Chapter 21
‘I love Christmas in New York, don’t you?’ she said as the closing credits rolled. She put the TV on mute.
‘Yeah. I don’t usually spend the holidays in the city, but I like the build-up.’
‘Where do you usually spend Christmas? Do you go to family?’
‘No, I don’t have any family.’
‘You… weren’t adopted?’ she asked tentatively, aware that it might be a sensitive subject. ‘Sorry, you don’t have to answer that,’ she added quickly.
‘No, it’s fine. My parents died when I was thirteen, so I was a bit old for adoption. I stayed with a couple of foster families until I was old enough to live on my own.’
‘You don’t have any other family?’
He shook his head. ‘No. Unless you count Arnold,’ he added. ‘Or the guy at the bodega where I get coffee.’
Mary smiled, but she felt sad for him. It sounded lonely.
‘I usually make myself scarce for Christmas. Last year I went to Mexico and spent it on the beach.’
‘On your own?’
‘Yep.’
‘So even when you’re not hiding out from the paparazzi, you still go off somewhere on your own for Christmas? You must have friends you could spend the holiday with.’
‘Sure. I have a couple of standing invitations, but no one really wants the orphan around bringing the vibe down.’
‘Of course your friends want you around.’
‘Nah. People say they’d love to have you, but they don’t mean it. It’s cool,’ he said with a shrug. ‘I get it.’
‘It’s not all about you, you know.’
He frowned. ‘Meaning?’
‘Have you ever thought how disappointed they might be when you turn them down? That maybe they do mean it and they’re hoping you’ll say yes?’
‘Not really. I know they’re just being kind. I’m sure they’re relieved when I don’t take them up on it.’
‘It doesn’t occur to you that maybe they’re asking you because they enjoy spending time with you? Because they think it’d be fun to have you there?’
She could tell by his expression that it hadn’t. ‘Who are your friends? The ones who invited you?’
‘Josh and Amy. Josh is my best friend. We were room-mates in college.’
‘And Amy is his wife? Girlfriend?’
‘Wife.’
‘Do you get on with her?’
‘Yeah, I love Amy. She’s great.’
Mary liked the unabashed way he said it.
‘They got together in college, so I’ve known her as long as he has. We hang out together a lot, the three of us.’
‘Did your ex get on with them?’
‘Yeah… they got on well enough. Though I guess she didn’t want to hang out with them as much as I did.
We spent more time with her friends. They were single, like us and none of them had kids, so they could be more spontaneous, whereas Josh and Amy needed to make plans.
Olivia wasn’t very sympathetic to babysitting issues. ’
She sounds like a real gem, Mary thought, but she said nothing. She got the feeling that by talking it through, he was starting to realise things he might not have been so conscious of when they were together.
‘Amy and Josh have a child, then?’
‘Yeah, Oscar.’ Evan smiled fondly. ‘He’s just turned two. I’m his godfather and honorary uncle.’
‘Well, I bet Oscar would have loved to have his Uncle Evan around for Christmas.’ Evan clearly loved kids and she’d seen first-hand how good he was with them. It was sad he didn’t get to spend Christmas with his godson, who he obviously adored.
‘He probably would. He always wants me to sleep over whenever I visit.’
‘Well, there you go.’
‘But that’s easy for him to say – he’s not the one cooking and making up beds.’ He laughed. ‘Actually, that’s not easy for him to say. He’s only got a couple of words.’
‘Well, I’m sure your friends would love to have an extra pair of hands.
You could help out with the cooking and keep Oscar amused for a while so they could have a break and get on with stuff.
And they obviously love having you around.
Maybe Josh and Amy were excited that they’d finally get to have you for Christmas this year when your plans changed at the last minute. ’
A slow smile spread across his face and she could tell the idea pleased him. She was glad. She loved his smile, and she especially loved when she made it happen.
‘Who was the other one?’ she asked.
‘What?’
‘The other person who invited you for Christmas?’
‘Oh, it was a neighbour – Mrs Leonardi, an Italian lady from down the hall. That was definitely a pity invite. I don’t know her very well, so it would have been super awkward.’
‘You can’t assume it was a pity invite. Maybe she asked you because she’s lonely and wanted the company.’
‘Maybe,’ he said, frowning and narrowing his eyes at her.
‘Instead of always assuming people are reaching out because they feel sorry for you, you should consider that it might be because there’s something missing in their own lives. Maybe they’re asking for company, rather than offering it.’
‘Now you’re making me feel guilty for abandoning a lonely old lady at Christmas.’
‘Sorry.’
‘It’s fine.’ A grin spread across his face. ‘Mrs Leonardi has a massive family of children and grandkids who are always visiting her. She was going to her daughter’s place in Rhode Island this year and invited me along.’
‘Oh, I’m glad to hear it. I was starting to feel bad for her myself.’ Mary yawned and stretched. ‘So, what’s up next? Home Alone 2: Lost in New York? Die Hard? It’s A Wonderful Life?’
‘Home Alone might be a bit close to the bone for you in the circumstances.’
She laughed. ‘But I’m not home alone as it turns out.’
‘And Die Hard is more of an evening movie.’
‘Yeah, let’s keep that for after dinner. It’s A Wonderful Life, then?’
‘Bring it on!’
Mary brushed tears from her eyes as the movie drew to a close.
‘I hope you’re not thinking about your ex again,’ Evan said, putting an arm around her.
She shook her head. ‘At least this is one movie he and Juanita can’t ruin for me.
Greg totally would have let George Bailey go bankrupt.
’ Greg wasn’t mean, but he was very big on fiscal responsibility and didn’t believe in debt forgiveness.
She turned to Evan. ‘Actually, I haven’t thought about Greg once all day. ’
Their eyes met and he smiled. ‘Ditto.’
‘You haven’t thought about Olivia?’
‘Actually, that’s not true.’ He sighed. ‘I’ve been thinking about her pretty much non-stop, unfortunately.’
‘Oh!’ Mary tried to ignore the twinge of disappointment she felt. After all, it was nothing to her.
‘But only because she’s been ringing and messaging me constantly,’ Evan said, pulling his phone from his pocket. Now that he mentioned it, she had noticed it buzzing numerous times throughout the day. She hadn’t seen him answer it once, however; he’d just frowned down at the screen and shut it off.
‘You haven’t spoken to her, though?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m not answering her calls.’
‘Good. Let her stew.’ Unfortunately, Mary knew exactly what Olivia wanted to say to Evan.
Thanks to her googling of him earlier, and reading stories online about the split, the algorithms now had her pegged as an avid fan and were keeping her updated on news about the famous couple.
This morning her feed had been full of stories about Olivia Mills and Adam Wright making tearful public apologies and begging their partners (a wife of seven years in Adam Wright’s case) to take them back.
Both referred to their fling as a mistake and a fleeting indiscretion, and pleaded forgiveness for their momentary lapse of judgement.
Mary had fumed on Evan’s behalf. Not only had Olivia cheated on him, but she’d chosen to compound his embarrassment and humiliation by going public about it, when she must know how much Evan valued his privacy and how excruciating he’d find it having her air their relationship problems so publicly.
‘Let’s forget about them,’ he said, tossing his phone onto the coffee table. ‘They don’t deserve us.’
‘Agreed.’
‘Hey, Mary.’
‘Yeah?’ She turned to him to find him gazing at her thoughtfully.
‘I have an idea.’ He leaned forward and ran a thumb along his bottom lip. ‘Do you mind if I make a quick change to the chart?’
‘Go ahead.’ She frowned, puzzled.
‘Great!’ She felt cold as he jumped up from the sofa and headed for the kitchen. ‘It’s an activity that only works with two, though, so we’d both have to agree to it.’
Intrigued, she got up and followed him into the kitchen, where he was making some amendments to the chart tacked on the wall.
When he stood back so she could see, her startled gasp was partly surprise, but mostly delight as she saw he’d crossed out ‘slob’ and replaced it with ‘make’ so that it now read ‘MAKE out on the sofa’.
‘What do you think?’ he asked her, grinning. ‘You up for it?’
‘Hmm.’ She twisted her mouth, pretending to consider for a moment, while her heart was pounding with excitement. ‘Yeah, okay,’ she said finally. ‘If that’s what you want to do, I’m game.’
‘It really is.’
‘I’m not sure what exactly “making out” covers, though. I mean, I don’t think we should sleep together—’
‘Strictly first base only,’ he said firmly.
‘You know, I’ve lived in New York for four years, but I still haven’t got the hang of the whole bases thing.’
‘I can show you,’ he said, his eyes glittering with intent.
‘I do feel it’s something I should know, as an American resident.’
‘It’ll definitely come up in the citizenship test, if you ever decide to take it.’
Mary giggled as he grabbed her hand and tugged her back to the living room. He sat on the sofa, pulling her down beside him.
‘First base.’ He pushed his hands into her hair, framing her face as he bent his head to hers. Then he kissed her and – oh my God – he was the best kisser in the entire world.
‘I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,’ he said, lifting his head a fraction, still so close she could feel the moistness of his breath on her mouth.
‘I thought you were going to last night.’
‘I almost did. How did you feel about that?’
‘Disappointed.’
‘Yeah, you’re right.’ He nodded, pulling away. ‘Dick move.’