He turned to her, eyes twinkling. “Ah, Jamie’s new girlfriend.”
“Wife,” Phyllis reminded him, “not girlfriend. And you need to behave yourself.”
“That’s right, wife.” He winked at Hayley. “And as she is already a member of the family, I don’t see that the way I behave matters. It’s too late for her to change her mind.” He gave a generic wave to everyone at the table and headed straight for Martin, who was flipping pancakes. “I could use your input into my chapter on the impact of cold weather on the heart.”
“Right. Well, we’ll get to that after breakfast, Brian.” Martin handed his father-in-law a plate of pancakes and gesturedto the table. “Let’s eat, shall we? And you can tell us how it’s going. The writing I mean.”
“Never ask a writer how the writing is going.”
Phyllis rolled her eyes. “If he’s tetchy, it’s because he’s not actually writing.”
“I am writing.”
“Writers write, Brian, whereas you spend most of the day staring out of the window.”
“I’m sure Shakespeare had moments of staring out of the window. I’m thinking. Planning.” Brian put the pancakes in the middle of the table. “I assume these aren’t all for me, so tuck in.”
“I’m sure thinking is the most important part of planning a book.” Soothing and conciliatory, Jenny moved the bowl of berries next to her mother. “Help yourselves. I know how much you love them.”
“They’re a wanton extravagance at this time of year.” Despite that, Phyllis heaped berries onto her plate, and Jenny caught Hayley’s eye and struggled not to smile.
“Well, if you can’t be wantonly extravagant at Christmas, I don’t know when you can be. Hayley, do you have everything you need? Don’t be polite or you’ll starve. Help yourself.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Phyllis eyed Hayley’s empty plate. “Eat, dear, or Jenny will worry that you don’t like the food.”
Hayley helped herself to pancakes and bacon.
“Have a few berries too. Vitamins.” Phyllis spooned them onto her plate. “Now tell us everything. I especially want to know about that first moment when you knew you were in love with Jamie.”
“I apologise for my wife’s intrusive questioning.” Brian sighed. “Give the girl space, Phyllis.”
“It’s not being intrusive, it’s showing interest. And I’m sure there are things she’s happy to share now she’s part of the family.”
“What if she isn’t happy to share them? You’re putting her in a very awkward position.”
Jamie sat down next to Hayley and she felt his hand on her leg, under the table.
He leaned closer to her. “Ignore them. They’re always like this. You did say you wanted to experience a family Christmas.” He was openly laughing. “Welcome to my family. A gathering of dysfunctional misfits.”
“Speak for yourself! And I don’t know why you’re whispering, Jamie,” Rosie said, “because we can all hear you. I’d like to know everything about Hayley too.”
“Maybe she could eat her breakfast before the inquisition starts.” Jamie heaped pancakes onto his plate and covered them in maple syrup. “This, by the way, is one of the reasons we got married on a beach by ourselves. I thought if we waited until she’d met you all, she might back out.”
“Charming.” Rosie shot her brother a look. “And Percy is very hurt because he would have enjoyed being Dog of Honour.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Jenny sat down in a vacant chair. “Can we please at least pretend to be normal for the duration of one short meal? Hayley, I’d like to say they’re not usually like this, but it would be a lie. Answer any question you feel like answering and ignore the rest. Now let’s eat, because there is a lot to do in preparation for tonight.” She helped herself to bacon. “Andpleasewould someone take those antlers off the poor dog.”
Chapter13
Becky
Ican’t believe they’re already married.” Becky stared at her phone, reading the message for the hundredth time. “What iswrongwith my family? They meet someone and wham, suddenly they’re in love. There must be something faulty in our DNA. Does it really happen that way? Has that ever happened to you?”
“No.” Will’s attention was focused on the road. “It hasn’t.”
“So generally speaking, you find you need to know someone before you fall in love.”
There was a pause. “Generally speaking, I do find that, yes.”
