‘It’s very generous of you.’
‘It’s family.’
‘You’re a natural parent.’
‘How so?’
‘You stood up for him against me for a start, kids need somebody on their side.’
Conversation lapsed into jobs, his and hers, where they lived in England, the sights they’d already seen in New York, those they wanted to see again. Nathan’s visit to the big city had already involved ice-skating and he’d still got the bruising to prove it.
‘I’m making Kyle go tomorrow,’ she admitted. ‘I went to Ground Zero with him, to the museum too, so that was the deal.’
‘Fair enough.’
Now it was her turn to talk. She’d never been one to keep things bottled up. ‘Kyle’s dad was a firefighter. I think the reason Kyle wanted to go to Ground Zero was to remind himself of his dad’s bravery, the job he’d done, the lives he’d saved before he lost his own. Rather than remembering losing his dad, he was remembering the man he was before. If that makes sense. Which it doesn’t, not now I’m saying it out loud. I don’t know, I can’t read him, I don’t know what he’s thinking. What, why are you smiling?’
‘You’re rambling.’
‘I am, aren’t I?’
‘I get it, you’re processing,’ he smiled. ‘Just out loud, that’s all.’ Nathan was far removed from the angry man in the park on their first day here in the city as he told her all about the firefighter mural his daughter had shown him and she made a mental note to mention it to Kyle – he might be interested in that or he might hate the idea.
‘It’s hard to be on holiday and think of things you both like to do when there’s a generation gap,’ said Nathan.
‘It is, but I think it’s been good for Kyle and for me.’ She wondered, ‘What do you think you’d be doing if you were here on your own?’
‘Nothing that would involve ice-skating.’
With the tree, the fireplace and the twinkly lights and garlands sneaking up the banisters the Inglenook Inn oozed warmth and, helped along by the champagne, Amelia felt the most relaxed she’d been since she arrived in New York.
‘How are you doing?’ Darcy was offering around more cranberry and ricotta canapés.
Amelia shook her head after Nathan popped one in his mouth. ‘No more for me, I’m surprisingly full. Your chef is a star.’
‘You’re having a good time?’
Nathan put his thumb up, still chewing.
‘I am,’ said Amelia. ‘Thank you for inviting us.’
‘My pleasure.’
She couldn’t see Kyle; he was probably chatting with Mitch, who had his back to them as he talked with another group. Laughter reverberated around the room, the sense of holiday spirit was right there.
When Nathan moved to talk with the other men in the room, Darcy said to Amelia, ‘I hope the box of decorations is enough, just holler if you need more, and send me a picture when it’s done, you have my number.’
‘You seem to be enjoying tonight as much as anyone else here.’
‘I love throwing parties in this place. It’s cosy, pretty, I love it.’
‘I hear the owner is considering selling up.’ She kept her voice low in case Darcy didn’t want it broadcasted and when Darcy lowered her voice too Amelia knew it must be a sensitive subject.
‘I don’t begrudge her.’ Darcy looked around as though committing the entire place to memory. ‘But I’ll miss it.’
‘Would you consider buying?’
‘The finances might not add up but Myles and I are doing what we can.’
Amelia left it at that. She didn’t want to pry, she didn’t know Darcy well enough. ‘Where is Myles?’
‘Still at work, putting in a lot of hours again. He’ll stop by if he can. Now, can I get you a top-up?’ She indicated Amelia’s empty champagne flute.
Amelia nodded and as she waited for Darcy to return with her drink she put a hand out to touch the delicate branches of the tree, prickly, and potent enough that if you pushed them they left a sweet scent on your skin. Outside the street was dark except for the soft glow of streetlamps and the odd passing car, a couple walked past laughing away and it was when Amelia turned back to the group that she saw another couple out of the corner of her eye out on the stoop of the Inglenook Inn.
‘Aren’t we enough for you?’ Nathan brought over her champagne and another beer for himself.
She took the glass. ‘Excuse me?’
‘You’re looking out the window as though you’re bored.’
She only had eyes for him now as she didn’t want him to see what she’d seen with her own eyes, but too late, he was inquisitive enough to turn and step towards the window and as soon as he did, face like thunder, he slammed his beer bottle down on the coffee table, swore and stomped off.
Amelia followed quickly, ignoring Darcy’s look of what-the-heck-is-going-on? And before she could get there in time to warn Kyle and Scarlett, who’d been locked in a passionate clinch, Nathan had Kyle by the scruff of his neck.
‘You,’ he jabbed a finger at Kyle when he let go of him, ‘stay the hell away from my daughter.’
‘Take it easy, mate.’ Mitch stepped in – nice that someone did. Amelia wasn’t even sure how to handle this level of anger. She didn’t have much experience of prising apart a grown man and a teenager.
‘Do you have a daughter?’ Nathan’s question to Mitch was met with silence. ‘Then I suggest you stay out of it. And you,’ he turned to Amelia, ‘keep your boy away from Scarlett.’ And even though they were both staying at the inn, Nathan grabbed his coat and Scarlett’s, thrust hers at her and led her down the steps without looking back.
‘What the hell was all that about?’ Darcy, stunned at the hasty departure, stood next to Amelia at the entrance to the Inglenook Inn as snow began to fall lightly, dusting the footpath in white, the steps all the way up, the pine trees at the top on either side of the door.
Amelia shivered. ‘It was an overreaction, that was what that was.’ And when she looked back at Kyle and put out a hand to touch his arm he shrugged it away. ‘If it helps, I don’t think that was necessarily about you, Kyle.’
‘Who was it about then?’
‘Well it was partly you, but I suspect it’s also a case of an overprotective father. He probably acts that way with any boy who shows interest.’ Kyle harrumphed. ‘But you were kissing his daughter right in front of him – talk about waving a red rag to a bull. Given the run-in we had with him in the park, I’d have thought baby steps were needed.’
‘It was just a kiss between two consenting parties.’
‘You’re a fast worker, I’ll give you that. You don’t even know her. What were you thinking?’ Suddenly she was annoyed her evening was ending this way. Couldn’t Kyle read a situation enough to do the right thing, ever?
‘I met her before at the markets.’
‘My mistake, you know each other so well.’ Her sarcasm wasn’t one of her finest moments, set to rile him more than anything.
Darcy had the party back on track quickly, guest were offered more canapés, conversation returned to normal, drinks were topped up, but when Kyle announced he’d had enough and picked up the box of decorations, Amelia had no choice but to call it a night and follow after him.
Chapter Eight
Nathan
The lights in New York City were nothing short of stunning, not that Scarlett had any appreciation for them tonight. After Nathan whisked her away from the Inglenook Inn she’d stomped off, totally missing the magic of snow falling all around them – only lightly, but enough to put smiles on the faces of people passing by. She’d marched quite a way too. When Scarlett was in a mood she could genuinely walk faster than most people could run.
‘Are you going to keep up the silent treatment?’ he asked when they reached Times Square and she finally slowed her pace.
She didn’t answer. She stood, mesmerised amidst energetic crowds looking up at the towering digital billboards
flashing in a rainbow of colours. He pulled her to one side before they both got knocked to the ground in the melee. ‘Scarlett, come on, talk to me. Perhaps get a bit of perspective.’
‘Says the man who overreacted!’
‘You don’t need to yell at me.’
‘We were kissing, Dad. I’m sixteen, he’s seventeen, I think we’re allowed. And then you totally embarrassed me in front of him and everyone else. It was awful.’
‘I’m sorry. I guess I did go a bit over the top.’
‘You think!’
‘You didn’t need to storm this far though. My legs are aching from trying to keep up.’
‘I wanted to see Times Square at night,’ she shrugged.
‘Pretty impressive. Where’s the ball?’ When she pointed up high to the top of a building, he squinted. ‘Never mind glasses, I probably need binoculars. I thought it was huge, it was in that movie we saw.’
She gave him a look as though he was a dimwit. ‘It probably is close up, but it’s a long way from the ground.’
He looked around them. ‘So this is where everyone congregates on New Year’s Eve. You know, I always thought it would be a proper square, really it’s just a junction of roads.’
‘It’d be amazing to come here on New Year’s. Kyle says…’
‘You’re allowed to mention his name,’ he said when she hesitated. He was trying to be reasonable now his anger had subsided. And since they’d left the inn he hadn’t actually thought much about catching Scarlett and Kyle together, but he had thought about Amelia, a brunette with a cute smile and a lot of personality.
‘Kyle says he’s going to come here and watch the ball drop.’
‘With Amelia?’
‘His auntie, yes. She looked like she wanted to punch you for upsetting Kyle.’
‘I hardly think she’s going to do that.’
‘Maybe think before you act next time, Dad.’
‘Hang on a minute, who’s the adult here?’
‘You, supposedly. But that means you should be able to control your emotions and your temper.’
‘Point taken. Well, I hope he and Amelia enjoy New Year’s Eve here with all the crowds.’
‘You’re probably hoping he gets trampled.’
They agreed to get off the street and enjoy the warmth of the nearest café, where Nathan bought two hot chocolates. He’d had a few beers at the inn but was stone-cold sober now and this talk needed a decadent treat with cream and marshmallows. He wanted his daughter’s attention without her getting defensive, if that was at all possible.
Cupping their warm drinks between their palms to take away the chill from walking the streets and seated at a table right near the back with its red Formica top bordered with silver and chairs of the same design, he said, ‘I don’t want to see the boy trampled. I won’t pretend I like him all that much but everyone deserves a second chance. It doesn’t mean I want to see his lips on yours particularly.’ He stopped her from interrupting. ‘No dad would be completely comfortable seeing his little girl stepping into a whole new world of being a grown-up, relationships and all the shit that comes with them.’ He didn’t even apologise for the explicit language because it pretty much summed it up. ‘I’m well aware I won’t be able to fight it forever, you’ll grow up and have boyfriends. It’s just that I didn’t expect it to happen on holiday and I definitely wasn’t prepared for it to be Kyle.’
‘Kyle or someone like Kyle?’
‘What does that mean?’
‘You probably know he’s no longer at school or college. And he isn’t working either. I assume you think I can do better.’
‘I’m wondering what you two have in common.’
‘I don’t know much about him, but isn’t that what dating is about?’
He couldn’t help the laugh he let out. ‘You’re on holiday, it’s hardly dating. And don’t you think, apart from an initial attraction, you’re both too different? I’m on your side, Scarlett, I promise.’ He needed to keep her talking rather than flipping out on him. He’d learnt to read the signs that it was about to happen too. First, she knitted her lips together tightly, then her eyebrows drew in and her nostrils flared a little bit. ‘What did you even talk about? How much do you really know about this boy?’ Her look gave him his answer. ‘I thought as much. He’s been in a bit of trouble over the years.’
‘That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.’
‘Did he tell you about it?’
‘Yeah, his opening line was, I’m trouble, don’t bother getting to know me or giving me a chance. What do you think?’
‘You barely know him.’
She’d used her spoon to scrape all of the cream off the top of her drink. ‘I may not have had a serious boyfriend, but I know the drill. You go out with someone and slowly get to know them. If you like them you stay together and gradually the relationship gets better.’ He couldn’t argue with that. ‘I’ll bet you didn’t know everything about Mum the first time you kissed her.’
‘I didn’t, no. We got to know each other over time.’ But they’d also jumped into bed together pretty quickly and he didn’t want that for Scarlett.
‘See, you were no different. And you were around my age.’
‘And your mum and I were together five minutes before your mum got pregnant.’
She stopped sipping and put down her mug. ‘We were kissing, Dad, not sleeping together.’
‘Kissing is where it starts.’
She covered her face and peeked through her fingers. ‘Is this where you start talking to me about sex, because I’m not sure I can handle it if you do.’
He shrugged. ‘I’m not going to go on about it, but I want you to be careful. Careful of getting involved with anyone right now, when you’ve got school to focus on. And Kyle is on holiday, as are you. Holiday romances rarely go the distance.’
‘He’s the first boy I’ve liked in a long while.’
Had there been others? He didn’t want to think about it. ‘Are you planning on seeing him again?’ Her silence confirmed it. But he knew Kyle lived in Cornwall, which was a considerable distance from Hove, so they’d be unlikely to see much of one another back in England. It was just this holiday to get through first. ‘And where do I fit in with your plans? This is our holiday remember.’
‘I didn’t expect to meet someone. It must be New York, like in the movies, like Tom and Meg or the couple from Serendipity.’
He smiled when she did but a frown soon creased his forehead again. ‘In those movies the man and woman are adults, not sixteen and getting involved with a seventeen-year-old boy who comes with a whole lot of attitude.’
‘You don’t even know him, Dad.’
‘I know seventeen-year-old boys. I was one, remember.’
‘Wait, are you worried about me getting involved with Kyle because you don’t like him, or are you trying to suggest I’ll get pregnant when he can’t keep it in his pants?’
‘Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this here. Perhaps we should go back to the inn and talk about this tomorrow when we’ve both calmed down.’ She had that look about her that meant she was about to stop taking orders and exercise her right to freedom of speech. She was good at debating at school but she was probably more reasonable in those situations because she rarely seemed willing to listen to him these days.
‘Are you going to let me see Kyle again while we’re here? I’d really like to. He told me about his dad, you know.’
‘Really?’
‘He told me he was a firefighter, he told me he died. I think he’d really like to see the mural we found the other day.’
‘I’m sure he would.’ How had this happened? Kyle was a fast mover by anyone’s standards, but Nathan did sympathise with someone who had lost a parent the same as Scarlett had and knew they were probably a comfort to each other, much as he didn’t like it.
Her spoon clattered into her empty cup and her frown set in. His lack of an answer about her seeing him again must have push
ed her one step too far. ‘We’re just having fun, maybe you should try it sometime.’
He gulped the last of his hot chocolate and settled the bill. ‘Now you’re just being rude and I don’t appreciate it.’
‘What is your problem?’ Her voice had gone up so much they were getting stares and, coats on, he bustled her out of the café.
‘Don’t make a scene. I’m tired, let’s go.’
‘I’d rather stay out. It’s not even eleven.’
‘And I’m saying we’re going back to the inn.’
Her phone pinged and she read a text before shoving it into her pocket when he tried to see who it was from.
‘Was that him?’
She started walking but then turned on the spot. ‘I can’t remember which way to go.’
He put an arm around her and hugged her. ‘I’m sorry if you think I make rules that are unreasonable, it’s hard being a single parent sometimes. Hard to know what to do, especially with a girl when her mum isn’t around anymore.’
‘You’ll let me see him again?’
‘I’ll think about it.’ He hooked a thumb backwards. ‘We need to go this way, head that direction,’ he nodded towards the way she’d been going, ‘and you’ll end up in Central Park. See, you still need your old dad for some things.’
They passed a pretzel cart and Scarlett insisted on waiting in line for one, having not had many of the canapés at the inn tonight. Nathan almost made a comment that perhaps she should’ve talked to more people other than Kyle, but who was he kidding? Given a choice he could’ve talked to Amelia all night and ignored everyone else. It’s just that the kids’ immaturity, or perhaps confidence, had made something happen between them far quicker than it ever would for the adults.
‘Not my thing,’ he said when he tried a bite of the pretzel at her insistence he eat something so iconic to New York, ‘although not as bad as I thought it would be.’
‘You’re way too fussy.’
They made their way back to the Inglenook Inn, an easy route on foot past the Empire State Building, past Madison Square Park, which reminded him of the first time he’d met Amelia. He still had a bad feeling about Kyle’s suitability when it came to his daughter but perhaps if he let them meet up a couple more times while they were here they’d get it out of their systems and then, once they were back in England and Scarlett was at school and geographical distance made it too hard, it would fizzle out.
Christmas Promises at the Garland Street Markets: A feel good Christmas romance (New York Ever After, Book 5) Page 12