A Gift to Remember (39 page)

OK, so if he didn’t live with them, Darcy could maybe understand that they might not have missed Aidan for a couple of days at least, if they didn’t realise anything was wrong.

‘But what about your sister, the one you were supposed to meet at the airport that morning . . . surely she was worried when you didn’t show?’

And Darcy suddenly realised then that it was she – Aidan’s sister – who had left that first message on Will Anderson’s phone, the one about him forgetting and letting her
down.

He looked embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry to say that it wasn’t that out of the ordinary. Ciara knows how I am with work, and while I hate to admit it, the truth is I’ve let her
down before. She lives in San Diego and was stopping over for a quick visit on her way home to Dublin for Christmas. And because she knows I can often get caught up with work stuff, and also knows
that this was a – if not
the
– major flashpoint for the marriage breakup . . . well, she kind of covered for me.’

‘Covered for you?’

‘Yes. She made her own way to my place, the townhouse I moved to after the separation, and assuming I’d again got waylaid by something at work, went to visit Tessa and Mel, but
didn’t mention anything to them about me standing her up. Then the following day she went back to the airport and took her onward flight to Dublin as planned. She was pissed off that I
didn’t show and hadn’t returned her calls, but like I said, this kind of thing has happened before and so there was nothing to make her think anything out of the ordinary might have
happened.’ He looked at Darcy. ‘She actually joked about it not long before she arrived, telling me I thought I was Superman.’

Darcy couldn’t get her head around the fact that someone wouldn’t have noticed his absence. ‘So your daughter and your . . . wife, they didn’t think it strange not to
have heard from you either?’

‘Like I said, they know how my work is, and that last week was a particularly busy one. Mel stayed over with me at the brownstone one time and I’d been telling her that I had a
pressurised few days ahead. So I guess they just figured I was caught up in all of that.’

Darcy frowned. All the time she’d spent trying to find a friend or family member of Aidan’s, assuming they’d be going out of their minds with worry, when they had barely even
noticed his absence.

Judging by the hurt in his eyes, she guessed the realisation had hit him hard too.

‘So Will Anderson is tough to work for then?’ she asked.

‘Ah, so you figured out that part of the story since,’ he replied with a lopsided smile. ‘Yes, I’m sorry to say that I’m not the wealthy man about town you
imagined. That would be my boss.’

‘No need to apologise. It was my mistake for being so stupid for assuming things.’ Then Darcy thought of something else. ‘You said on the day of the accident that you were on
your way to the airport to pick up your sister. Then how come you had Bailey with you? And what about the package? Was that for her, Ciara? And what about the ballet tickets?’

Aidan sat forward and put his hands on his knees. ‘Mel is crazy into the ballerina stuff at the moment and I was planning on taking her to
The Nutcracker
as a treat, though I
hadn’t told her anything about it yet, thank goodness. And as for the package . . .’ He smiled. ‘Just so happens that it was a gift from Will to me, which I hadn’t yet had
the chance to open. I was running late and was just about to drop Bailey off to doggie daycare. Which is why I took that chance at the crosswalk.’ He looked guiltily at her.

Darcy’s eyes widened. ‘So the gift was yours all along – meant for you, I mean, not some special person.’

‘You don’t think I’m special?’ he teased, and she blushed a little.

‘So what was it – the gift, I mean?’ Darcy asked, though she figured it hardly mattered now. Still, the contents of the package had been driving her crazy all along and she
needed to satisfy that final curiosity.

He reached inside his jacket. ‘I kind of figured that, which is why I thought it best not to open it until you were here too.’

She laughed. ‘Seriously?’

‘Yes. Don’t get too excited though,’ he warned, his tone oddly flat. ‘I already have a pretty good idea what it is.’

The wrapped gift box lay between them on the bench, and Darcy wondered what he meant by that. He picked it up and handed to her. ‘First things first: are you a Will Anderson fan, by any
chance?’

‘Not especially.’ Darcy wasn’t going to admit that she’d come across Aidan’s illustrious boss in person once before, and hadn’t thought all that much of him.
‘Why do you ask?’

‘Because I think we’ve both figured out by now that this is a book, and I sort of have an inkling which book it might be too,’ he said, sliding open the ribbon. Then he handed
the package to Darcy. ‘Might as well let you do the honours.’

Surprised at his downbeat tone, she gently lifted off the lid of the box, and pushed back the tissue paper, only to discover that inside was a copy of one of Will Anderson’s forthcoming
Thrill Seeker books,
Hard Knocks.
Darcy couldn’t resist a smile at the altogether fitting title.

But now she also understood Aidan’s lack of enthusiasm about the contents. Talk about a let-down.

‘Oh.’

‘He does that all the time,’ Aidan sighed as Darcy handed the hardback book to him. ‘I have signed first editions of all four Max Bailey books now. Nice, if not exactly
inventive, if you know what I mean.’ He opened the book to the title page, intent on showing Darcy the signature, and as he did so, a white envelope slid out.

‘What’s that?’ she asked.

Aidan was frowning. ‘I’m not sure. He doesn’t usually put anything else in there.’ Opening up the envelope, he took out a small sheet of paper attached to what Darcy
thought looked like airline tickets.

Reading the note, Aidan said slowly, ‘I don’t believe it. Just when you think you know someone . . .’ He handed Darcy the note for her to read.

Saw these and I thought of you. Take a break, wingman – you’ve earned it! Thought your little girl might like to go along for the ride too. Go nuts on Guinness and thanks again
for everything. W

Darcy looked closer and saw that the destination listed on the airline ticket was Dublin and the date was the 27 December, three days from now.

‘I haven’t been back there in almost eight years,’ Aidan was saying, his eyes glistening a little. ‘It’s just my dad left at home now and the last few years, with
the separation and everything, have been tough. And before that Tess and I weren’t making enough money to go over.’

He went on to explain that the relationship had struggled since their move from Dublin to New York ten years before, especially when in the early days Aidan unexpectedly lost his job and was out
of work for a time.

‘Then when I got the job with Will, I was determined to do the best I could, but the long hours and being constantly on call . . . it took a real toll on us as a family.’

Darcy didn’t need too much imagination to fill in the blanks this time. Ultimately his commitment to the job had cost Aidan his marriage.

‘It wasn’t just that,’ he admitted when she gently suggested this. ‘Tessa never really took to the States. She’s a home bird, always has been, whereas Mel and I
really love it here, but for as long as Mel is happy, she’ll stay.’

Reading between the lines Darcy guessed that there were still a lot of issues surrounding his wife and his commitment to Will Anderson at the expense of their daughter. It was a difficult
position to be in. But it also highlighted how sad it was that his family were so used to him being at work’s beck and call that they had barely noticed him missing.

Will Anderson was right about one thing: Aidan deserved that break.

‘Mel will be over the moon when she hears about this; she hasn’t seen her grandfather since she was a kid.’ And then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said to Darcy,
‘I’ll only be gone for a week, you know – to Ireland, I mean.’

She looked at him, not sure what he was getting at. He put the tickets back into his pocket and turned towards her on the bench.

‘So about that story I was telling you,’ he said, his eyes crinkling in amusement again. ‘Seems that many of the loose ends have been tied up by now, but there’s still a
major plot strand that needs resolving.’

Darcy’s heart lifted a little. ‘Well, I believe you’ve read enough books to realise by now that not all stories end in happily ever after,’ she said, smiling.

‘I know that.’ His hazel eyes were soft and warm as he looked at her. ‘And I really don’t expect everything to be tied up with a big red bow, but for me there’s
nothing worse than an unsatisfying ending.’

Now she was smiling broadly. ‘With some stories, you really can’t rush things,’ she told him, ‘and it’s often best just to sit back and enjoy the journey for what
it is.’

‘I know what you mean. But you do recognise it though – the story I’m talking about?’ He reached for her hand and she turned to meet his gaze, those dark eyes now
completely earnest. ‘Because if you don’t, I think I’ll go out of my mind not knowing the ending.’

‘Ah, but the thing about books is that there
are
no real endings,’ Darcy said, gently moving towards Aidan, ‘only the place where you decide to stop the
story.’

I opened my eyes from where I lay in the bed.

I heard a small snore come from next to me and rolled on to my side. She lay there, an arm across her forehead, mumbling something in her sleep. I listened intently to what she was saying but
couldn’t make out the words

Dreaming again, I thought indulgently.

I moved closer and nuzzled her neck, laying some slow kisses along her collarbone. She jumped in her sleep and relaxed when she realised it was me, then blinked sleepily as she opened her eyes
and adjusted to the bright sunlight streaming in the windows. Another beautiful summer morning in New York City.

‘Mmmm, good morning,’ she smiled.

I put my arms around her waist and we lay face to face on our sides.

‘I’m assuming that one was a Heathcliff dream?’ I teased her.

She laughed. ‘Those guys are so persistent. But thanks for waking me up. My reality is so much better than anything my subconscious can come up with.’

Six months ago, I thought. Six short months since my whole life changed for the better. Of course, my living space is a little bit more cramped than it was before, but things are working out.
And I couldn’t be happier.

I kissed her gently and ran my hand down her face. I couldn’t believe just how much things had changed for me. For her. For us. I loved the fact that she lived here now. With me.

Even though there was barely any room for the two of us, and the extent of Will’s library now pales compared to the size of our combined book collections.

I loved the fact that Amelia loved her. And Tessa too.

Even Will seemed to have taken a shine to her. Although I’m not entirely sure if
that’s
a good thing.

And her terrifying Aunt Katherine seemed to approve of me too. I wasn’t even scared when the woman asked openly about how well Will paid me, and when Darcy could expect a ring.

All in good time.

First, we wanted to master living together, figure out the mechanics of the delicate matter of sharing our book collection, and helping get our new Manhattan Literary Walking Tours business up
and running. It’s early days but with Darcy’s city knowledge and my business know-how, I think we make a good team.

And then of course there was the whole distraction of the baby.

Almost as if they could tell I was thinking about them, I heard rustling noises on the other side of the door. ‘Dad! Darcy! Are you guys up?’ Mel called out, knocking on the door.
‘Lizzy’s awake.’

‘Hold on, I’m coming.’ Darcy sat up. She kissed my nose and grabbing a robe draped over a nearby chair, put it on.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and picked up a T-shirt, just as our bedroom door burst forth, and in came a jumble of legs and fur.

My beloved daughter and three-month-old Lizzy – one of Bailey’s progeny following Will’s recent decision to sire him. Can you guess who named her?

Surprisingly, it was Mel’s choice, suggesting it after Darcy had educated her on the finer points of Austen’s strong and witty female characters and immersed her in a Regency romance
reading marathon.

‘Can we go into the city and take Lizzy to the Park?’ asked my beaming daughter, who as always made my heart want to burst with love for her. ‘And when we’re there, can
we ride the carousel?’ she wanted to know, rubbing her face in the young Husky’s soft fluffy coat.

‘Ask Darcy, it’s her weekend to pick what we do this time.’

All heads turned in Darcy’s direction and she smiled mischievously.

‘Can we, Darcy, can we?’ Amelia cried.

Darcy tapped her finger on her lips, as if she was trying to determine if that’s what she wanted to do while drawing out her response for as long as possible. ‘Hmm . . . I suppose
that’s OK. As long as we can make a pit stop for something yummy while we’re there.’

‘Hooray!’ The cheers that came from my daughter’s mouth almost raised the roof.

I playfully rolled my eyes and she laughed, dragging Lizzy out of the room.

Darcy snuck up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. ‘It’ll be fun. Maybe we can stop off at Will’s and pick up Bailey too.’

‘Something yummy, you said – maybe Serendipity?’ I suggested, thinking that one of their famed frozen hot chocolates sounded good. ‘Though I suppose we should probably
phone and make a reservation,’ I added, going automatically into work-mode.

‘Nah, don’t bother. I know a better place – less touristy. And I was thinking doughnuts.’ Darcy ran a brush through her long, silken black hair and began the process of
getting ready.

‘Doughnuts? Sounds intriguing,’ I said, reaching for her and pulling her close.

‘Mini-doughnuts. Trust me, you’ll love this place.’

I leaned down to kiss her, realising I must be the luckiest guy in the world, to have literally been knocked off my feet by Darcy Archer.