Page 42 of Could It Be Magic?
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As soon as Thea walked through the door of the dining room, she began to realise exactly how long it had been since she’d been to a function like this. All around her were men and women in formal attire, yakking away nineteen to the dozen and looking completely at home. This was, after all, a chance to network in the cold winter months, which, in a remote area such as Lower Brambleton, was not to be missed. Although, in the twenty-first century, business owners and those on the list of attendees were far more upwardly mobile than their eighteenth or nineteenth century forebears, that comparison wasn’t too far off the mark. The impression that the bush telegraph was chattering under the guise of a party was one that wasn’t lost on Thea.
What surprised her, though, as people began to notice herself and Nick, was just how recognisable he was to most of the room. The Saint family had farmed in Lower Brambleton for at least four generations, and although the farm was now a large market garden, the shop was a successful replacement for a business that had been in danger of being lost during the recession of the 1980s, and under Nick’s father’s stewardship, and latterly Nick and Annabelle’s, the business was thriving. This meant that Nick had plenty of name recognition, and there were lots of smiles, greetings and brief snippets of conversation as they moved towards the bar, where glasses of Bucks Fizz and other drinks were available.
‘Wow, you’re giving off minor celebrity vibes!’ Thea murmured as they finally got to the bar. ‘So much for the unassuming farm boy act.’
‘Ha-ha.’ Nick picked up a flute of Bucks Fizz and handed it to Thea, before asking the bartender for a pint of Coke. ‘Wait until Christmas at the Farm Shop goes out in a few days’ time – you’ll be signing autographs yourself!’
‘Not a chance! I made sure I kept to the background, remember?’ Thea took a sip of the Bucks Fizz, which was actually rather strong. Cherry Tree Court obviously didn’t stint on the hospitality for this bash. The alcohol warmed her and took the edge off the nerves that were beginning to rise again, now they’d entered the party.
‘Nick! Looking fly, mate,’ Jamie exclaimed as he arrived at the bar. ‘Glad you got that tie sorted out. This isn’t the kind of gig where they’d let you in with the one you found in your pocket.’
‘Tristan came through with a spare just in time,’ Nick replied, taking his Coke from the bartender.
‘Lucky for you,’ Jamie said, a twinkle in his eye. ‘Looking good, too, Thea. Hope he’s treating you well tonight.’
‘So far, so good.’ Thea smiled at Jamie, and then, as Annabelle joined them, she gave her a hug.
‘Dad’s around here, somewhere,’ Annabelle said. ‘Don’t suppose you’ve seen him?’
‘Not yet,’ Nick said. ‘I’m surprised he’s showed up, though. He told me he didn’t have a dinner suit any more.’
‘Oh, he didn’t until this afternoon,’ Annabelle said. ‘Mum took him to Moss Bros in Taunton and made him buy another one that actually fitted. But, unfortunately for you, only the one bowtie.’
Thea, who hadn’t heard the full story of the bowtie, crooked an intrigued eyebrow, but Nick didn’t elaborate.
Just then, she caught sight of Tristan and Charlotte, who were also heading towards the bar. Her twin brother had a look of impatience on his face, and Thea wondered what had happened. She hoped he and Charlotte hadn’t had a row. They were two such incredibly different people, but somehow, they made things work between them. The occasional disagreement wasn’t unexpected, though.
‘All right, Tris?’ she asked as they drew closer.
‘Yeah.’ Tristan gave her a brief smile. ‘Just a bit fed up with being cornered by locals who want to talk about the next stage of the Observatory Field development. If I have one more person bellyaching about the plans for the new village hall, or the unreliability of the bin collections up there…’
‘Well, now you come to mention it!’ Thea teased. She was relieved that it was work and not his relationship that had provoked the irritation.
Tristan shook his head. ‘I know I’m seen as the link to the developer, but I was hoping I’d get tonight off, at least!’
‘Just get a drink down you and don’t worry about it,’ Charlotte said soothingly. Thea smiled at her; Charlotte knew almost as well as Thea how to get her brother back in a good mood, and she was grateful that he’d found her.
Grinning, Tristan took a glass of champagne, unadulterated by orange juice. He raised it to his lips but paused before having a sip. ‘Are you sure you’re OK driving?’
‘Absolutely,’ Charlotte replied. ‘Kick back and enjoy it. You’ve earned it this year!’
As the group of friends chatted, Thea took the chance to keep observing the gathering of the great and good of Lower Brambleton and its environs. Underneath the sparkling Christmas lights, everyone looked glamorous and festive in their formal dresses and black dinner suits. She was glad she’d found such a great dress in Purrfect Paws. Relaxing slightly as the Bucks Fizz worked its magic, she moved a little closer to Nick, who was in animated conversation with Tristan and Jamie about the shop’s plans for the new year. She felt a warm flush of pleasure as he slid an arm around her, and that she was becoming a closer part of the group, in a slightly different way to before.
Nick’s look of appreciation made Thea start to think all kinds of things she really shouldn’t be thinking so soon into their very new relationship. Take it slowly, she warned herself. But those kisses so far had felt anything but slow.
Dinner came and went in a haze of indifferent catering and chatter, and a bit more wine. Thea realised, with a start, that she was enjoying herself a lot more than she’d been expecting at a gig like this. She glanced at Nick, who had taken to holding her hand under the table and thought that much of that enjoyment was to do with being here with him. As the tables were cleared and the disco started, people started to move for drinks, and to stand and watch those brave enough to put themselves on the dance floor. Thea was touched when Nick bought her another drink, and they stood just off to the side of the floor, watching the braver members of the party strutting their stuff.
‘Nick, hi!’ Another familiar, but much less welcome voice cut into their cosy bubble. ‘You made it!’
Only one person she’d met recently spoke almost exclusively in exclamations, and the speaker’s tone grated on Thea just as much as it had when she’d been forced to work with her during the filming of Christmas at the Farm Shop. That person also had a seemingly innate ability to single out one person and freeze out everyone else, and in the stunningly fitted red velvet body con dress with an almost too-much Arctic white fur trim at the bust line, she looked as sexily festive as Mariah Carey. The dress was a little over the top for a countryside do, but there was no escaping just how well she wore it. If Thea had been feeling pleased with her own appearance a few seconds earlier, those sentiments had changed to a nagging sense of inferiority when standing beside this embodiment of perkily festive cheer.
Bracing herself, and trying to swallow down her irritation, Thea took another sip of her drink.
37
‘Hello, Tally,’ Nick said. ‘I, er, didn’t know you were back in the county.’
