Jamie handed her the mugs to hold. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Oh, nothing.” She held the mugs steady while he poured the coffee. “That smells good.”
“But yesterday you said you wanted to talk to me about something. You said it was important.”
“Did I? I can’t even remember now. Probably something to do with Christmas. Good idea to bring coffee. I wouldn’t have thought of this.”
“That’s because you were sneaking out in a hurry, trying to leave the rest of us behind.”
“I wasn’t sneaking.” She waited for him to put the flask back in the bag and then handed him one of the brimming cups. “I was trying not to wake the household. We all had a late night and we’re going to have another late night tonight with your party.”
“Ah yes, the party.” He took a sip of coffee. “When I said we had something to celebrate, what was everyone expecting?”
“Engagement, obviously, like Mum said.”
He watched the steam rise from the mug. “So how much did I shock everyone?”
“A lot, but you must know that.” She pulled off a glove and let the warmth of the cup seep into her fingers. “Why didn’t you tell us before? Why the big secret?”
“I thought it was better done face-to-face. I assumed that saying ‘by the way, I just got married’ wouldn’t have come across well in a phone call.”
It hadn’t come across particularly well when delivered in person, but she didn’t say that. She didn’t want to spoil his moment. “I’m sure you’re right.” She blew on her coffee to cool it.
“I was a bit worried Mum might be upset, but she seemed very relaxed about it all, and excited.”
Seriously? He thought their mother had been relaxed and excited?
She adored her brother, but was he really that emotionally clueless? Or maybe love had clouded his brain. It had been obvious to her that their mother had been making a supreme effort to cover her shock and hurt. She’d made an admirable attempt, but Rosie hadn’t thought anyone had been fooled by her enthusiastic response. Clearly she’d been wrong about that. And perhaps that was a good thing. There was no way Jamie would have wanted to hurt their mother.
“Was there some reason why you decided to get married quickly and in secret?” She sipped her coffee, which was cooling rapidly in the freezing air. “What’s wrong with having your family there? Are we particularly embarrassing?”
“Yes, horribly.” He grinned and finished his coffee before shaking the drips from the mug onto the snow. “Just kidding. I love my family, you know that. But I thought it would make the whole thing easier for Hayley if we did it quietly, just the two of us. No fuss.”
“Easier? Are we difficult?”
“It wasn’t so much the people as the principle.” He took her empty mug and tucked it back inside the rucksack with the flask and the other mug. “She doesn’t have family. If we’d had a big wedding—or even a small, family-only wedding—she would have had no one there. Not that she would have said anything, because that isn’t how she is. But I wanted it to be about the two of us and nothing else. Doing it the way we did felt more—I don’t know—” he shrugged “—equal, I suppose. It was about us, and no one else.”
“She has no family at all?”
“No. She grew up in care. She had no one encouraging her to do her homework. No one clapping for her in a school play. No one stealing her chocolate at Christmas. She has been her own cheerleader for her whole life. But now she has me.”
Rosie felt a lump form in her throat. “That makes me want to cry.”
“Because she has me? You feel sorry for her?”
“No, you idiot.” She gave him a push. “Because she has never had anyone in her corner.”
“I know. It makes me sad too, although she hates it when I say so. She prefers to think about now. And now she has me in her corner. I’m there for her, through thick and thin no matter what.”
Rosie felt herself well up. She wanted Declan to feel that way about her.
Jamie peered at her. “Are you crying?”
“No, it’s the cold air—” She brushed at her eyes. “And I might be a bit emotional today.”
“You always are. Especially at Christmas. You love this time of year. And it’s snowing. This must be your dream.”
“Absolutely.” She blinked back tears and forced a smile. “My dream.”
