Chapter Twelve
Myles
Myles opened his mail and shook his head at the Christmas card from his parents. The piece of mail that tried to show everyone they were a normal family when they had a long way to go to achieve that status.
By the time he went downstairs to eat dinner, Darcy’s friend had gone. He’d known she was assessing him on Darcy’s behalf and he hadn’t minded one bit. Sometimes he wished men had the same camaraderie rather than remaining tight-lipped, revealing nothing about their feelings.
Darcy smiled at him as he passed by to go to the dining room. She was on the phone, and each time he saw her, he expected her to say she’d changed her mind about accompanying him to the Christmas party. She was professional, serious, independent, and he sensed she didn’t like mixing business with pleasure. He didn’t do it much himself, but this was different. He wondered what he’d have done if Darcy had said no. Would he have called the escort agency? Would he have let someone else set him up?
He tucked into the lasagne, which was the perfect food for this kind of weather. He’d have to make it out for a run in the morning or he wouldn’t fit into his tux for The Plaza.
‘Is everything all right for you, sir?’ Rupert approached the table.
‘Please call me Myles. It took ages to persuade Darcy to, but I much prefer it.’
‘Very well. Myles it is.’ Rupert smiled. ‘Can I get you a glass of wine? The dessert menu?’
‘I’ll pass thanks, but the lasagne was great.’
Rupert thanked him for the compliment and took his plate away. If the man was tired after so many shifts at the Inn, he didn’t show it.
Disappointed he didn’t see more of Darcy, Myles decided he was going to have to rectify that and went upstairs to pick up the gift he’d bought. He’d wanted to buy Darcy something special to show his appreciation for her coming to this party with him, for agreeing to go on a date, for taking a chance on him. There were plenty of flowers dotted around the Inn – a vase of what looked like lilies on the table just outside his apartment entrance, another arrangement of deep red blooms on the next floor down as you rounded the stairwell, although he was no expert on varieties of anything, having never had his own garden to play with or the time to do so – so he’d passed that idea by.
‘Hey, Darcy.’ He’d already adopted the American ‘hey’ around work and the Inn, and he attempted to sound more confident than he really felt now he was in front of her as she sat at the desk, brow creased in concentration.
‘Hello, Myles. How was your dinner?’
‘It was wonderful, thank you. You have a superb chef.’
‘We do. And I hear the lasagne is the best. The O’Sullivan family all seemed to think so.’
He smiled. ‘It’s usually a crowd-pleaser. Not something I’ve ever made myself. I imagine it takes a while.’
Silence hovered between them until she asked, ‘Can I get you anything else?’
‘I’ll take a bourbon if I may.’
‘Sure.’ She seemed glad of something to do and went to the bar area to fix the drink.
‘Don’t you get tired of never switching off?’ He looked at the time, already nine o’clock.
‘I could ask you the same.’
‘I’m here now, I’m switched off.’ That wasn’t strictly true. His mind had pinged back and forth between work things at dinner as much as personal stuff.
‘Well, I don’t have the luxury today. I’ve been out shopping for the majority of the afternoon.’
‘Buy anything nice?’
She turned to face him and allowed a trace of excitement to show on her face. ‘I have a dress, shoes and a purse for the party. Let’s just hope I leave before midnight or the sequins and heels might turn into my boring work clothes again.’
He wasn’t sure how to react to the hint of a Cinderella reference but she seemed to be making the remarks in good spirits. He took the gift from his pocket. ‘I hope these go with the outfit.’
She looked at it, the box wrapped in silver paper with a white bow. ‘For me?’
‘It’s a small gift to say thank you for agreeing to go with me. Thank you for saving me from hiring someone, which would be so demeaning if I’m completely honest. And…well it’s also to say that I’m looking forward to it.’
She took the box.
‘Open it, go on,’ he urged.
She looked around, uneasy at the intimate gesture in her workplace. She tugged at the end of the bow and it unravelled so she could pull off the paper and reveal the box inside. She opened it up.
‘I hope they’re suitable. I went for diamonds, they go with everything.’
She looked at him, the gift ensconced in her palm. She looked at the earrings sparkling back at her cheekily. But then she shut the box. ‘I can’t accept them.’ She handed it to him.
‘Why not? It’s a gift, from me to you.’
‘I already have earrings I can wear.’
‘You don’t like them?’ His heart sank. The earrings were classic, beautiful, not at all over the top. Just like Darcy.
‘It’s not that.’ She walked over to the fire. She lifted the glass panel and used the poker to jostle what was inside. The flames obeyed and flickered higher. ‘You really don’t get it, do you?’ She didn’t look happy now.
‘I really don’t.’ He kept hold of the little box containing the earrings he’d carefully chosen with Darcy in mind. ‘You’ll have to explain it to me.’
‘Excuse me.’ The phone rang and she answered it.
Myles turned and walked over to the window. He looked out at the row of brownstones opposite, their own Christmas decorations battling each other over who could be the brightest, the shiniest, the talk of Manhattan. From what he could gather she was talking to another guest due to arrive tonight, directing them from the Washington Square Arch, an ideal landmark if you were ever lost trying to find the Inn.
‘Another guest?’ he asked the second he knew her call had come to an end. He thought he’d adopt the nothing-wrong-here approach and see how it went down.
‘Yes, checking in tonight.’ She looked at her watch. ‘I’ve given him directions. He’s only a few blocks away, so won’t be long.’
He wondered if the intended implication was that he shouldn’t be hanging around, but he wanted to clear this up. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s the last thing I wanted to do.’
‘I appreciate the gesture, but it’s really unnecessary.’
He sighed. ‘Don’t you accept gifts from boyfriends?’ He felt a prize idiot for referring to himself in that way. It made him sound as though he was back in school, fumbling for the right words to ask a girl to the dance.
‘That’s just it.’ Her voice softened. ‘We haven’t been out on a date yet.’ Coyly, she added, ‘At least wait until the third or fourth date to shower me with diamonds.’
Appreciating the lighter atmosphere, he offered her the box again. ‘Please, take them.’
‘They look like they’re expensive.’
This was a woman who couldn’t be bought. Whoever ended up with her would have to earn his place and her respect. ‘They were. And you know what happens if you return earrings?’
She shook her head.
‘They refuse to exchange or refund. Hygiene reasons apparently.’
‘Actually, I have heard that somewhere.’ She held his gaze.
He pushed the box forwards again. ‘So…’
‘Myles Cunningham.’ She shook her head but this time reached out for the box and her smile matched what he’d hoped to see when she laid eyes on the three-dimensional diamonds that captured the delicate symmetry of sunflowers. ‘They’re beautiful, really.’
‘Try them on.’
When there was a knock on the front door she said, ‘You’ll have to wait until our date.’ And with that she was off to greet the new guest.
Myles left her to it. He’d come down and done what he’d aimed to do, which was give her the gift and put her at ease, make sure she was looking forward to their date as much as he was.
He made it to the next floor, rounded the staircase as tiny lights twinkled from the garlands showered in a glittery frost finish, but before he reached the foot of the next staircase, the voice of the latest guest to check in at the Inn had him stopping in his tracks.
It couldn’t be, could it?