“Judging by the amount of people outside the cottages this morning, I can see that you’re not exaggerating,” said Megan. “The party sounds fun.” Her voice turned sulky. “I wish I could come along.”
“You might still be here, if this bloody fog doesn’t lift before then,” Lexi said. “I mean, I’m sure it will, but you know, if it doesn’t.”
They drove in silence for a few minutes, until Megan broke it saying, “It’s Halloween, I’d forgotten. Are there any parties nearby that we could go to?”
Jack sighed. “Not elaborate ones,” he said. “My sister and her boyfriend are holding a get-together at the café this evening, and there’ll probably be the usual kids, trick or treating around the boardwalk.”
“Will you sit with me at the cottage, to make sure they don’t bother me?” Megan was all smiles again.
Bella only just withheld a groan. “Lexi and I could do that. Jack will need to be at the café, as will we for some of the time, at least.”
“Yes, and Nicki will probably be after me again,” he said, almost to himself. “She should be returning to London soon.”
Bella thought he sounded hopeful about Nicki’s departure, or was that just wishful thinking? She wondered what Nicki would do when she found out about their outing today. How would she react to the photos if they did appear in the papers, showing Jack and Megan walking alone together? Her thoughts turned to the teenage kiss she’d shared with Jack at a beach party, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him now. He had kissed her once when she was seventeen and he was nineteen after a boozy beach party, infuriating Sacha. She had made such a fuss they’d never come close to being more than friendly after that.
Lexi drove down the hill and parked round the back of the cottages. “We can walk to the café from here,” she said. “If we hurry, they won’t see us and will think we’re inside by the time they find their way back here.”
“Good plan,” Claire said, unclicking her seat belt and getting out of the car. “Come along, hurry up.”
“You go down and I’ll follow on,” Lexi said. “I just want to check the heating’s on for when Megan gets back up here.”
Bella watched the other four hurry down the hill and stayed back with Lexi. She waited for her outside the cottage, hands pushed deep into her pockets. When Lexi didn’t come out, she went to find her. “Come on, what are you doing in there?”
“I found this,” she said, holding an opened envelope in one hand, and what looked very much like a wedding invitation in the other.
Bella’s heart rate soared. “What is it?” she asked, almost wishing she hadn’t.
“I know what it looks like, but it’s actually an invitation to a Halloween party at the Sea Breeze.”
“But that’s tonight.”
Lexi shrugged. “I know. A bit late by way of notice. I wonder whether you’ve got one?”
“I doubt it.” Bella suddenly wasn’t sure. It would be just like Nicki to want her to witness her wedding proposition to Jack.
“Will you go, if you do have one?”
Would she? Bella gave it a little thought. “Yes. I would want to be there for Jack, in case she’s up to mischief.”
“Good point,” Lexi said. “Me, too.”
They left the house and hurried down the hill. The drizzle that now accompanied the fog lowered her mood even further. “Shall I quickly pop home and see if I do have an invitation?”
“Yes, I’ll come with you.”
◆◆◆
Five minutes later they arrived at the café to find Jack and Megan sitting at a table with steaming drinks and plates of chocolate cake in front of them.
“Where have you two been?” Sacha asked. “These two have been telling me all about your escapades this morning. It sounds great fun.”
“It was,” Bella said, assuming her mum and Rosie must have gone to visit Betty. She handed Jack the envelope she’d found lying on her doorstep. “This is yours.”
“Ah, I wasn’t sure whether to say anything, or not,” Sacha said. “Nicki delivered one of those here for me this morning, too. She’s invited me and Alessandro.”
“To what?” Jack asked, staring at the small white envelope as if it was about to burst into fire. He looked over at Bella and then back at the envelope. “Maybe you were right to be concerned, Bella,” he said quietly.
“There’s also one for you, Megan,” Lexi said. “It was on my doorstep.”
Megan beamed at her. “Wow, this looks fun,” she said, taking her invitation out and reading it. “It looks like we’re all invited to Nicki’s surprise Halloween party. I wonder if the party is the surprise, or if it’s something else?”
“I dread to think,” Sacha said, motioning for Bella and Lexi to sit down under skeleton bunting she’d strung from one corner of the café to the other. “Your usual? Or you could try some of my strawberry fizz and Death by Chocolate cake?”
Spotting the large succulent cake on a stand on the counter, Bella nodded. She wasn’t sure if she could stomach even a crumb of her favourite cake; not with the thought of what Nicki had planned for Jack that evening crashing around in her head. She could see by the looks on the other people’s faces and the giggles from a group of children inspecting individual small buckets filled with sweets, that Sacha had gone to a lot of trouble to make the party fun. Bella didn’t want to dampen the atmosphere by not joining in.
“I’ll skip the cake, but I must try some of that,” Lexi said pointing to two jugs of red bubbly drink.
“Are we all going to go?” Megan asked, moving the skull candle as she sat. She beamed at Bella excited as a small child at a birthday party.
There was a brief silence until Jack said, “Yes, I think we should.”
“I thought you were supposed to be keeping your head down,” Bella said. Then, remembering that they had only just returned from giving the paparazzi something to write about, added, “Though I think we’ve already ensured your cover was blown this afternoon.”
“So, there’s no reason for me to miss the party?”
Bella had to agree that there wasn’t. “Do you have something to wear?” Did she? she wondered, trying to picture everything in her meagre wardrobe.
“Yes. I brought a few new dresses with me. I might not have lived in this celeb world for long, but I know to take clothes in case the stuff stylists bring is horrible.”
“Don’t the stylists put you in clothes from designers they’re supposed to be promoting?”
“Mostly, maybe. Either way, I like having something of my own, just in case.”
It made sense to Bella. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go to the party, but if Nicki was going to try and trap Jack into marrying her, then she wanted to be there to witness his reaction, not hear it third-hand.
They ate their cake and chatted a little more. Bella listened to the others’ excitement about the evening building. Only Jack seemed a little subdued. She caught him looking at her and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. It wasn’t her fight, but he was her friend and she was going to be there to support him should he need her to.
“Right,” Sacha said, collecting the empty plates and cups. “You lot get going and give me a chance to sort things out here and figure out what I’m going to wear.”
Bella helped collect the plates and followed her into the kitchen. “Do you really think Nicki is going to try and corner him?”
“Who knows?” Sacha said, as they stacked the large dishwasher. “I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
That was what worried Bella, too. She had been hoping Sacha could dispel some of her concerns about the evening, as she knew Nicki much better than Bella did. Never mind, she thought. She would simply have to see how things went.
She didn’t like to leave her mum alone at the cottage while she went out with the rest of them. Happy to have an excuse to miss the party, Bella tried to sound disappointed as she said, “I might have to do something with Mum tonight.”
/>
“No, you’re not getting out of it that easily,” Jack said. “I heard Claire and Aunt Rosie talking earlier, when they were walking with me to the cottage, about going out for a few drinks and a catch up tonight. Aunt Rosie was saying how it’s been years since they’ve had time for a proper chat.”
She liked to think of her mother settling back in with her old friends. Claire and Rosie had been at school together and had apparently been very close as teenagers, until her mum had fallen pregnant with Bella and gone on her travels soon after she was born.
“Right, I’ll leave you to it. I need to try and find something suitable for tonight in my wardrobe.” She raised her eyebrows. “It’s not going to be easy.”
“Megan and I are going back to the cottages to get ready,” Lexi said, as they walked back into the café. “Shall we all meet here and walk to the hotel together?”
“Good idea,” Bella said. “Here, seven-thirty.” She looked at her mother, chatting quietly to Rosie. “Have a fun evening you two. I’ll catch up with you later, Mum.”
She walked back to the cottage with Jack. He barely spoke on the way, and Bella wasn’t sure what she could say to help him.
“You alright?” she asked quietly as she pulled off her gloves and tucked them into her coat pocket.
“Yes, fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”
She smiled at him. “That’s good,” she said, only slightly comforted.
◆◆◆
At the agreed time, they all met up at the café and walked to the nearby hotel together. Bella was relieved the party was only around the corner. She stopped by the door and leaned on a chair to adjust her shoe.
“Uncomfortable?” Sacha asked.
“Just not used to wearing heels.” Bella grimaced. “I thought I should make an effort to at least look like I’m used to attending parties.” She didn’t add that she didn’t want to appear unsophisticated against Nicki’s, no doubt, sleek appearance.
Jack held open the reception door to the hotel while they filed in.
“You’re here for the party, I presume?” asked a smiling, handsome man in a dark grey suit.
She could hear laughter and voices coming from a nearby room. “Yes, we are.” She read his badge and saw that he was the assistant manager and that his name was Charlie. She wondered why she hadn’t seen him before and must have stared rather longer than she intended, because when she looked at his face she saw he was smiling directly at her.
“You’re all local to the village?”
“Everyone except me,” Megan said, fluttering her false eyelashes at him.
Bella waited for his reaction, but supposed that he didn’t watch much television, when he nodded. “Welcome, then. I hope this fog isn’t causing you too much of a problem.”
“It was,” she said, giggling. “But these people have been entertaining me and I have to admit that I’ve been having far more fun than I ever imagined.”
“That’s great news.” He stepped back and indicated the double doors to the side of Megan. “If you’d like to pass me your coats, I’ll hang them up in the cloakroom. The party’s through there.”
They handed him their coats and scarves and Sacha and Bella led the way, opening the doors slowly to reveal circular tables decorated with high glass vases filled with copper foliage and orange flowers. The tablecloths were pale purple, and for someone who didn’t live on the island, Nicki had managed to fill the room with guests.
“Where did she find all these people?” Bella asked, scanning the faces to see if she knew any of them. She didn’t seem to.
“No idea,” said Sacha.
Jack joined them, standing between the girls, an arm around each of their shoulders. “She never did do things by halves,” he murmured. “I recognize some of them from her firm’s Christmas party last year.” He stared at one man for a few seconds. “That’s her new bloke.”
“Where?” Bella asked, intrigued. Had she read the situation wrong? It seemed so, she thought with relief.
“The smart guy over there, talking to her.”
Bella studied the man. She was sure she’d seen him somewhere before. “Do I know him?”
“Isn’t he off the telly?” Sacha asked. “I don’t think he’s an actor though. Good looking enough to be one.”
Megan pushed in between Bella and Jack. “What have I missed?”
Sacha pointed discreetly to the couple. They didn’t seem very loving. He seemed determined not to make eye contact with Nicki as she leaned in close to him, talking.
“Bloody hell, he’s hot!” Megan pushed forward, then reaching back, grabbed Bella’s hand. “Come along. You’re supposed to be entertaining me, so introduce me to him.”
Bella snatched her hand back. “I don’t know who he is. You’ll have to introduce yourself, if you’re determined to speak to him.”
“Fine,” she said. “Watch me.”
As Megan strode across the room, head held high, medically enhanced boobs thrust out, Bella heard several male invitees vocalise their appreciation. She could see by the look on the younger girl’s face that she was enjoying every second of their undivided attention.
“Wouldn’t you just love to have that girl’s confidence?” Sacha whispered to Bella.
“Ten per cent of it would do me.”
“True. Look at her go. You’ve got to be impressed.”
Bella was. “Do you know, having spoken to her a bit since she got here, I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of what she projects is a front. I think she’s determined to be a celebrity, but doesn’t have that much confidence underneath.”
Jack laughed. “You could have fooled me.”
Alessandro arrived, and Sacha went to greet him. They returned to the others, arms around each other’s waists, and Bella couldn’t help thinking what a gorgeous couple they made.
“Look at Megan,” she said, and they turned to watch as Nicki spotted Megan’s approach with a fixed smile on her face.
“Oh hell, I think there’s going to be trouble,” Sacha said. “Maybe it’s time we found our table and sat down.”
“Good idea,” Jack agreed, crossing the room to study the table plan on a large white easel by the doorway. He indicated a table at the back of the room, by the entrance to the kitchen, and the girls followed him to find their seats.
“We’re well out of harm’s way here,” Bella said, relieved.
Sacha pulled a face. “With Nicki in the room, I can’t see that anywhere is really safe from her.”
“I’ll get us some drinks,” Jack said, without waiting for them to argue.
Bella watched him walk over to the bar. “He seems fairly sure that this event has nothing to do with him, doesn’t he?”
Sacha nodded. “Let’s hope so. Although, to be honest, you can’t force Jack to do anything he doesn’t want to do.”
Good, thought Bella. She had assumed as much, but it was reassuring to hear Sacha confirm it, especially as Jack seemed to go running whenever Nicki called him. Alessandro went to join Jack at the bar.
“I wonder what your mum and my Aunt Rosie are chatting about tonight?” Sacha asked, looking amused. “I don’t know if I trust either of them to behave.”
Bella giggled. “Me neither. They were going out for a few drinks together for a proper catch up.”
“Actually, never mind what they’re chatting about,” Sacha said, only momentarily taking her eyes off Nicki. She shook her head and smiled at Bella. “More like, who are they chatting up?”
“It doesn’t bear thinking about.” Bella realized who the man standing with Nicki was. “That’s the economist, Oliver Whimsy,” she said, quietly. “I was reading about him in a magazine at the dentist’s last month. He’s very good looking, don’t you think?”
Sacha nodded. “He is. You’re right, too. Wow, how the hell did Nicki snap him up, he’s gorgeous.”
Bella agreed, but resisted telling her friend that she didn’t mind how handsome the man was,
as long as he was going to keep Nicki from fighting to get Jack back.
“Who’s that bloke Nicki’s with?” Lexi asked, joining them at the table.
“Where’ve you been?” Bella asked, noticing the smile on Lexi’s face.
“Never you mind.”
“Tease,” Bella smiled.
The band, which Bella hadn’t noticed before, struck up a tune, and everyone began to find their tables and take their seats. Megan stopped to beam at a couple of male guests on her way back to their table. Alessandro and Jack hurried back, carrying their drinks.
“Oh heck,” Sacha groaned. “Nicki’s getting up on the stage.”
They had all sat down by the time she raised her hands and gave a little bow to the band.
“Thank you,” she said, turning back to face her captive audience. “Welcome, dear friends, and thank you for coming to my surprise Halloween party.” She gave her guests a brilliant white smile and held her hands out. “I’ve asked you here today for a celebration, but won’t reveal the occasion until after you’ve eaten and enjoyed yourselves.”
“But we want to know now,” shouted a man Bella had seen, being a little noisy at the bar when they arrived. “Tell us, tell us, tell us,” he chanted, waving for the others to join in.
Bella and Jack exchanged unimpressed glances, as one or two of the guests half-heartedly joined in with the chants.
She had expected Nicki to be furious by the man’s interruption of her speech, but instead she seemed to be considering doing as he asked, making Bella suspect that maybe the entire scene had been set up.
Nicki motioned for Oliver Whimsy to join her. “Oliver,” she said, her voice low and enticing.
He looked, Bella thought, slightly uncomfortable but did as Nicki asked. She took his hand and before anyone could say anything, got down on one knee in front of him. A collective gasp filled the room. “Oliver, will you marry me?”
“Bloody hell!” bellowed one of the suited men seated at the table Oliver had just vacated. “She’s proposing.”
Autumn Antics: Escape to the seaside with the perfect autumn read! (The Boardwalk by the Sea Book 2) Page 14
