Snowflakes and Mistletoe at the Inglenook Inn (New York Ever After, Book 2)

by Helen J Rolfe

  ‘Good morning,’ he said, but then checked his watch. ‘It’s almost afternoon. Where does time go, eh?’

  She had a feeling he wasn’t just talking about today. ‘Can I get you anything? Lunch? Drinks?’ She plucked a pine needle from her sleeve and dropped it into the dustpan.

  ‘No thank you, Darcy. I’m actually looking for my son. Have you seen him?’

  ‘I haven’t, not today.’

  He smiled. ‘I’ll be in my room. If you see him, would you tell him I was looking for him?’

  ‘I expect he’s at work,’ she said before he had a chance to leave.

  ‘He works hard,’ Ian confirmed and turned to leave again. Dressed in suit trousers, a shirt but no tie, with proper shoes befitting of an office worker, he seemed lost in unfamiliar territory.

  ‘If it helps, he’ll be back around six thirty.’ She felt her skin colour. Most guests didn’t tell their hotel host where they were going or what time they’d be back. ‘I’m accompanying him to a work function this evening. He was stuck and so I volunteered.’ With every extra word that came out of her mouth she cringed. They all sounded so pathetic and he could probably see through them completely.

  ‘Are you dating my son?’ The soft voice came from a man who was nothing like Darcy had expected. She’d imagined him to be serious, brash and unapproachable from the way Myles had talked about how he’d pushed his son’s work ethic, but he seemed down to earth and, somehow, sad. ‘I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.’ And then he smiled. ‘But I’m glad. Myles – and I know he’d hate it if he heard me say this – doesn’t let himself have much of a social life, and he needs one.’

  Darcy held his gaze a moment longer and then realising she was still holding the pan full of needles and specks of dirt she disappeared off and deposited it in the trash. When she returned, Ian was sitting in the armchair scrolling through something on his cell phone. He stopped when she came in but she got on with her job in hand and laid a new fire.

  ‘Would you like me to light it?’ she asked Ian.

  ‘Don’t go to any trouble for me,’ he insisted. He looked like Myles when he smiled. Their mouths turned up at the edges the same way, the right side ever so slightly more than the left.

  ‘It’s no trouble.’ She arranged logs, took kindling from the shelves inset in the wall beside the fireplace. She positioned firelighters strategically and after putting a match to each piece it wasn’t long before the fire took hold.

  ‘You’ve got the knack.’

  ‘I’ve prepared a few fires in my time,’ she confessed. ‘The damper switch helps too.’ She pointed to the switch at the bottom that she’d adjusted. ‘Once the flames get higher I can close the switch, and likewise, if they peter out I can adjust it to get them going again.’

  ‘The benefits of modern inventions.’ Ian spoke but he wasn’t really in the conversation. His mind was elsewhere.

  Darcy busied herself sweeping around the fireplace for any debris she’d created, which wasn’t much. The white lights on the tree illuminated the window and as she replied to emails, paid another invoice and messaged Sofia with a brief update to keep her in the loop, she stole the odd glance at her guest, quiet and processing whatever it was on his mind.

  She disappeared to apartment one and made up the bed for Holly. She used the white linen with intricate flowers stitched into its surface. She pulled on pillowcases and plumped pillows so they stood tall and proud against the headboard. She arranged a deep red runner across the bed three quarters of the way down, smiling when she realised it matched the colour of the berries in the flower arrangement she’d purchased.

  Downstairs in the basement she found three vases and prepared the blooms, cutting the stems short for the smallest vase to go in the bedroom, medium length for the vase that could go on the side table, and left them long for the biggest vase that would stand in the centre of the coffee table opposite the sofa. She took each of them up to the apartment and once she was satisfied everything was ready for their guest, she returned to the lounge, where Ian was still sitting quietly.

  ‘Can I get you anything else? A snack, or a drink from the bar? Coffee? Tea?’ she asked.

  He didn’t answer but, instead, smiled. ‘Would you look at that?’

  She followed his gaze to outside the window and her insides filled with joy. ‘It’s snowing.’

  ‘It’s snowing.’ Ian turned to her and beamed the biggest smile she’d seen from him yet.

  ‘Welcome to New York,’ she said.

  ‘I think I will take that offer of a drink.’

  ‘Coming right up.’

  He ordered a bourbon and she brought it to him on a small tray. She’d taken the liberty of adding a couple of biscotti on a side plate, and she left him to enjoy the fire. She watched the snowfall from her position behind her desk, and with every flake that delicately fluttered from the sky, she began to get more nervous.

  She had a date. In less than three hours.

  And she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready for that.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Myles

  Myles left the office in plenty of time. He may be male, but he still had things he wanted to do before he went out tonight. His shirt and tux had been pressed and he’d picked them up days ago. They were hanging in his apartment on the top floor of the Inglenook Inn, all ready for his date with Darcy. That was what this was tonight. It had become so much more than a Christmas party, a chance to network for his boss and many of his colleagues. He was going out with the woman he’d been partly responsible for getting fired, but the woman who now made him struggle to think of things to say, who held him captivated whenever she spoke. And even though he had so much more on his mind now his father had shown up in New York, Darcy was a great distraction and a welcome one.

  He got a cab from the office to the Inn. The snow had started to come down an hour ago but he was getting better at yelling in the street at the yellow vehicles and actually getting them to stop. At first, his stiff upper English lip had left him too polite to call out at random – shouldn’t there be an orderly queue somewhere? – but it really was the only way to do it.

  He paid the cab driver, tipped him, negotiated the parked cars near the Inn and went up the familiar brownstone steps. He slotted his key in the lock and stepped into a hallway that felt as far removed from a boutique hotel as it possibly could. It felt like he was coming home. It smelled familiar – the pine tree in the lounge, the scent of a rich, hearty meat dish coming from the kitchen, the smell of the fire he knew was going already.

  What he didn’t expect to see was his father sitting in the chair by the window as he pushed open the door. Myles had come from the opposite direction so Ian hadn’t seen him approach.

  What really stood out to Myles was how content his father looked. He was far removed from the desperate man he’d talked to a couple of nights ago, since they’d let words and explanations settle between them. Now, his face was illuminated by the glow of the fire and he was holding a glass of whiskey as he looked out at the snow falling from the skies.

  Ian turned round as soon as Myles appeared in the lounge. ‘Join me?’ he asked, raising his glass. It was strange how alcohol still bonded the men, despite his mum’s problems with the bottle. In some ways Myles had expected to hate it, but he didn’t. He just wished his mother saw it in the same way they did, as something to enjoy in moderation, not as a way to dull the senses and avoid whatever else was going on.

  He said hello to Darcy, who was at the desk, working away. It was hard to believe that very soon she’d go from being his landlady to his date. All day he’d been thinking about what she’d look like dressed up, wearing the earrings he’d chosen for her, those ice-blue eyes showing her excitement at being in a completely new environment to what she was used to.

  He nodded at Darcy’s offer of a drink and settled down on the sofa beside the armchair as he and his dad talked about the snow and watched it fall, hitting the sidewalk and
the cars but not settling much yet. Cars passed by swishing it out the way, pedestrians avoided it touching their skin by wrapping scarves tighter and pulling hoods up over their heads. A young child with his mother walked past and tilted his head to the sky, opened his mouth and let a flake or two fall onto his tongue. Myles had done exactly the same as a kid and had this strange urge to do it again.

  After Darcy brought their drinks over Myles wondered whether his mum had been in touch, but she hadn’t.

  Ian settled back against the armchair, swilling the drink in the bottom of his glass. ‘I called this morning but no answer.’

  He didn’t need to say it. Myles knew what they were both thinking. Was she out and about and had simply missed the call? Or was she too drunk to answer it?

  ‘Why did she start up again?’ Myles still couldn’t believe it. His childhood hadn’t been a blast, but he’d thought she was well out of that stage of her life now.

  ‘She feels like she’s lost you, and she doesn’t know how to get you back.’

  ‘I came here for work, she knows that.’

  Ian shook his head. ‘It’s not about your physical proximity to us, it’s more that even when you’re nearby, you’re unreachable. You’ve never been able to move on from how she once was. You’ve never been able to forgive her. I don’t know…perhaps it was because you were the youngest. You were always more sensitive and you threw everything into your career.’ His face softened, as though he was completely deflated. ‘You never stop to take a breath and look around you.’

  ‘Of course I do. I’ve seen a lot of Manhattan since I’ve been here.’ That wasn’t what his dad meant and Myles knew it.

  ‘Your mum and I were together, but we didn’t have a good marriage. We had enormous obstacles in our path, but, somehow, we made it through. However, it took my retirement and me finally seeing her as a person, putting her needs as a priority, to do it.’

  ‘You’ve always drummed the importance of career into us, the importance of taking responsibility and making a mark.’

  ‘And I still stand by that. But you can have more than just a career. You can also have a loving, supporting relationship. You can work really hard, but your family can still come out on top. It’s my one regret in life, Myles, that I couldn’t quite manage it.’

  Myles watched the snow get heavier beyond the window. He heard the family upstairs greet Darcy as they came back. ‘It wasn’t your fault, Dad. You can’t blame yourself for everything that happened with Mum.’

  He looked at Myles. ‘I’d hate for you to go through life too afraid to commit, too scared your own relationships will fail or that you can’t have it all.’

  The muscle in his jaw tensed, because his dad was right. He’d trusted himself when it came to school work, then university, and then in the workplace. He had confidence, ability and end goals. But when it came to relationships he’d always feared the worst. Falling in love could happen in an instant, but love was more unpredictable than the world of finance. He’d rather have the fluctuations of the stock exchange on his mind than the ups and downs between each and every member of his family.

  Ian leaned forwards and spoke more quietly. ‘Darcy tells me she’s escorting you to a function tonight. She’s a lovely young lady.’

  Myles turned to look at her – not that he needed to – to remember how beautiful she was, how well-spoken, what an approachable and genuine woman he’d found. She was deep in conversation with the chef, reviewing menu items, discussing the plan for Christmas dinner.

  ‘She’s wonderful, Dad. But I’m nervous as hell.’ It was the first time they’d talked about dating, let alone seen an admission of the feelings involved.

  ‘I was nervous when I first met your mother.’

  ‘You were?’ Myles couldn’t imagine it.

  ‘I tried to pretend I wasn’t at all. I was this confident man, or at least that’s what I had her believe, but I still remember how dry my mouth felt the first time I spoke to her. I recall shoving my hands in my pockets so they wouldn’t shake, I remember driving past her house the day before I was due to take her out to a dance at the local village hall just so I could make sure I knew where I was going and wouldn’t be late. But that’s how I knew, see.’

  ‘How you knew what?’

  ‘How I knew she was the one. I’d taken girls out before, but I’d never been that on edge. I knew then that she was special.’

  It was funny, because Myles was already thinking the very same thing about Darcy.

  *

  Up on the top floor it was time for Myles to get ready. He was glad he’d seen his dad when he returned to the Inn. Things were far from sorted in their family, his mum could be sprawled out drunk back in England for all they knew, but this was a start. When Myles was growing up he’d wanted someone to sit him down along with his brother and tell them what was happening, explain that none of it was their fault. But, instead, his dad had tried to shield his boys and in doing so they’d felt as though they weren’t considered in the equation. Myles felt sure his dad could see that that had been a mistake, and once upon a time Myles would’ve berated him for it. But not now. They’d started to make some progress and he didn’t want to ruin that.

  When Myles had said he really needed to get ready for his work party, his dad had ordered a hot cocoa to drink by the fire and taken out the latest Stephen King book to keep him company. Myles had almost wanted to stay there with him, get to know this man some more, but he knew they had plenty of time.

  Myles showered, shaved until his jaw was smooth, pulled on his dress shirt and trousers and finally turned up his collar and draped his bow tie around the material. He fiddled with it and after two or three attempts got it right and shrugged on the jacket to his tux. Now he was standing in front of the mirror, ready to go, his heart skipped away inside his chest at the thought of meeting Darcy downstairs as agreed. He’d said he’d knock on the door to her apartment. She didn’t want to wait around in the hallway in case other guests asked where she was off to. He suspected it had more to do with them asking who she was going with than anything else.

  Nervously he went down the stairs, onto the landing, and checked his reflection one more time in the mirror on the wall with white lights draped around its frame. With his winter coat over one arm, he started towards her apartment but didn’t get a chance to knock because she opened the door.

  ‘Hey.’ She smiled.

  ‘Hey yourself.’ He couldn’t take his eyes off her. How could someone who dressed so smartly every day look so very different? She’d curled her hair and it hung in waves that fell across her shoulders, one stroking her collar bone. Bare, smooth skin on her upper arms that usually hid beneath a smart shirt or jacket was toned and the earrings he’d given her sparkled perfectly.

  ‘I think it’s going to snow again.’ Why did he say that? He could’ve gone with ‘You look beautiful’, or ‘Wow, you look gorgeous’. ‘You’ll be cold,’ he added by way of explanation. He was dynamite in a boardroom, never hesitated to voice an opinion and get things moving in the way he wanted to, but opposite Darcy it was as though he’d forgotten basic social skills.

  He watched as she dropped her key into a small, sparkly silver bag and then he saw she had something else draped over her arm. ‘I have this,’ she said. ‘It’ll keep me warm. Could you?’ She held out her bag for him to hold while she shrugged on a furry-looking top that enhanced the line of her dress, nipped in at the waist to flatter her figure.

  ‘You look beautiful, Darcy.’ He relaxed now he’d finally said it and the way she smiled back at him made him even happier that he’d asked her to be his date tonight.

  ‘You look pretty good yourself.’ She led the way and they went downstairs, through the hallway and towards the front door. He did his best not to stare at long, toned legs, accentuated by her glittery high heels. ‘I’m impressed with the bow tie,’ she called over her shoulder, half turning in amusement. ‘Unless you cheated and bought one on elastic.’<
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  ‘Never, it’s the real thing.’ He moved past her and held the front door open for her to go first. ‘I’ll hail a cab.’ The icy wind came straight for them.

  ‘Listen to you, sounding like a native New Yorker already.’

  ‘Careful.’ He held out his arm so she could hook her hand through. ‘The steps may be slippy.’

  ‘They should be fine, I put de-icer on them earlier,’ she said, but linked her arm with his.

  ‘I’m trying to forget you’re my landlady.’

  She took the stairs gingerly. ‘Now you make me sound old.’ She looked up and down the street. ‘We should’ve booked a cab in advance.’

  ‘No need, I’ve got this.’ He left Darcy waiting at the bottom of the stoop and stepped off the sidewalk and onto the street. He knew cabs came down here all the time and they were only waiting a minute before he saw a familiar yellow vehicle behind three other cars. Here was where he got to impress his date. He liked to be in control and tonight was no different.

  ‘Taxi!’ he yelled, his hand up in the air. But the damn thing went cruising on by and when he turned Darcy was laughing.

  ‘Let me,’ she said, ushering him back onto the pavement, and she stepped onto the street keeping behind the safety of a parked car. As soon as she saw a yellow vehicle approach, she leaned out and hollered ‘Taxi!’ in the New York accent that had fully returned now she’d got back into the swing of being on home turf.

  ‘How…’ He followed her and they climbed in the back while she took charge and told the driver they needed to go to The Plaza.

  With a raise of her eyebrows, she swept a hand from the top of her body to the bottom.

  ‘I’m a bit too male, I assume.’ He whispered so the cab driver couldn’t hear, and when he caught a waft of her floral perfume he was glad he’d had to lower his voice.

  As the cab made its way from the Inn and through Greenwich Village before turning onto Fifth Avenue, they talked about some of Myles’s work colleagues. He wanted her to have an idea of who people were. He told her about his boss and his wife, who were both good people and harmless. He warned her about Bobby’s wife Krystal, who usually got drunk within half an hour of being at the function and would be looking for someone to either lean on or bore with talk of her apartment’s very expensive renovations.