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Evie leaned into Sunita. “Nick and his brothers were in France for two months.”
She refused to look over her shoulder. “Yeah, Fi said.”
“I knew celebrations were in order, so I called a taxi and…” Nick hitched his shirt up, gifting Evie a fleeting glimpse of abs as he revealed his strangely shaped ‘baby bump’—a large bottle swaddled in a handkerchief. “I brought champagne!”
“Coool!” Her eyes swept the embroidered Louis on his vintage bowling shirt. I still love that!
“Champagne? At a bonfire?” asked Sunita.
“Better believe it,” said Nick, peeling away the foil covering the cork. “Evie’s always wanted to try it.”
“Always?” Sunita raised a sardonic brow. “Really.”
Evie nodded. “I really wanted some for my sixteenth.” She let out a giggle. “Guess I should’ve told someone.”
“Your birthday was the 29th of April, right?” Nick crouched down, joining the girls on the blanket.
“Yes!” She beamed, engrossed by the ceremony unfolding in front of her.
He tossed his head, flicking his hair away from his eyes. “Well, how ’bout we celebrate EVERYTHING now, eh?! Birthdays, your exam results, my newfound freedom…”
Joy effervesced in Evie’s belly. “Nick! Does this mean—?”
“Yeppers!” Pointing the champagne away from everyone, Nick held the handkerchief over the neck and cork and rotated the bottle slowly until it released a muffled POP.
“Woohoo!” Evie clapped, amazed nary a drop was sacrificed.
“In English, please?” asked Sunita.
Nick handed the open bottle to Evie first, its weight dropping her hands into her lap. “My dad backed off. I don’t have to join Sports Now or take over when he retires.”
“Nick!” Evie squealed. “I’m SO happy for you!” Fighting the urge to wrap him in a tight, congratulatory hug, she hoisted the heavy bottle up, pressing the glass opening to her lips. Chilled bubbles, citrusy and fizzy, danced on her tongue and tickled all the way down her throat. So decadent! Evie fought back a giggle. And so not Orkney! The unexpected thrill of sitting on the sand, bathed in the ripe pinks of a late summer sunset with Nick and his champagne was almost too much. She snuck another sip.
“You like?” He stuffed the handkerchief in his back pocket. “If you don’t, that’s fine. You don’t have to drink—”
“No, I love it!”
“It’s nice, isn’t it? It’s a 1996 vintage, found it in my gran’s wine room.”
“She has a room?” gaped Evie.
“As big as my bedroom, yeah.”
“When’d you find out about Sports Now?” Evie offered the champagne to Sunita, who shook her head.
“About an hour ago. Dad rang. Something must’ve changed his mind this afternoon.” Nick shrugged casually into a dimple-flexing grin. “But hey, who cares about details? It’s a win. I’ll shut up and gladly take it.”
“What about Cambridge?” Evie fidgeted with her top again.
“That’s off the table, too, but he held firm on uni. So! Guess who’s headed to the University of Salford next month?”
“Salford?” asked Evie. “Where’s that?”
“Greater Manchester,” said Nick.
“Wow! How’d you get in? Acceptances already went out.”
“How’d you think?” Sunita sloppily rubbed her thumb over the tip of her index and middle fingers, hinting at a cash transaction.
