“Excuse me...”
With an apologetic smile to her colleagues, Alix gracefully weaved her way through the tables and out of the hall into the foyer. She found a quiet area and sat down on a plush sofa, next to another dazzling Christmas tree.
“Christy? Is everything okay?” She asked the question even though she knew things couldn’t possibly be okay. “Hello?”
For a moment Alix wondered if her friend had ended the call, but then she heard a muffled sound.
“Are you crying?” She sat up straighter. Her friend was more emotional than she was, but she didn’t often cry. “Christy?”
“I’m okay!” Christy sniffed. “Am I disturbing you? Has the award thing finished?”
“Yes. Boring anyway.” Alix eased her feet out of her shoes and rubbed her sore heels with her fingers. “Tell me why you’re awake at this hour.”
“I need a favor.”
“Name it.”
That was what friendship was, wasn’t it? Unconditional love and support. No matter what you need, I’m here for you.
There was a pause, as if Christy was struggling to get the words out. “I need you to take Holly to Lapland.”
“We are taking Holly to Lapland.”
“I mean you—not me. I can’t go right away.”
“I—What?” Of all the things she’d anticipated being asked, that wouldn’t even have made the list. “But this is the dream trip. The perfect Christmas. You’ve been planning it for ages.”
“I know. I’ll still be joining you. Just a few days later, that’s all. It’s fine.” The waver in her voice suggested differently. “But I need you to look after Holly.”
Alix stared at the enormous Christmas tree in front of her, a suspicion forming. “What’s happened? And where’s Seb in all this?”
“He has a meeting he has to attend. A w-work thing.” Christy stumbled over the words. “Disappointing, obviously, but one of those things. We’ll fly out together a few days later and join you.”
Work? Who blew off a long-planned trip to Lapland at Christmas to work?
Alix watched as a glamorous woman swept through the lobby on the arm of a good-looking man. He paused to kiss her, and she laughed and kissed him back, oblivious as to who might be watching.
Alix looked away. If Christy had been there she would have rolled her eyes at her friend. You’re so unromantic, Alix.
Maybe she was—but being unromantic had protected her from emotional disaster. She’d never suffered what other people called “a broken heart’. In fact, the last person she’d spent time with had questioned whether she even had a heart. Dating, in her opinion, wasn’t so different from recruitment. You drew up a job description and then looked for someone who was a good fit. Romance and passion were unpredictable and undefinable. Also unreliable. She wasn’t interested.
But she knew Christy was. Christy was the original romantic, and Seb had to know that by now. She frowned. Did he know that? Of course he couldn’t possibly know Christy as well as she did—after all, she’d had a twenty-year head start—but surely he knew that basic detail?
A colleague approached and she waved him away, indicating that she needed privacy. “It’s Christmas. Did he try telling his boss he’s taking his daughter on a dream trip to Lapland?” What boss would override that? “Couldn’t he say no?”
“No, he couldn’t. I’ve told you—he has to stay, so I’m going to stay with him. It will be good to have some adult time on our own, without Holly.”
But Christy had never left Holly for more than a few hours before. There was something her friend wasn’t telling her. What? And, more importantly, why? They had no secrets.
“Talk to me, Christy.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
Alix felt a flicker of unease. There was only one thing she could think of that Christy wouldn’t be straight with her about. Her marriage. Could she ask? No, definitely not. Not after the last time. Christy had forgiven her for interfering that time, but she might not do so again.
“Tell me how I can help.” Talk to me. I’m your best friend.
But Christy was probably waiting to see her in person to confide in her. Some things weren’t easy to talk about over the phone.
“Just say you’ll take Holly for me. You’re going anyway, so the only change for you is that you’ll have sole charge of her.”
Sole charge?
The focus of Alix’s anxiety shifted. She adored Holly. As far as Alix was concerned she was an extension of Christy. She couldn’t love the child more if she was her own. But look after her alone? That didn’t fit within her skill set. What if she cried? Missed her parents? What if she was unhappy and Alix messed it up? What if it turned into a Christmas she’d never forget for all the wrong reasons?
Christy might have forgiven Alix her frankness before the wedding, but she definitely wouldn’t forgive anything happening to her child.
“We both know I’m not the best person for this.”
“You’re the perfect person. She loves you.”
But what would happen to that love if Alix mishandled the situation?
“What if she has a horrible time? What if she’s emotionally scarred?”
“I’m asking you to take her to a winter wonderland for a few days—not raise her alone.”
“But I don’t know how to do the whole cozy family Christmas thing. That’s your domain. I just join in.” Alix ran her hand over the back of her neck. It was cold outside. How could it be so hot in this building? “This isn’t exactly babysitting for an evening. There’s the journey, for a start. And we’d be a long way from you.” The more she thought about it, the more the idea terrified her. “What if Holly misses you and has a tantrum?”
“She hasn’t had a tantrum since she was three, and hardly ever then. She’s very even-tempered—you know that. Happy. And she adores you.”
“But you know how adventurous she is. She has no concept of danger. What if she climbs on something while I’m not looking and has an accident?”
“She won’t, because you’ll be looking.”
She’d have to keep her eyes glued to the child. “What if she has a bad dream or something?”
“You’ll be there.”
“But she’d want you.” Her heart was hammering against her chest. “There wouldn’t be any backup.”