Chapter 41
When Casey opened her eyes, she found she was back in Coopers why wouldn’t anyone cheat on me, you know?
” Nigel made to interject, and she stopped him.
“But! Really it was because I like him so much that the thought of it all going wrong frightened me to death. Better to knock it on the head now than risk a bigger hurt later.”
Nigel chewed the inside of his cheek, and she knew he was physically having to stop himself from interrupting.
She smiled at him, ready to put him out of his misery.
“It was stupid, and as soon as I finish this shift I’m going to find him and tell him that I’m an idiot and ask him to give us another chance. I only hope I’m not too late.”
She had the pleasure of seeing her friend sag with relief. “Thank heavens for that!” he exclaimed. “We’ve been beside ourselves. Even Jared’s been asking if he should come and have a word with you. He asked if we could perform an intervention.”
She laughed. “Oh, crikey!” If only he knew that her life recently had been made up of a series of Margo’s interventions. She offered him a shortbread biscuit and said, “Thank you for always having my back.”
Nigel took the biscuit and bit into it. “That’s what friends do. And I daresay Margo looks out for you too.”
What an odd thing to say! She looked at him curiously. “I suppose.”
“I’m guessing the lady scoffing the marzipan fruits in the food hall is Margo?” he added, pointing at the camera screen.
Casey’s mouth dropped open, and Nigel laughed.
“This old store is full of spirits,” he said in clarification.
“I wasn’t sure your Margo was one of them until I saw the footage from the book event.
I thought it was odd the way that no one had made any comments about the woman stood next to you in the vintage flapper dress surrounded by baskets of avocados.
But I could tell that you knew she was there. ”
“But…but…” Casey’s mind was officially blown. “You never said.”
He shrugged and took another bite of his biscuit. “I’ve worked for Coopers and Co. for twenty years. I’ve seen a lot of things. From the way she was cheering you on when you confronted Sam, I knew she was a good egg, so I didn’t need to worry. You’ll have to introduce us when I come back to work.”
Casey looked affectionately at the spirit, who had moved on to raiding the handmade chocolate counter. “She’s leaving on Christmas night.”
Nigel nodded. “You’ll be sorry to see her go.”
“I will.” Sadness pulled tight in her chest. A thought struck her. “Hang on a minute. So, you can see ghosts?”
“Not all of them,” he replied enigmatically. “And not all the time.”
Her mouth dropped open again. Nigel’s phone rang, and Vern’s face filled the screen.
“That’s my ride,” he said, sliding the screen to answer.
“Hello, love,” he said. “Yep, I’ll be right down, keep your pantyhose on.
” He turned to Casey. “I’ll be off, then.
We’ve got the drag queens Christmas do tonight.
You never know what’s going to happen!” He raised his eyebrows at her and got up stiffly from his chair.
“Oh no you don’t!” she said, jumping up too. “You can’t just drop that on me and then leave.”
“Oh, but I can,” he said jovially. “There’s plenty of time for us to catch up on all that otherworldly business when I start back at work after Christmas. But for now, I must bid you adieu. Give my regards to Margo.” He winked.
After a hug, he hobbled down the corridor and stepped into the lift, leaving Casey with her ghast well and truly flabbered.
—
“Houston, we have a problem!” Margo’s voice filled the office.
Gee-whiz, it was never-ending! Casey glanced toward the bank of screens. Margo’s face was pressed up against camera nine, filling the whole screen and affording Casey a close-up of her nostrils. “What’s up?” she asked.
“Intruder!” Margo replied, her nostrils flaring.
“Again?” For god’s sake, this store was becoming a free-for-all. She wondered if she could call Nigel back, but he wasn’t up to chasing trespassers. “Where?”
“Lower ground floor.”
“Are they armed?”
“Yes, he has both.”
Casey squeezed her eyes shut tight in frustration. “Is he carrying a weapon?”
“Not that I can see.”
“Does he look stabby?”
“Stabby?”
Casey rolled her eyes. “Should I call the police, or do you think I can take him?”
“Well…” Margo drew the word out. “This trespasser is a member of the local constabulary and I’m pretty sure you’ve already had him.” Margo winked exaggeratedly.
Her heart gave a heavy thump, and she drew in a sharp breath as a bolt of hopeful excitement shot through her. “Are you telling me that Ajay is the intruder?” Her voice trembled.
“Affirmative,” came the response.
Her breath came out in a woooo! sound.
Margo threw a piece of popcorn from the box that had appeared in her hands into the air and caught it in her mouth.
“You’ll probably want some privacy because you’re weird like that, so I’ll be in the book department pretending not to eavesdrop.
Ta-ta for now!” She disappeared in a puff of mini marshmallows.
—
Aromas of cinnamon, cloves, and clementine greeted her as she entered the Christmas department. The fairy lights twinkled, and the elderly pipework ticked, but otherwise the lower ground floor was still and quiet.
Casey walked gingerly through the department but stopped when she saw that the letter candles on the sideboard had been made to spell Casey Smith, and a red velvet heart ornament had been propped up at the end of it.
“Hey,” came Ajay’s voice from behind her.
Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and turned to face him. He wasn’t in uniform tonight, and in his green plaid shirt, jeans, and suede boots, he looked like a heartthrob. Or at least, he was certainly making her heart throb.
“Your family have a habit of breaking into my place of work,” she said, smiling nervously.
He grinned sheepishly at her. “I didn’t break in; Nigel let me in.”
“Of course he did.” She shook her head.
“Don’t blame him, I talked him into it.”
“I doubt Nigel took much persuading.”
“Not much, no.” His hands were thrust deep into his pockets, his expression nervous, and he gave her a small, hopeful smile that set off fireworks inside her chest. She smiled back at him, and he relaxed, just a little.
“I’m sorry about the way I behaved,” she began hesitantly. “I wanted to call you, but I wasn’t sure you’d want to hear from me. I was planning to come and see you in the morning to beg your forgiveness.”
He smiled. “You have nothing to be sorry about. No begging required. I know how it looked and I understand your reaction to it.” He took a step toward her.
“You do?”
“You find it hard to let people in. I could ask you to trust me, but actions speak louder than words, so, if you’ll give me the chance, I’ll show you that putting your faith in me is a safe bet.
I don’t want to give up on what we’ve started.
I’ve never felt this connected to anyone.
It’s like I’ve known you in another life or something… ”
That made her smile. If only he knew! “I do trust you, Ajay. The truth is that I was afraid of how much I like you, and I pushed you away, which is just stupid. I don’t want Sam or my parents to define the way I live or love anymore.
It’s a cliché, but I need to be the change I want to see in my own life, and I want to do it with you. ”
Ajay smiled. “There is nothing cliché about you, Casey Smith. You are the most up-front closed-off person I have ever met, and I admire that level of contrariness in a person.”
She laughed.
“How about we make our own rules, tailor-made for us?” Ajay asked.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” She smiled, feeling as though the light she felt inside her was shining out like a beacon, guiding him to her.
She held out her hand and he shook it, then he pulled her to him and his mouth was on hers.
His lips were soft and warm: an exact mirror of the things she felt for him in her heart.
When they broke apart, they were both smiling.
“Is it too soon to use the L word?” Ajay asked. “I don’t want you to bolt out of here like a frightened rabbit.”
“No,” she replied, filled with a longing to hear those words on his lips. “Not too soon.”
“Good. Because I have fallen for you with a big L.”
She reached on her tiptoes in her sensible black lace-up shoes and kissed him. “I big L you too.”