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Henry managed a rueful smile. ‘It was an experience, and not one I’m intending to repeat.’
‘Din-dins!’ Arthur shouted. ‘Take your seats!’ Pulling a walkie-talkie from a patchwork bag, he pressed the call button. ‘Foxbrooke One to the kitchen, over!’
There was a crackle, then Perry spoke. ‘Roger that, Foxbrooke One. Red Leader on standby, over.’
‘Roger, roger, jammy dodger, Red Leader. All present, correct and ready for nosh. Over!’
‘Roger that, Foxbrooke One. Incoming. Over.’
Estelle took her seat next to James, and he reached for her hand. A current ran up her arm and fizzed through her body.
‘I love you,’ she whispered.
His smile made him even more heart-stoppingly gorgeous. ‘And I love you more.’
‘Where’s Sophia?’ Dervla asked. ‘I thought she was coming too?’
Kev pulled a face. ‘She’s buggered off to an ashram.’
‘Just for a month,’ Bev quickly added. ‘She needed a break.’
‘I went to an ashram once,’ Arthur said. ‘Ended up in charge of the food. Had a bally marvellous time until they kicked me out for fornicating. In Puna, is she?’
‘Nah,’ Kev replied. ‘The ashram’s in the Caribbean.’
‘Ooh! Very nice.’ Arthur turned to Estelle. ‘Is that where Isaac is? You know, the yoga chappie you used to fancy.’
Estelle gritted her teeth, mortified that her pointless crush had been so obvious. ‘No, he’s in India with his guru at the moment, but the ashram Sophia is at is part of the same organisation.’
‘Ah, jolly good,’ Arthur said, then stood as Perry entered, pushing a trolley of food. ‘Let me help you with that.’ He lifted dishes onto the table. ‘It’s cottage pie night, with sticky toffee pudding and ice cream for afters. Tuck in!’
Estelle was glad she and James were seated at the far end of the table with Henry and Libby, her siblings serving as a buffer between them and their parents. And as the food was always delicious, it ensured her dad was kept quiet for a few minutes.
‘How are things going with BDE?’ Henry asked them after they’d filled their plates and started eating.
‘We’re rebranding,’ Estelle said quietly.
Libby leaned in. ‘BDE?’
She nodded. ‘Kevin’s not happy because he’s still got hundreds of t-shirts with aubergine emojis on them, but he’s going to sell them to Dad at cost price to give away at his sex parties.’
‘Sounds like the best place for them,’ Libby said with a grin. ‘So, what’s the new name?’
Estelle glanced at James and he nodded. ‘We’ve narrowed it down to two. Both are James’s ideas. Either “Star Fox Entertainment”, or “Savage Fox Entertainment”.’
‘Ooh! Love them! Which one’s your favourite?’ Libby asked her.
‘Savage Fox. Because it’s got something from both of us.’
James gazed at her and her face pricked with heat. He was looking at her as if he wasn’t sure whether to recite a love poem in honour of her beauty, or throw her over his shoulder and carry her to bed.
Libby’s eyes flicked between them as the air became supercharged. ‘So, er, James, apart from the branding, how is the business side of things going?’
James blinked as if woken from an extremely erotic dream, then turned to her. ‘Good. It’ll take another successful festival to get it truly back in the black, but we’ve learnt so much from running this one, I’m confident next year’s will turn a healthy profit.’
‘And UberGraft are going to perform again?’
He nodded. ‘All thanks to Estelle. Having them attached will help get other high-profile acts onboard.’
