Chapter 22
Jamie
The next few days were like heaven. Jamie couldn’t stop smiling about how wonderful everything was.
His new life was going in the direction he wanted.
Peace was in his heart, along with Alice, but that was nothing new.
She always had a place there. He figured he should talk to her at some point about their future, but with Christmas and Sophie’s wedding on top of them, Alice was preoccupied.
Besides, he wasn’t sure about building on what they had for fear of ruining anything.
Jamie was up the stepladder, changing a light bulb in the dining room, when his sister walked in, deflating his cheery mood immediately.
‘I see she’s got you working.’ Shannon slid onto a table and stared up at him.
‘Can you not sit on the table?’
‘I’m comfy. How about you?’
He glanced at the ceiling. ‘I’m busy.’
‘I’ve only come in to say goodbye. I’m off home tomorrow.’
Jamie remembered when the B her way of affection. ‘Stay out of trouble.’
He watched her walk away, knowing that was probably the last time he’d see his twin.
‘Everything okay?’ asked Alice, coming out the back room.
Jamie turned to smile. ‘Shannon just popped in to say goodbye.’
‘Oh, and the money?’
He shook his head. ‘She’s walked away from that, too. She was just trying her luck while she was around.’
Alice moved around the desk. ‘Jamie, do you ever want to walk away? I know we made arrangements about you living here, but do you ever have moments of regret?’
‘No. I want to be here.’
She glanced over at the Christmas tree. ‘Well, it was your home for so long.’
‘I want to be here because of you.’
‘So, if I lived somewhere else, you’d be happy to live with me there?’
Jamie breathed out a small laugh. ‘I thought we only made the arrangement of me staying here because you have the room.’
Alice shrugged. ‘Wherever I am, there’ll always be room for you.’
Her words just blew his mind, taking away all breath and heartbeats. She really was the sweetest person he knew, and he had to wonder how he got so lucky having her as a friend.
‘I just want to know if you’re happy,’ she added.
‘I’m always happy when I’m with you, Angel,’ he told her softly, taking a step closer.
‘Do you want to talk about anything? Shannon, the B&B, us, anything at all?’
There was a lot he wanted to say, but he didn’t know what was for the best. Oh, just change the subject.
‘You fancy a sleigh ride?’
Alice chuckled. ‘The one going around Anchorage Park?’
‘Yep.’
‘Right now?’
Jamie bobbed his head. ‘Yep.’ He watched her chew her lip for a moment before agreeing.
‘I’ll get my coat.’
‘And scarf and hat,’ he said, heading for the stairs. ‘It’ll be cold.’ He went to his room, grabbed his outerwear, then met her back in the foyer.
They headed outside and noticed Demi drive by as Alice was locking up. He stuck out his thumb, laughing as she stopped. ‘Couldn’t give us a lift up to the park, could you, please?’
Demi smiled. ‘Sure. Hop in.’
He let Alice sit up front, then settled on the back seat, listening to the women talk about the upcoming wedding.
It wasn’t that busy in Anchorage Park, the cold day keeping the visitors away. A couple of people walked their dogs, and there were some joggers, but no queue for the horse and carriage designed to look like Santa’s sleigh.
‘You working, mate?’ Jamie asked the man adjusting reindeer antlers on the dark horse.
‘Yeah. I’ve got a booking in about an hour, so if you fancy a ride, now’s the time to hop on board.’
Jamie nodded. ‘Great.’ He paid the man, then helped Alice clamber inside the red open-top carriage.
Alice unfolded the green-check blanket that was on the seat and draped it over both their legs as the driver told Rudolph to walk on.
Jamie chuckled, his breath visible in the cold air.
‘What are you laughing about?’
‘Just my unexpected day.’
Alice snuggled into the blanket. ‘I like this day.’
He leaned closer. ‘It’s definitely improved.’
Alice pulled out her phone and started taking pictures of them, Jamie smiling widely in each one. ‘We don’t take enough photos,’ she remarked, showing him the screen.
‘Do you still have the ones you used to take when we were kids?’
‘I do. Do you want me to show you later?’
‘Just the ones where I look healthy.’
Alice nodded, then put her phone away. ‘Do you want to go ice-skating tonight? Benny’s been asking for ages. There’s one of those pop-up rinks over the back.’ She gestured forward. ‘It’ll be cold, but all lit up, and they serve hot chocolate. What do you think?’
‘I think I’m worried about you skating with all your aches and pains.’
‘I try not to let these things stop me. Anyway, I’m only at level two today.’
‘That’s great. All right then, let’s go ice-skating.’
Alice rested her head on his shoulder for all but a second. ‘Yay, we’re going skating!’
‘I don’t know why you’re cheering. You could still go even if I didn’t want to.’
‘I don’t want to go without you. I’ve been looking forward to the day I get to do things like this with you, so that’s why I’m cheering.’
Jamie’s heart warmed. ‘I’ve been looking forward to doing things like this with you too. And in all honesty, sometimes I have to pinch myself that we’re actually doing anything together.’
‘We used to talk about all sorts, didn’t we?’
‘Yeah, but it was just a dream back then.’
Alice looked up. ‘Not to me. I saw them as goals. I knew you would get out one day, you would come home, and we’d be happy.’
‘Seeing as you come from a family of psychics, I’ll take that as a premonition.’
Alice giggled. ‘Take it any way you like, Mr Stark. It’s all about belief.’
He looked up at the cloudy sky. ‘Yeah, you certainly believe in the magic of the universe or something.’
Alice smiled. ‘No. I just believe in you.’
Once more, her sweet tone warmed his heart.