Page 63 of Suddenly Mine

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly into his shoulder. “For disappearing. I’ll do my best for Carroll’s, I promise.”

Lewis squeezed his arm. “I know. I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Dad.” Christian nodded, then spun back to the mic. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, trying for levity and failing to keep the urgency from his voice, “I’m absolutely desperate for a vol-au-vent.”

A chuckle rose from the crowd, but he was already off the stage, weaving through staff and well-wishers. He had something more important to chase than applause.

He burst into the hallway, scanning left and right.Where the hell did she go?

Then he caught sight of the elevator at the end of the corridor. The light above it pinged bright at floor ten. He tookoff, yanking open the stairwell door and running up to the tenth floor two steps at a time.

By the time he got there his legs were burning and his lungs were seizing painful snatches of air. He thought she’d be heading to the locker rooms to grab her bag, but he skidded out into the hallway just in time to see a door slam shut at the far end. The roof access.

Not stopping to second-guess what he was going to say when he saw her, Christian pushed through to the roof and the icy air slapped him in the face. He crossed the rooftop quickly, shoes slipping on the slick metal covers as he made for the conservatory.

She had to be in there. He reached for the door just as it swung open.

“Oh!” It wasn’t Merry.

Mrs Cradley stood framed in the doorway, eyes watery from the cold, braced against the snow as she rubbed her hands together briskly.

Christian froze. “Mrs Cradley.”

To his utter shock, the stern-faced guardian of the employee rota smiled at him. Actually smiled.

“Well, don’t just stand there gawping,” she said. “Get in before your eyelashes freeze off.”

He blinked. “What?”

She stepped aside, ushering him through the door. Inside, the warmth of the little glass room hit him like a memory. Two cups of hot chocolate waited on the table, clouds of whipped cream slowly melting beneath rainbow sprinkles.

Christian stared at them.

“Did you—?”

“Yes,” she said, pulling a woollen hat down over her ears. “I see everything that goes on in this store. I see the duties, yes, Isee the chatter and the late arrivals, but I also see the magic. And this—” she smiled at him — “is magic.”

Her eyes softened on him. “It’s good to have you home, Christian.”

Christian frowned. “How long have you known?”

Mrs Cradley smiled and turned to go. Then she seemed to have second thoughts.

“There’s something you should know,” she told him. “I saw you that day, hiding in the toys, listening to Margot and me.”

Christian stiffened.

“You heard us talking,” she went on. “I saw the look on your face. You thought we were scheming, didn’t you? Against the store, I mean?”

Wary, he nodded once.

“We weren’t.” Her eyes held his. “We were talking about your father.”

Christian’s breath caught.

“He’d stopped listening to reason,” she said simply. “Started making decisions behind closed doors. Gutting the heart of this place, piece by piece. Margot and I . . . well, we were trying to stop him before there was nothing left to save. Margot may be harsh in many ways, but she didn’t want to see Carroll’s sabotaged. She’s given her life to this place, even if sometimes maybe it would have been better for her to have a life away from your father, if you see where I’m going?”

A gust of wind rustled her hat as she stepped fully into the doorway, silhouetted against the city skyline.