Page 18 of Merry & Bright

I turned away, then stopped again and looked back.

“So, um, have a great Christmas,” I added.

He smiled wanly. “You too.”

He sounded sad somehow, and as I walked away, I couldn’t help thinking that his words were some kind of goodbye.

The doorman swung the front door open for me as I approached, and I nodded my thanks on my way out.

I paused for a second on the step. It was bloody freezing tonight. I hadn’t noticed earlier, when I’d been all fired up about getting here, but now, as I watched my breath unfurl from my mouth in a long white plume, I felt the deep chill of winter in my bones. Zipping up my thin bomber jacket, I huddled my shoulders against the biting cold and began to trudge down the street.

I’d only been walking for a couple of minutes, when I heard my name being called.

“Quin!Quin!”

Was that—Rob?

I turned, and yes—it was him. Jogging down the street towards me. God, he looked good. So vital. All that boundless energy—it just radiated out of him. I thought how nice it would be to spend time with him. To just plug in and soak all that warmth and vitality up.

When he reached me, he wasn’t even out of breath.

“Um—hi?” I said. I immediately wanted to slap my own forehead at the inanity of that but somehow managed to resist, burrowing my hands deeper into my pockets.

“Hi,” he said. We gazed at each other and I realised that something was happening here, even if I couldn’t immediately see what it was.

At last, Rob said. “You looked like you could use some company, but if I’m totally wrong, just tell me to fuck off.”

I gave a weak laugh. “You’re not wrong,” I admitted. “It’s been kind of a weird day.”

He gave me a half-smile. “Do you want to go somewhere else? Get a drink?”

The thought of another pub really wasn’t appealing and it must’ve showed on my face because Rob didn’t wait for me to reply. “Or maybe a cup of tea?” he suggested, quirking a brow. “You could come back to my place. I’ve got the car—I wasn’t planning on drinking tonight anyway.”

His place.

Was he...?

Again, my face must’ve given me away—clearly I shouldn’t be planning to enter a poker championship any time soon—because Rob chuckled and added. “Just to talk. I’m not planning a seduction. Even if I was, you’d be out of luck—my mum and brother are living with me just now.”

I flushed. Was that his way of letting me know he wasn’t interested in anything beyond friendship? This was, after all, exactly the sort of thing I’d expect Rob to do out of kindness—giving up his night out to listen to someone else’s problems. And why did that thought make me weirdly depressed?

“Tea sounds good actually,” I admitted.

“Come on then,” he said. “My car’s just down the road.”

Although Rob’s car was parked only a few minutes’ walk away, by the time we reached it I was freezing.

“I’ll get the heating going,” he said as he popped the locks and we both slid inside. Moments later, hot air was blasting over my feet and then Rob was reversing out of his space and smoothly joining the traffic. He flicked on the radio and someone started singing about Mommy kissing Santa Claus.

“So,” I said. “You said your mum and brother are living with you right now?”

Rob nodded. “My mum left my stepdad a few months ago. He’s a bit of a dick—refused to get out of the house and she couldn’t stand living there, so I said she could come to me till she and Tim get sorted out. Thank God, Ken’s finally agreed to sell the house and they’ve got a buyer lined up. Once the sale goes through, Mum’ll be able to look at buying a new place.” He paused, flicking on the indicator and executing a right turn. When we were moving again, he glanced at me and added, “It’s not been easy for Tim. He’s a great kid, but this whole thing’s taken him out of his routine. And now he needs me or Mum to drive him to work and to his support group, both of which used to be just round the corner. All that’s been hard for him.”

“He works?” I said, wincing when I heard the surprise in my own voice. Rob didn’t seem offended though. He glanced at me and smiled.

“Yeah. In the supermarket round the corner from their old place. He loves it.”

“I’m sorry,” I said “This is the sort of stuff I should know already. We’ve been working together for months.”