CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Baffled, I was staring at Xander, trying to process the fact that Minnie was his gran.
All sorts of questions were firing off inside my head...
But Minnie was embracing me, so for now, I had to smile and hug her back.
‘I was so delighted to hear that your lovely father had come out of his coma.’ She gave me an extra delighted squeeze and smiled at me through happy tears.
‘I can’t tell you how happy and relieved I felt when I got your text.
Would it be all right if I visited him in hospital, Anika?
To thank him, you know? For throwing himself into that road and probably saving my life? ’
‘Of course.’ I nodded eagerly. Dad was starting to remember more about the day of the accident and he’d asked me about Minnie. I’d seen the relief in his face when I’d told him she was fine. ‘He’d love to see you. I’ll let you know just as soon as he’s well enough to receive visitors.’
Minnie took my hand and squeezed it in both of hers. ‘I’d like that very much, dear.’ She shook her head in wonder. ‘I had no idea when I came to see you that day that you actually knew my gorgeous grandson!’
‘Yes, how strange life is,’ I said lightly. ‘Full of odd coincidences.’
I flashed a brief look at Xander.
He was standing rather stiffly, not looking at me, his lips pressed uncomfortably together.
‘Actually, Minnie, I’ve been trying to track you down because I really need to return your generous gift.’
Minnie’s eyes opened wide. ‘Gift, dear?’
My heart lurched. It sounded as if she’d forgotten all about posting the envelope of cash through my door. But she needed to have it back...
But Xander was now breaking his awkward silence and looking at me urgently. ‘Anika, no,’ he murmured, as he slipped a protective arm around his grandmother. ‘Let’s talk about this later?’
Minnie smiled up at him and patted his cheek gently. ‘Do you know, I haven’t the faintest idea what you two are talking about. But you make a lovely couple! Are you happy, Xander?’
He cast a guilty look in my direction. ‘Er... yes. Yes, of course.’
Minnie turned to me. ‘And are you happy, Anika?’
‘Yes!’ I smiled at her. ‘Very happy.’
She nodded, apparently satisfied. ‘Then so am I. I always thought that other girl wasn’t right for you, Xander, although I didn’t want to interfere. What was her name?’ She frowned, trying to remember. ‘Diana, was it?’
‘Dana,’ said Xander shortly.
‘That’s right. Dana. She could be very nice and charming, but she sometimes gave me the impression she thought herself superior... that our family wasn’t good enough for her, which of course was ridiculous.’
Xander smiled at her. ‘Not that you’re biased in any way at all, Gran.’
She chuckled at that. ‘You’re the best of them, my darling.
You always have been.’ She looked around.
‘Now, where’s Betty got to? We’ve been treating ourselves to tea and cake and a lovely gossip in the Little Duckling Café, and I’m giving her a lift home.
Ah, there she is. So I’ll love you and leave you.
’ She smiled from Xander to me and back to her grandson.
‘Such a lovely surprise bumping into you both. See you soon, I hope!’
We waved her off to join her friend. Then, false smiles vanishing, we walked silently over to Xander’s car.
*****
In the car, Xander glanced across at me. He had the look of a defeated man. ‘I’ll explain when we get back to yours, okay?’ he said gently.
I nodded. ‘I’m looking forward to hearing it,’ I replied a little sharply.
He sighed heavily and started the car, and we drove along in silence. The atmosphere between us was suddenly so tense, my head had already started to throb by the time we drove into the close and parked outside the house.
I got out and went inside without waiting for him, leaving the door open behind me.
He followed me into the kitchen, where I was occupying myself filling the kettle for a cup of tea I didn’t even want. I heard a chair scrape as Xander sat down at the table.
‘So.’ I sat down opposite him. ‘I can’t wait to hear why you chose not to tell me... that not only do you know Minnie, while making out that you didn’t, but that you’re actually her grandson ?’
‘I know. It’s . . . complicated.’ He shrugged helplessly.
‘Well, maybe it is. But don’t you think I deserve an explanation?’
‘Of course you do.’
He gave another heavy sigh. ‘Look, you can’t give the money back to Gran.’
‘Why not?’ I stared at him, puzzled. ‘I mean, it’s obvious that she’s forgotten she gave it to me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t return it.’
‘She didn’t forget she gave you it.’ He looked suddenly downcast. ‘Although it is true Gran’s getting a bit forgetful these days.’
‘What? I don’t understand.’
‘It wasn’t my gran who pushed that envelope of cash through your door.’
‘ What ? Then who . . .?’
‘It was me,’ he said flatly.
‘ You ?’ I gazed at him, trying to process this. ‘But... why do it in secret? You should have just told me you wanted to help me.’
He shook his head. ‘I knew you wouldn’t accept it if you knew it had come from me.’
‘But you thought I’d accept it if I thought it had come from your gran?’
‘Well, yes. I suppose I thought I might be able to persuade you to use it to clear your debt?’ He shrugged miserably. ‘I hated to see you in trouble... in danger of actually losing your family home. I just wanted to help.’
I nodded, thinking about this.
I’d been so shocked thinking that Xander had been lying to me all this time. It had really rocked my trust in him.
But having heard his reasons for keeping the truth from me, I could kind of understand, and I felt my feelings towards him softening.
‘I can’t believe you were the one who pushed all that cash through my door.’ I shook my head in amazement.
He shrugged. ‘I had to. I mean, it seemed the right thing to do. I had the money just sitting in my savings account doing nothing and you needed it.’
‘But you can’t just give me money like that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Well, it’s just... not normal ! You barely knew me.’
‘Of course I knew you.’
‘Yes, but that’s the kind of money you’d give to help out a really close friend. Not someone who was little more than a casual acquaintance.’
I sighed and got up. Walking to the kitchen drawer, I took out the envelope of cash and laid it on the table, where he was standing.
He looked at me warily, as if he was wondering if he was forgiven, and my heart melted.
‘Thank you for the thought. It was so kind of you.’ I gave him a rather awkward hug and after a moment, he put his arms around me, and I relaxed into him with a feeling of relief.
‘I still don’t really understand why you kept Minnie’s identity from me and decided to give me the money in secret,’ I murmured into his shirt.
‘Well, maybe I do. You thought I wouldn’t use it if I knew it was from you. ’
He nodded. ‘Look, I know how desperate you feel if you think you’re about to lose the roof over your head. It... well, it happened to me. I got into financial difficulties after I bought my first flat and it was almost repossessed.’
‘Really? How awful.’
He looked away, remembering. ‘It was. My parents bailed me out and I’ve since paid them back.
’ He sighed. ‘But anyway, the point is, I understood how panicked you must be feeling at the thought of losing your home. So everything I did... well, it was done with the best of intentions, I promise you,’ he said softly, and when I looked into his kind, beautiful eyes, I knew I really could trust him.
‘So... your gran must have told you she’d come to see me and offered me the money? Because how else could you have known that we’d need that exact amount to clear the debt?’
He nodded, his arms still loosely around me.
‘Obviously I knew she’d had an accident that day.
We were just all so relieved that she was all right.
She kept talking about the man who’d pulled her out of the way of that speeding van and wanting to thank him.
The local newspaper report didn’t include your dad’s name so we had no way of finding him.
So although we were all so grateful to this mystery man, I guess we accepted that we might never be able to thank him in person. ’
‘But then Minnie – your gran – managed to find out Dad’s name from a friend at the W.I. and she came round to see me.’
Xander nodded. ‘I popped round to see her after work the same day and she told me she’d actually been to see her hero’s daughter earlier. Well, when she said you were called Anika, I knew it had to be you.’ He smiled. ‘It’s not exactly a common name.’
‘That’s true.’
‘So I was planning on contacting you anyway – but then we bumped into each other on Sunnybrook High Street only a couple of hours later, when you were leaving the Swan Hotel after being stood up.’
‘Ugh. Don’t remind me,’ I groaned. ‘He’s never been in touch since to explain why.’
‘Can’t say I’m sorry.’ He gave me a rueful smile. ‘If you’d met your date that night, we might never have got together.’
‘True. I’d be feeding chickens in Stephen’s back garden instead. Or becoming the proud owner of a Nando’s loyalty card.’ I chuckled at his understandably confused expression. ‘Don’t ask. By the way, where was the flat that almost got repossessed?’
‘Oh, in Guildford. I sold it long ago to pay my folks back.’
‘Then later you bought your flat in Risley Green?’
He nodded. ‘Where I’m living now.’
‘I’d love to see it. Your flat. When are you going to take me there?’ I smiled up at him. ‘I hope it’s not a typical bachelor pad... all black satin sheets and a mirror on the ceiling above the bed.’
He looked at me in fake alarm. ‘How did you know?’
‘I think I know you well enough to know you have better taste than that!’
‘I’ll take you there soon. How about I cook you spaghetti Bolognese?’
‘Sounds good.’
He grinned. ‘A kind woman took pity on me recently and gave me a cookery lesson, so hopefully it won’t be a total disaster.’
‘I can’t wait. Can I have a date for my diary?’
He hesitated. ‘Erm... the thing is, the hob’s not working right now. So... maybe once I’ve had someone in to look at it?’
‘Okay.’
He shrugged. ‘I usually use the microwave so it didn’t seem important getting the hob fixed. Until now, when obviously I’m going to have to start cooking from scratch for you.’
I smiled. ‘Glad to see you’re taking my advice on healthy eating.’
‘You’re a very wise woman. I’d be mad not to.’
Smiling, I snuggled closer, and things began getting a little heated between us.
As we kissed deeply and passionately, I could feel just how much Xander wanted me, which only made the flame of desire between us leap even higher.
We were supposed to be taking it slowly – but all logical thought had flown out of the window and all I wanted to do was get naked and horizontal with him as quickly as possible so that I could get to know this gorgeous man in every way imaginable. ..
I felt something change. Xander had stopped responding.
Reluctantly, I pulled away from him so I could see his face.
‘Sorry.’ He was panting, as I was, and gazing down at me intently. ‘We were going to be taking things slowly, but I...’ He shrugged and looked down. ‘Sorry.’
‘Don’t apologise,’ I murmured. ‘I feel the same. I... think I’m falling for you, Xander. I didn’t want to but I can’t seem to help it.’
His hold on me tightened and he groaned in reply and pressed me against him, and I felt quite light-headed with longing at the feel of him.
But this time it was me who pulled away gently.
‘You’re right, Xander. Neither of us should be falling headlong into another relationship. Not after everything we’ve been through.’ I gazed up at him and forced myself to say, ‘Actually, I’m really shattered. I think I just need an early night.’
He smiled and looped a lock of hair gently behind my ear. A delicious quiver ran through me at the touch of his fingers on my neck.
‘I’m not surprised you’re tired after all the long days and nights sitting by your dad’s bed. So I’ll leave you now to get some rest, okay?’
‘Okay. Probably best.’
He took the envelope with the cash in it from the table and held it up. ‘Last chance?’
Smiling, I shook my head, and with a resigned look, he slid it into his pocket.
At the front door, we said our goodbyes and Xander took a gentle hold of my arms and kissed me very firmly on the mouth.
I retreated inside after I’d waved him off, feeling exhausted but happy. It might have been the tiredness but I felt light-headed and pleasurably dizzy, as if I was floating several inches off the ground.
I smiled to myself.
It must be the ‘Xander Effect’ . . .