Page 127 of Holiday Romance
Andrew gives her that quintessential I’m-going-to-murder-you sibling glare, but Hannah ignores him, her eyes flicking to me as she leaves.
I flash her a smile, but it must look as strained as I feel because her brow only furrows deeper as she leaves the room. There’s a long pause where she’s clearly trying to eavesdrop on the staircase before it creaks again when she gives up.
Andrew waits a moment before he turns back to me, planting his hands on the counter.
“I want to see my sister,” I say when he goes to speak again.
“Molly—”
“We’ll talk about it,” I say. “We’ll sit down like adults and talk about it. But I can’t… I can’tthinkright now.”
I knew it. I knew as soon as Christmas was over something would happen. The magic would break. I just didn’t think I’d be the one to break it.
Andrew presses his lips together, clearly unhappy. “I can borrow my mam’s car and give you a ride back.”
“I’ll catch one with Christian.”
“You’re not even going to let me—”
“Not because of that.” I sigh. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? He’s going there anyway. I just want you to think about it for a few days. Spend some time with your family, with your friends here. A lot has happened in a few days and it sounds like we both need space to just breathe.”
“I don’t need space.”
“Well…” I stare at him, helpless. “I do.”
There’s a finality to my words that I didn’t mean, but one he fully hears. He straightens, his throat moving as he swallows.
“Better make you that coffee then,” he says, turning his back to me.
And I don’t know what to say to that so I don’t say anything at all, lingering for an awkward second before I slink back up the stairs. At the far end of the hall a door lies open, and it’s there I find Christian, sitting on the edge of an unmade bed, his face creased in concentration as he tries to get a new pair of earbuds out of their plastic casing. He doesn’t look up when I knock.
“Yeah?”
“Can you give me a ride back to Dublin?”
His fingers pause only briefly in their struggle as his eyes flick to me. “I think Andrew was planning on—”
“Makes more sense, doesn’t it? Save on the gas?”
He frowns. “Is your sister okay?”
“She’s fine,” I say, trying to sound bright. “I just want to get back up and see her.”
“It’s not a problem,” he says, slowly. “I’m leaving in an hour though.”
I shrug, backing out the door before he can change his mind. “Not like I have anything to pack.”
I’m fully dressed by the time Andrew comes back up the stairs with my coffee. Neither of us speaks and before long the rest of the family is gathering to say goodbye. Colleen is upset to see her youngest son go even though she pretends she isn’t, fussing over him before disappearing into the kitchen after their final goodbye. Sean and Hannah stay out at least, though Hannah is the most subdued I’ve seen her, eyeing Christian moodily as though he’s leaving purely to ruin her day. I hang back until Colleen reemerges and presses three stacked containers of leftover food into my hands, along with another candle for my mother and a small, knitted toy lamb for Zoe.
“You’ll come back and see us,” she says, her words more an order than a request.
Andrew waits until the last possible second to hug me as he always does. For a moment I think he might kiss me, but he lets me go with a smile that I know is for the sake of the others.
“Call me when you get back,” he says, and I nod, already feeling the distance between us.
Despite the cold weather, he remains outside as Christian drives us down the lane. I keep my head twisted back to look at him, watching until the very last second when he vanishes from view.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
