Page 40 of A Seaside Escape
Greg ran his hand through his hair, his eyes looking anywhere but hers.
Ignoring what had happened, she held out the necklace. ‘Here put it on me.’
He pulled her hair around to one side and placed the chain around her neck. He fastened the clasp and then let her hair fall back over her shoulders. She turned to face him.
‘Gorgeous.’ He smiled.
She walked over to the little porthole mirror near the front door. ‘Oh, I love it, Greg. Thank you so much.’
‘Well, I figured you’re the closest thing I have to a best friend around here, so…’
‘Well, I’m honoured to be your friend. It’s such a thoughtful gift. They both are.’
Greg cleared his throat and ran his hand through his hair again. ‘Anyway, it’s all arranged, I’ll pick you up at half seven. We’ll go over for a couple of drinks and then we’ll go down to the beach for that steak, okay?’
‘Wow, you have it all organised.’ She appreciated how kind he was being and how much of an effort he was making to ensure her thirtieth birthday went with a bang and not a fizzle.
‘Aye, I have. Make sure you wear something very smart; the beach is an exclusive place to dine, you know.’ He put on his best ‘posh’ accent and winked. ‘And it’s quite warm out,’ he added. He opened the front door and turned to her. ‘I know it’s not the same as you’d wanted, but I hope you still enjoy your birthday celebrations, Mallory.’ He smiled.
‘Oh, I’m sure I will. So far so good.’ She gestured to her necklace and he walked away towards the bridge without a backwards glance.
She ran herself a bath and added some relaxing essential oils, poured a glass of her favourite red wine, and climbed in. The warm water was soothing and she began to relax whilst the heady aroma of jasmine filled her senses. She couldn’t help still feeling a little disappointed with her so-called friends. This was a milestone birthday. Plus, it was her first birthday since Sam had passed; he always made such a fuss of her.
Tears stung the back of her eyes but she fought them.No, you’re not going to do this Mallory Westerman!she chastised herself.This is your birthday and you will bloody well smile and enjoy yourself.
Once the water had gone cold, and she resembled a shrivelled-up prune, she climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in a huge, soft bath sheet. She surveyed her miniscule wardrobe of clothes that had now been promoted from the suitcase under the bed. She found a long floaty skirt in shades of turquoise and black and slipped it on, feeling unsure as to whether she would end up freezing at the beach.Oh sod it; I’ll take a blanket just in case, she decided. She accompanied the skirt with a pale turquoise fitted T-shirt and slid on her favourite flat, jewelled flip flops and her short denim jacket.
Greg called, as promised, right on time at half seven.
She opened the door and did a twirl. ‘Will I do for the posh dining experience?’ she asked with a smirk.
‘You look…great.’ Greg seemed a little taken aback, but Mallory presumed she had misread his response. ‘Come on; let’s go get a birthday drink.’ He held out his elbow to her and she linked her arm around his.
They wandered over to the pub and as they got to the door Greg opened it and gestured for her to go inside before him.
‘Why thank you, such a gentleman,’ she kidded as she walked through the door.
‘SURPRISE!’ the pub full of people all shouted in unison.
Mallory stood there frozen, open-mouthed, as she was bombarded by party poppers, camera flashes and cheers all at once. She turned to Greg who was leaning against the door with his arms folded and a smile playing on his lips. He looked quite pleased with himself for his part in the deception.
She gasped and pointed to him, narrowing her eyes. ‘You knew?’
He held up his thumb and finger. ‘Little bit,’ he chuckled as he gestured.
All at once Mallory was surrounded by people hugging her. As she spotted Josie and Brad she burst into a flood of happy tears. Brad lifted her and spun her around and Josie was crying too.
Mallory sobbed, ‘But… but you rang! You weren’t coming!’
Josie hugged her friend tightly. ‘You daft cow. Do you think I’d miss this? Not a chance. We were always going to be here, but we were the first people Greg rang when he decided to plan this thing.’
Mallory froze. ‘Greg did all this?’ She covered her mouth with her hand in total shock.
‘He sure did. Look who else is here.’ Josie stepped aside and Mallory was swept into a group hug by Renee, Ryan and Cara. Cara was holding a cute little blonde baby boy.
‘Dylan?’ she cried. ‘Oh, he’s gorgeous Cara.’ She dabbed her eyes with a hanky someone had handed her. ‘It’s so good to see you all.’
Mallory was hugged from all sides by neighbours and friends. Colin and Christine from the shop, Ron, Aileen, Stella, and a group of friends she had made since working in the pub – they were all there. The only one missing was Sam.
