Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
NOAH
Evie was already in the lobby when I stepped out of the elevator. I stood and watched her for a moment, taking in her carefree smile as she chatted to one of the doormen as if they were old friends. She had a warmth and ease about her that drew people to her.
‘Hey, Noah,’ she called across the open space when she spotted me, completely oblivious to the hushed silence in the lobby.
I acknowledged her with a nod, ignoring the sudden uptick of my pulse at the sight of her face and the crazy curls.
‘Green,’ I said repressively as she bounded over like a goddamn golden retriever puppy let out for the first time.
‘Don’t be a boring old fart,’ she said, and to my surprise, she tucked a hand through my arm and led me out onto the steps of the hotel. ‘If we’re going to be stuck together, let’s try and enjoy it. Just remember, this is temporary. Lucky you. You’re not stuck with me permanently.’
Outside, there was a line of people hoping to come and take a peek at the hotel’s Christmas decorations.
I’d stood in this very line when I was a kid with my mom and dad, long before I could afford to stay here.
I could still remember Mom’s excitement as she handed out candy bars to me and my sister as bribes to keep us from getting too fidgety while we waited.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked, looking round for a cab.
‘We’re walking,’ she said.
‘Walking? In New York?’
‘Yes.’ She tutted and nodded down at my legs. ‘I thought you played football. It’s only a couple of miles.’
‘Only tourists walk.’
‘We are tourists. Or I am,’ she pointed out with a consoling smile.
For once Evie seemed happy with the silence as we walked across the road onto Fifth Avenue.
Her head bobbed this way and that taking in the shop displays and the enormous crystal decoration suspended above the cross walk, which faded from vivid green to azure blue and to rose pink.
Swirling snow was projected onto the Apple Centre and everywhere we looked, shop windows were ablaze with tiny fairy lights and filled with fantastically detailed decorations, from holly and ivy wreaths to scenes containing cute Santas and elves, through to glittering displays of stars and crystals.
Doorways were framed with boughs of greenery threaded with gold lights or snow-laden branches interspersed with glittering baubles.
The whole of the Luis Vuitton building in its signature livery was wrapped in the most enormous red bow while the jewellery store opposite featured in one window a tableau of stately black-and-white penguins, each with an elaborate diamond choker around its neck.
In the second window was a set of shy fawns complete with sparkling tiaras as they grazed beneath a giant snow-dappled Christmas tree in front of a Swiss cottage, its carved wooden exterior frosted with more diamonds.
In the final window was a full-sized stag, complete with a glowing red nose and hanging from its antlers were several pairs of long dangling earrings of twinkling gemstones.
Evie was absolutely enchanted and almost had her nose pressed against the window.
‘Isn’t this just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?
’ she asked, grinning, her cheeks a little flushed.
‘And have you seen the size of those diamonds?’ Her enthusiasm was infectious and I found myself agreeing while wondering what she might look like with a diamond tiara in that glorious shock of hair of hers.
‘Oh look, Tiffany’s. I must get some pictures of their windows. My mum was mad about the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Actually, you can take some pictures.’
Before I could respond she was hurrying to cross the road.
The Tiffany windows had already drawn quite a crowd, with lots of people taking pictures and videos.
The gathered group murmured its appreciation of the tiny animated crystal birds hovering in the small square window display, carrying expensive rings with dazzling gemstones in their beaks.
My mom would love it and I took my phone from my pocket and snapped a few pictures to send her.
She loved this place and I’ve been window shopping with her and my sister quite a few times on our annual Radio City trip, although in those days we didn’t have the bucks and always came away empty-handed.
A thought struck me. ‘Do you want to go inside?’ I asked Evie. ‘Do some Christmas shopping?’
She stared at me, eyes almost on stalks, and I felt an odd little skip inside at her surprise. Who knew? I’d surprised Evie Green.
‘Would I? Can pigs fly?’ She barrelled past me to the doors.
Once again, I couldn’t help laughing. ‘I’m pretty sure they can’t.’
But she was already inside the store, saying hi to the doormen and wishing them happy holidays.
Her face lit up with enthusiasm. Who wouldn’t get a kick out of her infectious wide-eyed delight?
She stared round at the luxurious cabinets positioned throughout the huge room like an actual kid in a candy store.
I could see why. The contents sparkled and twinkled as brightly as all the Christmas lights in Manhattan.
‘Wow,’ she said and stood there. This was something else. The huge open space with enormous windows had the hushed awed feel of a cathedral but with the additional elegant details of an art gallery where every last feature had been curated for style and taste.
‘This is so exciting,’ Evie whispered, and I got it, because it was the sort of place you felt you had to whisper.
‘Who are we buying for?’ She moved forward a couple of paces towards one of the glowing display units and then stopped dead in front of me and whirled round.
‘Oh! Do you have a girlfriend? Of course you do. Footballers always have WAGs.’
‘Not this one.’ I laughed at her sudden concern, as if that possibility had only just dawned on her. ‘Something for my mom.’
She looked up at me. ‘I forgot.’ She was still talking in a low murmur. ‘You must be rich.’ She studied me with narrowed eyes. ‘You don’t act rich, though. Well, not that I know many rich people. But you … well, you seem quite normal.’
‘That might be the nicest thing you’ve said to me since we met.’
‘I’m sure it isn’t,’ she said blithely. ‘So, what are we looking for? What are you going to buy your mum? Diamonds? Earrings? A necklace? This is going to be so much fun. I love spending other people’s money.
’ She rubbed her hands together with bright-eyed joy.
‘Although I’m much better at saving it for them. ’
I glanced at her; I’d forgotten she had a proper job. Understandable, given that she seemed so easy come, easy go.
‘I haven’t given it that much thought,’ I confessed with a quick shrug, now wondering if coming in here was a good idea, after all.
It suddenly seemed a bit personal to be involving her in shopping for my mom.
‘I only just decided.’ Before I could talk myself out of it, I added, ‘But my mom will be so thrilled to receive a blue Tiffany box, with a white ribbon that she won’t really care what’s inside. ’
‘Pshhaw,’ Evie scoffed. ‘I bet she will. Is she a diamonds-and-mink sort of gal?’ Evie put on an American drawl, or at least what she thought was one.
‘No.’ I laughed, thinking of my mom. Jeannie Sanderson.
Elementary school teacher. Practical, efficient and into her crafts.
And not afraid of telling anyone how it is.
‘Absolutely not. She might be thrilled but the first thing she’ll do is tell me off for wasting my money.
’ I pictured her face. ‘Then she’ll cry, and my dad will pat her on the shoulder and tell her it’s okay and wink at me because he’ll know she loves it. ’
Evie stared at me and her face softened. ‘That’s so cute. Sounds like you miss them.’
I shrugged again. ‘I guess.’ I didn’t normally talk about things like this.
It was personal and private. I was used to being on my guard, especially in interviews when people were trying to pry information out of me.
I didn’t want to drag my family into the limelight any more than they wanted to be there.
Since hitting the big time, the only thing my parents had let me do for them was pay off the mortgage on their house and buy Mom a new car when hers died.
They made so many sacrifices for me when I was a kid.
Remortgaged the house. Drove for hours to get me to games all over the country.
Paid a fortune for coaching, boots, camps, gas and overnight stays.
Despite all that, they refused to take any more of my money.
My sister was the same, although she at least accepted a college fund for my nephews.
I owed my entire career to my parents and I didn’t ever want to let them down. The time my mom chewed me out during my partying days had stayed with me. She didn’t guilt me into changing, she just reminded me how hard I’d worked to get where I was and how much she and Dad believed in me.
We wandered around the displays. Evie browsed each case we passed, occasionally stopping to give a piece a closer inspection.
It was only when we passed a case with a display of necklaces that I realised I’d left her behind.
I returned to her side and found her focused on a set of gold chains each bearing delicate golden keys, some intricately designed and dotted with twinkling diamonds, others plainer with simple filigree embellishments.
I was surprised, because after her interest in the previous jewellery store, I’d expected her to make a beeline for the expensive, diamond-encrusted rings, the ones that flashed and sparkled like fireworks in a dark sky.
‘These are pretty,’ she said, pointing.
We moved on to the next cabinet full of diamond-encrusted bracelets.
‘Madam, would you like to try something on?’ Neither of us had noticed the sales associate approach.