‘Exactly,’ Anna replied. ‘I’m dreading it. I haven’t seen her since the day I called her a cold-hearted bitch. But I can’tnotgo. I can’t punish Teresa for what Gayle did, especially as she and I have been getting along so well recently.’
Ever since she’d visited when Little Spencer (as everyone now called him) had been born, something had shifted in her relationship with Teresa. They’d always liked each other, but now they had a bond. Teresa felt like… well, family.
‘I think you’ve answered your own question,’ Brody said.
Anna sighed and brought her feet up onto the seat, tucking one under the other. ‘I know. But what am I going to do about Gayle?’
‘Do you have to doanythingabout her?’
Anna pinned the corner of her lip with her teeth. Did she? The idea that she might not was oddly liberating. ‘You’re saying, just go – no apologies, no explanations – and ignore her?’
‘I was thinking just be cordial, but it’s up to you.’
‘Don’t react, in other words?’
He laughed. ‘Bingo.’
She slumped forward onto the table, supporting her head with one hand. ‘Why do family gatherings have to be so exhausting? I’m already dreading Christmas, even though it’s still more than three months away, and don’t even get me started about New Year’s Eve!’
‘Which is worse, do you think?’ Brody mused. ‘Christmas or New Year?’
There was a heartbeat while they both pondered the answer. ‘New Year,’ they both said at exactly the same time, which made them both laugh. Anna hugged her knees and glanced up at the stars.It was starting to get a little bit chilly now, but she didn’t want to go inside. As she watched one star, trying to work out if it was winking a pale green colour or whether it was just her imagination, a thought came to her. ‘Then why don’t wenotdo New Year’s Eve this year,’ she said.
‘Hah! That sounds like a marvellous idea.’
Anna unravelled the concept a little further. ‘And why don’t wenotdo New Year’s Eve together?’
‘Spend all evening on the phone?’
That was what she’d been going to suggest, but she suddenly realized there was a better option, an option she instantly knew she wanted more than anything. ‘No. Let’s do it in person.’
There was a stunned silence for a few seconds. ‘What?’
Anna held her breath for a moment, then said, ‘Brody, I think it’s time we should meet.’
Chapter Thirty-Two
‘YOU WANT TO meet up on New Year’s Eve? Face to face?’ Brody said, sounding more than a little stunned.
Okay, Anna thought. Even though New Year’s Eve was still more than three months away, and the idea had just popped into her head and she’d run with it, she hadn’t expected this reaction. She’d thought Brody would be excited about the idea, even though up until that moment their relationship had been exclusively, well… audio.
‘What… what about Jeremy?’
‘What about him?’
‘Won’t you want to spend New Year’s Eve with him?’
Oh. She supposed that was an option. One that hadn’t even been on her radar, apparently. ‘I don’t know,’ she answered. ‘I don’t even know if there willbea Jeremy in a few months’ time.’
More silence.
‘Really?’ he said, obviously sceptical.
‘Yes, really. We’ve been on one date, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in recent years, it’s not to trust what the future might bring.’
‘But you’re making plans with me,’ he said in a low voice.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘That’s different.’
