Page 42 of A Winter Wish

“Theo’s quite cute, to be fair,” Rachel said.

“No, he’s not.” Cute was definitely not a word she’d use to describe him. “Shall we walk?” Lexie gestured down the street and Rachel nodded.

Together, they started walking, past some of the shops that Lexie had gotten to know since being here. She imagined it would go away after a year of living here, but for now she loved this, just meandering through Bath, especially on a day like today. There were a few places, in all her traveling around, that made her feel like she belonged, like the place was welcoming her in—and Bath was one of them. It was hard to imagine anyone would dislike it here—the gorgeous architecture always gave you something to look at, and there was always another cool little side street to explore, with a café or an independent shop waiting for you.

“He is once you get to know him. Theo, I mean.”

Lexie glanced at Rachel. She had to be around ten years younger than Theo, but still…“Is there something going on between you two?” She figured it would be better to know now, if so.

Rachel laughed, making Lexie feel instantly ridiculous. “No. He’s not my type, trust me. We’re just…friends I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Yeah, well, we’d spend time together with Dad, sometimes, like we’d all have dinner together or whatever, and we sort of…got to know each other, through that.” She shot Lexie a glance, like she might be worried about bringing Richard up so soon.

And there it was—another reminder that Theo knew Richard, the Richard of more recent years at least, a hell of a lot better than Lexie did. They took a left, and Lexie knew they were heading toward the abbey courtyard. For a moment they walked in awkward silence. Lexie tried to think of an arbitrary question to ask but came up blank.

They stopped as the courtyard opened up, a decent-size crowd sitting at the cafés on either side and milling about the shops, even though it was a weekday. A building with big sandstone pillars stood to their right, majestic in a way only a café in Bath could be, and up ahead was the Abbey itself in all its glory. Gorgeous stained-glass windows, columns of honey-gold stone, and towers that stretched into the blue sky.

“I really want a coffee,” Rachel said. “Don’t suppose you fancy one?”

Lexie was trying to cut back, but the smell of it was lingering in the air. So they got one to take away, then sat on one of the benches in the middle of the courtyard, facing the abbey.

“This is awkward, I know,” Rachel said, when they couldn’t pretend to be busy with balancing their coffees anymore. “And I know it’s weird to just show up and I know you sent me that message saying it was all fine, but I…I wanted to talk in person.” She took a big gulp of her cappuccino and then winced, like it was too hot.

“About the house?” Lexie asked after a beat. Might as well get it over and done with.

“Yeah. Partly. Mainly.”

“Is that why you’re over this way? To check up on the house? Because you don’t live here, right? You live in Wales?”

“I live in Cardiff now, yeah. And yes, I mean it’s useful to pop into the estate agents—selling a house is, apparently, really complicated. But I came here to see you.”

Lexie glanced sideways at her. “You drove all the way here to see if I was around?”

Rachel wrinkled her nose, and Lexie had the flash of a little Rachel, no more than five, who had made an expression just like that behind her mum’s back when she’d been asked to finish her broccoli. Did Rachel still hate broccoli? Probably not.

“I’ve been told I can get a little obsessive at times,” Rachel admitted.

Lexie found herself laughing, and Rachel gave her a guilty smile. “Good to know,” Lexie said.

Rachel lifted her coffee to her lips again, and Lexie caught the glint of a ring on her finger, a blue sapphire.

“Nice ring,” Lexie said casually.

Rachel glanced down, then positioned her hand so that the ring was obscured by the coffee cup. “Thanks.” It was a weird reaction to just a ring, but Lexie didn’t pry—she knew what it was like when you didn’t want to talk about something.

“You’re selling the house, then?” she asked instead. “You weren’t tempted to live there?” Although, at twenty-two, maybe a house would be a bit too much responsibility to take on? It certainly would have been for her, at that age. Come to think of it, it still sounded like a bit too much commitment, even now.

Rachel bit her lip. “I didn’t want…I didn’t want to move here and, you know, intrude. I knew you were going to be here for a bit.”

Lexie wondered how she’d gathered all her information. Theo? Though of course it had been in the will, so Rachel would have known from that that Lexie had inherited half the company. Maybe Rachel didn’t know Lexie had run from it at first.

Lexie blew out a breath. “Bath’s not mine,” she said. “My mum doesn’t live here—she’s still in Frome. And I’m only here for a year—less, now, actually. You shouldn’t not live here because of me.” She hadn’t even thought that this would be a consideration.

“It’s not just that.” She twisted the ring on her left hand, not seeming to notice she was doing it. “I already have somewhere to live. And it’s…It’s Dad’s house, you know?” Lexie nodded, even though she didn’t really know. She didn’t know what it would be like, to go into his house and see everything he’d left behind—but she didn’t think she’d feel the same about it as Rachel did.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel said quietly. “About the house.”