Page 53 of The Bad Mother's Diary

I asked Laura if she’d seen much of Zach, and she went all red and mumbled that it was early days.

Then I moaned about looking fat in my leggings.

Laura said, ‘You’re not even overweight. Just a tiny bit curvy in all the right places.’

I told her that Nick didn’t think so. And then I started to cry.

Laura and Brandi both put their arms around me and said I was beautiful.

Then Brandi said I should call off the wedding.

She really hates Nick.

I said there was no way in hell I would call off the wedding.

Nick is Daisy’s dad. He proposed, even when everyone said he wouldn’t, and the wedding will be a new start.

Laura said, ‘I’m sure Nick’s just going through a bad patch.’

I went to clean myself up in the loo, but it had one of those toilet attendants.

I always panic when there’s an attendant because I never know what to do.

Do you tip depending on what you’ve done in the toilet?

I’d only been for a wee, but I got all flustered and ended up dropping a fiver on her plate. So she must have definitely thought I’d been for a poo.

When I came back through the lobby, there was Alex Dalton. All tall and handsome, striding across the thick carpet.

He stopped dead when he saw me and said, ‘Juliette. What are you doing here?’

I told him I was having afternoon tea with my sisters.

He said, ‘You should have mentioned it. I could have got you the private sitting room.’

Then he said, ‘Hang on. Laura’s in there, is she? I wondered where Zachary disappeared to. Tell him to get a move on.’

Alex was right. Zach was in the dining room, leaning on the back of Laura’s chair.

Laura and Zach were looking at each other like I look at Daisy.

Brandi was tapping at her phone with long, sparkly fingernails, looking bored.

I told Zach I’d just seen his brother.

Zach said, ‘Christ – I should go. He tears my ears off if I’m late.’

Just as Zach was leaving, a bottle of champagne arrived at the table, ‘compliments of Mr Dalton’.

We all gushed and smiled and thanked Zach.

But Zach said, ‘Not from me. It must be from Alex.’

I looked out at the lobby and Alex was watching me, arms crossed.

I asked Zach why Alex would send us champagne.

Zach said, ‘Why wouldn’t he? Three beautiful ladies. Whose parents run a fabulous pub. Christ – I really should go. He hates me being late.’

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