‘It doesn’t matter. What matters is helping Finn to make this a wonderful proposal. I can’t wait to see Titus’ face.’
‘He’s going to have a surprise for sure.’ Lucas reached out and grabbed a packet from the shelf. ‘Green crepe paper.’
‘Excellent. Can you grab some more? We also need red, gold and silver.’
‘Sure.’
They worked their way along the aisle putting cotton wool, glue, glitter, and other items into the trolley. Thora felt at ease with Lucas in this situation and she could let her shoulders relax and exhale the tension that had built when Finn had spotted Lucas’ car. It was OK, she told herself. Lucas was a friend and they could chat as easily as they used to do. There was no pressure. They were simply getting to know each other again.
‘What’s next?’ he asked as they reached the end of the aisle.
‘We need some … boxes.’
‘What type?’ He frowned.
‘Different sizes and colours. The kind you put Christmas gifts in.’
‘OK then.’
They found the correct aisle and strolled along, collecting what they needed.
‘I wish I’d proposed to you,’ Lucas said, making Thora freeze on the spot like they were playing musical statues.
‘P-pardon?’ She turned to face him and saw that he was deadly serious.
‘I was an idiot. I should have come back to Cornwall after you left London and proposed in a way that made you understand how much I loved you.’
‘Oh Lucas…’ She stepped closer and touched his arm. ‘Please don’t do this to yourself now. There’s no point.’
‘But Thora … I can’t help thinking about it. If I’d just…’
‘Hey…’ She reached up and pressed her right hand to his cheek, felt the scrape of stubble on his skin beneath her palm. ‘It’s OK.’
His eyes drank her in and she felt the heat of his body, smelt the mint on his breath and the spicey-woodsy cologne he was wearing. Her skin tingled, as he leant closer to her, his gaze moving to her lips. When he kissed her, the ground beneath her feet shifted and she grabbed his shoulders and held on tight. His hands were on the small of her back and he was supporting her, keeping her upright with his strength. It had been so long since a man had held her this way and she felt the years falling away. She was no longer worried about anything other than this moment, right here and now. They kissed for what felt like hours, but it must have been mere seconds and she realised she could hear giggling. She pulled away from Lucas and met his eyes, then turned her head and spotted Rosie.
‘Shit!’ she muttered as she pushed away from Lucas. He’d turned to the shelves and was feigning interest in some Christmas gift bags hanging on the arm of a large plastic Santa that had seen better days. Its one eye stared up at the ceiling and the other down at the tiled floor while its red jerkin was open at the front exposing a sagging plastic belly. Someone had scrawled graffiti on the belly, words that would make a sailor blush. ‘Oh, hey Rosie.’ Thora looked at her daughter as she adjusted her bobble hat. ‘How’s it going?’
Rosie raised her perfectly shaped brows and folded her arms across her chest. ‘Fine, Mum. We’ve got what we needed apartfrom some tiny bells. I’m more interested in what’s going on here.’
‘Oh … I had something in my eye, didn’t I, Lucas?’
He turned around and nodded. ‘Glitter.’ His cheeks were scarlet and his lips were glossy with coconut lip balm that had transferred from Thora. ‘Your mum had glitter in her eye and I was getting it out and then I slipped and I … Well, I slipped and?—.’
‘And Reggie can bottom burp jingle bells!’ Rosie laughed. ‘I’m almost sixteen, you guys. I can tell when two adults have the hots for each other. Just next time, get a room because no one wants to see that!’ She made a vomiting action, sticking her finger down her throat and rolling her eyes. ‘Anyway, Dad said we’ll meet you at the tills in ten minutes.’
‘See you there,’ Thora said, but her voice wavered, and so she coughed to clear her throat. ‘And … I’m sorry you saw that.’
Rosie’s face softened, and she said, ‘I didn’t see anything, Mum. Just Lucas being kind as he helped you get the glitter out of your eye. See you in a bit.’
Rosie disappeared around the end of the aisle and Thora placed a hand on the closest shelf and closed her eyes while she took some slow breaths to calm herself down.
‘Thora?’
She opened her eyes to find Lucas watching her, his face a mask of concern. ‘I’m so sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just … It’s you. I can’t seem to help myself,’ he said.
‘I’m the same, so don’t apologise, but do you see how embarrassing that was for me? My daughter caught us kissing. Ican remember what it was like at that age and to even think that your parents could be sexual beings was just gross.’
‘Yeah … It’s not what any kid wants to think about, right?’ He grimaced. ‘And yet here we are, over forty and still frisky for each other.’
