‘I should bloody well hope we have,’ said Nick. ‘I don’t think he knows as much as he thinks he does.’
‘Fiona was good too,’ said Xander, to Hattie’s surprise. ‘It was a good quiz.’
‘She was,’ Nick agreed. He paused. ‘So – er – I gather Fiona is spoken for?’
‘Yes, she’s engaged to Lance,’ said Hattie.
‘Shame,’ muttered Nick, to Hattie’s huge satisfaction.
To gloss over the slightly awkward silence, Hattie went on, ‘I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself, Xander. I know I dragged you along against your will but you were really useful.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Nick. ‘You must have really pissed off Lance with that film question.’
He said this in a way that made Hattie feel there was a very good reason for Nick’s obvious aversion to a man he’d only just met. But with the wedding only a week away, was it too late to get Fiona and Nick together?
Hattie had a text from Fiona, sent at past midnight. ‘We won! Lance is not happy. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have played for your team.’
Hattie resolved to do all she could to help Fiona see sense in the next week.
Chapter Eight
The following morning, Hattie received a brisk phone call from Rachel Anstruther-Smith. ‘You’ve won a raffle prize. The week in Paris. Congratulations! But your table did buy a lot of tickets.’ She paused for breath. ‘Now I gather you’re a property hunter? I wonder if I could just ask you a couple things – nothing official – just general advice…’
Hattie made herself comfortable. In this instance, ‘general’ meant ‘free’.
No sooner than she had disconnected than there was a WhatsApp from Luke.Fancy lunch at mine today?
What’s the occasion?she typed back.
I have a new BBQ. Given to me by a client.
What time? Shall I bring salad?
Bring dressing. 12 pm.
Hattie found herself excited to be seeing Luke; she’d been missing him. They usually had a barbecue nearly once a week, but with him being away so much, this summer she felt she’d missed out. She went to Xander’s bedroom. She knocked on the door. ‘Are you up for a barbie at Luke’s today? You don’t have to come, but we’d love it if you did,’ she added.
‘OK. What time?’ Xander was peering out at her from under the duvet.
‘In an hour?’
He nodded and turned over.
Hattie took a bit more time, applying subtle make-up. If he’s going to trouble to cook for us, it’s only polite to dress up a bit, she told herself. She pulled on a much loved dress that was easy to wear but always made her feel good. Then she found herself adding some scent Luke had once said he liked.
She’d found a few books to take to her old friend Mary, who lived quite near Luke, and had picked a couple of quick posies – flowers for Mary, herbs for Luke – when Xander appeared in the kitchen. There was an aura of dampness about him which implied he’d had a shower. Hattie smiled her approval. ‘Do you want something to eat? Barbecues can take a while sometimes.’
Xander nodded. ‘Toast?’
Hattie knew she should have told Xander to make his own toast but she was in a good mood this morning.
‘So did you enjoy the quiz?’ she said as they drove along.
‘Yeah. It’s nice to win.’
‘Don’t you often win things, Xander? You seemed to know a lot.’
‘Yes, but not the things my mum thinks are important.’
