Typical. It was snowing outside and her cheeks were blazing like a furnace.
She never would have thought she could feel uncomfortable with Will, but that was before she’d embarrassed herself at her sister’s wedding. Embarrassed was probably too tame a word. Embarrassed was when you were late for a dental appointment, or you forgot someone’s birthday. This was bone-deep humiliation. The sort of humiliation that made you wonder if you should emigrate, have plastic surgery and change your name.
She was just going to ignore it. Pretend it had never happened.
Hopefully he’d do the same.
She stepped back. “I thought I’d hang out in an airport for a while. Soak up some of the festive spirit.”
“I’m pleased you’re able to laugh about it.” He studied her for a moment, his hands still on her shoulders. “It’s good to see you. It has been a while.”
“Oh, you know—new job, busy, busy—”
He nodded. “Are you okay? You look upset about something.”
And she thought that hiding her feelings was her superpower. Not from Will, apparently. “I’m fine. It’s just airport stress.”
“I can tell you’re not fine, Becky. Talk to me.”
She almost told him that she didn’t feel remotely festive. That she was dreading going home for Christmas.That she was a mess. But she managed to stop herself. “You know those train announcements—the ones where they tell you to mind the gap between the train and the platform? It’s the same for Christmas. I try not to fall into the chasm between expectation and reality.”
He gave her a speculative look. “Okay. Well, if you want to talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you, you know where I am.”
“You know me. I’m not big on talking about things. I leave that to my sister.”
“Hopefully your reality will improve a little once you get out of this place.” His gaze shifted from her face to the queue. “You’re hiring a car?”
“Yes.” What else could she say? That she was standing in line to see Santa? “That seems to be the only way to get up north today. Unless a certain person in a red suit with a white beard can find room for me on his sleigh as he flies past. I didn’t see any mention of his flight being grounded. Maybe they’ve cleared the skies for him.”
He smiled. “I don’t have a sleigh, but I do have a car and I’m parked here, at the airport. You can come with me if you like. We can drive up together.”
She didn’t like. She absolutely did not like.
“That’s a kind offer, but it will be easier if we do our own thing. I might need to stop on the way, make a few work calls—” She stumbled under his questioning gaze.
“If you need to make a work call from my car, you can make a call, Becks.” He was the only person, other than her brother, who called her Becks.
“It’s confidential.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not exactly known as a gossip.”
And given what he’d witnessed that was lucky for her, although right now she didn’t feel lucky.
She felt as if the universe hated her.
From behind her she heard a woman mutterif she doesn’t want to get into his car then I will, and for a fleeting moment she saw Will as a stranger might.
He was tall and he radiated calm confidence. He was a doctor, a cardiologist, and she was sure that any patient who saw him approach the bedside would instantly feel reassured. A smart wool coat emphasized the width of his shoulders and a pair of glasses with a bold tortoiseshell frame accentuated the lean lines of his face. He looked as if he’d stepped directly from a photoshoot for “sexy academic man.”
She was conscious of her faded jeans and her comfortable hoodie that she all but lived in. What did he see when he looked at her?
His best friend’s little sister.
The thought was annoying. She shouldn’t care. She didn’t care! She’d known him all her life and he was one of the few people she always felt comfortable with, but that had all changed the day of the wedding.
The memory of that had her reaching behind her for her hood. She tugged it over her head in the hope that it might act as a shield.
He frowned. “Are you cold? Because you can have my coat.”He was already starting to shrug it from his shoulders but she stopped him.
