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And so did being trapped with Jason. She was constantly on edge, braced for him to talk about the one thing they’d never talked about. The one thing she didn’t want to talk about. It hovered between them. She could feel it. Beneath everything they said lay everything they hadn’t said.
And now she’d potentially made things more complicated with that stupid message.
“I feel bad leaving our client in that house on his own.”
“What?” Jason looked up from his phone, incredulous. “This is the guy who was looking at you as if you were his gift from Santa?”
“That was a little creepy, but I don’t think it was personal.”
“If I hadn’t been there, he would have been unwrapping you, and he wouldn’t have waited until Christmas Day.” There was an edge to his tone that made her glance briefly in his direction.
“I don’t think so, but I’m glad you were there. I feel sorry for him. Don’t you feel sorry for him?”
“Izzy, the man is a gazillionaire. I don’t think he needs your sympathy.”
She thought about the look she’d seen in his eyes. “Money can’t buy you family or friends.”
“Wait—you really are feeling sorry for this guy?”
“There wasn’t a single photograph, did you notice that? Nothing personal. Who has a house with no personal touches? It might as well have been a giant hotel room.” It had been playing on her mind. “You didn’t notice?”
“No. I can’t say I did. Maybe he’s just tidy. Or perhaps he’d stored everything away. Everyone knows it’s easier to sell a house if the prospective buyer can picture themselves in the space. That’s our whole reason for being there, isn’t it? And I’m sure a guy like that has a ton of people waiting to leech on his hospitality.”
“Maybe, but that’s not friendship, is it? I think he’s lonely.”
“Lonely? He has his money to keep him company.”
“Money doesn’t cuddle you at night. Money doesn’t make you laugh.”
“I don’t know—I’d be prepared to laugh if the price was right.”
“You know what I mean.” She couldn’t stop thinking about it. “What if he’s spending Christmas alone?” She kept picturing him in that big, echoey space, with nothing but the storm for company.
“Plenty of people spend Christmas alone.”
And didn’t she know it.
“But it’s a special kind of alone when you’re on your own in a house of that size. It’s a place designed for large gatherings. Why do you think he bought it?”
“No idea. Why does anyone buy more than one house? Status symbol?”
“Maybe. It’s a shame he doesn’t have someone special in his life. Or maybe he does and she’s joining him later. By snow-mobile.”
There was a pause, the silence broken only by the rhythmic swish of the wipers battling the snow.
“Talking of having someone special in your life, there’s something we need to talk about.” He was hesitant. “I know we’ve both been avoiding the subject, but I think it’s time we—”
“Argh!” Izzy was spared the need to dodge the conversation she’d been dreading because at that moment the car hit a patch of ice and spun out of control.
She tried to steer into the skid but this time the car wasn’t cooperating and she had a moment to gasp a warning before they slammed into something solid.
6
Brooke
Despite her damp clothing, Brooke was sweating. Why was it that just when you wanted your children to be on their best behaviour, they embarrassed you totally?
Elsie was normally a kind, thoughtful child but from the moment the woman had opened the door, she’d been obsessed with the fact that she looked like the character in her book, which might not have been quite so bad had the character in question not been a witch.
