AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Haveyougotthelist?’ Pat asked, as soon as Grace came down to breakfast the following morning.
‘Yes. And I’ve checked it twice.’ Grace laughed as she sat at the kitchen table and waggled her iPad. ‘I’ll send it to Griff this morning, and as soon as I’ve got his agreement to everything on it, along with Bianca’s of course, I’ll put it in our shared Betancourt folder. There’s a subfolder called Mistletoe Dance, and one called House Decorations.’
‘That sounds perfect. Dad is dealing with the office party in Folkestone today for Bishop estate agents,’ Pat said. ‘I’ll need to stay here with Mum, so Hope will be taking my place at Kelly David’s hen party.’
‘Where is Hope?’
‘Walking Lady E. She said you might want to sleep in this morning. You weren’t late last night though, were you?’
Grace shook her head, her cheeks flushing at the memory of the previous evening.
‘No. But I was exhausted. Yesterday was one heck of a day.’
‘You can say that again.’ Pat tutted. ‘But it wasn’t all bad. I’ve made an appointment to see Mum’s doctor this afternoon, so hopefully we’ll get some news on that score. Fingers crossed it won’t be anything serious, just old age and forgetfulness.’
‘I’ll keep everything crossed. Do you want me to continue working on the event for the undertakers’ Christmas bash? Or is there something else that needs to take priority?’
‘I think the Betancourts, their decorations, and the Mistletoe Dance should take priority, don’t you?’
Grace was hoping not to have to see Griff today. Last night she had the strangest dreams and she still hadn’t got her feelings and emotions entirely under control. She was adamant that she was still in love with Russell, and yet she couldn’t stop thinking about Griff.
‘I could do the hen party, and Hope could deal with the Betancourts today, if you like. I know Kelly better than Hope does, so it sort of makes sense.’
Pat stopped stacking the dishwasher and turned and faced Grace. ‘Is there something you’re not telling me, Grace?’
‘No.’ Grace let out a sigh. ‘Maybe. Griff knows I’m in love with Russell.’
‘Good heavens. How do you know that?’
‘Because he told me in the pub last night. Well, what he actually said was that I believed myself to be in love with Russell.’
‘Just like that? What were you talking about?’
‘This and that. We were discussing the ground rules for us organising the Mistletoe Dance, and then somehow we started talking about the past, and then if Griff had ever hurt me, and I told him about an occasion when he had, and that’s when he said it. He said that he didn’t think I would care about anything he said to me, because I believed I was in love with Russell, or something like that.’
‘And what did you say?’
‘I said that I wouldn’t repeat what Russell had told me about Bianca, if Griff promised not to tell Russell about our conversation last night.’
‘So you basically confirmed to Griff that you are in love with his brother?’
‘Well, yes. I had no choice. I am in love with Russell. Griff did say he was surprised, although I think the word he used was astonished. And annoyingly, he said it was infatuation, not love, just like Granny Joy.’
‘Are you so sure it’s not? Are you certain it isn’t just a habit? You were only eight, after all, when you convinced yourself that you had met the love of your life. You were both children, Grace. Has Russell grown into the man you thought he would?’
‘Yes! I think so. It’s difficult to say for certain because I haven’t seen him that often.’
‘My point precisely. You think you’re in love with a man you don’t really know.’
‘People fall in love with people they don’t know, all the time. It’s called love at first sight.’
‘Yes. But they are adults. All I’m saying is, keep an open mind. Before I met your father, I had convinced myself I had fallen in love twice. Both times I was convinced I had found The One. And then I met your father and I knew. The feelings I had for him were entirely different to my previous feelings. He only had to look at me and I felt as though my body was on fire. His touch, however slight, sent the wildest sensations running through me. And when he smiled at me, I almost melted on the spot.’
‘That’s how you felt about Dad?’
Pat nodded. ‘And that’s how I still feel about him. Do you feel like that about Russell?’
‘Erm. I’m not sure.’
