‘Mum?’ Chloe asked, staring at her mother, perplexed. ‘Our mum got up in front of an audience and played the bagpipes?’
‘Well,playedis kind of a stretch,’ Beth said, ‘but she won a few hearts with her dogged determination. Apparently she has a natural ability when it comes to—’
‘Okay, I’m making coffee,’ Jenny interrupted firmly as her daughters choked on their laughter and stared at their mother with equal measures of disbelief and fascination.
‘Mum!’ Brittany chuckled. ‘Who knew you could be so …’
‘Fun?’ Beth finished with a knowing smirk. ‘I’ll have you girls know your mother can be the life of the party when she puts her mind to it.’
‘Our mum?’ Chloe said.
‘Yes, I know, hard to imagine the words “fun” and “Mum” in the same sentence. I’d had too much to drink,’ Jenny said.
‘We’re just kidding, Mum,’ Brittany soothed.
‘I’m not,’ Chloe said. ‘What about all those lectures you give us about being sensible and not drinking too much in case you do something stupid that will come back to haunt you?’
‘And this is exactly why,’ Jenny pointed out. ‘You could end up making an idiot of yourself in front of a bunch of bagpipe players.’
Nick had been silently laughing the entire time and Jenny looked at him sternly across the table, which seemed to onlyamuse him more. ‘Sorry,’ he said, wiping the corner of his eye. ‘I really am, it’s just that I’m picturing you jamming away on a set of bagpipes while playing AC/DC.’
‘It sounded like a wounded pig screaming in agony,’ Beth said, cheerfully. ‘But she gave it a red hot go, did our little Jen.’
‘You are hereby sacked as my best friend,’ Jenny said, reaching for the empty bowls as she cleared the table and put an end to the humiliation.
‘Aw, come on, Jen. You know you love me. Besides, I have way more stories to spill, so it’s in your best interest to keep me around.’
‘Spill!’ Chloe said, leaning across the table gleefully.
One look at Jenny’s face and Beth had the good sense to clamp her lips shut. ‘Later,’ Jenny heard her stage whisper to the girls as she carried the dishes into the kitchen.
‘Are you okay?’ Nick asked as she was stacking the dishwasher.
She glanced up and smiled; the truth was she’d forgotten all about that night. Ithadbeen fun. She’d been still married at the time, but Austin was away more than he’d been home and Beth had convinced her to take a night off and go out for a girls’ night. It was supposed to be just a harmless night out at the movies, but it had turned into something far more entertaining. She couldn’t recall ever being that spontaneous … Or drunk, she supposed, which was probably the reason she’d been so spontaneous in the first place. But that wasn’t her. She was Jenny: mum, wife and nurse. She had to be the sensible, reliable one—not the bagpipe-torturing party girl.
‘I’m fine. It was a good night—but if you ever tell Beth I said that, I’ll deny it.’
‘My lips are sealed,’ he promised. ‘But I think you should definitely show me how well you play those pipes,’ he said, taking her into his arms and staring down at her with a mischievous look in his eye.
‘I don’t have a set of bagpipes,’ she told him, smoothing her hands up his chest slowly.
‘We don’t need them,’ he assured her, before the loud clatter of cutlery and laughter filled the kitchen as the others brought in the last of the dishes from the table.
Jenny eased out of his embrace but not before she heard him whisper, ‘Later,’ sending a flutter of anticipation through her.
‘Thanks for the lift,’ Jenny said as they pulled up outside the hospital the next morning. Her car wouldn’t start. everyone else had left the house, and she was running late for her shift. Thankfully, Nick had decided to sleep over—another first for them that hadn’t been anywhere near the big deal she’d been worrying it would be—so it hadn’t turned into the nightmare morning it could have. She kissed him, then began to pull away, but he slid a hand up around the back of her neck, gently cradling it and drew her back for a much deeper one.
When he eventually eased back, Jenny found herself blinking like a stunned owl into a pair of smiling hazel eyes.
‘That’s so you don’t forget how amazing you are.’
Jenny gave him a doubtful look, but a smile touched her lips. ‘See you tonight.’
‘Yes, you will.’
Jenny was still smiling when she walked inside, past reception. This was all still so new, but things had been happening so fast. Her kids all seemed fine with her new relationship—everyone had gotten on at dinner, and even Savannah, who’d appeared in the kitchen that morning, had apologised for the argument and given her blessing, saying Nick seemed okay … for an old guy.
The age thing hadn’t really been on Jenny’s mind lately—not when she kept getting distracted by how wonderful their time together was. Even when it was just doing something simple like watching a show on TV, she loved being tucked into his side and having his hand resting comfortably on her hip. He made her feel … special. Cherished. She was happy. It was only when she allowed the negative thoughts to invade while she was out in public that the age difference was still an issue.
