‘You sure?’ He glanced down at their hands together as if the answer lay there.
‘Yes, of course. Let’s go.’ Somehow, placating Sean diverted her attention from her own worries. Who knew this would have bothered him?
‘Thank you. They’re all harmless, really.’
Cherry knew that Sean’s family would be charming. Jamie and Alicia were lovely when acting as wedding witnesses, as were the others whom she’d met briefly in the blur of her first encounter with Sean.
But the first and most important person to meet was his mum. Elegant, graceful and as friendly as her garden was colourful.
Guilt wracked Cherry as Amanda Butler embraced her then chatted away with genuine delight and curiosity. She had recently lost her own beloved husband but had the mettle to hold a surprise party like this. To put effort and energy into meeting her new, soon to be ex, daughter in law.
It felt cruel. Wrong. Ungrateful.
‘Welcome to the family, Cherry. I believe it’s been quite a baptism by fire. I hope being married to my son is a good experience so far.’
‘Of course it’s a good experience, Mum.’ Arm cinched around her waist, Sean pulled Cherry in tight. ‘Right, Cher?’
‘Nothing quite like it, Seany.’ Nothing quite like theheat of this man’s body conducting to her own. Nothing quite like being parachuted into the heart of his family, where warmth and love spilled as freely as the evening’s champagne. Nothing quite like the alluringly addictive rollercoaster that was their marriage. ‘Wouldn’t swap it for the world.’
Sean’s hold on her waist shifted, and she caught mild bemusement on his face.
‘I admire your optimism, but has he cooked you a steak or run you a bath yet?’ Sean’s sister, Cara, drifted into the conversation. ‘You’ll get underdone on both counts.’
‘When did I ever run you a bath?’ Sean asked. ‘And what’s an underdone bath? Don’t listen to her, Cherry. This is coming from the woman who once tried to boil a steak.’
Cara laughed. ‘Okay, hands up. I did that.’
‘Anyway,’ Jamie cut in. ‘We don’t want to put you off Sean when you’ve only just joined us. Welcome to the Butler family, Cherry. It’s fantastic to have you as a sister-in-law.’ He raised his glass and proposed a toast to the married couple.
Everyone lifted their drinks and echoed his words, and Cherry flushed crimson at the focus being on her. Sean’s family were lovely, and they were so curious, asking all sorts of questions as the evening went on – about her life, her work, her background.
‘And what about your family?’ Amanda asked. ‘Sean says your mum lives in Fife. What does she do to keep herself busy?’
Oh, the ‘What does your mum do?’ question. Not that Cherry minded, but it was never as straightforward as ‘She’s a teacher’ or ‘She likes to bake scones and knit sock puppets for the grandkids’.
‘She was a nurse, but now she’s a self-employed psychic, etcetera.’
A hush descended across the garden, enough to amplify the tweeting of the birds in the trees, as if she’d admitted her mother was an assassin or a gangland leader.
‘That’s fascinating.’ Amanda’s voice rung with genuine curiosity. ‘And what, may I ask, is the etcetera?’
‘Things like aura reading, astrology charts, colour matching stuff. You know, where you find out which colours suit you best and what season you are. She loves it, and it keeps her out of trouble.’ Cherry laughed nervously.
Amanda laughed too, but with conviction. ‘I’d love to meet her one day. Have her over to stay, even. I know a lot of people who would pay for some of her advice. And some who might need it.’
‘Aye, I’m sure she’d love that.’ Cherry focused on the sweet scent from the plants, trying to separate the notes of honeysuckle from the sweet pea and the jasmine. ‘Amanda, this garden is wonderful. The sweet pea is gorgeous, and the broom is like plantable sunshine.’
Mirroring the gold of the broom, a brightness lit Amanda’s face. ‘You sound like you might know a little about plants, Cherry.’
‘I do. I love gardening. My dad taught me when I was younger, and it’s stuck with me, but I’m on the road so much, and I miss it. Virtual garden apps don’t cut it.’
Amanda glanced at Sean, who was now chatting to Jamie and Nate. ‘I know of a garden that might need a bit of an overhaul. He’s done so much to that house, but he wanted to spend as much time with Jimmy in his last months. And now he’s working and training all hours. He bends time as much as he can, but the garden’s one thing too many.’
‘Ah, well.’ Cherry smiled warmly at her mother-in-law, wanting to make her – and her son – happy. ‘I could take some of that load off. Leave it with me.’
A short time later, with drinks and conversation still flowing, Sean’s sister, Cara, was swinging on the two-person garden swing.
‘Hey, you honeymooners should sit on this love swing,’ she called to Sean.
