A Gift to Remember

by Melissa Hill

  ‘The story is about two people whose lives collide one snowy morning once upon a time in New York,’ he continued, his brown eyes twinkling and his voice full of humour. ‘It has kind of a slow beginning as the girl and the guy take a little while to get to know each other, but the one thing that’s obvious from the get-go is that they have a lot in common. Still, there are many misunderstandings along the way, like when the guy gets knocked on the head and can’t remember who he is, and the girl gets the impression that he’s rich and successful when really he’s just a regular Joe . . .’

  He eyed her closely, and Darcy was unable to move her gaze away. ‘And an even bigger misunderstanding when his worried but estranged wife might lead her to believe they’re still together.’

  Darcy’s heart did a little somersault.

  ‘Possibly causing her to go right off the guy, and preventing her from getting to know him better – the real him. Oh, and there’s a cute dog in there too.’

  ‘I quite like the sound of that one myself,’ piped up the young female customer next in line. She looked at Darcy. ‘So what’s it called?’

  Joshua sniggered. ‘I think maybe you and Jason Bourne should take this outside now – you’re confusing the customers.’

  ‘But it’s so busy. I can’t leave you in the lurch again,’ Darcy protested weakly, though she was dying to speak to Aidan properly and find out what else he had to say.

  ‘It’s Christmas Eve, honey; people will be worried if they don’t have to wait in line. Anyway, Ashley will be back from coffee break soon. So go, go!’

  Her heart pounding, Darcy duly grabbed her jacket from beneath the counter and followed Aidan outside.

  She was dying to ask more, but didn’t want to interrupt the story – Aidan’s version of it.

  He moved closer to her as they walked, close enough to touch. ‘So do you think you might know the one I’m talking about?’ he asked, those twinkling eyes causing her heart to break all over again.

  ‘I’m – I’m not sure,’ she replied, playing along. ‘I think it might ring a bell, but there are a few gaps. Estranged wife, you said?’

  ‘Yes. Separated almost two years now. We’re – they’re, the guy and his ex, I mean – still good friends, and love their twelve-year-old daughter. Who is a huge fan of books, by the way, and incidentally her current favourite is The Princess Bride. Which the guy happened to be reading with her just a couple of days before he got run over.’ He shook his head. ‘Inconceivable.’

  At this, Darcy couldn’t resist a smile and she listened as he continued.

  ‘So the daughter was starting to get concerned when she hadn’t heard from him for a little while, and couldn’t contact him. As was the guy’s sister, whom he was supposed to collect from the airport the morning he got hit, so she had to make her own way to his house on Long Island – after leaving several messages on every contact number she had for him.’

  ‘Sounds like a real mess,’ Darcy said, as they strolled on down the street, heading almost instinctively towards the Park. It was cold but she barely felt it, she was so wrapped up in Aidan’s ‘story’, which was providing her with so many answers about the last few days. ‘I’m so sorry for getting things all wrong, Aidan,’ she said then, feeling that an apology was way overdue. ‘But when Bailey led me to the brownstone and you had the keys, I didn’t think to question anything.’

  ‘Of course you didn’t, and it’s perfectly reasonable. And now that everything’s come back to me, I can completely see why the fog took so long to lift, as can Doctor Mandeville,’ he added, looking sideways at her.

  Darcy coloured. ‘The woman must be cursing me. So much for trying to help.’

  ‘Darcy, you went above and beyond the call of duty – way beyond – and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.’

  ‘All I’ve done? You mean delay your recovery by goodness knows how long and no doubt sending your poor family into convulsions wondering where you were these last few days.’

  Aidan approached a nearby bench and sat on it, a melancholy expression on his face. He looked at Darcy, who sat a respectful distance beside him. Then he sighed deeply. ‘Would you believe they didn’t really notice anything until the day I came home?’

  She looked at him, and though his voice was light, she could tell by his face that he was wounded.

  ‘What? But surely they were going nuts trying to find you, checking with the hospitals and phoning everywhere they could think of? I’m sure they were getting close to sending out a missing persons report.’

  But Aidan was shaking his head. ‘You must understand. Like I said, Tessa and I are separated so I don’t live at the family home in Long Island any more. I got a place nearby and I see Mel, my daughter, a lot of course – as much as I can outside of when she has school, but most of the time she and her mother live their own lives, separate to mine. And I work in Manhattan so I spend a lot of time here.’

  OK, so if he didn’t live with them, Darcy could maybe understand that they might not have missed Aidan for a couple of days at least, if they didn’t realise anything was wrong.

  ‘But what about your sister, the one you were supposed to meet at the airport that morning . . . surely she was worried when you didn’t show?’

  And Darcy suddenly realised then that it was she – Aidan’s sister – who had left that first message on Will Anderson’s phone, the one about him forgetting and letting her down.

  He looked embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry to say that it wasn’t that out of the ordinary. Ciara knows how I am with work, and while I hate to admit it, the truth is I’ve let her down before. She lives in San Diego and was stopping over for a quick visit on her way home to Dublin for Christmas. And because she knows I can often get caught up with work stuff, and also knows that this was a – if not the – major flashpoint for the marriage breakup . . . well, she kind of covered for me.’

  ‘Covered for you?’

  ‘Yes. She made her own way to my place, the townhouse I moved to after the separation, and assuming I’d again got waylaid by something at work, went to visit Tessa and Mel, but didn’t mention anything to them about me standing her up. Then the following day she went back to the airport and took her onward flight to Dublin as planned. She was pissed off that I didn’t show and hadn’t returned her calls, but like I said, this kind of thing has happened before and so there was nothing to make her think anything out of the ordinary might have happened.’ He looked at Darcy. ‘She actually joked about it not long before she arrived, telling me I thought I was Superman.’

  Darcy couldn’t get her head around the fact that someone wouldn’t have noticed his absence. ‘So your daughter and your . . . wife, they didn’t think it strange not to have heard from you either?’

  ‘Like I said, they know how my work is, and that last week was a particularly busy one. Mel stayed over with me at the brownstone one time and I’d been telling her that I had a pressurised few days ahead. So I guess they just figured I was caught up in all of that.’

  Darcy frowned. All the time she’d spent trying to find a friend or family member of Aidan’s, assuming they’d be going out of their minds with worry, when they had barely even noticed his absence.

  Judging by the hurt in his eyes, she guessed the realisation had hit him hard too.

  ‘So Will Anderson is tough to work for then?’ she asked.

  ‘Ah, so you figured out that part of the story since,’ he replied with a lopsided smile. ‘Yes, I’m sorry to say that I’m not the wealthy man about town you imagined. That would be my boss.’

  ‘No need to apologise. It was my mistake for being so stupid for assuming things.’ Then Darcy thought of something else. ‘You said on the day of the accident that you were on your way to the airport to pick up your sister. Then how come you had Bailey with you? And what about the package? Was that for her, Ciara? And what about the ballet tickets?’

  Aidan sat forward and put his hands on his knees. ‘Mel is crazy into th
e ballerina stuff at the moment and I was planning on taking her to The Nutcracker as a treat, though I hadn’t told her anything about it yet, thank goodness. And as for the package . . .’ He smiled. ‘Just so happens that it was a gift from Will to me, which I hadn’t yet had the chance to open. I was running late and was just about to drop Bailey off to doggie daycare. Which is why I took that chance at the crosswalk.’ He looked guiltily at her.

  Darcy’s eyes widened. ‘So the gift was yours all along – meant for you, I mean, not some special person.’

  ‘You don’t think I’m special?’ he teased, and she blushed a little.

  ‘So what was it – the gift, I mean?’ Darcy asked, though she figured it hardly mattered now. Still, the contents of the package had been driving her crazy all along and she needed to satisfy that final curiosity.

  He reached inside his jacket. ‘I kind of figured that, which is why I thought it best not to open it until you were here too.’

  She laughed. ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Yes. Don’t get too excited though,’ he warned, his tone oddly flat. ‘I already have a pretty good idea what it is.’

  The wrapped gift box lay between them on the bench, and Darcy wondered what he meant by that. He picked it up and handed to her. ‘First things first: are you a Will Anderson fan, by any chance?’

  ‘Not especially.’ Darcy wasn’t going to admit that she’d come across Aidan’s illustrious boss in person once before, and hadn’t thought all that much of him. ‘Why do you ask?’

  ‘Because I think we’ve both figured out by now that this is a book, and I sort of have an inkling which book it might be too,’ he said, sliding open the ribbon. Then he handed the package to Darcy. ‘Might as well let you do the honours.’

  Surprised at his downbeat tone, she gently lifted off the lid of the box, and pushed back the tissue paper, only to discover that inside was a copy of one of Will Anderson’s forthcoming Thrill Seeker books, Hard Knocks. Darcy couldn’t resist a smile at the altogether fitting title.

  But now she also understood Aidan’s lack of enthusiasm about the contents. Talk about a let-down.

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘He does that all the time,’ Aidan sighed as Darcy handed the hardback book to him. ‘I have signed first editions of all four Max Bailey books now. Nice, if not exactly inventive, if you know what I mean.’ He opened the book to the title page, intent on showing Darcy the signature, and as he did so, a white envelope slid out.

  ‘What’s that?’ she asked.

  Aidan was frowning. ‘I’m not sure. He doesn’t usually put anything else in there.’ Opening up the envelope, he took out a small sheet of paper attached to what Darcy thought looked like airline tickets.

  Reading the note, Aidan said slowly, ‘I don’t believe it. Just when you think you know someone . . .’ He handed Darcy the note for her to read.

  Saw these and I thought of you. Take a break, wingman – you’ve earned it! Thought your little girl might like to go along for the ride too. Go nuts on Guinness and thanks again for everything. W

  Darcy looked closer and saw that the destination listed on the airline ticket was Dublin and the date was the 27 December, three days from now.

  ‘I haven’t been back there in almost eight years,’ Aidan was saying, his eyes glistening a little. ‘It’s just my dad left at home now and the last few years, with the separation and everything, have been tough. And before that Tess and I weren’t making enough money to go over.’

  He went on to explain that the relationship had struggled since their move from Dublin to New York ten years before, especially when in the early days Aidan unexpectedly lost his job and was out of work for a time.

  ‘Then when I got the job with Will, I was determined to do the best I could, but the long hours and being constantly on call . . . it took a real toll on us as a family.’

  Darcy didn’t need too much imagination to fill in the blanks this time. Ultimately his commitment to the job had cost Aidan his marriage.

  ‘It wasn’t just that,’ he admitted when she gently suggested this. ‘Tessa never really took to the States. She’s a home bird, always has been, whereas Mel and I really love it here, but for as long as Mel is happy, she’ll stay.’

  Reading between the lines Darcy guessed that there were still a lot of issues surrounding his wife and his commitment to Will Anderson at the expense of their daughter. It was a difficult position to be in. But it also highlighted how sad it was that his family were so used to him being at work’s beck and call that they had barely noticed him missing.

  Will Anderson was right about one thing: Aidan deserved that break.

  ‘Mel will be over the moon when she hears about this; she hasn’t seen her grandfather since she was a kid.’ And then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said to Darcy, ‘I’ll only be gone for a week, you know – to Ireland, I mean.’

  She looked at him, not sure what he was getting at. He put the tickets back into his pocket and turned towards her on the bench.

  ‘So about that story I was telling you,’ he said, his eyes crinkling in amusement again. ‘Seems that many of the loose ends have been tied up by now, but there’s still a major plot strand that needs resolving.’

  Darcy’s heart lifted a little. ‘Well, I believe you’ve read enough books to realise by now that not all stories end in happily ever after,’ she said, smiling.

  ‘I know that.’ His hazel eyes were soft and warm as he looked at her. ‘And I really don’t expect everything to be tied up with a big red bow, but for me there’s nothing worse than an unsatisfying ending.’

  Now she was smiling broadly. ‘With some stories, you really can’t rush things,’ she told him, ‘and it’s often best just to sit back and enjoy the journey for what it is.’

  ‘I know what you mean. But you do recognise it though – the story I’m talking about?’ He reached for her hand and she turned to meet his gaze, those dark eyes now completely earnest. ‘Because if you don’t, I think I’ll go out of my mind not knowing the ending.’

  ‘Ah, but the thing about books is that there are no real endings,’ Darcy said, gently moving towards Aidan, ‘only the place where you decide to stop the story.’

  Epilogue

  I opened my eyes from where I lay in the bed.

  I heard a small snore come from next to me and rolled on to my side. She lay there, an arm across her forehead, mumbling something in her sleep. I listened intently to what she was saying but couldn’t make out the words

  Dreaming again, I thought indulgently.

  I moved closer and nuzzled her neck, laying some slow kisses along her collarbone. She jumped in her sleep and relaxed when she realised it was me, then blinked sleepily as she opened her eyes and adjusted to the bright sunlight streaming in the windows. Another beautiful summer morning in New York City.

  ‘Mmmm, good morning,’ she smiled.

  I put my arms around her waist and we lay face to face on our sides.

  ‘I’m assuming that one was a Heathcliff dream?’ I teased her.

  She laughed. ‘Those guys are so persistent. But thanks for waking me up. My reality is so much better than anything my subconscious can come up with.’

  Six months ago, I thought. Six short months since my whole life changed for the better. Of course, my living space is a little bit more cramped than it was before, but things are working out. And I couldn’t be happier.

  I kissed her gently and ran my hand down her face. I couldn’t believe just how much things had changed for me. For her. For us. I loved the fact that she lived here now. With me.

  Even though there was barely any room for the two of us, and the extent of Will’s library now pales compared to the size of our combined book collections.

  I loved the fact that Amelia loved her. And Tessa too.

  Even Will seemed to have taken a shine to her. Although I’m not entirely sure if that’s a good thing.

  And her terrifying Aunt Katherine seemed to ap
prove of me too. I wasn’t even scared when the woman asked openly about how well Will paid me, and when Darcy could expect a ring.

  All in good time.

  First, we wanted to master living together, figure out the mechanics of the delicate matter of sharing our book collection, and helping get our new Manhattan Literary Walking Tours business up and running. It’s early days but with Darcy’s city knowledge and my business know-how, I think we make a good team.

  And then of course there was the whole distraction of the baby.

  Almost as if they could tell I was thinking about them, I heard rustling noises on the other side of the door. ‘Dad! Darcy! Are you guys up?’ Mel called out, knocking on the door. ‘Lizzy’s awake.’

  ‘Hold on, I’m coming.’ Darcy sat up. She kissed my nose and grabbing a robe draped over a nearby chair, put it on.

  I swung my legs over the side of the bed and picked up a T-shirt, just as our bedroom door burst forth, and in came a jumble of legs and fur.

  My beloved daughter and three-month-old Lizzy – one of Bailey’s progeny following Will’s recent decision to sire him. Can you guess who named her?

  Surprisingly, it was Mel’s choice, suggesting it after Darcy had educated her on the finer points of Austen’s strong and witty female characters and immersed her in a Regency romance reading marathon.

  ‘Can we go into the city and take Lizzy to the Park?’ asked my beaming daughter, who as always made my heart want to burst with love for her. ‘And when we’re there, can we ride the carousel?’ she wanted to know, rubbing her face in the young Husky’s soft fluffy coat.

  ‘Ask Darcy, it’s her weekend to pick what we do this time.’

  All heads turned in Darcy’s direction and she smiled mischievously.

  ‘Can we, Darcy, can we?’ Amelia cried.

  Darcy tapped her finger on her lips, as if she was trying to determine if that’s what she wanted to do while drawing out her response for as long as possible. ‘Hmm . . . I suppose that’s OK. As long as we can make a pit stop for something yummy while we’re there.’