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‘I can tell you thatthat’sthe one thing you shouldneversay,’ Mateo murmured.
‘My brother is six years younger than me,’ Maude continued, staring off into the distance. ‘And he’s going to be married in six months. I’m thirty-two and my parents are still waiting for Mr Right to come along. My dad is okay with the road I’ve chosen to take, but my mum is convinced that I just won’t find true happiness until I settle down. I think she’s scared that I might end up on the shelf, gathering dust, because all the decent young men have been taken. So tonight...’
‘Tonight you decided that a plus-one in this situation, with friends and family everywhere, would be just the trick.’
‘Something like that. We should head down. I’ll introduce you to everyone.’
‘Before we go...’
He reached to stay her, his hand resting gently on her arm, and his touch sent a frisson of heat coursing through her body.
‘Yes?’ Out of the corner of her eye, she could spot her mother making a beeline for them.
‘What exactly is the agenda here?’
‘You... I’ve implied that we’re an item.’
‘And have you told your mother that you work in one of my companies?’
‘I haven’t told her anything. My theory was to keep it vague and play it by ear. She doesn’t even know that my plus-one was called Angus. I just told her that, yes, I’d be bringing someone, but it was a new relationship so she wasn’t allowed to pry. I thought that would do away with...you know...’
‘Nosy questions about whether the time might be right for her to start thinking about hat-buying?’
‘Something like that.’ Maude smiled. He was a quick study.
‘And they know that I’ll only be sticking around for a handful of hours?’
‘You’re a very busy man. There’s no chance you would be able to stay for the entire duration of the weekend. We can both make that clear from the start.’
‘Must mean a lot to you,’ Mateo murmured, ‘Heading your mother off at the pass, if you’re willing to go through all of this just to buy a little time.’
‘You don’t get it.’
‘What? What don’t I get?’
Maude turned to him and looked at him with clear-eyed honesty. ‘I adore my mother, and I know she loves me dearly, but I’ve been a disappointment.’ She blushed when he looked shocked, but it was the truth, a sadness she had never been able to completely bury. It was also something she had never said aloud to anyone. In a rush she continued, voice low, ‘Nick, my brother, was always the one who slotted in easily—outgoing and sporty, and always with a string of girls phoning him up. Me? Not so much.’
Their eyes met and she said hurriedly, embarrassed at this rush of unwarranted truth-sharing. ‘It’s no big deal. This bash will probably wind up early, around ten, as some of us—my brother and his friends and Amy, his fiancée, and hers—are splitting and heading off in different directions. Nick and his lot are going to head to one of the bars to play snooker in a room they’ve reserved, and we’re going to a club to fritter the rest of the night away.’
‘And I will be...’
‘Long gone—because you’re a very busy man, like I said. Early mornings to get through emails and make...er...important calls.’
‘On a Sunday? I risk sounding more of a crashing bore than a workaholic, with no choice but to abandon the love of his life in her hour of need...’
Maude glanced at his dark, amused face and thought that the last thing Mateo could ever be accused of being was a crashing bore.
‘Anyway.’ She quickly glanced away to where her mother was bearing down on them at speed. ‘My mum’s spotted us.’ She plastered a smile on her face, and the smile broadened into genuine amusement when she took in Felicity Thornton’s double-take as she closed in.
‘Ah... I’m beginning to get the picture...’ Mateo murmured.
Before he could expand on that, Felicity was with them, a force of nature, laughing and confident, giving her daughter a warm hug and openly inspecting Mateo, not caring one jot for politeness.
‘Maude never told me that she was going out with a hunk!’ She burst out laughing and patted Maude’s arm with warm approval.
‘Mum!’
‘Don’t youMumme, darling. Honestly...’ She leaned towards Mateo and whispered, more than loud enough for Maude to hear, ‘This daughter of mine issucha dark horse! But, no fear, you’re here now...’ Without standing on ceremony, she swept round to link her arm through Mateo’s. ‘And I intend to introduce you toeveryone.’
