by Mandy Baggot
Isla led the way down the hall to the front door and opened it. Outside, the snow was falling, but gently, covering the rooftops and the garden area of the square with a fine, white blanket. The sky was clear, stars visible despite the glow from the city.
‘So, if you turn left the Tube station is about a five-minute walk …’ Isla reminded him.
‘It’s okay,’ Chase replied. ‘I’ve called an Uber.’
‘Okay, good. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Bye!’ Maddie replied, waving a gloved hand as she descended the ramp.
‘See ya,’ Brooke said, scuffing the snow with her boots.
‘Hey, one more thing,’ Chase said, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Isla. ‘What’s the dress code for the Matthews’ corporation party tomorrow night?’
The Matthews’ party. How did he know about the Matthews’ party? For a second she was floundering.
‘Is it tuxedo? Or business suit? Or … maybe dress up?’ Chase asked.
‘I … er … you’re going to the party?’ she queried.
He smiled. ‘I got invited earlier. For some people it’s a big deal having the CEO of Breekers in town.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Isla said quickly. ‘Of course it is.’
‘So, what are we wearing?’ Chase queried again.
She swallowed. ‘It’s black tie.’
‘Okay. I can do that.’ He waved a hand. ‘See you tomorrow.’
Isla watched them reach the pavement and then she backtracked indoors, closing the door behind her. When she turned around she almost walked straight into Hannah.
‘Bloody hell, he’s hot!’ Hannah remarked. ‘I mean fucking scalding!’
‘Hannah! He’s my boss, the head of the whole company and …’ And she was concerned Hannah had said the sentence so loudly Chase and his daughters might still be in earshot.
‘I wanted to be that slice of garlic bread he licked his lips all over at one point.’ Hannah narrowed her eyes at her. ‘Did you deliberately sit me furthest away from him? So I couldn’t accidentally-on-purpose brush my wheels against his leg?’
‘Don’t be silly.’
‘So, is he on the market? He mentioned his ex-wife. Do you think that was deliberate? Was it me or did he really accentuate the word “ex”?’
‘Hannah, I thought you were head over wheels with Raj.’
‘I am … I was … I thought I was.’
‘Well, what’s changed?’ Isla moved around behind her sister’s wheelchair and turned her around, heading for the lounge.
‘I can move myself you know! Get off!’
‘Sorry,’ Isla said, taking a step back.
Hannah sighed, hands pushing herself forward and shifting down the hall. ‘Raj didn’t come to see me today. I thought he might because he usually has a chicken sub from the deli opposite and then makes out they gave him something by mistake – like chocolate cake – and he gives it to me.’
‘Oh,’ Isla said. ‘Well maybe he had something to do today. Maybe, with it being close to Christmas, he had extra deliveries. He did say he was busy this morning.’ This morning felt like so long ago.
‘Or maybe we’re just destined to forever stay in the friends’ zone.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘He’s known me for ten months now and he’s not made a move or asked me out.’ Hannah reached out and pushed at the lounge door then moved around it.
‘Well, maybe he’s shy.’
‘Shy? Raj?!’ Hannah exclaimed. ‘This is the guy who lets himself into our house in the early hours of the morning.’
‘Point taken,’ Isla said. ‘Well, there’s one way to find out if he’s interested or not.’ She really didn’t know why she was suggesting this when she wasn’t sure how she felt about her sister and a relationship.
‘Take all my clothes off and see what he does?’ Hannah suggested. ‘I’m not sure that’s going to work when I need someone to help me get my knickers on and off.’
‘I was going to suggest you asking him out.’
‘Because that’s romantic.’
‘Hannah,’ Isla said. ‘You’re a twenty-first-century woman.’
‘Who has no problem sharing restaurant bills or picking up heavy buckets of dahlias or holding open doors – Ronnie allowing.’ She punched the side of her wheelchair. ‘But when it comes to romance I just think …’
Isla swallowed, watching her sister’s eyes mist over like they always did when it came to ‘that’ scene in chick flicks where the hero sweeps the heroine off her feet at the end. Corny, perhaps, but also utterly satisfying, especially when accompanied by a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and a tube of Pringles.
‘I want someone to do the running for me,’ Hannah stated. ‘No pun intended.’
‘I know,’ Isla replied with a sigh. ‘I know you do. And it’s no more than you deserve. But …’
‘But?’
‘Life isn’t like the movies.’
‘Well, it bloody well should be,’ Hannah moaned, spinning her wheelchair in the direction of the hall again. ‘And why don’t we have a Christmas tree yet? We always have a Christmas tree before the second week of December.’
‘I know we do, I’ve just been so busy and—’
‘I’m going to bed,’ Hannah said. ‘To dream about men who aren’t afraid to ask a girl out.’ She wheeled at pace, across the room and through the door to the hall.
Isla waited. There were still some things Hannah did without thinking it through. And rather than stop her in the moment she always found it was better for Hannah to make these discoveries herself. It was a matter of pride.
‘Isla,’ Hannah called.
‘Yes?’
‘Can you help me into the stairlift so I can storm off to bed?’
‘Coming.’
Twenty-Six
There were feathers, floating down around Isla like a warm rain of snow and she was dancing in a dress that looked way too expensive for her to actually own. It was silver, with tiny mother-of-pearl beads sewn into it and the music was … a Michael Bublé tribute act? And there was Chase, smiling at her, coming out of some sort of smoke machine cloud to the strains of ‘Holly Jolly Christmas’. What else could she hear? Heavy breathing and … purring …
‘I’ve seen the man.’
Isla was wrenched from sleep and her dream by a voice right in her ear canal. She sat bolt upright, eyes wide but not working, clutching her bedspread in fear. She blew away the tendrils of hair on her lips and thought about screaming until she saw who was standing next to her bed.
‘Mrs Edwards? What are you doing here?’
Mrs Edwards plumped herself down on the bed, settling the cat in her arms on to her lap. ‘I’ve seen the man.’
‘What man?’ Isla exclaimed. ‘A man in the house?’
‘Yes,’ the old lady replied. ‘But not that man.’
‘Mrs Edwards, is there a man in my house?’ Isla pulled back her covers and felt around for the switch on her bedside lamp. The clock said it was five o’clock. These early awakenings with her neighbours in the property had to stop.
‘Yes, dear. He’s making coffee.’ Mrs Edwards stroked the cat a little like a Bond villain. ‘But he isn’t the one we have to watch.’
Raj. It had to be Raj making coffee, didn’t it?
‘Isla,’ came Hannah’s sleepy voice. ‘Do I need to call a SWAT team?’
‘Mrs Edwards,’ Isla said, getting to her feet and reaching for her jumper to conceal the ‘Cover me in Christmas’ T-shirt she was wearing. ‘Is Raj downstairs?’ She looked at her neighbour. ‘The postman.’
‘Yes, dear, he’s making coffee. I thought I told you that.’ Mrs Edwards shook her head as if it was Isla who was having trouble comprehending the conversation.
The cat jumped down from Mrs Edwards’ lap and began winding its body around Isla’s legs. Paying attention to its ginger tail, Isla noticed Mrs Edwards was still wearing her slippers.
‘I saw
the other man,’ Mrs Edwards said, standing up and reaching out to adjust the too-long sleeves of Isla’s jumper.
‘Why don’t we go downstairs and get you some coffee?’ Isla suggested. ‘Or perhaps a camomile tea.’ She touched Mrs Edwards’s shoulder. ‘Have you locked yourself out again?’
‘No,’ the woman answered a little gruffly. ‘I didn’t lock myself out yesterday either. I told Raj that.’ She tutted. ‘I went out to fetch Purdy and the door slammed shut.’
‘Purdy?’ Isla queried.
‘My cat, dear,’ Mrs Edwards stated. ‘The cat … just here. Is there something wrong with your eyes?’
‘Do yous think she’s proper ill?’
Raj slurped at his coffee, dark eyes looking first to Hannah and then Isla as the three of them sat in the living room, talking in whispered tones as they watched Mrs Edwards curtain-twitching at the bay window.
‘I don’t want to think that,’ Hannah immediately responded.
‘But it’s a consideration,’ Isla replied. ‘And I don’t necessarily think any of us are equipped to deal with it.’
‘You’ve lost me, innit,’ Raj answered.
‘Isla thinks we might have to contact Mrs E’s doctor,’ Hannah translated.
‘I hate doctors, man.’ Raj sucked in a breath that suggested he would rather face the wrath of number fourteen’s Alsatian than walk into a GP’s surgery. ‘You go in wiv nothing wrong wiv you and you walk out with months to live. It’s wrong, bro.’
‘See! Look!’ Mrs Edwards called from her window position. ‘There’s the man!’
Both Raj and Isla bolted out of their seats, Hannah wheeling after them, to gather around the old woman to see what she was pointing at.
‘Leaving in the half-light,’ Mrs Edwards whispered. ‘Thinking no one can see him.’ She tutted. ‘Well, I saw him last night. Talking to a group of strangers with hats and now, this morning, sneaking through the snow with that case of secrets.’
Isla narrowed her eyes, her fingers inching the curtain open a little more. A figure was coming out of number eleven. A dark-haired man, dressed in a business suit, the snow making it almost impossible to distinguish his features, except he was wearing glasses and carrying a briefcase. She watched him by the light of the Christmas fairy lights that had been interwoven around the iron railings of the square’s garden, until he disappeared from sight.
‘Do we think this is Verity’s husband John?’ Isla asked.
‘Who knows who he is?’ Mrs Edwards responded. ‘I just sense there’s something not quite right there.’
‘You sense?’ Hannah queried. ‘You mean like a sixth sense? As if you have a feeling of unease about him and you can’t explain why?’
‘Yes, dear,’ Mrs Edwards said. ‘Exactly like that.’
‘You think that house is haunted, like?’ Raj asked.
‘Okay, I think that’s enough talk of sixth senses and ghosts,’ Isla said. ‘All I see is a man who might be up a little earlier than most in Beaumont Square, but who’s just making his way to work like countless others in the city.’
‘With a briefcase full of secrets?’ Hannah asked, hitching her head towards Mrs Edwards.
‘And that is nothing but conjecture. Come on,’ Isla said. ‘It’s time everyone went to where they’re supposed to be.’ She pulled the sleeve of Raj’s coat. ‘You need to get to the sorting office and Mrs Edwards, you need to get home and tuck yourself back in bed.’
‘Bed?’ Mrs Edwards asked. ‘It’s morning, dear, not night time.’
‘Come on, Mrs E, I will take yous and Purdy back home, innit,’ Raj said. ‘Put a bit of the Challenge channel on. You know you love you some Supermarket Sweep.’
‘So,’ Hannah began. Isla watched her sister wheel herself into the postman’s sightline. ‘Are you going to be over my way today, Raj?’
Isla pretended not to listen and scooped up the cat who was finding amusement poking its paw at the Christmas cards set around the original Victorian fireplace filled with fir cones and silver and red and green tartan bows.
‘Your way?’ Raj asked.
‘You know, near the florists,’ Hannah continued. ‘Maybe at the sandwich shop?’
‘Goodfillers?’ Raj questioned.
Hannah nodded and Isla just wished she would be slightly more straightforward. Not that she was one to talk about asking men out or being direct. Men she fancied just never seemed to be in her orbit. She swallowed, burying her face in the cat’s fur as her dream about Chase and the Michael Bublé tribute came back to mind.
‘I dunno today,’ Raj replied. ‘I might have to work through.’
‘Oh,’ Hannah answered. ‘Oh well.’
‘Maybe tomorrow?’ Isla jumped in.
‘Tomorrow?’ Raj queried.
‘Maybe you’ll be near the florists tomorrow?’ Isla asked.
‘Isla,’ Hannah hissed.
‘Only,’ Isla started, ‘I’ve heard the sandwich shop is very good and I was thinking of trying it myself.’ She really did need to learn when to stop interfering.
‘It is good,’ Raj agreed. ‘I like the chicken.’
Isla could feel her sister’s eyes burning a hole in the back of her head all the way to the front door.
Twenty-Seven
The Royale, Hyde Park
Music. Loud music. It slapped Chase into consciousness and instinctively he reached for his phone on the nightstand, thinking he was somehow responsible for setting an alarm that was playing this thumping bassline. With gritty eyes he unlocked the screen, but still the noise continued. It was then he realised it was coming from the lounge room. After the six beers of the night before he needed to make it stop and quickly.
‘Hey! Hey! What’s going on?’ He strode into the room.
Brooke was the architect behind the noise, pointing the remote at the large TV and making the volume increase.
‘Give me that,’ Chase ordered, grabbing the controller and lowering the sound. ‘What the hell are you doing, Brooke? You’re gonna wake up the whole hotel.’
‘Well, you asked,’ Brooke stated nonchalantly.
‘I what?’
‘You asked me who in London was cool,’ Brooke reminded her dad. ‘He’s cool.’ She motioned to the television screen.
Goddamn it, this was an opportunity. She was giving him an in to what she was thinking, what was important to her, and he was not prepared for it. Why had he drunk all six of those beers last night? He wanted to puke. He swallowed down that feeling and sat on the edge of the sofa with a nod.
‘He’s cool,’ he said, nodding his head in time to the beat. He hoped it was in time. ‘Does he have a name?’
‘Rag ’n’ Bone Man,’ Brooke responded.
‘Wow … seriously, that’s his name?’
‘Yeah?’ Brooke asked, hand on hip.
‘Very … British.’
‘And cool,’ Brooke added. ‘So, can we go see him while we’re in London?’
‘Oh, Brooke, I don’t know. I mean—’
The scowl was on her face instantaneously. And there was that fine line. He didn’t want to be drawn into spoiling his kids but he also wanted this trip to go perfectly. They deserved a great time. Despite the gadgets and the clothes Leanna insisted were necessities, it had been tough for them recently.
‘I knew you weren’t freakin’ interested,’ Brooke said, slumping down on to the couch.
‘Brooke, come on, I’m interested,’ he insisted. ‘I asked you, didn’t I?’
Brooke was already putting her earbuds back into her ears, her body language screaming disappointment.
‘Daddy!’ Maddie’s voice screamed from the other room. ‘Daddy! I have a rash!’
When was London going to start giving him a break?
‘I’m coming,’ Chase called, grabbing a shirt from the chair and putting it on. He only hoped that in addition to being well-versed in all things to do with local planning, his Go-To Girl also knew what to do about a kid with spots.
> Twenty-Eight
Notting Hill
‘I’m going to fire Poppy!’ Isla announced as she tramped through the fresh layer of snow, speeding ahead of Hannah. ‘Because, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think she’s turned up at all for at least ten days.’
‘It isn’t ten days,’ Hannah replied, her breath coming out in bursts against the freezing air as she chased her sister along the street towards Portobello Flowers.
‘And today’s excuse?’ Isla said. ‘ITV are filming a segment for This Morning in her street and she can’t get past without getting up close and personal with Alison Hammond!’
Isla stopped speeding and turned a little to look at her sister. It appeared she was musing on what Isla had just said. ‘Oh, Hannah, come on!’
‘Well, it isn’t that unbelievable.’ Hannah sniffed. ‘And you’re just grumpy because Mrs E woke you up with her pussy.’
‘Han, please don’t repeat that to anyone today.’
Hannah laughed then quickly stopped. ‘No, I’m not laughing. I’m still cross with you.’
Isla came to an abrupt halt outside the shop with the feather Christmas tree in the window. It was beautiful and now had some mirror-ball baubles on it, together with black and rainbow tinsel. She didn’t want Hannah to see it. She wanted to be buying it as a surprise. She took hold of Ronnie and span her sister a little, almost making her collide with a newspaper seller dressed as Santa.
‘Whoa! Watch out! I almost ended up on Father Christmas’s knee then!’ Hannah gripped the side of her chair. ‘And I’m the one who’s cross.’
‘Why are you cross?’ Isla asked, recommencing her walk at a more sedate place.
‘Like you don’t know.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Raj and Goodfillers?’
‘A Bollywood take on the Robert De Niro epic?’
‘I’m not even going to acknowledge that.’
Isla sighed. She knew exactly what her sister was talking about. She had skirted around it, after Mrs Edwards and Raj had left, by making more coffee and talking through every item she was packing in Hannah’s day bag.