by Swati Sharma
“No, it’s not the matter. See I don’t need this house anymore. I am going to put it on sale” he said calmly as he pulled off his beanie and ran his hands through his hair.
“What do you mean that you don’t need this house anymore?” I asked as I tore away my eyes from the thick mass of his beautiful hair. I couldn’t deal with the thought of getting back to my empty apartment, the apartment which now feels like a concrete structure. I didn’t want to sit there and kept thinking about how and where it all went wrong and how I ended up being a jilted bride, over and over again. “Mr. O’Brien, you don’t understand but I need this job” I retorted.
“I understand but ……listen I wanted you to refurbish this house so that I could give it to my wife-to-be as a wedding gift but last night everything ended and now I don’t need this house anymore,” he said exasperatedly and I was lost for words.
“Oh…” I heard myself saying before breaking down into sobs.
“Jesus, why are you crying?” he looked startled.
“You don’t understand but I need this job. I can’t go back. My fiancé has also called off our wedding and all I am left with is a very expensive gown and a huge mortgage. My parents are not home. I don’t want to go back, cry and die in that apartment where I had spent so many Christmases with him. I needed to stay here and do this so that I won’t lose my mind in thinking again and again that what had I done to deserve it. You see, I can’t go back. It’s just not fair. It’s not done. Please, you have to let me stay here and do this. Going back is not an option” I kept on babbling for god knows how long before I collapsed on the floor and let go of all the tears that I had been holding back for so long. Mr. O’Brien stood there and looked at me helplessly. “I am so sorry for being such a mess,” I said as I got up from the floor and wiped my tears on the sleeves of my parka.
“It’s ok” he murmured. “First of all grab your stuff; we are getting out of here before the snow starts again,” he said as he pulled the door with such a force that its frame rattled. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him picking up the shovel from the porch which I didn’t notice earlier and he started digging the snow around the car which was not mine and I assumed was probably his.
Chapter Three
We drove through the extremely winding lanes for a long time before Connor broke the ice “There is only one B&B in this village”.
“Just what I thought” I smiled tightly. “Listen I didn’t mean to cry on you like that” I was embarrassed beyond words. I had never cried in front of anyone ever before in my life majorly because I look ugly when I cry and secondly I hate to be looked upon as a weak woman.
“It happens to the best of us. You don’t have to be embarrassed. I know what you must be going through right now” as he said it, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“It’s alright if you want me to go back. I totally understand and forget what I said to you in the cottage” I felt sad even as I said it. I mean I had just arrived here and had only met this handsome man. How could I go back so soon?
“We can talk about it later, first you need some food and rest” he smiled to lighten up the mounting sadness in the car. “You look exhausted” he momentarily looked at me and my pulse quicken.
“You too” I smiled and he nodded his head.
“Hangover is pretty bad,” he said as he took a sharp turn and narrowly avoided bumping into another car coming from the opposite direction. Probably he was the only man on earth who could look so sexy and put together even in a hangover.
A few minutes later we were in the cosy pub right under the Silver Oak B&B which was owned and run by Martha and her husband, Charlie. Martha was a graceful woman and must be in the late sixties. As we walked in the pub, she came to Connor and hugged him while I stood few steps away “How are you?” she asked him. “I am good. How are you pretty woman?” Connor lightly planted a kiss on her forehead. “I am very well, so nice to see you here”, without paying any attention towards me, Martha led us to the table by the huge bay window which looked over the playground covered in the snow and had been acting as the skating rink for the villagers.
“Have a seat darling, now tell me what you want for the breakfast” Martha beamed at Connor and smiled at me for a brief moment. “Whatever you like Martha. I trust your choice” Connor replied. “Sure kid,” Martha said as she headed to the kitchen. The pub was looking prepared for the Christmas, it had silver and red decorations all over the place, a tall Christmas tree was placed by one of the large windows and it looked magnificent in all its glory and there was a stunning display of éclairs, muffins, shortbreads and cookies at the counter.
“She is a lovely woman,” I said as I took off my parka and hung it on the back of my chair. It was toasty inside and the smell of butter and eggs had increased my appetite by multiple folds.
“She indeed is and she serves the best breakfast in town. When I was a child I used to come here every Sunday with my grandpa” he curved his lips into sort of a smile. I opened my mouth to say something but then quickly close it when I saw Martha coming to our table with two plates laden with fried eggs, sausages, beans and hash browns and placed them in front of us. I could see there were not a lot of a staff and its marvelous how active Martha was for her age. “Breakfast is served” she announced. “By the way who is her? You haven’t introduced us” Martha looked me up and down. “My bad! She is Mia and she is an interior decorator. I commissioned her to refurbish nana’s cottage” he said as he digs in his breakfast. He clearly didn’t want to talk about me or the cottage right now.
“Oh, how lovely! So are you going to be here for long? Do you think you would be able to finish decorating the cottage in time for our Connor’s wedding? It’s only a couple of months you know” she asked inquisitively but before I could reply Connor got there first “Martha, Mia has had a very rough day yesterday, we should really let her eat”.
“Of course darling, come on dig in and enjoy your meal and his company while you can. He is a finest young man we have in the entire village and he is going to break a lot of hearts when he gets married” she winked playfully before taking off and leaving us in the awkward silence.
“umm…It looks scrumptious. I am starving” I tried to lighten up the air but Connor kept on eating without even a glance at me. I could totally imagine how difficult it was going to be for him to tell all of his friends, families, acquaintance that the wedding is off!
“Mia” he suddenly looked at me and caught me staring at him. How many times a person could feel embarrassed in one day, I wondered to myself. “You can stay here for the day; don’t worry about the expenses, I’ll take care of them. Have some rest, I will get your car out of the mess and you can leave in the morning” he said. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am for the inconvenience I have caused you” he hastened to add.
“It’s ok. It’s not your fault that I came unannounced or your fiancé dump….” I bit my tongue and my hands automatically flew to my mouth. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up” I willed the beautiful wooden floor of the pub to split into two and swallow me whole.
“No problem,” he said nonchalantly. “I should leave now. I am going straight to the cottage to get your car out. Can I have your car keys?” he wiped his mouth on the white crisp napkin and for some reason, I found it amusing. “Sure” I dig into my handbag to get the keys but they were nowhere to be found and then I remembered that I had left them in the car. “Shit!” I screamed in exasperation.
“Wow, what’s wrong?” his eyes widen.
“I have left the keys in the car” I retorted.
“It’s ok. Don’t worry. You go and get some rest, I’ll take care of it” very briefly he placed his hand over mine on the table in the way of reassurance before he got up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “I promise that you’ll be out of here by morning” he smiled. He had lost me the moment he touched me and I had barely heard the words he had uttered. I was still reeling from
his delicious touch.
“Mr. O’Brien..” finally I found my voice. “Thank you for bringing me here and feeding me. If it was not for you then I would have died in that cottage cold and alone” I said as a matter of fact. It was indeed very stupid on my part to come so far away from my home without any definite plan but I was happy that I took a chance and came here or how would I have known that the man like Connor O’Brien does exist in real life. I had only ever thought that the man with just the perfect mix of sexiness and kindness exist in novels or movies but of course, meeting him had changed my mind.
“Connor. Please call me Connor and it’s alright. You have come all the way from London to Sprinklefield and see what I have done. I had called off the assignment and you forgave me so easily, this is the least I could do to make it up to you” he smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning. Have a good day” he said as he walked through the heavy glass and brass revolving door, leaving me longingly looking in the direction where he had gone. Was it strange that I felt so much safer and relaxed in his presence and now when he had gone I felt sort of abandoned?
“Mia” I jumped in my chair as I saw Martha hovering over the table and sceptically glancing at me.
“Martha, you scared me there for a second” I placed my hand on my furiously beating heart and patted it to calm it down.
“Connor just called to say that you will be staying here today. When you finish your breakfast let me know and I’ll show you your room” she pursed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. What’s the deal with her? She was so sweet when I came here and suddenly she was shooting me daggers from her eyes.
After devouring my breakfast, I clutched my parka close to my chest and tightly grabbed the handle of my luggage before following Martha on the spiral staircase in the back of the pub. The staircase led to the large, beautiful alley with huge bay windows which looked over the village square and I could see the cute cafés, a bookshop, salon, restaurant, dress shop, flower shop, bakery and a tiny-winy internet café lined around the square. Suddenly Martha stopped in front of the first bedroom in the alley. It had a heavy wooden door with white enamel which opened to reveal the gorgeous country chic room. The huge cream-colored tartan carpet was dominating the room. The sumptuous cane bed with soft goose down duvet in grey color was placed right in the middle of the room with nightstands on either side. Opposite to the bed was a fireplace with the bundle of log sitting right next to it. The ornamental mirror with the golden frame above the fireplace was hung at such an angle that the bed was reflecting in it. On the one side of the room was a pretty Victorian window with rich-floral print drapes and it looked over the courtyard with pebble mosaic peeking through the snow whereas the comfy couch in teal color was placed right under the window facing a huge flat screen t.v on the diagonally opposite side. On the tiny table next to the couch was a vase of fresh flowers and a candle called ‘winter love’. On the other side of the room was a huge Jacobean panelling wardrobe. I followed Martha to the roll-top bathroom as she informed me about lunch and dinner timings.
“You like it?” she suddenly turned to me and our faces were just inches away.
“I..errr…loved it,” I said as I took few steps back.
“Good. Make yourself comfortable. Call the reception if you need anything” she pointed at the vintage rotary style telephone in black and golden on one of the nightstands.
“Sure. I’ll” I smiled but Martha didn’t smile back.
As soon as Martha left the room, I jumped in the bath and literally cried the tears of joy. I had never thought that someday a small thing like decently hot bath could give me so much joy. Tilting my head backward, I closed my eyes. Every single bit of me ached under the soothing hot water thanks to the uncomfortable night in the ghastly dirty bed. I cringed as I thought about it. For the first time in years, I had had the chance to have a bath without any rush. No office, no commitments, no phone calls, no boring basketball nights, no late night monotonous sex, nobody to please and to be honest it did feel good until the moment I realised that I was going to spend my days until I get the new assignment in doing exactly nothing. How was I going to survive this Christmas season on my own when everybody would be having the time of their lives with their loved ones? I thought to myself and before I knew I broke into soft, muffled sobs and right in that moment all the memories of the happy times I had spent with him flashed before my eyes. A few minutes later, I mustered all of my strength and pulled myself out of the bath. Putting on the soft, fluffy robe, I realised how exhausted I was.
Leaving the mess behind in the bathroom, I walked into the room, looked at the fireplace and remembered I didn’t know how this thing works. I called the reception and a few minutes later a girl, whom I had previously seen in the café serving the customers along with Martha, came to the room and lit the fire. I reached for my handbag for the tip but she politely declined and honestly, it was something refreshing. After she left, I closed the curtains, fell into my bed and almost instantly fell asleep.
Chapter Four
“Connor lifted my chin and pressed his lips onto mine and I melted into his arms…..” a loud thud on the door jolted me out of the sleep, huffing and puffing I scrambled into sitting position. Holy Shit! It was a dream. Thank god it was a dream! Oh no, it was a dream! I sat there and found myself wondering if I was happy or disappointed about the fact that I had dreamed about locking lips with a man I had just met when not so long ago I was planning my wedding with someone else. Another knock on the door made me sprang out of the bed and reaching for the door. By the time I realised that I was completely naked under that white fluffy bathrobe, I was standing just inches away from Connor who was right there in front of me in the doorway.
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting you,” I said as I instinctively secured the belt of the robe around my waist. My cheeks had turned scarlet. Stop blushing! I willed myself to not look into his eyes.
“I know. I am sorry that I woke you up but I need to tell you something...err...I called you but your phone is switched off” He looked slightly flustered.
“Right, I totally forgot that my phone’s battery had died and I forgot its charger back at home. Can I buy a new one somewhere here?” how strange it was that I had spent all of my teen and adult life glued to the phone for eighteen hours a day and since I had come here I didn’t feel the need of it, not even once.
“Oh. I am sure you will find the one in the shop down the lane” Connor said before he hastened to add “I am sorry but I have a bad news for you”.
“Bad news? What is it now? Did they stole my car or has snow engulfed it?” I went into a full panic mode. How was I ever going to go back home? Or could I use it as an excuse to stay back here and spend my time in wandering around this cute fairytale village and seeing Connor every now and then for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner or whatever?
“Relax, nobody has stolen your car” he reassuringly placed his hands on my shoulder in order to calm me down, only if he knew that he had just made my blood rushing in full swing through my body which made me tremble a bit. “Are you alright? I think you are shivering” he helped me to the couch and passed on the blanket from the bed.
“Thanks, I am fine” I tightly wrapped the blanket around my body and once he was assured that I was fine he said “I went back for your car and I tried to pick the lock but it just didn’t work so I had to smash the window. Please don’t freak out” he said as he noticed that I opened my mouth but nothing came out. “I did take it to the garage to fix it up but the garage is closed as a precaution for next few days because of the snowstorm alert”. I tried to find my voice but failed. I was numb for a while before I realised that maybe, just maybe this was a blessing in disguise. I could actually explore this place, nobody knows me here which means nobody to ask how am I coping and most importantly I could be around Connor. Who knows we might even become friends.
“Mia, I am so sorry. I am trying to find another garage in the nearby village and I promise I�
��ll fix it” he exasperated and for some reason I wanted him to shut up and just stand there quietly so that I could just take in the breath-taking sight of his handsome face without getting distracted from his moving lips.
“It’s ok. I am fine” I smiled politely. Though something somersaulted in the pit of my stomach at the thought of being here for few more days, I didn’t want to look excited.
“You are fine?” he looked confused. “Are you sure you are not upset that you may have to stay here for a little longer?” he searched my face for the answers.
“Honestly for a second I was scared but then it’s not like that I have any plans back at home” I replied nonchalantly. “I think I can stay back for a couple of more days and relax for a while. I hadn’t had any quiet time for myself in years”.
“Alright then...I am glad that you are taking things in such a good spirit. I must leave now, I’ll give you a call as soon as I find a garage to fix your car” Connor smiled and I silently wished that he doesn't find one.
“You might not be able to call because I have yet to buy a phone charger!” I reminded him.
“Oh yeah! I forgot. There is Mr. Brown’s electronic shop in the village square. Just a short walk from here, I am sure you will find the charger there. But I would suggest that you should go right away because as per the weather forecast, we are in for a snowstorm this evening. Village shops will be shutting down in next hour or so” he said before suggesting “If you don’t mind I may take you there. You are stuck here all because of me after all..” he offered hesitantly. What a gentleman he was!
“Connor, May I ask you to stop feeling guilty about this whole situation. Trust me you have done a favour to me. If it wasn’t for you then I would still be in my apartment, mulling over everything ever went wrong in my life and by now would have gone crazy while searching answers to all the hows and whys” I meant every word. In less than 24 hours, this place had started to feel like a retreat that I needed badly. “Now if you can give me 5 minutes, I’ll be ready to go,” I said excitedly.