Page 118 of Pyg

“Oh my God, Nik!” Ash scrambled for the door handle and jumped out, hugging her brother. “Look at your beard! You almost look like a proper grown-up!”

“Almost? I’m thirty-two.” He honked out a laugh.

Alice shuffled her feet by the front of the car, trying to stop her heels from sinking into the gravel. Ash turned to her and held out an arm.

“Nik, this is my friend, Alice.” Nik reached out and shook her hand. “Alice, meet my annoying little brother, Nikhil.”

“Thanks for coming along, Alice.”

Alice smiled politely, trying not to stare too hard into the brown eyes that were a copy-and-paste of his sister’s. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

Nik beamed a smile full of pristine white teeth, then turned on his heel to head back inside. “Right, let’s get this party started.”

Alice and Ash followed on until Nik spun around.

“Oh, Ash, there’s something…” Nik stepped back toward her and whispered into her ear.

The colour leached from Ash’s face as she searched Nik’s with narrowed eyes.

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

Nik shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t know until I saw her arrive. Mum must have invited her, or Sukhi, you know they’re still in touch.” Nik scratched his beard. “I’ve not really been in control of the guest list.”

Ash’s mouth hung open as she reeled from whatever blow she’d been dealt.

“I’ll, er… give you a minute. See you inside, yeah?” Nik grimaced at Alice before bouncing on his heels and jogging off.

Alice moved closer to Ash and placed a hand on her back. “What’s the matter?”

Ash stared down at her loafers. “Sam’s here. Mum must have invited her.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, shit! This is bad. I mean, I haven’t seen her since she left for Edinburgh.”

“She’s married now, right?”

Ash nodded. “I knew today would be weird, but I didn’t expect this.”

“Okay, well… it’s your family gathering and you have more of a right to be here than she does. So, you can go in with your head held high and with your gorgeous friend on your arm.” Alice tried to coax a smile from Ash’s frowning face.

Sucking in a breath, Ash stood up straight and proffered an arm to Alice. “Yeah, you’re right. Come on.”

* * *

“Wow!”Alice’s eyes popped when they entered the reception room. Mags and Markus had had a flashy do when they tied the knot, but this was next level, and it was only the engagement party. Lush, white floral arrangements adorned the tables and fairy lights suspended from the ceiling twinkled like a starry night. A polished dance floor gleamed centre stage as the DJ spun songs to an empty floor.

“Welcome to your first Desi party.” Ash held out her arms. “We go big.”

“Yeah, you sure do.”

Ash seemed to stiffen as she looked around the room, bustling with party guests. From a gaggle of women chatting in the corner came a loud squawk, and one woman threw her arms in the air.

“Ey up! Here comes trouble,” Ash muttered to Alice as the squawking women made a beeline for them.

“And you suddenly sound very Yorkshire!”

“Yeah, that tends to happen when I’m around this lot.”

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