This stopped Nina in her tracks.
“Well, why on earth didn’t you say that in the first place?” Nina demanded.
Because it’s a complete and total lie that I just plucked out of thin air, that’s why.
“Because you launched into your match-making scheme without letting me get a word in,” Carole said instead.
Nina’s eyes narrowed. “But a moment ago you said you planned on going to the wedding on your own. Now you’re saying you’ve actually got a date?”
“I was in two minds about it,” Carole said, marvelling at these falsehoods that were tumbling out so easily. “But now that you’ve told me that Steven will be there, then maybe you’re right that it will be nice to have a plus-one of my own.”
“Good,” her father said. “Show that cretin that you’ve got the pick of any man you choose and that it’s his loss.”
Carole gave her father an appreciative smile.
“So, who is this man you’ve lined up as your plus-one?” Nina asked.
“It’s, er, no one you know, just a friend,” she replied. “I’ll introduce you at the wedding.”
Carole sensed her mother was about to dig further. Not wanting to get into a discussion about her non-existent wedding date, Carole gave a breezy smile and gestured to the paint brushes still waiting to be washed at the sink.
“Listen, I need to get this lot washed and tidied away before the paint dries on the bristles and I end up having to scrub for ages, and I’ve also got more unpacking I need to finish upstairs, too.”
Her father, God love him, picked up on her cue immediately.
“We’ll leave you to it,” he said, waving Nina towards the kitchen door. “Come on, love, let’s get ourselves home.”
At the front door, Carole hugged her parents goodbye and waved them off. She adored her parents and was delighted to be back in Hampshire and living so close to them again, but tonight had served as a useful reminder that the years spent away in London had made her forget what a meddling nuisance her mother could be when she put her mind to it.
As she washed the paint brushes and rollers at the sink, she couldn’t help thinking about the news her mother had shared.
What would it be like to see Steven Weaver again after all these years? Would he have changed much? Or would he stillbe the same devastatingly handsome man she’d fallen for as an innocent twenty-year-old?
Perhaps he’d have some grey in his hair by now. If so, he probably looked even more amazing because of it. Carole knew it was too much to hope that the man would’ve gained a tonne of weight and developed a million wrinkles. She didn’t have that kind of luck.
At least she’d successfully side-stepped her mother’s attempt to set her up with the ghastly Bradley Godfrey. Carole shuddered at the very thought of it.
Now that she knew her old long-lost flame would be at her cousin’s wedding, Carole had no intention of going alone. She didn’tneeda man at her side, but she didwantone.
The big question was—who?
Carole finished washing the paint brushes and grabbed her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she considered the various male friends on her list.
Surely one of them would be happy to tag along as her plus-one at the wedding next weekend. It wouldn’t be that hard to rustle up a willing volunteer.
Would it?
