Page 66 of The Winter We Met
Then why not…? As was so often the case with Nik, I didn’t need to say the words out loud.
‘You’re kind, hardworking, everything any bloke could want, but I’ve just come out of a relationship that ended badly and the last thing I can think about is dating again. Junior Magic is going through a tough time but I could have done a lot of research at home. I’ve used my personal savings to travel here. If I’m honest, I needed to get away. Rebekah lives opposite my parents and I always spend the festive season with them. I don’t want to run into her. Not yet. This trip is lasting longer than I’d planned, but I can’t say I’m unhappy about that.’
If only he’d mentioned this before. ‘Sorry to hear that. Break-ups are tough.’
‘I deserved it. Rebekah…’ He sighed. ‘Her ending things made me realise how much I’ve been working, putting my all into the toy business and charity work – especially at Christmas. She really wanted us to visit her parents in Melbourne last year, just for a short trip, to exchange presents. I said I couldn’t leave Sydney in December and I’d said the same the previous year. Glenda’s shown me a glimpse of a future I might have. She had a successful career but has faced most of her retirement alone.’
‘Most? She’s never spoken of anyone close.’
‘Not even Gabby?’ He smiled. ‘You should ask about her.’ He stared vacantly at his leather boots. ‘Imagine going through the loss she suffered without someone close to lean on.’
‘You mean losing her parents?’
‘No, the pension fund. Willow Court is great but giving up her lovely lakeside apartment and the live-in help must have been such a wrench, don’t you think? She was lucky the council found her such a nice place.’
‘Glenda doesn’t pay for her room?’ I asked, forgetting my romantic faux pas for a moment.
Nik raised an eyebrow and his neck flushed. ‘Oh. Me and my big mouth. Just forget what I said. I assumed all the residents knew each other’s position.’
‘They do, more or less, but everyone thought Glenda was in the money. Wow. Poor woman. This might explain why she’s always seemed a little… bitter and acted as if the place wasn’t good enough for her.’
‘Has she? You wouldn’t know from the conversations we’ve had. She’s very fond of Alice and wishes she had a granddaughter like you.’
‘But her smart clothes… she always looks so… expensive.’
‘They are all from her executive past.’
True.
‘But you helping with her finances…?’
Nik looked uncomfortable.
‘Sorry. I don’t want you to break any confidences.’
‘They are just to do with an estate that was left to her by an aunt – small earnings that Glenda inherited. She used to employ an accountant but has been trying to manage herself since losing her big pension. Internet banking will make everything so much easier for her. I see how she can come across as stand-offish but she’s a lovely lady when you get under that slightly distant exterior.’
I hung up our coats and fetched two glasses of wine. We leant on the breakfast bar. ‘So you and me… we’re all right? You want to stay for dinner still?’
‘Unless you’d like me to leave.’
I passed him the pizza restaurant menu. ‘I could cringe at my behaviour. I just… I’ve become fond of you. Honestly, with any other guy I would have asked him to go, enabling me to wallow in my humiliation. But no, Nik Talvi has to handle it so well that I’m still charmed and he’s staying for dinner.’
‘We’ve all been there and to show there’s no awkwardness I hope you’ll come over to Sydney, to stay, at the soonest possibility.’
My shoulders relaxed.
We ordered pizza and drank more wine. I even managed to laugh a little. I should have felt morose, a little broken-hearted, but now that a romance wasn’t an option I realised, more than ever, that Nik was incredibly good company.
‘Good luck tomorrow, at Darkthorn House,’ he said at the front door later, as he zipped up his anorak.
‘Thanks. What have you got on for the next day or two, before Wednesday’s crafting session?’
‘Remember the toy shop I mentioned in Paris?’
‘Si Tu Veux?’
‘Good memory! I’ve booked a flight for tomorrow. I’ll be back Tuesday night. I would have asked you but—’
