Charming Idea Mar

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.He wasn’t a fan of the thing, and if he could do without it, he would.“Yep, I literally just closed up a few minutes ago.I’m heading home now.Has Aunt Em started bringing out the food yet?”“Her and Mum are still locked in the kitchen.And actually, I’m calling because Lily has a request for you.She’s a bit upset that you won’t be spending Christmas with us.”Lily was Keller’s daughter and Evan’s only niece, and she’d come out looking more like Evan than either of her parents.Whereas Keller had their mother’s looks—pale-blonde hair that fell straight as an arrow down her back and their mother’s rich-blue eyes—Evan had come out quite different, not exactly like their dad but definitely favoring his genes.His hair was curly and the color of copper.It fell in his eyes all the time, always getting trapped between his glasses which didn’t quite help.He’d also inherited the freckles.They crossed over the bridge of his nose, like a wave in the palest of browns.He had them on the backs of his hands and the curves of his shoulders too.The only thing he had in common with Keller and his mother was his mouth, a bit wide and thin, but the heart-shaped upper lip was there.Lily was like a miniature version of him—except she had pigtails and the curls suited her a lot better than they did him.She had her mother’s blue eyes and was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen.He’d miss her this Christmas.He’d miss them all really.Evan dropped his eyes to the floor, rubbing absently at the small ache in his chest.“I’m sorry, Kel, but I couldn’t afford to close.Tell Lily I miss her and I’ll see her soon.”He heard his sister sigh on the other side of the line.“I know.And mum knows too, but she just doesn’t want you to be lonely.Hence the pestering, etc.”“Hmm.Well, what’s Lily’s request then?” He kicked at a clump of ice that hadn’t quite melted into slush yet and sidestepped a lady wobbling down the street, hands weighed down by too many shopping bags.He checked the cars coming down the street and ran across, catching the warm and inviting smell of roasted peanuts from the vender on the corner.“She says she’d like snow for Christmas morning,” she said, tone dry, “apparently no one can make it snow like Uncle Evan.”Evan laughed at that, reaching up to push his glasses back up on his nose where they were sliding.“Yes, alright.Tell her to keep an eye on the window tomorrow.Oh, and tell her I’ve got her present all pretty and nice tucked under the tree.I think Lily will like this year’s one.”His sister groaned.“As long as it’s not a present that will kill all my flowers again.Really didn’t appreciate that one, Evan.”“So you’ve said, multiple times.No, this shouldn’t kill anything.”“Well okay.” There was a pause and then he heard her sigh.“Are you sure you’re going to be okay down there on your own? We’ve never really spent Christmas apart.I bet if you hurried now, you could make it in time for tomorrow?”“You worry too much.I’ll be fine.Mrs.Halfpenny from upstairs already cooked me up a batch of Christmas dinner, said she didn’t want me to starve all alone.I’m not even joking.” He was trying not to think about the monstrosity in his fridge.Mrs.Halfpenny was a lovely elderly lady who had a knack for pinching his arse every time she caught him with his back turned and always insisted on cooking for him when she thought he needed “fattening up.” He couldn’t complain.She cooked like she’d been given cooking powers from an angel.This year, when she’d handed him the goods, it had been with another one of those small pats on his arse and an assuring, “Don’t worry, dear, I’m sure you won’t be spending your holidays alone much longer.A catch like you will have a lovely partner in no time, you’ll see.”It had been a bit out of the blue, but then Mrs.Halfpenny wasn’t exactly predictable.“Oh”—Evan could practically hear the envy—“she did, did she? Lucky bastard.Enjoy, I guess.”“I’ll try my best,” he said, laughing as he slipped into one of the back streets that would take him around Chinatown and to his building.It wasn’t that far away from the store.Just about a fifteen-minute walk; although in this cold weather, even that was a bit too much.Still, the bus he could take would just go on a longer route, and he’d get home faster if he walked it.“What about your other neighbor? You know, the one who looks at you like he wants you to disappear into a black hole?”“I think he does want me to disappear into a black hole.What about him?”“Is he going to be spreading Christmas cheer too?”Evan snorted.Mr.Second Floor wizard was not the constant sunshine that Mrs [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Pokrewne