said, with a wry smile that made her stomach do an annoying flip. ‘Actually, I’m glad I bumped into you. I have a favour to ask and it’s probably bloody cheeky considering, but …’
‘Unless you ask, you won’t know,’ Lara replied.
‘OK. I, um, wondered if you’d help me choose a Christmas present for Molly and for Esme? I agonised over whether to get them anything, but it seems weird not to and I want to … but I’ve no idea what to get them. Now I’ve said that out loud, I realise that it’s probably an incredibly cheeky thing to do and I shouldn’t have asked.’ He banged his forehead with his palm. ‘Argh. I expect you’re far too busy, and shopping for Molly and Esme is hardly top of your agenda.’
‘Hold on.’ Lara thought it was quite satisfying to see him in a state of flustered confusion. Was this the man who’d strolled into her life with such cool self-confidence? She wasn’t sure she was qualified to help him shop for his new family, or quite how she felt about it, but he looked so desperate and hewasreaching out to her by asking for her help.
‘I am busy, we all are, but … I could spare some time on Sunday, if you really think I could help? In fact, I had fancied going to Keswick Christmas market on Sunday. The Landy is in for a service from Friday until Monday, though, and I daren’t cancel it now in case it fails its MOT.’
‘Oh.’ He seemed stunned she hadn’t said no. ‘If you really were thinking of going anyway, I could give you a lift.’
‘In one of the castle vans?’
‘Um. I was thinking of on my bike.’
Lara snorted unattractively. ‘You’re joking.’
‘No, actually I was deadly serious.’
‘But – but what about the presents? How will they all fit on the bike?’
‘As long as we’re not thinking of buying a table and chairs, you’d be surprised how much the lockers and panniers hold.’
‘I – don’t think I can.’
‘I promise I won’t go too fast. And the roads to Keswick are pretty good.’
‘What about—’ she started.About my safety? My sanity? My life?‘I – I don’t have any leathers for a start.’
‘I could nip round to Harv’s tonight. His wife rides a bike. I’m sure he’ll lend me a spare set.’
‘I think it would be much easier to borrow a van.’
