The last time she surprised me was with the family photoshoot. Admittedly, that indirectly led to getting Jacob into my bed again and again and again, but that’s not the point.
“I’ve booked a holiday,” she sing-songs.
I rub my face. “Great. Where are you and Barry going?”
“Where arewegoing.”
“Huh?” I’m too sleepy for this.
“We’re all going.”
“All—? Oh, Mum. You haven’t.”
Beside me, Jacob knits his brows and chews his lip.
“We’re spending two weeks on Gran Canaria, in a three-bed villa overlooking the beach, with a private pool.” She sounds like a travel brochure.
“Mum—”
“I’m not taking no for an answer. You don’t have to pay a penny. You just have to be there.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
I knead my forehead with my thumb and fingers. “You can’t force us to be a big happy family.”
“I want to show Jacob I’m not the enemy. I want him to accept me. And I want the two of you to get along.”
Oh, we do.
“Forcing us to go on holiday together isn’t the way to go about it.”
Holiday?Jacob mouths.
I nod miserably.
“Nonsense. I’ll email you the details. Barry is going to call Jacob and tell him. Unless you think I should?”
“No. No. His dad should tell him. But, Mum.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t be surprised if he says no.”
“He can’t. It’s all booked and paid for.”
“He can.”
“He wouldn’t be that ungrateful. Would he?”
I bite my tongue and take a moment to compose myself. “I don’t know, Mum. I don’t know him well enough. But you should have asked us if we wanted to go on holiday before booking anything.”
“We talked about it at the wedding reception.”
“We didn’t agree to it.”
“Well, now you’re being ungrateful.”
