‘Me too,’ Izzy agreed, linking arms with her and Jess. ‘Come on, Ed, take a picture of us three. I want to post it on our website; it’ll be good for advertising this style of party.’
Jess nodded. ‘Good idea.’
Daisy hated having her photo taken, but didn’t dare upset the girls by saying so. They’d been so generous to her and letting them take a picture of her was the least she could do.
Ed took his phone and waved for them to stand a little closer. ‘Smile, girls,’ he said, taking several pictures. He handed the phone to Jess.
‘We look gorgeous,’ she said.
Daisy and Izzy laughed. ‘If you do say so yourself,’ Izzy giggled.
Ed looked at his watch. ‘We’re going to have to get a move on if you girls don’t want to be late.’
‘Damn,’ Jess said, seeing the time. ‘We need to be there before everyone else,’ she said, eyes filled with panic. ‘We can’t be late.’
‘We won’t be if we leave right now,’ Izzy said, picking up her bag and the car keys. ‘Come on.’
They arrived at the hotel and hurried into the orangery. The only person there was Gabriel, doing a last-minute check of the room. A trio were playing lively music in keeping with the era over in one corner of the room near a temporary dance floor. Daisy felt like her namesake inThe Great Gatsbywhen Gabriel turned around and smiled at her.
Her stomach flipped over and her breath caught in her throat. He looked incredible. He’d slicked back his hair, showing his tanned face off to perfection, and wore a dinner jacket with a white shirt and bow tie. He walked over to join her. Daisy cleared her throat and tried to think of something coherent to say.
‘You look incredible,’ he said his voice catching. ‘So…’
‘Over the top?’
He laughed. ‘I was going to say glamorous.’
‘Oh,’ she said, embarrassed by her instinctive reaction to be negative. Too many years being told she shouldn’t forget who she was. She was beginning to realise that her mother had been wrong on many levels.
‘Thank you,’ she said, when he didn’t say anything further. He didn’t speak but stared at her. She was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable by his silence. ‘Is anything wrong?’ she asked. Maybe her lipstick had smudged or something.
He shook his head. ‘No. I was just— Well, you look stunning.’
Daisy couldn’t take her eyes away from his. She had no idea how long they stood like that. Seconds, minutes… it was only when she realised someone was tapping Gabriel on the shoulder and he looked away to see who it was that she became aware they were still in the middle of the orangery, which was now filling with guests.
He rested his hand on her bare shoulder. ‘Sorry, I’ll just have to go and deal with this,’ he said. ‘It seems our party hosts have arrived. I must greet them.’
‘Of course,’ she said.
She spotted Izzy and Jess, smiling and chatting to other staff members and several guests who were making their way into the room. The red carpet gave them all something to talk about as they walked in. She saw Luke arrive with his wife, Bea. He looked a little uncomfortable in his dinner suit.
‘So, what do you think?’ She looked up to see Ed holding out a glass of champagne to her. ‘They know how to put on a party here, don’t they?’
She nodded. ‘The girls are very good at dressing a room. You must be very proud of them.’
He smiled. ‘They certainly do.’
The room was filling fast and getting noisier. Daisy tilted her head in the direction of an exuberant couple who had just arrived and were holding up their glasses to a group of friends. ‘They were in that period drama from last year,’ she said, amazed at how different the couple looked without their powdered wigs.
‘They’re probably good friends with Francesca and Rick,’ he said. ‘In fact, I’m surprised those two haven’t come back for tonight. Maybe they didn’t have time to catch the ferry.’
Daisy looked out of the glazed wall overlooking the garden to the orange glow formed by the garden lights in the dense fog. ‘It’s still terrible out there. What a shame, when there’s usually such an incredible view of the bay.’
‘I think it looks eerie,’ Izzy said, coming to stand next to them. ‘As if tonight is part of a hazy dream, where anything’s possible.’
Daisy could see what she meant. ‘It’s like we’ve been transported back in time to the twenties.’ She liked theidea.
‘Everything seems to be going fine here,’ Izzy said, looking around the room.
