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‘Oh, I know that, but it’s still putting you in an awkward position, but Jonny is Stuart’s best friend…’ The last words were said in a tone that begged for both forgiveness and understanding.
‘It’s fine.’ Tasha cupped her sister’s cheek so she could hold her gaze. ‘And it’s not going to be awkward, because I’m not going to let it be.’ She’d sworn she’d never let Jonny Roberts hurt her again and, though it had taken a few years for the embarrassment and hurt to fade, Tasha had no regrets about where her life had ended up. She pecked one more kiss on Danni’s cheek then moved around her, holding her arms open as she approached her brother-in-law. ‘Hello, Stu.’
‘Tash! You made it. I must say I was a bit worried when I saw the forecast this morning. Was it horrendous?’ Stuart swept her into a bear hug, pulling her close so Tasha ended up on her tiptoes. He was an affectionate, warm-hearted man, always ready with a hug and a smile, and Tasha adored him because he made Danni so happy.
‘Put me down before you wrinkle me,’ Tasha said, fending him off with a laugh as he smacked a big kiss on her cheek. ‘The rain was awful for the first hour, but once I got off the motorway, it cheered up.’ She lifted her eyes to check the sky, but there was no sign of the dark clouds that had dogged the first part of her journey. ‘Let’s hope it stays like this for the rest of the day.’
‘From your lips to the ears of the weather gods or we’ll be hanging onto the marquee trying to stop it from blowing away.’ Stuart slung a friendly arm around her shoulders. ‘You staying with the parental units tonight?’
‘Like they’d let me stay anywhere else,’ Tasha replied with a laugh. ‘I warned Mum I have to be up at stupid o’clock tomorrow to get back to work in time for the Monday morning team meeting, but you know she’ll still be up before me making sure I have breakfast before I leave.’ It wasn’t a complaint. For all she drove Tasha mad with her endless fussing, everything her mum did for her came from a place of love. She just wished sometimes that love came with a similar level of acceptance.
Stuart grinned. ‘We told your folks we would be happy to hire the parish hall for the party today and I thought your mum’s head might explode at the suggestion.’
‘Well, your parents hosted Mason’s party, so I guess they wanted to make sure they’re doing their bit.’ It had made sense for the O’Neills to take the lead then because Stuart’s older brother and sister-in-law had been chosen as Mason’s godparents, but her mother was the queen of hosting parties and there was no way she would let the opportunity pass her by twice.
‘I know.’ He leaned in closer and whispered in Tasha’s ear. ‘Don’t ever have kids, Tash, because your life will never be your own again.’ When he leaned back he was still smiling, but Tasha knew him well enough to catch the tension around the edges of his mouth. Unlike Tasha, who’d had the sense to move away, both Stu and Danni had chosen to return home after university, finding jobs and a small place in Ipswich that had allowed them to save up until a property had become available in the village. Tasha’s parents had kicked in a chunk of cash to help with the deposit. They’d offered to do the same for Tasha but she’d told them she preferred to stand on her own two feet. Although that had been part of it, she’d known that if she agreed then the pressure would start for her to find somewhere in the local area, and she definitely preferred to keep her distance. She’d got a good deal on a rental property through her job and that suited her just fine.
‘Chin up,’ she said, giving her brother-in-law a consoling pat on the shoulder. ‘It’s only for another eighteen years or so.’
Stuart groan-laughed. ‘Ouch, Tash, that’s just mean.’ His face turned serious. ‘You okay about today?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Not you as well! Jonny and I are old history. He’s happy, I’m happy, the end.’
‘Did I hear my name?’ The man who Tasha once thought she’d spend the rest of her life with broke away from the rest of the group and turned to them with a familiar smile. His blue eyes still twinkled with the promise of adventures, the cowlick in his fringe still caused his blonde hair to part in a just-off-centre wave that had a tendency to flop into his eyes if he let it grow too long. His tall frame was still the same as when he’d held her long into the night as they whispered to each other their hopes and dreams for the future. And yet, he was like a stranger to her. Or perhaps he was the same old Jonny, and she was the one who’d changed. Either way, there was a moment’s pause where she waited for a flicker of that connection between them to reignite and nothing but relief when it didn’t.
‘I was just saying how happy I am to see you.’ The lie rolled easily off her tongue. She had forgiven him for what he’d done to her, if only because letting go of that painful episode had enabled her to move on, but they were never going to be friends. Tasha made a point of turning to include the woman hovering just behind Jonny’s shoulder in her welcoming smile. ‘It’s great to see both of you. You look well, Lauren.’
And fully clothed, which was always a bonus.
Tasha kept the little barb to herself while letting the black humour of it warm her inside. Forgiveness hadn’t turned her into a martyr. Holding the smile, she extended it to the little blonde angel holding tightly to her mother’s hand. ‘This can’t be Willow, can it? Goodness me, you are all grown up!’ The last time she’d seen Jonny and Lauren’s daughter she’d been not much more than a babe in arms at a New Year’s Eve party her parents had thrown. Somehow it had slipped her mother’s mind to mention she’d invited the Roberts clan. Then again, she’d invited the whole village so excluding them would’ve only set tongues wagging and Tasha had had more than enough of that to last her a lifetime.
‘Mummy’s got a baby in her tummy!’ Willow declared. The deep furrow etched between her brows said she wasn’t entirely enamoured with the idea.
Tasha felt the edges of her smile tighten just a little as Lauren tried and failed to shush her daughter while those around turned to call out their congratulations. Tasha didn’t need to look up to know more than one of those well-wishers would be training their hawklike gazes on her, waiting for a reaction. Not giving them a moment of satisfaction, Tasha kept her attention fixed on Willow. ‘Well, isn’t that lovely! Are you looking forward to having a baby brother or sister?’
‘No! I told Mummy to send it back.’
Tasha had to bite her lip and turn away before Willow saw her laughing. Unfortunately, the motion brought her face to face with Jonny, who was frowning in concern. ‘I’m sorry about that. We were trying to keep things quiet for now.’
Tasha raised her brows at that but refused the temptation to point out that expecting a small child to keep that kind of momentous news a secret was a bit stupid. Then again, Lauren had always loved to steal the limelight – she liked to steal a lot of things. Tasha pushed the mean thought away. Lauren wasn’t the one to blame, and, besides, she’d done Tasha a favour in the long run. ‘Why on earth would you think you need to apologise to me? What you and Lauren get up to is entirely your own business, but Danni might not be quite so forgiving.’
Jonny winced. ‘You still know how and where to stick the knife, don’t you, Tash?’
‘And you still seem confused about how little it matters to me what’s happening in your life. I’ll see you at the font, Jonny. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few more people I need to say hello to before we start.’
2
‘Happy Valentine’s Day, Rhys.’
Rhys quirked his lips into something approximating a smile at Martha Shaw’s enthusiastic greeting. ‘Thanks, Martha. Have you been inundated with cards and gifts from all your secret admirers?’
‘Oh, behave yourself!’ The middle-aged owner of Stourton-in-the-Vale’s village store rolled her eyes, but Rhys didn’t miss the way she grinned to herself as she turned back to the display fridge she was filling. Rhys had a lot of time for Martha and her husband, Joe, who had moved to the village five years earlier and taken over the then rather run-down shop. Tired of London life, they’d decided to take a risk and put their savings into a completely new venture. With an eye for what visitors to the area would like as well as providing a service to the local community, they’d expanded the shop into an empty building next door and now ran one of the most popular shops in the area. You could get everything from a daily paper and a pint of milk (including a variety of non-dairy options) to fresh lemongrass and dried fennel seeds.
‘Is Joe about?’ Rhys asked her as he helped himself to one of the baskets by the door and took out his phone to check the list his mother had dictated to him when he’d made the mistake of mentioning he was nipping out to the shop. He glanced down at the basket in his hand, back at the list and swapped the basket for one of the larger ones on wheels. Just a few bits, my arse.
‘He’s doing a few deliveries but shouldn’t be more than about ten minutes.’ Martha looked back over her shoulder.
‘On a Sunday? Business must be booming.’
