‘I’m not the love of his life. He just thinks of me as a friend.’
‘Yeah right. Pull the other one.’
We reached the restaurant. Even though I’d received his note, I couldn’t help scanning the room for Stevie in case there’d been a change of plan. No such luck.
Clare took a seat, but I apologised and headed straight for the buffet table, grabbed myself a croissant, and eagerly took a huge bite on it. The nausea may have gone, but it came back if I didn’t eat regularly and, after a rather sparse dinner last night, I was ravenous.
As I was about to take my next bite, a hand on my shoulder made me jump. Stevie? But it wasn’t. ‘Kay! You frightened me.’
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to,’ she said. ‘Particularly given your condition.’
I bit my lip. There was no way I could deny it, especially as I knew my shocked expression would have given me away immediately. ‘I …’ But no words came.
Kay sighed. ‘Have you got a minute?’ Without waiting for me to answer, she marched out of the dining room.
I threw a worried look in Clare’s direction. She widened her eyes and shrugged. Taking a deep breath, I left the dining room and found Kay in a lounge area full of high-backed armchairs and leather sofas. She indicated that I should close the door. I couldn’t read her expression. Was she angry? Disappointed?
‘How long?’ she asked.
‘Twenty-one weeks.’
She paused. I could tell she was working out the date of conception. ‘Daniel’s?’
‘Yes.’
‘Does he know?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is he interested?’
‘No.’
She shook her head and sighed. ‘No surprise there, then.’
‘Are you angry with me?’
Her face softened. ‘Yes, I am, but not for the reason you think.’ She looked round the room and indicated a pair of chairs in the corner of the room. ‘Let’s sit.’
I realised I was still holding the croissant, although it was now crushed. I lay it on a nearby coffee table and brushed the crumbs off my hands before sitting down.
Kay sat forward in her chair. ‘I’m not angry with you for falling pregnant or making any sort of judgement about it so please don’t think that for one minute. I’m actually really thrilled for you… if it’s what you want. I’m assuming from conversations we’ve had that it is.’
‘It is.’
She smiled warmly. ‘Good. Then huge congratulations. You’ll make a wonderful mum, Elise. You really will.’
Her kind words meant a lot to me, especially as I wouldn’t hear any such praise from my own mother. ‘Thank you. How did you know? I’d have assumed Daniel told Philip, but you wouldn’t have needed to ask if it was his if that was the case.’
‘Daniel hasn’t breathed a word. I know I haven’t been around much lately, but you don’t live with someone in a two-bedroomed cottage and not notice things. There’ve been changes in your eating habits and your appearance. I’ve even heard you being sick. I didn’t have to be Miss Marple to work it out but I didn’t want to ask. I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.’
I fiddled with a loose thread on my jumper. ‘Is that why you’re angry with me?’
‘Angry may not be the right word. It’s a bit strong. I’d say… a bit miffed.’
‘So is that why you’re a bit miffed with me? For keeping it secret? I’m sorry, Kay. I should have told you, but—’
‘I’m not talking about me, sweetheart. I’m talking about Sarah. This is huge news and you haven’t shared it with your best friend. Yet, if I’m not mistaken, both Stevie and Clare know. And I believe Michael might too. A couple of comments he’s made make sense now. Am I right?’
I lowered my eyes. ‘You’re right. I didn’t set out to tell any of them. They all stumbled upon the news somehow. Nobody else knows. Not even my family.’
Kay reached forward and took my hand in hers. ‘You’re one of the kindest, most selfless people I’ve ever met, so I know that you’ll have had good reasons for keeping this a secret and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the reasons was avoiding stealing the spotlight.’
I looked up, surprised. ‘It was.’
She smiled. ‘It’s so like you to think about others like that, but secrets have a way of surfacing and, no matter how good your intentions were, this is one secret that should probably have been shared with your family and your best friend at least.’
‘Has Sarah said anything?’
Kay let go of my hand. ‘Not directly. She hasn’t guessed you’re pregnant, if that’s what you’re thinking. However, she has noticed the closeness between you and Clare and is confused by it after years of bad feeling between you both. She knows you’ve been confiding in each other and she suspects that Clare’s opened up about her past. Understandably, she finds that hurtful. She has no idea it’s you who has the secret.’
My stomach sank. Poor Sarah. I’d really screwed up. ‘I was going to tell her after her honeymoon.’
‘I think you should tell her now.’ Kay stood up. ‘Actually, I want you to tell her now. I can’t make you, of course, but you should be prepared for the repercussions on your friendship if you leave it any longer.’
‘You think it’s that bad?’
Kay nodded. ‘I do. Would you like me to see if she’s come down to breakfast and ask her to come and see you?’
I stood up, shaking my head. ‘No. This isn’t the time or the place.’
‘Will there ever be a right time or place?’
‘Probably not, but there’ll be better ones than this. I promise I’ll tell her before she goes and hope it’s not too late.’
‘I shouldn’t have left this until today.’ Sarah planted her hands on her hips the following day and shook her head at the piles of clothes on the bed. ‘I hate packing. Especially when it’s last minute like this.’
‘I thought you weren’t driving to the airport till teatime.’
‘We’re not. I’ve got six hours, but I’m still feeling that it’s too last minute.’
‘To be fair, you have had a wedding to think about, a shop to manage, and Christmas.’
She rubbed her hands across her face and shook her head. ‘What was I thinking, getting married so close to Christmas when I own a shop? Durr!’ She moved a pile of clothes aside and sat down on the bed. ‘I need to sit down and relax for a moment or I’m going to forget to pack something vital.’
She leaned across and moved a pile of clothes on the other side of the bed so I could sit down beside her. We both plumped the pillows and leaned back against the headboard.
‘Where’s Nick?’ I asked, wondering whether he was likely to walk in on me mid-confession.
‘I sent him out to The Old Theatre with Stevie for a full English. He’s rubbish at packing. He somehow manages to fill a suitcase with only three items of clothing. It’s quite a talent.’
My pulse raced at the mention of Stevie’s name and I hoped Sarah wouldn’t notice the colour in my cheeks. ‘I bet he does it deliberately so you relieve him of his packing duties.’