Reluctantly, the girls allowed themselves to be led away.
‘She didn’t even look at me,’ Alison murmured disbelievingly.
‘She looked nervous to me,’ Rosie said. ‘Honestly, I think she’s feeling as awkward about all this as you are. Give it time.’
Niall finally emerged from the study, all smiles and apologies. The room brightened immediately, and Poppy’s face broke into the widest smile as he put his arm around her and wished her a happy birthday for probably the tenth time that day.
Alison had always liked Niall, even if she didn’t always agree with his beliefs and had puzzled over his decision to become a vicar from a very young age. He was a good, decent man, as kind as Uncle Christopher, and with the same blue eyes and strawberry-blond hair as his sister, although Rosie’s wasn’t perhaps quite as red-tinted as his.
Tall and broad-shouldered, he made an imposing figure when in church. People listened to him. His congregation was small but committed. He was well-respected and well-loved in his parish, and Alison thought there was no wonder Elaine was so proud of him.
Kendra, who’d made umpteen cups of tea and had been the perfect hostess in his absence, gave him a wry smile and said, ‘Well, now her dad’s here perhaps we can begin celebrating the birthday girl’s big day at last. Thanks so much for coming, everyone. Please don’t stand on ceremony. The table’s laid and you’re very welcome to help yourselves. Tuck in.’
Niall put his arms around her and kissed her. ‘You’re wonderful,’ he said. ‘You’ve worked a miracle with all this. Sorry I was delayed.’
She tapped him playfully on the nose. ‘Don’t be daft. It’s only a bit of party food. I didn’t part the Red Sea. No need to apologise.’
‘Couple goals,’ Rosie said with a sigh.
They headed into the back part of the through lounge, which served as a dining area. Alison swallowed as she saw all the delicious food spread out on the table, and Rosie looked dismayed.
‘Aw, Ali, what areyougoing to eat? Look at all this! Can you haveanyof it?’
Alison sighed and patted her handbag. ‘Don’t worry, I came prepared. I’ve got a bottle of SlimKwik here and a tiny piece of cheese to nibble on. I’ll be fine.’
‘You can’t just have that!’
‘It’s okay, honestly.’ Alison gave her a bashful smile. ‘I’ll be eating tonight. Mac’s picking me up from here and we’re going to go for a walk around Millensea then head back to Watersmeet for tea.’
Rosie’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, wow!Again? This is getting serious.’
Alison’s smile dropped. ‘No, no it’s nothing like that. We’re just friends. He’s helping me with the diet, I told you, and we’re learning to cook together using that cookbook I mentioned. Don’t read anything else into it, Rosie, for goodness’ sake.’
Rosie sighed. ‘I don’t see why not. There wouldn’t be anything wrong with it if you and he?—’
‘Well, we’re not.’ Alison glanced around, anxious in case anyone was listening who would get the wrong idea. ‘I don’t need all that in my life. I had a very happy marriage with Drew, and I’m not looking to replace him.’
‘No one said anything about replacing him,’ Rosie pointed out. ‘But a bit of a kiss and a cuddle now and then wouldn’t be too much to ask. Blimey, I wouldn’t say no if Mac was twenty years younger.’
‘Er, do you mind?’
‘Mind what? That he’s twenty years older than me – near enough – or that he’s yours and I should keep my mitts off?’
Alison rolled her eyes. ‘You don’t have to rub it in how young you are.’
They watched, amused, as Elaine stood with a plate in one hand, delicately nibbling on a sandwich that Christopher had got for her.
‘It’s going to take her an hour to eat that, the rate she’s going,’ Rosie pointed out. ‘I don’t know why Mam’s so weird around Niall and Kendra, I really don’t. Maybe it’s because she’s the only churchgoer among us. It’s like she can’t believe her own son is a vicar, and it somehow makes her inferior to him.’
‘Auntie Rosie!’ came a voice behind them. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous.’
Rosie’s face turned pink as they realised Poppy was standing behind them. ‘Stop eavesdropping! You weren’t supposed to hear that.’ She smiled as she saw Ryan hovering behind his sister. ‘There you are! Thought you were going to ignore us all afternoon.’
Ryan shrugged. ‘Sorry. I was checking my TikTok stats.’
‘Fair enough,’ Rosie said. ‘Where’s your other grandma, by the way? Thought she’d be here for your birthday, Poppy.’
‘She’s flown off on holiday to find herself,’ Poppy said. ‘Though you’d think she’d have found herself by now, wouldn’t you? She’s seventy! Flipping ancient.’
