Page 14 of I’ll Be Home for Christmas

She was about to say that of course she was, but she shook her head and confessed, ‘Not really.’

‘What’s up?’

‘It’s Sarah.’ And she found herself blurting out about Switzerland, about Rhys and her doubts, about how she’d told Sarah she wasn’t sure whether she was making a mistake. ‘And now she’s in Switzerland, well away from me. I’ve no idea what’s going through her head right now. She’s always talked to me. We’ve always been able to discuss things.’ She looked at the phone still in her hand as if she might have missed another message in the last few minutes. ‘I’m going crazy thinking about it.’

‘I can’t pretend I’m an expert with young women; Ella is an endless mystery most of the time.’ He gave her a sympathetic nudge. ‘But I do know Sarah and she’s a lovely girl, she’s sensible and she’ll do the right thing. Maybe she needs a bit of space.’

‘Maybe. But this close to the wedding?’

‘I’ll admit that is a little odd. Could you call the fiancé?’

She could. She had his number. ‘Do you think that’s wise?’

He made a face that suggested he was carefully considering his reply. ‘I think in this case it’s probably okay.’ He lifted the hairdryer. ‘Thanks for this.’

She barely registered the pat on her knee before he left her to it and closed the front door behind him.

At a loss as to what else to do she decided to follow Nolan’s advice, although it took a couple of attempts before she was brave enough to let the call to Rhys connect. She felt bad reaching out to him when he would know that she hadn’t approved of the wedding.

His first question, however, warmed her to him when he asked, ‘Has something happened? Is Sarah okay?’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you any panic. Nothing specific has happened,’ she said, ‘but she’s gone to Switzerland.’

‘Uhm… she has.’ So he knew. ‘To be with her grandparents.’

‘Did you two have some sort of fight?’

‘No, not that I know of. She wanted to see her grandparents, and she said she had a decorating job to do as a favour for her grandad. Or rather, his neighbour.’ His voice faltered.

Sarah was painting when she was over there? Sarah hadn’t said, and her mum hadn’t mentioned it to Chrissie either. Had Sarah made up an excuse for Rhys’s benefit? If she had, Chrissie wasn’t going to be the one to say it now because it might make matters worse.

‘Thank you, Rhys. I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t argued, that’s all.’ She was still sitting on the bottom stair and Tessa climbed up to sit next to her.

‘Mrs Finnigan, what’s going on?’

The plea in his voice had her warming to him even more. ‘It’s Chrissie, please. And I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called. Perhaps I’m worrying over nothing.’

A pause. ‘I know you think this is a mistake, us getting married. But I love your daughter.’

She’d been told that by Sarah, of course, but hearing him say it felt different. She wished she could see his face, know how sincere he really was.

‘Have you heard from her since she got to Switzerland?’ Chrissie asked. She didn’t want to make this about her opinions; she wanted to know what was going on with her daughter.

‘On and off. As far as I know she’s coming back a few days after Christmas. Which is cutting it fine.’

There it was again, that nervous edge that seemed so unlike the Rhys she’d met. ‘It is,’ she agreed.

‘Mrs—Chrissie, if you hear anything else…’

‘I’ll let you know.’

Before she’d made the call, she’d assumed the wedding was going ahead no matter her disapproval, but there had been doubt in Rhys’s voice. She hadn’t imagined that at all.

And she felt terrible.

Had her initial disapproval about the wedding made Sarah question her relationship and keep her feelings from everyone, including her fiancé?

And did the fact she was in Switzerland mean that Sarah might just stay there rather than come back and get married at all?