Mix-Up under the Mistletoe (Glenbriar #11)

Chapter Six

Tilly

T illy’s hand shook as she pulled out her phone and swallowed back a lump in her throat. Tilly Thorpe didn’t cry about stuff like this. What was the point? Crying got her nowhere. When she’d cried as a child after Ellie ruined things for them, Ellie accused her of being too soft. And she couldn’t afford to be soft now. Not when she needed a calm mind, so she could leave here, and soon. It wasn’t like this had ever been a great idea. If only Rafe’s family hadn’t welcomed her in like an old friend. Being treated as someone they cared for and were happy to see made the situation so much worse, but she still didn’t get why. How could it be a mix-up?

No time to figure it out. She just needed to call a taxi and get far away from here. This scenario felt all too familiar. How often she’d left foster homes under a veil of sadness with a burning in her gut, her whole body gripped by helplessness and Ellie’s smug face grinning at her.

Ellie wasn’t here to scupper this, but Tilly had done it herself by being here in the first place. She didn’t belong here. When the meeting with Innova came up in January, she wouldn’t be part of it and just as well. She needed to get far from Rafe Harrington and his family. Her head pounded and her chest stung. She cringed over and over as she put the taxi number into her phone. Why hadn’t she anticipated this? She’d imagined the best possible outcome, but of course that was never going to happen. She was nothing but a 1-Quick spy. She’d infiltrated his home, intruded in his family life, stepped inside one of the dollhouses, and expected to be allowed to stay. But it wasn’t for her. It never was. These snapshots of other people’s lives were nothing more than glimpses into a passing reality. She didn’t know how to get herself into a world where hot chocolates with family and hugs in the kitchen were real.

No one was answering. The call rang off without even going to voicemail. She tried again in case her clumsy fingers and misty eyes had made her put in the wrong number.

What must the Harringtons think of her? Hilary, Genevieve and Rafe’s grandma had been so nice. Now they’d be raging. They’d shown her so much hospitality, but she was nothing but an unwanted trespasser at their family Christmas.

Still, the call wasn’t connecting. Tilly glanced out the window. The snow was heavier now and the thin layer on the ground was growing. What should she do? Try to walk? How far was it to get to Glenbriar, and would she make the train if she went on foot? It would be tight. It left in an hour.

She called again, pacing towards the window, and looking out over the long and very white garden. Beyond it, hills rolled into the distance, swathed in fir trees that were snow-covered like an iced Christmas cake. Could anything be prettier?

The call connected.

‘Hi, I wonder if you could come for me at Greenacres and take me to Glenbriar.’

Some static on the line cut off the first part of the man’s words. ‘Five o’clock is the earliest time I’ve got, lass. And the weather isn’t getting any better. I’m not sure the road’ll be passable by then.’

‘Oh… Right. Five is too late. Um, ok. Thanks.’ She ended the call. How would she get back to the town for her train?

There must be other taxi companies. She could make a start and call them as she walked. But first, she needed to retrieve her case from the hall. She opened the door Genevieve had led her in and made her way back. Her heart leapt a mile when she saw Rafe standing there. She’d assumed he would be with his family, probably complaining about her. He glanced up from his phone and smiled – actually smiled. Ok. That was unexpected. Her already shaky heartrate spiked, and she held her breath.

‘Everything ok?’ he said.

‘I’ll leave you now. I just need my case.’

‘Here.’ He lifted it, extended the handle, and passed it over to her. ‘You can wait in here until the taxi comes. No point going outside in this weather.’ He peered through the narrow side window that ran up the length of the door. ‘It’s getting heavy. I hope the taxi can get down the driveway; it’s pretty steep. He might get down then not get out again.’

‘The taxi isn’t coming. Or at least I haven’t found one that can.’ Tilly fastened her coat. ‘I’ll walk while I look for another company or see if there’s a bus. I need to catch a train in an hour and if I wait for the taxi, it’ll be too late.’ She reached for the door handle.

‘Wait a second,’ he said. ‘You can’t walk to the station from here. Well, you can, but it’ll take over an hour and it’s definitely not a sensible idea in this weather.’

‘I’m sure a bus will go past, or I’ll hitch a lift or something.’ Though she didn’t really like that idea.

‘There are no buses out here.’ He frowned at the view beyond the window again and ran his hand around his jaw. ‘I can’t let you go out in that. It wouldn’t be right. Let me take you to the station.’

‘No,’ she said very quickly. ‘I can’t. I shouldn’t be here at all. No way am I going to drag you away from your family anymore.’

‘I can’t in all conscience let you walk to the station. I have a Raptor that’ll get through this. It won’t take long.’

She didn’t want to ask what a Raptor was. ‘No, really. I feel terrible.’

‘Well, don’t.’ He shifted closer to her, so that he was blocking the door with his considerable height and broad shoulders. Running his fingers through his hair, he watched her for a moment, and her cheeks burned under his scrutiny. ‘I have a confession to make.’

‘What do you mean?’

He sighed, and the expanse of his chest, under his ribbed sweater, rose and fell. ‘When I heard 1-Quick were scouting for information and looking to expand their reach, I looked at their website. When I was scrolling, I saw your picture.’ He glanced at his feet and the corners of his lips turned up. ‘Your smile… It spoke to me.’ He raised his eyes to her face again. ‘I know that sounds stupid.’

Tilly kept her eyes on his, listening, but barely comprehending where this was going.

‘Later on, my sister was quizzing me about girlfriends and asking if I was bringing anyone here for Christmas this year.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘So I made up a silly lie to tease her and said I had a girlfriend and she lived in London.’ With a helpless shrug, he held out his hands. ‘And her name was Tilly Thorpe. Sorry.’ He pulled a face. ‘I never expected to meet you, so I thought it was a harmless thing to say.’

‘But…’ Tilly frowned. ‘So, they thought I was your…’

‘Girlfriend, yeah.’

‘Wow.’ Tilly wasn’t sure what else to say. The whole situation was crazy. Beyond crazy. It was impossible.

‘Of all the people… and then you turn up.’ His eyes snared her again, and he shook his head like he almost didn’t believe she was real. Maybe she should pinch herself and check.

‘It really is a mix-up, and a weirder one than I thought.’ She gave him a little smile.

‘It’s pretty embarrassing,’ he said. ‘Now you see what a sad case I am.’

‘I’m sure you’re not.’

He pulled an uncertain face. ‘I definitely shouldn’t get off scot-free. So, let me give you a lift to the station, ok? That might go some way towards me making up for using you without your knowledge or consent in my deception.’

‘Ok.’ She couldn’t deny how much easier it would be if he drove her. And he didn’t seem quite so intimidating or annoyed now. In fact, he seemed decent… Nice even, like how she’d imagined him from his picture.

‘I’ll just tell my mum I’m giving you a lift. She’ll have a million questions, but they can wait. Here.’ He handed her a little black keycard. ‘Jump into the Raptor. I’ll be there in a second.’

Tilly headed across the snowy drive and saw a large black and very shiny pickup style truck parked there. As she approached, the doors clicked open without her touching anything like it sensed her – though obviously it was the key it sensed, but still, it felt like magic. This must be the Raptor. She jumped in. Could anything more bizarre happen today? She needed to get on the train and back to London, away from this wild place. But her heart wept a little. How beautiful it would have been to stay here.

Don’t! It’s not possible .

She knew better than to torture herself with false hope. The door on this dollhouse would close and she’d be back on the outside where she belonged.

Rafe closed the house door and trotted across the drive into the car. He cut a handsome dash in his outdoor wear and Tilly tried to ignore a little spark in her tummy she was starting to feel every time she saw him.

‘That wasn’t pleasant,’ he said. ‘Mum, Grandma and Genevieve all want to come out and speak to you, but I asked them not to. I didn’t have time to fully explain. They think we’re breaking up. God knows what they’ll think when they find out we were never actually together.’

Tilly couldn’t begin to imagine, but that part of the problem was his. She’d be long gone by the time he had to explain. The wheels spun a little as he manoeuvred the Raptor up the hill.

‘What will you tell the people at 1-Quick about me?’ he asked.

‘Nothing. I don’t think I’ll even mention that we met.’ She looked out the window, her chest heavy again. ‘I shouldn’t have come.’ But Mitchell knew she had and would want to know how she got on. Her stupidity wouldn’t be rewarded with a promotion for Christmas. She might even be sacked for this cockup, and where would that leave her?

‘You’re tenacious, I’ll give you that.’

‘I’m not really.’ That definitely wasn’t a name she’d ever been called before.

‘Then why did you do it?’

She let out a sigh. ‘Because I’m totally inexperienced at this kind of thing. I thought my boss would be happy if I made contact, but I doubt he will be now.’ How could she have been so stupid?

‘It’s water under the bridge. Don’t let it bother you.’

How kind of him, but the whole situation was cringeworthy. Occasionally, she’d thought some of 1-Quick’s methods unethical, but she was never sure who was safe to talk to, or if it was her place to say. Arnie always seemed approachable, but she couldn’t be certain the directions were straight from him or from someone above him. Now instead of speaking up, she’d jumped under the 1-Quick cloak and was as bad as anyone else.

‘You just go home and enjoy Christmas. Don’t think anymore about this,’ he said.

‘Hmm,’ she mumbled. ‘It’s not exactly my favourite time of year.’ Though maybe if she lived in a winter wonderland like this, she might change her mind.

‘Me neither,’ Rafe said.

‘Really?’ She turned to look at him. ‘But your family seem to love it.’

‘Yes, they do. Maybe I should make more of an effort, but it just seems like such a lot of work for just one day. A bit like having a wedding every year.’

‘I wouldn’t know.’ Tilly looked out the window again. ‘I’ve never had a wedding.’

‘I have, and it was a lot of money for… Well, we didn’t exactly stay married long enough to make it worth it.’

‘You’re divorced?’

‘Yup.’

At least he’d made it that far. Her relationship record was as pitiful as the rest of her history. Being alone was pretty much standard for her now. It saved her the pain of break ups when potential lovers got annoyed with her being clingy and needy, or falling too fast and rushing them into places they didn’t want to go.

Rafe pulled up outside the station in the little car park. ‘Here you go. You should make your train in plenty of time.’

‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘And I really am sorry for all the hassle I’ve caused you.’

‘Don’t worry. I’m glad you did. It was nice to meet you in person.’ He looked at her and his lips curled up. She couldn’t help but mirror him. ‘Tilly Thorpe.’ As he said her name, his smile grew wider. ‘I apologise for using your name the way I did.’

‘Well, you must have been nice about me because your family were so kind. I should have thanked them before I left.’

‘I’ll let them know.’ His eyes held hers, and she found herself unable to move. She didn’t want to leave him so soon. It felt like she’d only just found him, and even though she didn’t know him, there was something reassuring about his presence.

‘Ok,’ she murmured, not sure if the word had come out.

‘Take care,’ Rafe said. ‘Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again.’

‘Maybe.’ But would that be a good thing? Not if it made her chest ache the way it was doing right now.

She opened the door, took her case, and got out. For a moment, she looked back at Rafe. A lump swelled in her throat. She swallowed it down, shut the door and almost ran towards the platform. She must not look back.

Let him go.

They should never have met in the first place.

And yet, they had. She trundled her case onto the platform. The little bookshop was closed for the day and all she could do was look in the window… as ever.

She glanced at the overhead departure sign and her heart fell a thousand miles.

Cancelled. Cancelled. Cancelled.

All the trains were cancelled due to the bad weather. No way. What was she going to do?

There were no places to stay; she’d checked earlier, and the nearest ones were in Perth, about twenty miles away. Could she get a bus? Would they still be running? The snow was still falling, and the light was fading. She’d read that it got dark up here around four o’clock in December. There was only half an hour of daylight left… Then what?

She was stranded alone in the cold, with no idea what to do next. Sitting down on a bench under the canopy, she put her head in her hands, barely holding back tears. They wanted to come, but she didn’t let them. Crying alone was pointless. She’d been there, done that too many times. No one would come. No one ever did. There was no one to comfort her when it all got too much. There never had been and most likely never would be.

Some voices and laughter made her look up. A group of young people had made their way onto the platform. They moaned and shouted when they saw the trains were cancelled, then burst out laughing and left, slapping their arms around each other’s shoulders. Tilly swallowed back more tears. These people had people. But she only had herself.

She’d have to use that and do something. No point sitting here, moping. She got to her feet and took a deep breath. She could do this.