Page 34 of The Only Way Is Up

‘Honestly, Mum, if I thought it was your thing, I’d invite you in a heartbeat.’ Daisy smiled brightly, safe in the knowledge that any lies told at this point would not come back to haunt her. ‘Ruby would love to have you there. But you hate flying, don’t ski and can’t stand being cold. So, I just assumed it wasn’t your bag.’

Stella squeezed Daisy’s arm, her scarlet nails poking out of fingerless gloves knitted in an alarming shade of yellow. ‘Thank you, Daisy. It’s absolutely not my bag, but it’s lovely to know I have the option.’ Stella beamed. ‘I’ll stay here and drink tea with the vicar,’ she took another slurp of cider, ‘and keep an eye on Justin. I helped him butcher Prue yesterday. It was actually rather fascinating.’

Daisy contemplated the horror of Stella in charge of a bone saw, then gasped as she had a flash of inspiration. ‘Why don’t you move into Willow Cottage while I’m away? It’s nicer than the pub and you’ll be next door to Justin. You can look after each other.’ Drink each other to death, more like.

Stella’s face lit up, her cheeks rosy with cold, or more likely cider. ‘Oh! That would be lovely. Thank you. You’re a good girl.’

Daisy smiled, making a mental note to hide her vibrator somewhere less obvious than her underwear drawer. She glanced up and saw Tom watching her from the other side of the patio. He glanced away immediately, but not before she’d clocked the heat in his stare. She filed that away for later.

As Stella drifted off to talk to the vicar, who had found out from Stella about the Pig in a Blanket and somehow invited herself in a way that only vicars could, Justin circumnavigated Prue crackling away over a half-barrel of coals and sidled over to Daisy.

‘I hear you’re helping Bitter Lemony break out of the village,’ he smirked. ‘Good for you. God knows that poor woman needs a holiday from Dreadful Gerald.’

Daisy glanced up to check Melanie and Dreadful Gerald couldn’t hear them. They were by the hedge chatting to Marcus, who was demonstrating a slow-motion forehand with a pair of barbecue tongs.

‘She’s actually a lovely woman,’ Daisy objected, ‘and not nearly as bitter as others might be in her shoes.’

Justin looked suitably chastened. ‘Well, you’ve certainly stirred things up in Shipton Combe. I think it’s brilliant.’

‘What you do mean?’ asked Daisy.

‘You’ve just given people something to talk about,’ replied Justin gleefully. ‘The gossip about you and Tom, your mother helicoptering in like the SAS, you hanging out with Melanie. People are even yakking about me for the first time in yonks. I’m actually kind of enjoying it.’ He gave a barking laugh and took another swig of cider.

Daisy sighed. ‘That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted somewhere peaceful to hide out and write a book.’

‘No sign of Mr Love Match, then.’

Daisy glared at Justin. ‘Is that pig ready yet? I’m starving.’

Justin took the hint and wandered off to check, leaving Daisy looking thoughtfully at the group huddled around the fire, their vapour clouds of breath mingling with the smoke. This village was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone else’s business, and it was reasonable to assume she was one of the main topics of local conversation. But would someone here really sell gossip about her to the tabloids?

There was Stella, of course. She was inevitably a prime suspect, because she’d done it so many times before. But she seemed more mellow here, almost as if she were trying to mend fences – and she spent most of her time these days hanging around with Justin and the vicar. But then again Stella was an inveterate gossip so nothing about Daisy’s life was probably secret, on which basis none of the villagers could be entirely discounted. She ran through them in her head, her thoughts and eyes drawn back to Tom. Could it be him? She immediately dismissed the idea. With everything that was going on with Christian right now, Daisy needed to believe that Tom was the real deal, and that there was at least one hot man left in the world who was decent and kind.

‘Did you look Vergallen up?’ Ruby asked Will as Daisy drifted over. The teenagers were huddled together in a dark corner by the house, sharing a mug of hot cider and distancing themselves from the boring adults and the smoke from the barbecue.

‘Yeah,’ said Will, glancing shyly at Daisy. ‘It looks really nice.’

Ruby jiggled up and down excitedly. ‘It’s gorgeous, and the chalet is amazing. It’s not ours; it belongs to my godfather, Des Parker.’ She glanced at Will to see if he was impressed by the clanging name drop, but he kept his cool. ‘It’s got a big open fire and a hot tub outside,’ she continued. ‘You can sit out there in the snow.’

Daisy spotted a flicker of anxiety in Will’s eyes and realised how glad she was that Melanie was coming. Partly so she didn’t have to take on the pressure of supporting two teenagers who were navigating the choppy waters of a first relationship, but also so she’d have some company.

‘I don’t think my dad is very happy about Mum coming,’ Will commented.

‘She seems pretty happy about it though,’ said Ruby with a smirk, glancing over at Melanie. Daisy looked too – Melanie and Gerald were still chatting with Marcus, Gerald’s leather-gloved hand resting on his wife’s back.

‘Hmm,’ said Will, his brow furrowed. ‘He’s being really nice to her at the moment – maybe he thinks she’s going to run off with a ski instructor or something.’ He laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea, but Daisy didn’t think he was that far off the mark. Gerald wouldn’t be the first man to be a bit nicer to his wife when he realised she was about to spread her wings.

‘Did you ask your mum about snowboarding?’ said Will.

‘Oh yeah,’ said Ruby. ‘Mum, can I have snowboarding lessons this year?’

Daisy looked baffled. ‘Why would you want to learn to snowboard?’ she asked. ‘You’re a brilliant skier.’

‘Because Will wants to snowboard, and I’ve never done it,’ Ruby replied. ‘We can do the beginners’ class together. Otherwise, I won’t see him all day.’

Daisy shrugged in agreement. ‘Sure, if you like.’ Ruby mumbled her thanks through a mouthful of pork, then dragged Will off to a wooden bench by the garden wall.

‘Young love,’ muttered Justin, passing a plate to Daisy. ‘I hope it’s worth it.’ His eyes narrowed shrewdly. ‘Must be costing a pretty penny.’