Page 90 of Starlight at Snow Pine Lodge
Lysander laughed, cocking an eyebrow at the pair of them. ‘You might have nailed it this time, then, my sister dearest. Let’s watch this space, see how it all shapes up. It would be good to finally get her off the street.’ He threw her a theatrical kiss, making his margarita slop over the edge of the glass and run down his hand. ‘Damn. Anyway, that wasn’t what this was meant to be about. Although I suppose, in a way, it’s all linked. You know, how fate or circumstance or whatever means that chance meetings can lead to so much, while in turn we struggle so much with the people we’re destined to be with forever.’
Clara drew in and held a breath as Lysander’s gaze slipped to Tania, his chin dipped, his expression momentarily one of a little boy needing a hug. Tania mouthed something that looked likeIt’s OK. Then she nodded and his concentration shifted again, this time to the star-studded night sky outside the picture window. ‘I love this place,’ he said. ‘Always have.’ Without warning, he strode between them, heading for the window, leaving the semicircle of his audience turning in his wake.
‘Are you done?’ Tania said, her face a hotchpotch of bemused surprise, still with its back note of concern. ‘He never normally walks away from a captive audience.’
‘Maybe I’ve changed,’ he said. ‘Maybe we’re all changing. Growing up. Getting to grips with the hand life’s willing to deal us. I’m not trying to bring the mood down …’
‘So, shut up and drink the bloody cocktail instead, Sander.’
‘In a second. Thing is, what I really wanted to say was that although I’ve met more than my fair share of A-listers and celebrities, even royalty– so many stars– I’ve reached the conclusion that this little group of people right here– you– are the brightest stars in my life. You’re also the strongest people I know, and …’ He crossed the room again and took Clara’s hand. ‘I also know that we’re all going to be just fine, because we’re going to stick together. We’re going to help one another make it to tomorrow, and the next day and the day after that. That’s all I wanted to say.’
‘Took you long enough,’ Tania said, but she was smiling.
He raised his glass. ‘A toast– to Snow Pine Lodge and the mountains; to the people we treasure, however near to us or far away they might be; and to squeezing every last drop of happiness out of our todays and our tomorrows.’
As she sipped her margarita and felt Lysander’s fingers squeeze hard around her own, Clara wasn’t at all sure he’d remember his toast tomorrow, or his promise, judging by the bright pinpricks of heat in his cheeks and his current level of agitation as he jiggled and spilled more of his drink. And she knew that for her, happiness would be hard won, certainly in the near future. But as she glanced around the group, at Madeleine and Rose clinking glasses, their focus totally on one another; at Gull bending to kiss the trace of cocktail from Tania’s lips; at Tom’s gentle open smile as he slipped his juice onto the table and passed Lysander a napkin to mop his hand, she could at least imagine that there would be days to come. And, for the first time in a long time she wanted to find out what tomorrow would bring.
