Page 42 of The Winter We Met
‘Talking of which one of my bedroom drawers is jammed.Ican’t work out what’s wrong. You’re right. Oliver is brilliant like that. You’ve reminded me to ask him to take a look tomorrow.’
Nik jumped to his feet and held out his hand. ‘Show me. Let’s see if I can fix it.’
A competitive spirit? He pulled me up effortlessly – in fact, a little too hard and I banged into his chest. We looked at each other and laughed. Keeping hold of my hand,heledmeinto my bedroom, where he’d seen me put his coat. Momentarily, my breathing quickened and I fought an impulse to pull back, forcing myself to inhale and exhale more slowly. Letting down my defences scared me and I couldn’t control those apprehensive feelings that went back to my childhood, but I’d learnt over time to rationalise that inner voice.It’s okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. This is compassionate, gentle, trustworthy, guileless Nik.
‘Wait a minute,’ he said huskily, as I went to turn on the light. He pulled me over to the window. ‘I saw it on the way here. Isn’t it romantic?’
I looked out of the window, my body brushing against his. We gazed up at the creamy white full moon, Venus dazzling to its right. Venus. The planet of love. Nik and me – tonight it was literally written in the stars. I turned to face him. He looked down at me, moonlight catching his eyes and the kind laughter lines.
‘Makes you feel so small, doesn’t it?’ he said softly. ‘And insignificant. Even when you’re flying through the sky and closer, it still gives you that perspective. And yet, back on Earth, much smaller things count for so much – like new friends.’
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his face and those soft lips.
The door rattled.
No. He wouldn’t. Please, don’t let that be Oliver back early. Buddy let out an excited bark.
Crap.
‘Honey, I’m home…’ called a voice. ‘Where are you?’ A silhouette lurched into view.
‘Hi there, mate,’ said Nik.
Oliver switched on the light and stared at us, standing there by the bed.
‘Won’t Nik miss the last train?’ he said in a tight voice.
‘Oliver,’ I forced a laugh. ‘For goodness’ sake. Why… why don’t you go and put the kettle on.’ I shot Nik an apologetic look.
Nik looked at his watch. ‘Sorry, Jess, I’ve totally lost track of time.’ He turned to Oliver. ‘I’m off to Birmingham tomorrow. You used to live there?’
‘Yeah…’ he said in a disinterested way.
Nik waited for him to expand but he didn’t so he kissed me on the cheek and went to leave.
‘I’ll text you,’ I whispered.
He winked. ‘Thanks for the meal. You’re an amazing cook. I’ll see myself out.’
19
‘Great timing,’ I said and pushed past Oliver.
‘Jess. I’m sorry but I’ve saved you from making a huge mistake.’ Oliver touched my arm. I shook him off and headed into the kitchen area.
‘Look…’ He began to clear the plates, leftover puddles of gravy on them.
‘Leave them,’ I snapped. I blew out the candle and switched on the overhead lighting.
‘I didn’t mean—’
‘Yes you did.’ I squirted too much washing up liquid into the bowl and eventually bubbles overflowed. ‘All I wanted was for you to stay out until midnight. Was that really too big a favour?’
‘But, Jess…’ He came over to me eagerly. ‘I’ve been in The Silver Swan researching his company.’
‘You’re unbelievable. This obsession of yours needs to stop.’
‘But I finally managed to find the website of Junior Magic. It’s such a small business in Sydney, that must be why it was so difficult to track down. It’s not a manufacturer. It’s a tiny toy shop.’
