Page 83 of The Best Little Christmas Shop
I looked up, meeting Cal’s eyes, his expression serious, his arms looser now, clearly having feltsome of the initial tension drain from me.
‘Yes.’
‘Can you put him on?’
‘Yes. Hang on.’
I held the phone up a little. ‘Dan wants to speak to you.’
Cal took the phone, keeping his other arm around me. ‘Hi, mate. Everything all right?’
Dan obviously gave him a quick synopsis of the evening’s events. He listened, brow creased for a few minutes.
‘Yeah, she’s all right.’ Dan said something elsebut I couldn’t quite hear. My whole body suddenly felt weak and tired and without thinking I rested my head on Cal’s chest. His arm tightened around me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a warning bell went off but I didn’t care. Right now, it felt like exactly where I should be. ‘No. I thought the same,’ Cal said, agreeing with whatever it was my brother said. ‘Right. Good. Speak to you soon.Night, mate.’
Cal ended the call and replaced his other arm around me, before leaning back, waiting for me to meet his eyes.
‘He’s OK, Lex.’
‘I know. I just … I can’t bear to think of anything …’ And then I burst into tears. Cal held me tighter for a moment and then moved us both, bending and slipping one arm under my legs and lifting me as easily as he had his son earlier in the evening. Iwas aware that I didn’t do this. I didn’t just blub on people but I couldn’t help it. Joe and I bickered more than the rest but we loved each other just as much and just as hard. I was crying with relief as much as anything, and now I’d started I couldn’t seem to stop.
‘I should get home,’ I managed to get out between hiccups and sobs.
‘Not right now, you don’t,’ Cal replied, his voice gentleas he sat us both down on the squishy eggshell-blue sofa, transferring his arms so that they held me tight against him. I nodded in disagreement and carried on sobbing. Cal said nothing, just held me and waited.
After a few more minutes, I felt the wracking sobs begin to ease a little and after a few more, I was almost back in control, if now completely exhausted.
‘I’d offer you the guest roombut I don’t think you’d take it.’
I moved my head from side to side but didn’t look up. ‘No. But thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ He dipped his head down, trying to meet my eyes. ‘Better?’
I was in no doubt about what I must look like right now but I’d sort of got beyond caring.
I nodded against his chest, finally meeting his eyes.
‘I really should go this time.’
‘In a minute. Dan didn’t wantyou driving straight away and I’d already decided on that the moment you picked up your phone.’
‘I’m OK now though, really,’ I said, trying to convince myself of the words.
‘No. I think you’re better than you were, but I don’t think you’re OK.’
I scooched myself off of his lap, breaking the encirclement of his arms, and sat next to him, cross-legged. ‘I am really.’
He watched me for a momentand then dropped his gaze to his lap. ‘So I assume that means you don’t want to talk about it.’
‘About what?’
‘The fact that all that wasn’t just about Joe.’
I swallowed, wanting to lie and not being able to.
‘It just brought it all back.’
‘I think that’s natural.’
