Read Online Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Abby Clements - Free Book Online Page B

a radio came from inside his flat, and distracted her for a moment.
    ‘Hi,’ she said, her voice coming out a bit husky.
    ‘Laurie,’ Jay said, with a hesitant smile. ‘Hi.’
    The words Laurie had planned to say vanished from her mind with Jay there in front of her. Her eyes drifted to his full mouth, remembering the way he’d kissed her. ‘It’s been a while, hasn’t it?’ she managed at last.
    He nodded, his eyes drifting momentarily to the floor, no longer meeting hers.
    ‘Busy times,’ she went on. ‘All go, go, go at work at the moment.’ She kicked herself. Where had that come from? All go, go, gone would be more accurate.
    ‘Oh yeah,’ Jay said, then after a pause, ‘Well, that’s good. And today? How come you’re at home?’
    ‘Holiday,’ she said – best not to mention she’d been practically banned from her workplace. She bit her lip, then quickly changed the subject. ‘Anyway, I was hoping to ask a favour.’
    ‘A favour? Sure,’ he said with a warm smile. ‘What can I help with?’
    ‘A friend—’
    Female laughter came from inside Jay’s flat, over the sound of the radio, and cut Laurie short. She looked towards the sound; her stomach felt tight. She just wanted to give Jay the keys and get away as soon as possible.
    ‘My friend Rachel is going to be staying in my flat for a couple of weeks. Could you give her my keys when she arrives tomorrow?’ She held up her keyring. ‘She’ll get in at around three o’clock with her son and daughter.’
    ‘Sure,’ Jay said, nodding. ‘That’s fine.’ Laurie passed him the keys and their hands touched for a moment. Laurie wanted to stay right there, his skin against hers, close – but he pulled back and put the keys on his hallway table.
    ‘So where are you—’ he started, looking back at her.
    ‘Jay,’ a voice called out from inside the flat. ‘Your tea’s getting cold here.’
    It was her. That girl. ‘I should probably go,’ Laurie said, a heavy feeling in her chest now. ‘But thanks, I appreciate it.’
    She turned and walked away up the stairs, her heart thudding. The girl’s voice. That was intimacy.
    ‘But Laurie, I’ll see you at Lily’s party, right?’ Jay called up.
    ‘Oh yeah, sure,’ Laurie said, glancing back and forcing a smile. But she realised as soon as the words were out that with Jay, like this, was the one place she couldn’t be at Christmas.
     
     
    Laurie walked through Kings Cross Station wheeling her suitcase along behind her, feeling like a reject from The Apprentice . It was Wednesday morning – just over a week since her life fell apart.
    The 11.45 to Leeds was her first train, and she’d link up with a smaller train out to Skipley from there. Out of commuter hours, the carriage was half empty. A man with a ruddy face and a middle that pressed against the table in front of him looked at her with a welcoming smile. Two young children, presumably his, sat in the opposite seats. With a sinking feeling, she put her handbag down.
    ‘Hello, love,’ the man said. He stood up to help her heave her lead weight of a suitcase up on to the overhead shelf. ‘Where are you headed to?’
    Laurie never talked to strangers on public transport, and she wasn’t ready to make an exception today. In that respect, while she might not have been born there, she was every bit a Londoner. ‘Skipley,’ she answered, hoping he would get back to the fishing magazine he had in his hand.
    ‘Skipley, eh – ah yes, I know it, well, I’ve heard of it at least. You’ll be going right up to Leeds then. Now we—’
    The train pulled out of the station and as the man continued to talk, Laurie sank back into her chair with a deep sigh.
     
     
    After a few minutes of fishing talk, Laurie got out her iPhone and cranked up a playlist, and the man finally went back to his magazine. Laurie looked out of the window at the passing scenery. London’s now-familiar landscape – the backs of terraced houses, the Emirates