‘Sorry, Dylan,’ Sabrina said hastily.
‘You wanted to take over the Airbnb business,’ Willow reminded him. ‘It’s not just me who keeps coming up with more ideas. Something festive around here could be fun one day, though…’ She seemed to go into a dreamlike trance.
‘Let’s go and look at what you’ve all been doing,’ Sabrina said with a laugh.
‘I’m off to meet with a supplier,’ Dylan said, going to his car.
‘Henry will be here in a minute,’ I said, my nerves growing.
‘Good luck,’ Willow said as she and Sabrina both hugged me goodbye and then headed for the strawberry fields. Then I saw Henry turning into the farm.
He beeped the horn so I went over to his car and climbed in beside him.
‘Hi,’ I said, feeling no joy at seeing him again.
Henry leaned over to kiss my cheek and then his eyes lingered on my dress. ‘Oh, I thought I said to dress smart for lunch,’ he said.
I stared at him. When we used to go to his country club, I would wear clingy dresses that he loved but I hated. I thought back to how he would make comments about my appearance, and I would end up going to change until my outfit met with his approval. I don’t know why I ever thought that I should do so. ‘If you want me to come for lunch then this is how I will be coming,’ I replied shortly.
Henry put his hands up. ‘No need to get snippy. Let’s go.’
I put my seatbelt on and watched the farm fade away, wishing I hadn’t got into the car.
‘I finished my flower arch,’ I said, thinking that I should try to make conversation.
‘What flower arch?’ Henry said as he put the satnav on to direct us to the restaurant. ‘Oh, God, you remember that client last year who…’
Henry was off then talking about work as he so often did, not at all interested in what I had been doing. This wasn’t what I wanted from a partner. I’d ignored it for too long.
We got through the journey and pulled into the car park of a beautiful hotel nestled in the countryside.
‘I have a surprise for you,’ Henry said as he parked, a grin on his face.
My stomach instantly plummeted.
25
I climbed out of Henry’s car and followed him inside the hotel. I was instantly and firmly back in Henry’s world. The chandeliers on the ceiling, the plush, red carpet, the uniformed doorman tipping his hat to us and the sounds of champagne popping as we walked into the restaurant. I felt uncomfortable and anxious and regretted agreeing to this. I didn’t want a romantic lunch with Henry. This felt like completely the wrong place for us to talk.
Henry spoke to the maître d’, who led us out onto the terrace. Outside were white, bistro-style tables under umbrellas. As we got closer, I saw two familiar faces. My heart started to beat faster. They were the last two people I wanted to see right now.
Sitting at the table with the best view of the rolling landscaped hotel gardens were Henry’s parents.
I stopped walking instantly. I’d known Henry’s surprise wouldn’t be anything I would want.
‘What are they doing here?’ I hissed. This was an ambush. No other word for it.
Henry had to walk back a bit as he hadn’t noticed I had paused. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Today, we were supposed to be talking,’ I said, starting to panic. ‘Just the two of us.’
He sighed. ‘They’ve come a long way to see you. To see us. I thought we could all talk about what’s going on.’
I shook my head. This wasn’t supposed to be a relationship of four.
His parents saw us then. His mum waved while his dad narrowed his eyes, evidently wondering why we were just standing here. ‘Let’s just go,’ I said, knowing I couldn’t turn and run, although I sure as hell wanted to.
I felt trapped as I followed Henry to their table. I didn’t know how I was going to get away from this.
