‘Cheers!’
George raised his glass to salute her and once again downed the lot, causing Lexie to giggle before she reiterated her suggestion to make the next drink a soft one, or more usefully, a black coffee. She slid from the barstool and, to her surprise, George leaned forward to peck her on the cheek.
‘You’re a good ‘un, Lexie. Zara’s in safe hands. Thanks for all your hard work, especially after taking the whole gig over at the last minute.’
‘Oh, well, it was mostly Marley who…’
‘Take a compliment, lass. Credit where credit’s due, I say, credit where credit’s due! Is there any news from Marley about her sister?’
Lexie’s heart went out to this man. He had enough on his plate and all he could think about was how other people were doing. Zara was a lucky girl getting George as a father-in-law, which would go some way to make up for having a mother-in-law like Nadia.
‘She’s on the mend, I think, but it’ll be a slow process.’
‘Well, at least she doesn’t have to worry about her business whilst she’s away, with you and your young man helping out.’
‘My young man?’
‘Saw you scampering up the stairs together earlier.’ George winked. ‘Keen to grab a few stolen moments, eh? All this romance in the air, it’s bound to be infectious, isn’t it?’
‘What are you… oh, no, no, no, it’s nothing like that. That was Theo Barker, the guy who’s writing a piece for the Gazette’s wedding column. He was just helping me to…’
George raised his eyebrows and the words ‘likely story’ were written in his eyes and Lexie decided to stop before she dug herself an even deeper hole.
‘See you later, George – don’t forget – lemonade only!’
‘Scouts honour!’
Chapter Fifteen
As soon as everyone was seated at the immaculately presented table in the dining room for the rehearsal dinner, Lexie slipped away, leaving them to enjoy their meal. She had switched George from a seat next to Patrice to a seat between Dan and Rachel, something she knew Rachel would also thank her for. Jasmine had been seated between her brother and Jason, looking absolutely angelic in a lilac and white dress and matching hairband.
Zara and her mother Audrey had looked stunning in co-ordinating aquamarine outfits, Audrey’s a knee-length shift dress with matching bolero jacket and Zara’s a floor-scrapping chiffon gown with halter-neck and nipped in waist. Rachel had chosen to attend the dinner in a satsuma-coloured jumpsuit which hugged her curves and had Dan’s eyes popping out of his head, and Nadia looked like she’d just stepped off the set of Dynasty.
A whoosh of tiredness spread though Lexie’s bones and as she skipped down the stone steps at the front of the manor she was grateful she was on her way home at last, until she came to an abrupt halt in the car park and saw that Marley’s little red Mini Cooper wasn’t waiting to take her back to the flat.
Of course! Theo had dropped her off that morning!
She groaned and had just pulled out her mobile to call for a taxi when she heard the thrum of an engine coming from the front driveway and saw the familiar MG hove into view. She had never been so pleased to see an ancient sports car in her life.
‘Hey, thought you might need a lift home.’
‘You’re a life saver, Theo! Thanks.’
She sunk into the passenger seat, her feet immediately congratulating her for the respite, and Theo spun the car round and headed for the exit. They had travelled only half a mile or so when she looked out of the window and gasped.
‘Hey, this isn’t the way to Pengarth!’
‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with your observation skills.’
‘So, where are we going?’
‘It’s Saturday night, a time when hard-working people traditionally take a couple of hours off to have a little fun.’
‘Oh, Theo, I’m not sure I…’
‘Unfortunately, it’s non-negotiable. Ever heard of the mantra “all work and no play”?’
‘Of course, but the wedding is tomorrow, we both have an early start…’
‘I promise to get you home before you turn into a pumpkin. Okay?’
Lexie smiled at the offer of freedom he was extending. She could do with a night off from all the stress, the pressure, the trauma that had been following her around for what felt like months. As a money saving exercise, she and Elliot had agreed to forgo date night in the weeks leading up to the wedding – and look where that had left them.
‘So where are we going?’
‘It’s a surprise.’
‘Oh, God, don’t say that. I think I’ve had enough surprises to last me a lifetime!’
‘Well, this will be a good surprise – I hope.’
Lexie tipped her head against the headrest and watched the countryside, as familiar to her as the back of her hand, flash by. Late spring was one of her favourite times of the year. The clocks had sprung forward, the nights were getting lighter and wildlife had emerged from winter hibernation and were getting busy with their plans for the summer. It was six thirty and there were still a few hours of sunshine left to enjoy and a surge of gratitude suffused her body that Theo had persuaded her not to waste her time cooped up in her flat worrying about the next day’s potential disasters or fretting over whether she should call Elliot.
‘Okay, close your eyes.’
‘Close my eyes?’
‘For the surprise.’
‘Theo…’
‘Please, just humour me?’
‘Okay.’
A niggle of panic began to tickle at her stomach. What did he have planned? Hang-gliding? White water rafting? Sumo wrestling? Oh, no! Not one of his weird Extreme Ironing gigs? Please let it be something more sedate like the cinema, or a watercolour exhibition, or an open mic at the comedy club – all much more her sort of thing. She closed her eyes and screwed her hands into fists, sending up a fervent wish to her director of fate to be kind.
After only a few more minutes, she felt the car judder to a stop and Theo turned towards her.
‘Right, you can open your eyes now.’
She peered through the windscreen, initially unsure where they were, until she saw a gaggle of women dressed in pink baseball caps and diamond-patterned jumpers emerge from the side door of a wooden-clad building in front of her and clomp away in their hard-studded shoes towards a waiting buggy.
‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Not golf! I’ve never played a round in my life!’
Theo laughed, enjoying her horror.
‘I wouldn’t do that to you. Look, over there.’
Theo leaned towards her, dipped his head and pointed in the direction of a fenced off area encircled by a parade of thick shrubbery; the open gate abutted by what looked to Lexie like a garden shed.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s a mini-golf course. Come on!’
For a second her limbs refused to answer her request to get out of the car, but within moments a very animated Theo was wrenching open her door and pulling her out.
‘Theo, I’m not sure I—’
‘Don’t worry, no skill required, just the ability to have fun and don’t tell me you don’t know how to do that!’