Christmas Promises at the Garland Street Markets: A feel good Christmas romance (New York Ever After, Book 5)

by Helen J Rolfe

  ‘Settle down,’ he said more than once. ‘Upstairs, now.’

  Inside, as they followed the stairs up the first flight, Kyle sniffed. ‘I respect her you know.’

  Amelia? Scarlett? It didn’t really matter, because they were already at Amelia’s door and she came straight out when they knocked.

  ‘Kyle, where have you been?’ She pulled him into a reluctant hug. ‘I was going out of my mind with worry.’ She looked to Nathan. ‘What happened this time?’

  ‘Chill,’ said Kyle. ‘I went to see Scarlett, not that he let me get anywhere near.’

  ‘Probably because you were drinking that bottle of vodka. Weren’t you?’ she demanded, relief replaced by frustration. ‘I’m not stupid, and you even left the cupboard door open after you took it – kind of a giveaway.’

  ‘Whatever.’ He stomped into his bedroom and slammed the door.

  She looked at Nathan. ‘I don’t have the energy for this tonight. I’ll let him calm down.’

  ‘What are you doing home? I thought tonight was the big date night?’

  ‘It was.’ She didn’t elaborate. ‘I appreciate you bringing him home for me. I’m not sure I could’ve coped with scouring the streets of New York the night before Christmas Eve.’

  ‘He was waiting at the inn when we got back there.’

  ‘I don’t get it. He was fine this afternoon, wouldn’t have answered back to either of us. Seemed intent on proving himself, in fact. And when I texted to say I’d left money for takeaway he replied telling me to have a good time.’

  He followed her inside when she walked over to the sofa and slumped down. It was then he noticed the blotchy cheeks and redness around her eyes. ‘He overheard you on the phone. To Connie.’

  She looked towards the small corridor down which were the bedrooms, where Kyle was now. Then she looked back at Nathan. ‘What did he hear?’

  ‘Enough.’

  She walked over to the window and stood looking outside. The hum of traffic was soothing in a way, like those sounds that are noisy at first but soon become a comfort.

  ‘Is it true? Is she throwing him out?’

  She turned towards him. ‘What makes him think that? She’s moving and is having trouble finding somewhere else. I said I’d watch out for Kyle and he can stay with me until she’s settled.’

  ‘So she’s not throwing him out?’

  ‘Definitely not. But she is going to need me to help her, which is why she wants to be closer to where I live.’

  ‘Don’t you help out enough already?’

  ‘Don’t you start,’ she muttered. ‘Sorry,’ she added quickly enough. ‘I didn’t mean to snap.’

  ‘You’re in a difficult situation, I’m sure. I don’t get it though. Moving and letting you know on holiday that she’ll need even more help seems a bit odd. I know she’s family. But what about your life?’

  ‘Stop going on about it,’ she snapped.

  He waited a moment before he said, ‘That’s my cue to leave.’

  Her hand on his arm stopped him. ‘I’m sorry, you’re being nice and I’m being a total cow.’

  ‘Well…’

  She managed a smile but it soon faded. ‘Connie is sick. She has cancer, that’s why the change and the urgency. And it’s not all of a sudden for her – she’s been keeping it to herself for a while and now she’s panicking about everything.’

  Reality dawned on him. ‘It was her on the phone in the café, wasn’t it?’

  ‘That’s when she first told me. She’s been trying to sell the house for some time and suddenly got a buyer who wanted to move fast. She’s renting a smaller place right near me so I guess she’s giving me time to get my head around everything before we get back to England. We’ve talked a lot and we both know the move is a good thing for Kyle. It’ll get him away from those so-called mates of his, they’ll both have support.’

  ‘They’ll both have you.’

  ‘Yes.’ Her voice came out small and he noticed a tear escape but she swiped it away before it could run down her cheek. ‘She feels like she’s failed Kyle over and over again and now she thinks she’s failing him again by getting sick.’

  ‘But it’s not her fault, she must see that.’

  ‘She doesn’t. Never mind the illness, her head is a mess.’

  ‘How did she keep the cancer hidden from Kyle?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. Probably the same way she kept it hidden from me. By pretending everything was fine, or claiming to have tummy bugs, the flu, whatever it took to shield us from the reality.’

  ‘I don’t know what to say, Amelia.’ He wanted to put his arms around her and tell her she’d be OK, but how could he? ‘So, Kyle really did hear it wrong.’

  ‘Connie has been thinking about him in all of this, which is why she hid her illness and why this holiday was good. It took him away from it all and she could take care of herself a bit, knowing he was in good hands. She has a friend with her, which I’m glad about or I’d be going out of my mind with worry that she had nobody there right now. She’s still planning on going away with Kyle to Wales when we’re back, before she has to undergo more chemo, and she’s excited about it.’ She smiled then. ‘I could tell how pleased she was to hear how happy Kyle’s been since he met Scarlett.’

  ‘It sounds as though things are changing. In some ways not for the better, in others…’

  ‘Let’s hope so. But what if she dies?’ A blanket of fear fell across her face. ‘What if Kyle loses another parent? What if I lose my sister?’

  He had no words to say otherwise, no words of comfort, no platitudes that would quell her fear. Cancer was a bastard that took whoever it wanted, whenever it liked. The disease had no reasoning. It had its own schedule that they’d be forced to follow.

  ‘How could I not notice my own sister had cancer?’ Her voice demonstrated the pain she felt, the turmoil she had yet to come. But now, instead of looking at him, her face drained of all colour and she was looking past his shoulder.

  When he turned, Kyle was standing there.

  ‘Mum’s sick?’ was all he said.

  And in that moment Kyle was stripped of his teenage years, left a vulnerable little boy who had to face far more than losing his home. He could lose his mum.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Amelia

  Over the years in her job Amelia had seen kids she worked with progress from children into teens and adults and she knew it didn’t always happen on a reliable timeline. For some, they grew up when they moved through their education; with others, it happened the second they got a job and had to stand on their own two feet. They were all different, and managing the transition was fraught with angst for them and everyone around them.

  For Kyle, his movement from a wayward teen to one with maturity and an outlook unlike ever before happened last night, the second he heard his mum was sick. Amelia expected him to flip out, upend the furniture and wreck the place, or find more alcohol, maybe break into a car and steal it. But he’d done none of those things. Instead, he’d hugged her tight and she’d held on to him, looking at Nathan standing there not knowing what to do.

  When Kyle finally let her go he picked up his phone to call his mum, no matter the time difference. And Amelia and Nathan had stood by the Christmas tree, in contemplative silence, until he came back from his bedroom a long while later. That was Kyle’s moment. The moment they could all see the irresponsibility ebb away and the hint of the man he would become emerge on the horizon. He’d begun talking about pulling his weight, being there for his mum with her hospital appointments, getting a job. Nathan pitched in and emailed a friend with a cleaning business on the outskirts of London and lined up work for Kyle in less than an hour. And the boy stepped up by accepting it on the spot, no questions asked.

  This morning Scarlett and Nathan had turned up at the apartment bright and early, leaving Amelia and Kyle no time to wallow. They’d handed them coffees and ushered them out of the door and into an awaiting cab that took t
hem up to Central Park and the Wollman Rink. Scarlett and Kyle had shown off their superior skills while Nathan did his best to show Amelia he could do this. A welcome zip of excitement zigzagged up her body when his hand reached for hers. It was only for balance, but the feeling she got told her she was right to end things with Paul.

  She hadn’t mentioned Paul to Nathan, and Nathan hadn’t asked. Since last night all the focus had been on Connie and Kyle, and Christmas Eve in New York City. And they’d all been keeping themselves so busy with festive activities that Amelia kept her personal relationship details to herself for now as she reluctantly left them all to it while she did one final stint at the Garland Street winter markets.

  ‘Christmas Eve.’ Cleo was waiting at the front of the chalet when she arrived. ‘There’s nothing like it. Come on, snow, show us what Christmas is all about,’ she demanded, looking up at the sky.

  ‘The sky can’t hear you, you know,’ Amelia giggled.

  ‘You seem happy.’

  ‘I’ve been ice-skating. It was amazing.’

  ‘With Paul?’

  ‘Not exactly.’ This time Amelia did share her personal details and filled Cleo in on everything that had been going on, with Paul, with Connie, with Kyle. And between them they served customers and unloaded the last of the stock onto the display tables.

  ‘It been an eventful holiday for you,’ Cleo concluded once she knew everything.

  ‘It definitely has, but I’m still smiling, still having a great time.’

  ‘Are you and Kyle still coming to the Christmas Eve party at the inn?’

  ‘I’m not sure I can face it. Celebrating while Connie is sick doesn’t feel right and I doubt Kyle will be interested either.’

  ‘What’s Connie up to tonight?’

  ‘She’s with her friend Jill. They’ve planned to watch a movie and Jill is cooking up a surprise dinner. The woman is the best cook in the world, my mouth is watering thinking of the cinnamon buns she made last time I saw her.’

  ‘Sounds fun.’ Cleo bent down to pick up the pair of gloves she’d knocked to the floor and repositioned them on the shelf. ‘I bet she wouldn’t want you and Kyle to mooch around the apartment and miss out on Christmas Eve fun, especially here in New York City. That’s why she didn’t want to tell him the truth all along isn’t it?’

  ‘I suppose you’re right.’

  ‘Of course I am.’ She shifted her focus to another customer before she came back to Amelia’s side and asked, ‘Is that Nathan over there, across the street?’ She nodded to where a man had his back to them. He was talking to a woman, a redhead who was laughing at whatever it was he had to say. ‘It is him, look.’ Cleo waved.

  But as soon as Amelia realised it really was Nathan, she hoped he didn’t hear Cleo and prayed he wouldn’t come over either.

  ‘You didn’t answer my question by the way.’ Cleo followed her back inside the chalet. ‘Who did you go ice-skating with?’

  ‘Kyle.’

  ‘Just Kyle?’

  ‘Hey there.’ It was Nathan’s voice behind her. No hiding now. She wasn’t sure whether he’d rescued her from Cleo’s scrutiny or introduced a whole new slant of jealousy after she’d seen him with a woman. Maybe it was someone asking directions. Perhaps he just explained it in such an amusing way that the other woman was totally captivated.

  ‘Nathan, hey.’ She feigned surprise.

  ‘Did you talk to your sister?’

  She pulled a face before she remembered she’d told him she was going to call Connie on her way over here to the markets. ‘I did. She’s doing OK. She’s even been talking to Kyle about careers and him joining the fire service.’

  ‘Wow, that’s progress.’

  ‘It really is. Anyway, I’d better get back to it.’ Customers were milling and Cleo was trying to take payment from one and advise another.

  ‘Will we see you tonight at the Christmas Eve party?’

  ‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world.’

  ‘Will Paul be coming along?’

  She was about to tell him the truth, keen to gauge his reaction, when the same woman she’d seen him with came up to him and enveloped him in a hug.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Cleo whispered in her ear as she was popping a sea-blue sweater into a brown paper bag for a customer. ‘She’s stunning.’

  With a shock of red curls, she really was. ‘I’ve no idea. And stop looking at me funny,’ she whispered back. The woman was still cuddling up to Nathan.

  ‘You’re jealous,’ Cleo whispered.

  ‘Am not.’

  ‘Are so,’ Cleo giggled.

  She opened her mouth to deny it again but Cleo would see right through her. Whoever the woman was, Nathan looked pretty pleased to see her. He hadn’t mentioned anyone this morning at the Wollman Rink, when they’d skated around together, as he’d held on to her, as she found herself wanting more of his company. Then again, she hadn’t mentioned Paul either.

  Kyle and Scarlett turned up next, cheeks rosy from the cold, smiles on their faces despite everything that had been going on. They were spending all day together. Mitch had understood when Cleo called and explained Kyle might need to stay away from the market today given what was going on in his personal life, and according to Mitch today would be very quiet anyway given most people already had a tree, so he’d manage just fine.

  Kyle was rifling through the table at the front. ‘I want to take Mum home an extra present.’

  Cleo asked her colouring, recommended a few items, and it gave Amelia the chance to talk to Scarlett. ‘How is he?’

  ‘Dad?’ She seemed hopeful this was about Nathan.

  Amelia smiled. ‘No, I mean Kyle.’

  ‘Oh, sorry. He’s good. He was a bit upset this morning when we left the rink but he keeps saying his mum will beat this.’

  ‘It’s a good attitude. And I’m glad he’s got you.’

  She blushed under the scrutiny of a parent-figure.

  ‘Is your dad’s friend coming to the party tonight?’ She asked Scarlett the question as she adjusted the scarves on the table closest to her, although they were already neatly arranged and hadn’t had a chance to be mussed.

  ‘Friend?’

  ‘The woman with the red hair.’

  ‘Ah,’ she smiled, ‘You must mean Valerie. I’ve no idea, why?’

  ‘Just wondering, that’s all.’ She pounced on a glove that had fallen to the floor to hide her awkwardness at asking such a juvenile question. She couldn’t help it though. Was she going to be one of the only people there tonight who didn’t have a date?

  She waved Kyle and Scarlett off, Scarlett still smiling and watching her, probably likely to report Amelia’s interest in her dad back to Nathan himself. Talk about awkward.

  ‘What are you wearing to the party tonight?’ Cleo asked.

  Thank goodness Cleo hadn’t heard her quizzing Scarlett about her dad. Amelia pulled her scarf a little tighter as the wind whipped around the chalet. ‘I’ve got a woollen dress I can wear, which is warm. Although I have brought a party dress with me, and heels, just in case.’ She looked up at the skies, felt the icy nip on her face. ‘The pavements were really slippery this morning, I’m not sure heels are the best idea.’

  ‘So get a cab from the apartment.’

  ‘I doubt I’ll get one, it’s Christmas Eve.’

  ‘Order one.’

  ‘I guess I could try.’

  ‘That’s the spirit. So come on, tell me about this dress.’

  *

  Amelia had taken Cleo’s advice and ordered a cab. And now here she was, sitting in the back seat wearing an ebony vintage swing dress that hugged her around the bust and her rib cage, flared flatteringly across her hips. She had on gold rhinestone open-backed strappy heels she’d worn only once and which made her feel confident. She’d been looking forward to tonight’s party before, but now, as they made their way slowly through the traffic across town to the Inglenook Inn, she felt a sense of excitement that took her by
surprise. Out in New York City, dressed up, going to a party, single and happy.

  She wasn’t quite so happy when she walked through the door and Nathan was already there, the same redhead at his side, laughing away.

  Nobody had spotted her as she stood conspicuously in the hallway of the brownstone, but the second she stepped out of the shadows minus the coat that Rupert, who was acting as chef plus helper tonight, hung on the hook, all heads turned, including Nathan’s.

  Cleo was first at her side. ‘I’m so glad you came. You look amazing.’

  ‘So do you.’ She hugged her friend before plucking a glass of champagne from the tray Darcy whizzed around to her side with, ever the attentive hostess.

  ‘Where’s Kyle?’ Cleo wondered.

  ‘He’s finding his own way here. He and Scarlett are making the most of the rest of the holiday, I think.’

  ‘Don’t blame them.’

  ‘They’ll be here soon.’ Nathan came to join the conversation, his girlfriend over by the Christmas tree chatting with Rupert, who was circulating with a platter of canapés now. ‘You look beautiful.’

  She gulped. ‘Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.’ She tried not to look at the skin on his neck where the top button of his white shirt stayed undone, or glide her eyes down his body taking in this man in the sharp suit, one hand in a pocket, the other holding his bottle of beer as they chatted. And she definitely did her best not to think of the feeling she’d got when he’d grabbed her hand at the ice rink. They’d both been wearing gloves but it made no difference, the spark was still there.

  ‘Where’s the boyfriend?’

  She was about to tell him when she became aware of Holly snapping away with her camera. ‘Sorry,’ she grinned from behind the lens, dropping the equipment so they could see her face. ‘I like to get natural shots of everyone when they least expect. Doesn’t work so well when you see me.’ She moved on now they knew she was there.

  ‘Scarlett and I came to an agreement,’ Nathan told her, not persisting with his question about her love life. ‘I thought you might want to know.’

  ‘Of course. What kind of agreement.’