Page 103 of A Secret Cornish Wish
But Claire just gives a quick shake of her head.
‘Well,’ Suzy says. ‘As most of you know I’m now an MP in a constituency that has been a Conservative seat for far too long. I was over the moon to be elected when there was a by-election last year. I’m also married to Harry here.’ Like Mandy, Suzy squeezes Harry’s hand. ‘Apologies for not inviting any of you to our wedding a few years ago, but it was a very small, intimate affair abroad – wasn’t it?’
Harry nods.
‘Sadly, we’ve not been blessed with any children as yet, so we’re preparing to begin IVF treatment in a few weeks.’
‘Wow, that’s amazing, Suzy,’ Claire says. ‘I hope it works for you – really I do.’
‘How about you, Claire?’ Suzy asks. ‘Anything new to report?’
Claire firstly tells the table all about her children, then she goes on to talk about the women’s groups she runs. Also, how much she enjoys working here at Eddie and Dexter’s café. Then she gives a quick update on Eddie, because he and Dexter are still attending to their guests, and I wonder for the first time if she might know about the secret wedding.
‘Rob,’ she says at the end, and I’m grateful to her for not handing over to me. ‘I think we all know about you professionally, but do you have any other news?’
Rob smiles. ‘Thanks, Claire. Yes, I guess you all know about my movies. Acting is still going well – even though I’m getting a bit too old to play a superhero! It’s not quite as easy to get myself into that sort of shape these days.’
Rob does look like he’s lost some of the bulky muscle he was carrying the last time we saw him in St Felix. I hadn’t noticed until now, but his physique is much slighter than it was before. More like he used to be when we were at school.
‘But Rob is still getting lots of offers,’ Nixie says, speaking to us directly for the first time. ‘Hollywood still want you, don’t they, Rob?’
Rob smiles gratefully at Nixie. ‘Yeah, but does Rob still want Hollywood? That is the question,’ he says with a sombre expression. To which Nixie simply blinks back at him. ‘Of course he does!’ He quickly follows through with when we all look confused. ‘Guys, I’m only kidding with you.’
But there’s something about Rob’s grinning face that to me doesn’t quite feel as genuine as he’d want us to believe.
‘And I’m assuming Nixie is the current lady in your life?’ Mandy asks, raising her eyebrows. ‘You don’t expect us to believe she’s actually your PA.’
We all smile. But Rob looks a bit put out by Mandy’s assumption.
‘You can believe what you want, Amanda,’ he says, lifting up his bottle of beer. ‘But I can assure you that Nixie is employed as my personal assistant, aren’t you, Nixie?’
‘Yes,’ she says proudly. ‘I certainly am.’ She pulls a notebook and a phone out from her silver bag. ‘Is there anything you’d like me to do for you, sweetie?’
Rob shakes his head. ‘Not right now, thank you. You can put that away. I’ll let you know later.’
‘Should I go next?’ I ask reluctantly. I’m in absolutely no hurry to share what little news I have, but watching Rob and Nixie together is making me feel uncomfortable. ‘I have very little to report. The best thing in my life is sitting right here next to me.’ I put my arm around Rosie.
‘What about your job at the gallery?’ Suzy asks. ‘Are you still working there?’
I shake my head. ‘No, I left the gallery a while back.’
‘Where are you now?’ Suzy continues, obviously not realising this is something I don’t want to discuss.
‘I just have a little part-time job,’ I say, trying to sound upbeat. ‘It means I can spend more time with Rosie.’
‘Mummy was sad for a while,’ Rosie tells the table. ‘But she’s much better now.’
The others all look at me with various confused expressions, all except Claire and Mack.
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Mack says, rescuing me like I did Rob. ‘I know I’m not really a mermaid as such. But should I take a turn?’
‘Of course you should, Mack,’ Claire says hurriedly. ‘Just because you were a lovely late addition to our group, we still want to hear your news.’
I look gratefully at Mack, and he gives me a reassuring wink.
But before Mack can speak, a loud noise comes through the speakers surrounding the dance floor, like someone tapping a microphone.
We all look round to see Eddie holding a microphone in the middle of the dance floor, and standing next to him is Dexter.
