He let Alice sit up front, then settled on the back seat, listening to the women talk about the upcoming wedding.
It wasn’t that busy in Anchorage Park, the cold day keeping the visitors away. A couple of people walked their dogs, and there were some joggers, but no queue for the horse and carriage designed to look like Santa’s sleigh.
‘You working, mate?’ Jamie asked the man adjusting reindeer antlers on the dark horse.
‘Yeah. I’ve got a booking in about an hour, so if you fancy a ride, now’s the time to hop on board.’
Jamie nodded. ‘Great.’ He paid the man, then helped Alice clamber inside the red open-top carriage.
Alice unfolded the green-check blanket that was on the seat and draped it over both their legs as the driver told Rudolph to walk on.
Jamie chuckled, his breath visible in the cold air.
‘What are you laughing about?’
‘Just my unexpected day.’
Alice snuggled into the blanket. ‘I like this day.’
He leaned closer. ‘It’s definitely improved.’
Alice pulled out her phone and started taking pictures of them, Jamie smiling widely in each one. ‘We don’t take enough photos,’ she remarked, showing him the screen.
‘Do you still have the ones you used to take when we were kids?’
‘I do. Do you want me to show you later?’
‘Just the ones where I look healthy.’
Alice nodded, then put her phone away. ‘Do you want to go ice-skating tonight? Benny’s been asking for ages. There’s one of those pop-up rinks over the back.’ She gestured forward. ‘It’ll be cold, but all lit up, and they serve hot chocolate. What do you think?’
‘I think I’m worried about you skating with all your aches and pains.’
‘I try not to let these things stop me. Anyway, I’m only at level two today.’
‘That’s great. All right then, let’s go ice-skating.’
Alice rested her head on his shoulder for all but a second. ‘Yay, we’re going skating!’
‘I don’t know why you’re cheering. You could still go even if I didn’t want to.’
‘I don’t want to go without you. I’ve been looking forward to the day I get to do things like this with you, so that’s why I’m cheering.’
Jamie’s heart warmed. ‘I’ve been looking forward to doing things like this with you too. And in all honesty, sometimes I have to pinch myself that we’re actually doing anything together.’
‘We used to talk about all sorts, didn’t we?’
‘Yeah, but it was just a dream back then.’
Alice looked up. ‘Not to me. I saw them as goals. I knew you would get out one day, you would come home, and we’d be happy.’
‘Seeing as you come from a family of psychics, I’ll take that as a premonition.’
Alice giggled. ‘Take it any way you like, Mr Stark. It’s all about belief.’
He looked up at the cloudy sky. ‘Yeah, you certainly believe in the magic of the universe or something.’
Alice smiled. ‘No. I just believe in you.’
