Page 48 of The Only Way Is Up

‘No!’ laughed Daisy in horror, then recounted the saga of getting a petrified Christian down the mountain at approximately two miles an hour, plus breaks for tantrums and crying. Ruby howled with laughter.

‘What are your plans when we get back?’ asked Ruby finally, when she’d calmed down. ‘Are you going back to London, or to the village?’

‘The village,’ Daisy said decisively, her thoughts drifting to Tom as anxiety bloomed again. ‘I want to finish the book, and the school is going to run a cooking club straight after Christmas so I can test all the recipes.’

‘By “the school” you mean the headmaster, right?’ Ruby grinned knowingly.

Daisy ignored her and threw in a deflection. ‘I’m thinking of asking your granny if she wants to help.’

Until that second Daisy hadn’t been thinking anything of the sort, but now it seemed perfectly obvious – Stella had spent years testing recipes with schoolchildren, she had far more classroom experience than Daisy did. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? Stella could do the teaching, and it would free Daisy up to observe, ask questions and take photos for her Instagram. Plus her mother would love the attention, so she’d get Brownie points. A win–win.

‘So, you’ll be around for a few more weeks,’ said Ruby.

Daisy nodded. ‘Yes, I should think so. Why?’

Ruby shrugged. ‘Just means I can come home on weekends when I don’t have play rehearsals, even if it’s just for a few hours.’

Daisy smiled. ‘You really like him, don’t you?’

Ruby blushed and fidgeted. ‘Yeah. He’s fun to hang out with, and he’s nice to me.’ She glanced at Daisy from under her lashes. ‘Christian was never that nice to you,’ she whispered.

‘Oh, Rubes.’ Daisy’s heart hurt. She pulled her daughter to her. ‘Never ever underestimate that quality in a man. Niceness, kindness, is seriously underrated.’ Tom is kind, she thought, thinking about his hands on the zip of her coat again. She needed to reply to his message. Maybe she’d do it in the morning, when her head felt clearer.

Ruby rested her head against Daisy’s shoulder, splashing her feet in the water, her face turned to the sky. They both contemplated the stars in companiable silence.

‘Mu-um . . . I wanted to ask you something.’

Daisy looked down at Ruby, her face patient but questioning. ‘What is it?’

‘Nothing bad,’ Ruby said quickly, ‘I just wondered how you’d feel if I wanted to hang out here with Will.’ She blushed awkwardly. ‘In the hot tub. Just the two of us. Would that be weird?’

Daisy was silent for a moment, before giving her daughter a soft smile. ‘Well, it wouldn’t be weird for me. The big question is, would it be weird for you?’

Ruby chewed her lip. ‘No. At least, I don’t think so.’

Daisy rubbed Ruby’s arm. ‘Rubes, you don’t have to ask my permission to be alone with your boyfriend. But it’s lovely that you want to talk about it.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Ruby with a shrug. ‘Things feel confusing sometimes.’

Daisy smiled. ‘Will seems lovely, but you haven’t been seeing each other very long. This trip is a great opportunity for you to get to know each other better, but it shouldn’t feel like pressure.’

‘It doesn’t,’ said Ruby. ‘He isn’t like that. I was just thinking how nice it would be just to hang out here with him and talk about stuff. Kind of romantic, you know?’

‘I do know,’ smiled Daisy. ‘The first time we came here, your dad and I did exactly that. After you’d gone to bed, we’d get a bottle of wine and sit out here. It was a different hot tub then. This one is much nicer.’

‘Do you miss him?’ asked Ruby.

Daisy thought about it for a moment. ‘Yes. But I also always knew that something wasn’t quite right. Your dad is much happier now, and I’m happy for him.’

‘But what about you?’ asked Ruby. ‘When do you get to be happy?’

Daisy smiled, blinking away tears. ‘I’m happy whenever you’re happy. Talking of which, do you want me to go to bed so you can summon Will for some stargazing?’

Ruby looked at her wrinkled fingers. ‘Nah. I’m getting a bit pruny now. Not a great look. Maybe tomorrow.’

Daisy nodded solemnly. ‘Nobody ever fancied a prune.’

‘Prunes start out as plums though,’ said Ruby. ‘Much more tempting.’