Page 30 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
Jeremy grunted in annoyance. “I suppose I’ll have to come down there and sort it out myself.”
“You don’t need to . . .” she protested quickly.
“It’s most inconvenient. It’s a busy time at the agency, and with you away Mother will probably have to draft in some help from one of the other offices.”
“There’s really no need for you to come down...”
“I don’t want to see you let yourself get ripped off by some cowboy. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
He ended the call abruptly. Vicky sat staring at her phone, a niggle of irritation thinning her mouth. Did he think she was five years old? It wasn’t the first time he’d spoken to her like that. Mostly she just let it go — it was easier than arguing with him.
But somehow just hearing his voice, without his forceful presence to back it up, she felt less inclined to ignore how it made her feel. Maybe it was time to assert herself a bit more. If he was like that now, before they were even married...
Spreading her hands flat on the table, she stared down at the diamond on her finger. It was a solitaire diamond, square cut, two carats on a plain platinum band — big enough to take someone’s eye out. It must have cost a lot of money. She had always been a little nervous about wearing it in case she lost it.
To be honest, that wasn’t the real reason she didn’t like wearing it. Jeremy had chosen it, but she didn’t like it very much — she never had. There was something... cold about it. With a small twist she slipped it off her finger and spread her hand on the table again, studying how it looked without the ring.
It looked okay . . .
“Are we going down to the beach then?”
Vicky slipped the ring back on her finger as her sister strolled into the kitchen. “Yes, if you like. I just need to wash up the lunch things.”
“Oh — okay. Don’t be long — I want to get down there while the sun’s still shining.”
“Maybe you could dry up then?” Vicky suggested blandly.
“I need to go and change into my bikini.” But Jayde hesitated in the doorway. “Is everything all right — between you and Jeremy, I mean?”
“Of course.” Vicky didn’t miss the knowing glint in her sister’s eyes. She drew the ring off again. “I think I might leave my ring at home. I’m afraid of losing it in the sand.”
“Oh . . . of course.”
* * *
If Jayde had been hoping to see Tom at the beach again she had been disappointed. But when they arrived at the Smugglers Arms that evening, he was there. The place was packed — apparently Friday night was darts night, and he was at the oche.
“Triple eighteen, double twelve, double fourteen,” the umpire counted out. “Score one hundred and six.”
There was applause from the spectators. “Well done, Tom!”
Vicky followed Jayde as she squeezed her way through the crowd. “White wine?” she asked.
But her sister’s attention was focussed laser-like on Tom. She wriggled her way through the crush around the dartboard and placed herself right opposite where he was standing. He acknowledged her with a brief smile, then went back to his conversation with one of the other players.
A flicker of annoyance crossed Jayde’s face. But she wasn’t one to give up so easily. She was attracting a lot of attention from all the other guys — that red dress was tight enough to start a riot. And she was lapping it up, while covertly watching to see if it was having the intended effect on Tom.
With a small sigh Vicky eased over to the bar to order their drinks. She could only hope that her sister wouldn’t get too drunk — she could be a bit embarrassing when she’d had a few too many.
“There you go, my luvver.” An elderly man with twinkling blue eyes above an impressively bushy white beard stepped aside to let her through.
“Thank you.” She smiled up at him. “It’s busy in here tonight.”
“Oh, ah — it is that.”
He seemed more than willing to chat — it was a relief to find a friendly face at last. “I suppose with the summer coming it’ll be even more crowded, with all the holidaymakers?”
“It certainly will.” He beamed. “Season’s just getting started. Once it starts up proper, place’ll be packed. Still, makes up for the winter. Ain’t that right, Alice?” he added to the barmaid who had come to take Vicky’s order.
