Page 61 of The Only Way Is Up

Daisy took a deep breath and forced a smile. ‘If you really want to help me, you’ll keep the gossip about me and Tom at bay. As far as the world is concerned Christian and I are still getting married and I’m here to write a cookbook and be near Ruby. I’ll be back in London after your bloody fete, and everything is absolutely fine and normal.’

‘Of course it is.’ Stella eyed Daisy sceptically. ‘But you should still talk to Tom. He’s worth twenty of that tennis playboy.’

‘I’m just going to take Henry out,’ said Tom, sticking his head into the kitchen. ‘But I’ll be back for coffee. Do you want me to take Hank?’

‘Oh,’ said Daisy. ‘Actually, yes, that would be great.’

‘Why don’t you go with Tom?’ said Stella pointedly. ‘Get some fresh air after all that cooking?’

Daisy rolled her eyes at her mother for being so obvious, but rationalised that five minutes alone with Tom might not be the worst bit of her day. She grabbed her coat and wellies and Hank’s lead, then followed Tom around the stables and onto the school field.

‘That was a lovely lunch,’ said Tom as she fell into step beside him. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome,’ said Daisy, not wanting to waste the few minutes they had together. ‘I’m sorry that this week has been a . . . rollercoaster. I didn’t intend for it to—’

‘—No,’ interrupted Tom. ‘It definitely didn’t pan out quite how I’d hoped. But I suppose that’s life, sometimes. We all move on.’

‘Yes,’ said Daisy bleakly. ‘I hope we can still be friends, at least while I’m still here.’

Tom gave her a look of such steadiness and kindness that she thought she might cry. ‘I’m sure I can manage that,’ he said quietly. ‘It is Christmas, after all.’

Miriam started to make moves to head back to Church House once coffee was cleared away, so Tom offered to walk her and Stella back to the village. He gave Daisy a chaste kiss on the cheek with a flurry of thank yous, then buried his hands in his coat pockets and hurried out into the yard after Stella and Miriam without looking back. Justin closed the door behind him, then hummed ‘Last Christmas’ as he danced back into the kitchen to help Daisy do the final clearing-up.

‘God, I’m stuffed.’

‘Then why are you still eating?’ laughed Daisy as Justin popped a cold pig in a blanket into his mouth then dropped another on the floor for Hank, who sniffed it suspiciously.

‘Because after today I’ll be back to sawdust and vegetables,’ Justin mused. ‘If you’re going to cheat, you might as well do it properly.’

‘You’ll be sick if you’re not careful,’ replied Daisy, rinsing glasses in the sink.

‘Not as sick as Tom,’ smirked Justin. ‘That man is lovesick, and it’s terminal. In the immortal words of Mariah Carey, all he wants for Christmas is you.’

Daisy gave him a stern look. ‘Don’t you start. I’ve already had all this from my mother.’

Justin looked serious for a moment. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’

‘Absolutely not,’ said Daisy emphatically, yanking off her rubber gloves. ‘There’s nothing to tell.’

‘Ooh, stern face,’ laughed Justin. ‘It’s quite sexy, even on a woman. I like it.’

‘Fuck off, Justin.’

Justin put his hands up. ‘Fine, I can definitely fuck off. But I’m also available to spend the rest of the day eating cheese and watching bad Christmas movies on your sofa, should you so desire.’

Daisy thought about the Christmas movie version of this situation where Tom would return, make a breathless speech on her doorstep and they’d end up a tangle of sweaty limbs on a fur rug in front of the fire as flakes of snow began to fall outside. But real life was considerably more complicated, and they both knew that Tom wasn’t coming back.

‘Fine,’ said Daisy. ‘But only if you stop drinking.’

‘I promise.’ Justin scooped up Hank and fell into the sofa. ‘I won’t drink, or mention your elusive fiancé, who by the way you haven’t talked about once today. Nor will I mention our handsome headmaster and how much you very obviously want to bang him into New Year.’

Daisy gave him a stern look, prompting Justin to press his fingers to his lips.

‘I still need to organise a get-together to talk about the student cooking sessions,’ she said, seizing the opportunity to change the subject. ‘I thought I could do it later in the week before Will goes back to school.’

‘Why don’t you all come to dinner at mine on the twenty-ninth?’ said Justin. ‘Give us something to look forward to in the festive perineum. Stella and I can cook, you can all see what our vibe is.’

‘Your vibe?’ Daisy raised her eyebrows in amusement.