Page 17 of You Lied First
‘What, no Celine?’ He sounds disappointed, as if it won’tbe a decent evening without her. As if the people already there are worthless.
‘Her lights are off,’ Margot says placidly, ‘so maybe not.’
She exchanges a quick glance with Flynn and they smile.
‘Let’s dig in,’ Guy says, and then Margot hears it:
‘Yoo-hoo, guys! Got space for a little one?’
13
SARA
‘Come on over! The more the merrier!’ Guy shouts. ‘We set a place for you!
‘Yay!’ Over the other side of the pool, Celine does a little cheer with her fists in the air and wiggles her hips. She’s wearing a flowing white maxi dress with gold jewellery at her throat, wrists and ears, and high-heeled mules that clack on the tiles as she skirts around the pool. Her lip gloss matches those red-orange nails and her dark hair is loose, but held back from her face with a casual clasp so it catches the breeze as she walks. The overall effect is one hundred per cent Greek goddess. I feel utterly inadequate in my crumpled shorts and shirt set. It had looked so nice on the mannequin in the shop, but I hadn’t really thought ahead to how it would look once I’d sat in it for a bit. In the heat. I hope there’s no sweat marks when I stand up.
‘Hey, hey, hey!’ Celine sings as she gets closer. She kisses her fingers and waves them around the table in a greeting. Her hair actually bounces like it’s in a shampoo ad.
‘What a treat,’ she says to Margot. ‘You were on the nose about being hungry later. This looks absolutely delicious.’
‘You look very smart. Don’t let us hold you back if you had plans,’ Margot says.
‘Oh, no. Not at all. Absolutely everyone and his dog went away for Christmas. I’ve been Billy No-Mates for the last week. I’ve practically forgotten how to speak.’
‘I love your dress,’ I say, although I do wonder why she’s all dressed up if she has no plans. Had Guy invited her on the sly?
‘Thanks! Outnet sale,’ Celine says. ‘Absolute bargain. You look lovely, too. I adore linen.’
Guy offers her the platter of fish and we all start passing food around.
‘So what did you two get up to this afternoon?’ she asks Guy. ‘Anything you can talk about in front of the kids?’ She winks at Flynn, who looks at his plate.
‘I slept off lunch in time for dinner,’ Guy says with a chuckle, ‘and Margot, I think – what did you do, Mar?’
She waves her hand at the table, presenting the food as her reply.
‘Well, it all looks lovely,’ Celine says. ‘Sara and I hung out by the pool. I tried to persuade her to move here. So, did it work? Have you been googling one-way flights and residence visas?’ she asks me.
‘Ha ha!’ I laugh. ‘I wouldn’t need much persuading!’
‘What about me?’ Liv says, and I open my mouth then close it again. Is she worried I might move abroad? I smile and reach over to squeeze her hand.
‘I’m not going anywhere, don’t you worry.’
‘Good!’ Liv says, and it lights me up like a Christmas tree.
‘How about you guys?’ I say to the Forrests without thinking. ‘Would you ever come back here to live? Maybe after Flynn’s A-levels?’
Flynn glances at Margot and they both look away. I can’t believe I put my foot in it just like that.
‘We’re settled in Cheltenham now,’ Guy says smoothly. ‘For Margot’s dad. And it would be too difficult to run the business from here. Margot does a lot of home visits.’
Margot’s staring at the salad, her face inscrutable.
‘Of course,’ I say, wishing the ground would swallow me up.
‘Well, if you won’t come back, maybe I can tempt Flynn back once he’s finished school,’ Celine says with a grin. There’s a beat of silence before she says, ‘So, what are you all up to tomorrow?’
