‘You make it look easy. I mean menacing but also impressive. Who showed you how to do that?’ asked Liv taking back the knife.
‘My dad,’ said Effie, the familiar sense of loss gripping her. It wasn’t true that time eased the pain, she simply had more distractions so she thought of him less, and that in itself made her feel guilty.
‘He must be cool. Is he outdoorsy like you?’ asked Liv.
‘He died,’ said Effie, and she went back to chopping the mistletoe.
17
Liv was glad to be back in the relative warmth of the hotel. Whilst Effie seemed nice, Liv had watched possibly too many horror films to be comfortable being out in the woods with someone with an axe and a machete, because in the films it usually didn’t end well for the one without any weapons. Now safely inside and the sharp implements put away, she was feeling calmer and more rational. She went through to the kitchen and automatically got a mug out to make a drink. Fraser was leaning over a piece of paper on the counter.
‘You English are obsessed with tea.’ He said it like it was a bad thing.
‘It could be worse. It could be deep-fried Mars bars.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Urban myth,’ he said.
‘Aww I was hoping they’d be for dessert tomorrow.’
‘You staying are you?’ He lifted his chin to look at her. Those eyes were even bluer than his profile picture. They seemed to see into her soul and she did not like the sensation one little bit. How could he look at her like that and yet have no flicker of recollection? Or was he just very good at hiding it? Whichever it was, it pissed her off.
She folded her arms. ‘Not a lot of choice given the weather forecast says more snow is coming, which won’t help on top of the ice. Trust me I’ll be out of here as soon as physically possible.’
‘Robbie rang to check we were all okay and to say that the snowplough should be able to get through in the morning. There’d be nothing to stop you leaving then.’ His expression was unreadable.
‘Now don’t you go getting my hopes up. Did you want a cuppa?’
‘No thanks.’ He tapped his water bottle and went back to his notes and his chewed pencil.
Curiosity got the better of Liv so she made her tea and came to stand next to him. ‘Is this tomorrow’s menu?’
‘I thought I should plan ahead in case our guests are staying. I need to defrost ingredients.’
Liv considered biting her tongue instead of blurting out what she was thinking, but this was the new Liv, so what the heck. ‘I don’t know why you’re going to so much trouble. They are an ungrateful bunch. I mean Aaron and Kacey are all right, but I doubt they’d be bothered what you served them, and Shanie doesn’t deserve anything so I’d be giving her shop-bought lasagne and baked beans.’
He seemed mildly amused. ‘I’m a chef,’ he said as if addressing someone a bit dim.
‘I know. Doesn’t mean you have to cook all the time. I doubt Bear Grylls drinks his own wee when he’s at home on his sofa watching the footie.’
Fraser put down the pencil and walked off. ‘Follow me,’ he said belatedly.
Liv walked over to where he opened the freezer. It was a large walk-in affair, which she’d seen him briefly open earlier when he’d labelled and stored some of the leftover cooked venison.
‘What do you see?’ he asked.
‘The inside of a giant freezer,’ she said. ‘Brrr, it’s almost as cold as outside.’
‘But what’s in it? And don’t say food,’ he said pre-empting her answer.
Liv tentatively stepped inside. She had a fear of being shut in one of these things. Now she thought about it she was definitely watching far too much scary stuff. She made a mental note to check out some romcom films for a change. She scanned the shelves and gave a brief commentary. ‘Different sorts of fish. Joints of meat. Herbs. Vegetables.’ She wasn’t sure what he was getting at.
‘Do you see a ready-made lasagne?’
‘Ahhh I get it now,’ she said exiting the freezer. ‘You’re being all hoity-toity because you make all your own food. Well, I think that’s just poor forward planning. I always keep a pizza in the freezer for emergencies.’
Fraser huffed and slammed the freezer shut, making Liv shudder – she was glad she was on the outside. He tutted and went back to preparing his menu.
‘Everyone likes pizza. Just saying,’ she added and she made a hasty exit, taking her mug of tea with her.
