Chistmas In Manhattan Collection. Alison Roberts
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in the microwave.
The beat of an awkward silence made her wonder if this apparently easy chatting was actually just as weird for Charles.
‘Anyway...I’m sorry to disturb your evening but it occurred to me that it could be a win-win situation.’
‘Oh?’
‘Houston’s parents are my neighbours on the ground floor of this block—which, I should mention, is about two minutes’ walk to Central Park and ten at the most to Manhattan Mercy.’
‘Oh...’ How good would that be, not to have to battle crowds in the subway and a long walk at the end of the commute?
‘Stefan’s an interior designer and his husband, Jerome, is an artist. They’re heading off tomorrow for a belated honeymoon in Europe and they’ll be gone for about six weeks. They’re both fretting about Houston having to go into kennels. I suggested they get a dog-sitter to live in but...’ Charles cleared his throat as if he was slightly embarrassed. ‘Apparently Houston is their fur child and they couldn’t find someone trustworthy enough. When I got home this evening, I told them about you and they seem to be very impressed with the recommendation I gave them.’
‘Oh...?’ Good grief, she was beginning to sound like a broken record. ‘But...I work long hours. I couldn’t look after a dog...’
‘Houston has a puppy walker that he loves who would come twice a day on the days that you’re working. That’s another part of his routine that Stefan and Jerome are worried about disrupting because he gets to play with his dog friends who get taken out at the same time. Even more importantly, if he was still in his own home, he wouldn’t miss his dads so much. And I thought that it could give you a bit of breathing space, you know? To find your feet in a new city and where you want to be.’
Not just breathing space. Living space. Sharing a tiny apartment, even with a good friend, was a shock to the system for someone who had guarded their privacy so well for so long.
‘I know it’s all very last minute with them being due to drop Houston at the kennels in the morning but they’re home this evening and they’d love to meet you and have a chat about it. Stefan said he’d be delighted to cover your taxi fares if you were at all interested.’ Charles paused and Grace could hear something that sounded like a weary sigh. ‘Anyway...I’ve only just got the boys to bed and I need to have a hunt in the fridge and see if I can find something to eat that isn’t the boys’ favourite packet mac and cheese.’
Again, Grace was aware of that tightness in her chest. Empathy? Charles might have the blessing of having two gorgeous children but he had lost something huge as well. Something that had changed his future for ever—the loss of a complete family.
They had a lot more than he realised in common.
Her new boss had also had a very difficult day, coping with a crisis in his department and the added blow of having to deal with a personal crisis with his nanny being put out of action. And yet he’d found the time to think about her and a way to possibly help her adjust to a dauntingly huge change in her life?
How astonishing was that?
‘Thank you so much, Charles.’ Grace dropped the chopsticks into the plastic bowl and put it onto the coffee table as she unfurled her legs. It didn’t matter that she would have to get dressed again and then head out into this huge city that never slept. Despite so much going on in his own life, Charles had made a very thoughtful effort on her behalf and she knew exactly how she needed to show her appreciation.
There was something else prompting her, too. A niggle that was purely instinctive that was telling her not to miss this unexpected opportunity. That it might, somehow, be a signpost to the new path in life that she was seeking. The kind of niggle that had persuaded her, in the end, to come to New York in the first place.
‘Let me grab a pen. Give me the address and I’ll get there as soon as I can.’
* * *
‘Morning, Doc.’
‘Morning, Jack. How’s the weather looking out there?’ Not that Charles needed to ask. The view from his penthouse apartment over Central Park and the Manhattan skyline had shown him that any residual cloudiness from the storm of a few days ago had been blown well clear of the city. It was a perfect October day. But discussing the weather was a ritual. And it gave him the chance to make sure that the twins were well protected from the chill, with their jackets fastened, ears covered by their hats and twenty little fingers encased in warm mittens.
‘It’s a day for the park, that’s fo’ sure.’ Jack had a passion for following meteorology and spent any free time on door duty surfing weather channels. ‘High of sixteen degrees, thirty-two percent clear skies and twenty-one percent chance of light rain but that won’t happen until after two p.m.’
‘Perfect. Nice change, isn’t it?’ As usual, Cameron’s mittens were hanging by the strings that attached them to his jacket sleeves. Charles pulled them over the small hands. ‘That was some storm we had the other day.’
‘Sure was. Won’t forget that in a hurry. Not with poor Maria crashing down the stairs like that.’ Jack shook his head. ‘How’s she doin’?’
‘Good, but I don’t want her coming back to work too soon. She won’t be up to lifting small boys out of trouble for a while.’ Charles tugged Max’s hat down over his ears. ‘You guys ready?’
‘Can we say “hi” to Horse?’
Charles glanced behind the boys, to the door that led to one of the two ground-floor apartments. He’d been tempted to knock on that door more than once in the last few days—ever since he’d heard the news that Grace had taken on the dog-sitting gig—but something had held him back.
Something odd that felt almost like shyness, which was ridiculous because hanging back had never been an attribute that anyone would associate with the Davenport family.
Maybe he was just waiting for it to happen naturally so that it didn’t seem like he was being pushy? He was her boss, after all. Or he would be, as soon as he got back to work properly. There were boundaries here and maybe Grace didn’t want to cross them, either. That might explain why she hadn’t knocked on his door.
He turned, holding out his hands. ‘Let’s go. Or you’ll be wanting a hotdog before we even get to the playground.’
Jack was holding open the front door, letting sunlight stream in to brighten the mosaic tiles of the entrance foyer, but the boys weren’t moving to take their father’s hands. They were going in the opposite direction, as the door behind Charles swung open.
‘Horse...’
The big woolly dog looked as pleased to see the twins as they were to see him. He stood there with what looked like a grin on his face, the long plume of his tail waving, as Cameron and Max wrapped their arms around his neck and buried their faces in his curls.
Grace was grinning as well, as she looked down at the reunion.
‘Oh, yeah...cuddles are the best way to start the day, aren’t they, Houston?’
She was still smiling as she looked up. The black woollen hat she was wearing made a frame that seemed to accentuate the brightness of that smile. A smile that went all the way to her eyes and made them sparkle.
‘We’re off to the park,’ she said. ‘It’s my first day off so I’m on dog-walking duty today.’
‘We’re going to the park, too,’ Cameron shouted. ‘You can come with us.’
‘I want to throw the ball for Horse.’ Max nodded.
‘I think he has to stay on his lead,’ Grace said. ‘I’ve been reading the rules this morning.’
Charles nodded. ‘And he’s not allowed in the playgrounds. But we can walk with him for a while.’
Grace’s smile seemed to wobble, as if a shadow