‘No pity.’ Sasha went for an all-the-way-down-to-the-floor-shaking-her-thing move and Evie joined in, safe in the knowledge that her mother definitely currently had eyes only for Jack and would therefore not also be joining in. ‘Just appreciation for my oldest and best friend and your adorable mother.’
Evie’s motherwasadorable. Just slightly different from everyone else’s mothers. Good job that Sasha didn’t know that Evie had had plans to kiss Jack herself this evening. Her pity would be off the scale.
A lot of dancing later, Evie and Sasha flopped onto a sofa at the far side of the double reception room as people put on coats, gloves and scarves and hugged Sasha’s parents goodbye. Only about twenty minutes ago the room had been full to bursting but then one of the guests had noticed that it was midnight and had gathered up their family of five and left, and that had started a domino effect of departures.
‘I should get going too,’ Evie said. It’d be nice to get a good night’s sleep so that she enjoyed her birthday tomorrow.
And then her mother and Jack emerged from the door at the end of the room and walked past Evie and Sasha, holding hands, eyes only for each other, very joined-at-the-hip. And thigh… and chest. They stopped under the mistletoe at the front door for a quick smooch, and then giggled themselves out of the house.
‘He’s going to stay over with us, isn’t he?’ Evie said, trying to pull her face out of a disappointed ruck.
Sasha nodded. ‘Looks like it. Want to stay here tonight?’
‘That’s such a lovely offer but I’ll be fine at home. More than fine. I’ll have a birthday lie-in and he’ll be gone by the time I get up.’ Evie really wanted to be in her own bed tonight with her own pillows and duvet. And to have her traditional birthday breakfast with her mum. Which would definitely happen. Her mum would kick Jack out at about nine; she was like clockwork when it came to men staying over. She never wanted them around during the day and she definitely wouldn’t want someone else there on Evie’s birthday. ‘And we’re seeing you for lunch tomorrow. I might stay here for another half hour, though.’ That should definitely give her mum and Jack time to have the bedroom door firmly closed behind them.
Two hours, the rest of the mulled wine and two coffees later, Evie pushed her chair back and told the others round Sasha’s parents’ kitchen table – Sasha, Dan, Lucie, their brother Max and a couple of other village friends – that she had to go home.
‘Nooooo. Stay.’ Sasha reached out to pull Evie’s arm but missed and banged her own arm on the table. ‘Ow. That table’shard.’
Evie nodded. Sasha had made a good point there. She wasclever. ‘Tablesarehard. And I know that because I’m old. It’s after midnight. I’mtwenty-twotoday. Two little ducks.’
‘Did you say duck?’ Sasha asked.
‘Bingo speak for twenty-two,’ Evie said. ‘You know Mum’s last partner owned a bingo hall in Cheltenham and we went a few times. I love it, if I’m honest.’
Sasha nodded. ‘Happy birthday,’ she said.
‘Happy birthday,’ the others chorused.
‘Thank you.’ Evie beamed at them. ‘And Iamgoing to go now and get some sleep because I don’t want to spend my whole birthday feeling awful.’ She pushed her chair further back, and somehow it knocked some spoons on the floor and they landed with areally loudclatter. ‘Whoops.’ She put her finger on her lips and shushed, twice, to make sure everyone heard her. ‘We might wake your parents up.’
Sasha’s older sister Lucie stood up too and went over to the sink. ‘I think we should all have some water first. Just to make sure you actually make it across the green in one piece and so that you don’t spend your birthday with a hangover.’
‘Everyone should take two paracetamol with their water,’ said Dan. ‘Or three. Tried and tested anti-hangover.’
‘Let’s definitely do that,’ Evie said. ‘Doctors knoweverythingabout paracetamol.’ Dan had recently finished medical school.
‘Okay, so I’m definitely going now.’ Evie finished hugging everyone a few minutes later and they all followed her towards the front door.
‘I’ll walk you back,’ Dan said, joining her on the doorstep.
‘Oh, no, honestly,’ Evie said, suppressing a little shiver of pleasure at the idea of a moonlit walk with Dan. ‘I’m not going to get lost between here and home.’
‘Nope, I’m coming.’ Dan shrugged into a Puffa jacket. ‘Dad was saying yesterday that there’ve been a couple of attempted burglaries in the village recently. And it’s very quiet at this time of night, no-one else up except us. You don’t want to bump into a burglar on your own.’
‘Well, thank you, that’s very kind.’ It was slightly surprising that Sasha wasn’t having a go at Dan about not being feminist but, if therewereburglars around, Evie would definitely rather not be on her own when she bumped into them, and Dan was a lot larger than her. Bugger feminism, frankly, if there were burglars out and about.
As Evie started to step through the front door, Sasha pointed upwards and squealed, ‘Mistletoe. Dan and Evie. You have to kiss now.’
Evie stopped and turned to look at Dan, in a bit of a panic, which was definitely a mistake, because it clearly made it look as though shewantedDan to kiss her. Which, in a very secret way, she might do, but not infrontof people. Although you didn’tkisskiss under mistletoe. Youpeckkissed. Oh, God, she was still looking at him. Like shetotallywanted to do the mistletoe-kiss.
Dan smiled at her, rolled his eyes in the direction of Sasha, and leaned down and brushed his lips to Evie’slips, not her cheek, or anywhere else, but herlips, very fleetingly. His lips were warm, but not too warm, and nice and firm, but not too firm. And Evie felt the tiny kiss all the way to her centre. What would aproperkiss from Dan be like?
Shit. She had her eyes closed. She pinged them open, fast. Hopefully no-one would have noticed because Sasha was clapping and happy-birthdaying again.
‘Let’s go.’ Dan started walking and Evie followed.
‘So have you decided what branch of medicine you want to specialise in?’ she asked, fast, to prove that her mind wastotallyoff the fact thattheir lips had just touched.
