Page 34 of One Snowy Day
She put her hand on his. ‘Me too. I’ve had so many sleepless nights about it and I’ve woken up every morning with a gut full of worries. I could have saved myself all of that if I’d known you would reconsider.’
A silence descended, and she wondered how he could be sitting there, looking so crushed when they’d just made this wonderful breakthrough.
‘The thing is, Jessie… I don’t quite know how to say this.’
His tone was so solemn, that her gut full of worries came creeping back. Something was wrong. His mood and the moment weren’t matching.
‘The reason the sign didn’t go up today had nothing to dowith me changing my mind. It didn’t go up because the estate agent called me after you left this morning, to say that they’d had an enquiry about renting this house for a few months, and he suggested we take it because coming up to Christmas is a tough time to sell.’
Her gut full of worries was now overflowing. ‘I don’t understand. What does that mean?’
‘It means that the estate agent popped round with the family this afternoon and they loved it. We signed the lease there and then and they’re moving in at the weekend.’
‘So we’re still leaving tomorrow?’
‘Iam, Jessie.’ He put the emphasis on the ‘I’. ‘And I thought you were too. I thought this was our dream and we were about to go and live our best lives. But given everything you’ve just said, I think that’s a decision you’re going to have to make on your own.’
18
GEORGIE
As soon as Georgie opened the door of her home, she heard something that made her heart soar, despite the crapstorm of a day: noise.
She’d missed this so much. For the last six months, since Kayleigh had moved to Edinburgh, she’d come home every night to deathly silence, and it had eaten away at her soul. She’d even started going to her mother’s house on a Saturday night to watchStrictly, just so she would be around people, and noise and conversation.
Why had she not prepared for that transition? Why was there not a public service announcement or a manual that warned that parenthood meant you raised these children, made them your whole world, gave them confidence and ambition and independence… and then all that culminated in them buggering off and leaving you on your lonesome?
But not tonight. She could hear Grant singing along to a Taylor Swift song and Kayleigh giggling uproariously, so she knew they must be dancing. And yes, she could hear Flynn’s voice too, but for the purposes of this little interlude of reflection, shewas going to forget that she was furious with him and just remember when this very scenario of chat and music and laughter was what she used to come home to every night.
She wasn’t sure that she would ever stop missing it.
Her coat was damp from a fresh flurry of snow that had come down just as she’d come into the street, so she shrugged it off and hung it on the wooden post at the bottom of the stairs, then plonked down on the bottom step to pull her wellies off. That done, she sat for a moment, inhaled, exhaled, summoning the wisdom she would need to deal with this in a calm, mature manner, the cunning she would require to play it right, and the strength to refrain from telling him he was an utter arse.
Only when she felt she was in possession of all three did she get up and breeze into the kitchen.
‘Well, hello family,’ she greeted them with a cheerful smile and a hug for Kayleigh, who was standing centre stage in front of the cooker wearing a beautiful but tiny silky red vest top, navy velvet cargo trousers and a pair of Jordan trainers.
‘What do you think?’ Her daughter gestured to her own outfit when Georgie released her.
Georgie took in the fashion choices. ‘I think you look stunning, I think you’ll get pneumonia in that top, and I think your generation is genius for going the trendy trainers route. When I was your age, we wore shoes that made our feet bleed in the name of defined calves.’
Grant was leaning against the worktop over at the sink, holding two glasses of what looked like wine, one of which he handed over to her. ‘I tried and failed to convert her to the joys of a nude heel. It’s a tragedy.’
‘You’re getting old, Uncle Grant. Out of touch,’ Kayleigh teased him, and Grant clutched his chest dramatically. ‘Hush your mouth, I’m thirty-four! I’m only three years older than Harryfrigging Styles. Right, let’s go fix that hair before I change my mind about you being my favourite niece.’
‘I’m youronlyniece,’ Kayleigh pointed out, giggling again.
Grant stuck with the faux outrage. ‘Exactly.’
As the two of them headed out of the kitchen, she caught Grant’s eye and sent a telepathic thanks to him for being wonderful with her daughter, and loving her enough to be inauthentically civil to her ex-husband.
Flynn had been sitting at the kitchen table, watching them with amusement the whole time, but now, as she sat down opposite him, his gaze settled on her and a smile played on the lips she’d been sucking off his face that morning. Urgh. That thought made her shiver more than the sub-zero temperatures and six inches of snow outside.
‘Hey,’ he murmured, watching her.
Sexy grin on? Check. Sexy eyes on? Check. Sexy voice on? Check. Still a twat? Check. Aaaargh, she was furious, but she wasn’t going to let him know that yet.
‘Hey.’Be nice, her inner angel reminded her. Eyes on the prize. Jessie always said you found out more with honey than with… Actually, Georgie couldn’t remember the other bit, but it was something less appealing than a sugary spread.
