Page 102 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
“Goodbye.”
At least by the end of the call Jayde had had the grace to sound a little contrite. Though they hadn’t been close for a long time Vicky had always been fond of her sister. She hoped that somehow they could rebuild that bond, for her mother and stepfather’s sake.
And she had felt better for saying what had needed to be said.
Her mother picked up a plate of pizza fingers. “I’ll just take these through.”
Vicky began to load some more mini sausage rolls onto a plate, but turned as Lisa came into the kitchen. “Hi — just came to get some more wine.”
“Here.” Vicky gestured towards the row of bottles on the worktop. “There’s plenty.”
Lisa selected a bottle of red and one of white. “It’s a really good party. Everyone’s saying that.”
“It’s certainly a lot more fun than the ones we used to have with Jeremy’s friends.” Now she did roll her eyes. “All terribly sophisticated,dahling, with everyone standing around sipping wine and claiming they could detect a hint of dried cherries, sandalwood and tar.”
Lisa laughed. “Sounds like you had a lucky escape.”
“I certainly did.”
Lisa leaned her hip against the worktop. “I never met him, and I might be biased — being related by marriage and all — but I’d say Tom’s a much better catch.”
Vicky glanced down at her ring. “He is.” Her mouth quirked into a crooked smile. “I can’t believe Nyree Donovan tossed him back in the pool, even for a part in a big TV series.”
Lisa returned her a look of quizzical surprise. “That’s not quite how it was.”
“Oh?”
“I thought you’d come in here to get more wine?” They both turned as Tom appeared in the doorway. “People are dying of thirst out there.”
“Just going.” Lisa’s eyes danced, and impulsively she wrapped her arms around Vicky in a warm hug. “Ask him about it!”
He smiled that heart-bumping smile as he strolled across the kitchen to Vicky. “Great party.”
“So people keep telling me.”
He glanced at the glasses on the draining board. “Have you been washing up?”
“No — that was my mum.”
“Being sensible?”
“And practical.”
“Ask me about what?”
Damn — she was hoping he hadn’t heard that. But if she was ever going to resolve all the questions lurking in her mind she had to ask him. “We were talking about Nyree.”
“Nyree?”
“Your ex-fiancée.”
He laughed without humour. “Yes, I know who she is.” His gaze flickered away from hers, then returned. “She’s an actress — she was down here filming for a television series.” His voice was cool, almost detached. “She’s beautiful — absolutely stunning. Hit me like a ton of bricks — and she seemed to feel the same. We were engaged inside of a month.”
He reached out to filch one of the sausage rolls.
“At first it was... She seemed to be really enthusiastic about living down here. She was talking about starting up her own theatre company, having people come down for holidays and theatre workshops, as well as performances. It was going to be a really big thing.”
Vicky could feel a knot of tension coiling in her stomach.
