An hour later, Tobias and Drew come tumbling into the suite and she walks through to greet them. They smell of fresh air and salt. Olivia can see that they’ve both caught the sun today. Their faces shine and their hair is wind-ruffled, just like when they’ve been out sailing together.
Bella has been in her bedroom ever since her shower. Likewise, Olivia has been lying prostrate on her own bed, trying to ward off a migraine. She’d like to shift it before they head out for dinner tonight. They’ve booked her favourite restaurant on the seafront and she has been dreaming of lemon sole and a nice crisp Chablis ever since she got back to the hotel.
‘Everything all right?’ she says to the boys.
‘Well, I’ve put a rocket up them all,’ says Tobias. ‘I left Marcus with strict instructions to liaise more closely with the foreman.’
‘Bill,’ prompts Olivia.
‘Yes, that’s the one. Should be getting another pair of hands on deck, which will speed things up a bit hopefully. And I’ve said I want all the electrics sorted soon as. No more excuses, they just need to get it done!’
‘That’s good,’ she replies, nodding. She’s really not that interested in the whys and the wherefores as long as the place is finished soon.
‘Tell you what though,’ continues Tobias. ‘I could do without Marcus being such a pedant. Always wants things doing to the most impossible standard, needs to know the long end ofeverything. Won’t compromise on budget, either. And he seems to have no awareness of how it’s setting us back. Anyone would think it was his bloody house not ours.’
‘Oh he’s just doing his job, darling,’ she counters. ‘They’re always perfectionists, those types.’ She often feels the need to defend everyone, much to her husband’s annoyance. ‘And I’m sure Bill and the others are going as fast as they can.’
‘Not fast enough for my liking,’ he says with a grunt. ‘And I know how much this means to you,’ he adds, leaning in for a kiss, which he plants somewhere between her cheek and her forehead.
‘Pooh … you’re going to need a wash before we go out tonight,’ she says, wrinkling her nose.
Tobias sniffs under his armpit and grimaces.
‘By the way,’ he says. ‘I’ve asked Marcus to join us for a quick bite before he heads back to London. Seemed rude not to.’
Olivia makes a face.
‘Really, did you have to?’
‘Don’t be a spoilsport, Livvy. More the merrier!’
She remembers Bella’s comments earlier. No doubt her daughter will be making an appalling display of herself, flirting with Marcus at the dinner table. Tobias will be infuriated. If he even notices.
‘I just wanted a quiet one tonight. Especially after all that unpleasantness at the house earlier.’
‘What, that harridan next door? Don’t worry, she’s no match for me.’
‘I have no wish to fight with anyone, Tobias.’
He raises his hands in mock surrender.
‘I didn’t start it.’
‘Don’t be childish.’
‘Trust me, I have no issue with them either. But we are perfectly within our rights and legally they don’t have a leg to stand on.’
‘Hmm, that’s not strictly true, is it? And she didn’t exactly strike me as the considered, rational sort. More the “act now, think later” type,’ she says, remembering the young, wiry woman with the dark pixie cut. The way she had stood with such defiance on the stairwell, her arms crossed. Olivia had been quietly impressed by her. She’s never been that self-confident or forthright in her entire life. And she does see their point. To a certain extent.
‘You leave her to me,’ Tobias says, plumping out his chest, his chin jutting. ‘I like a good sparring partner,’ he adds, walking in the direction of the bathroom.
‘That’s what I’m worried about,’ she says to herself softly.
The restaurant is heaving as they take their usual table overlooking the harbourside. White lights are strung around the bay like a necklace glinting in the dusk and the sun is setting over the water, bathing the coastal cottages in a peachy glow. A smell of fresh lemons and charred fish is heady in the air, competing with perfume and brine and warm bodies.
Olivia seats herself next to her son, Drew, who is regaling her with his plans to go paddleboarding tomorrow while attacking the bread basket with gusto. Tobias sits opposite her at the other end of the table, studying the wine menu with his reading glasses. Bella has taken herself off to the toilet, even though they only left the hotel five minutes ago. She’s sure she does it on purpose, so that she can spend more time parading about in full view of the other diners. Casting her eye over the specials board, Olivia sees that the sole has been scored through and marked as sold out. She feels a moment of personal grief before settling on a lobster salad. Anything as long as it comes with the much-longed-for glass of cold white wine.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Marcus arrive and, spotting their table, he raises a hand and comes over.
