Page 172 of An Unholy Affair
‘I haven’t told him yet, but he approves of the Evoque. I… I’ve got an Aston Martin.’
She sunk her head into her hands and snorted with laughter. ‘And now you’re with someone who earns less per year than the cost of this car, and drives a second-hand Škoda…’
The main loungeat Foxbrooke Haven was filling up when Jack and Eveline arrived.
‘Congratulations!’ Erica cried, pulling them both in for a hug.
‘How did you know?’ Eveline asked.
Erica turned to Jack. ‘Your mum told me just now.’
He looked across the room to see his mother chatting with one of the staff.
‘I didn’t think she would come,’ he murmured to himself.
‘Have you got a ring?’ Erica asked, grabbing Eveline’s hand. ‘Bloody hell! Would you look at that! Pardon my French, but that’s a big one.’ She cackled with laughter. ‘Hey, Doris! Ada! Shirley! Enid! Come and look at Eveline’s rock!’
Jack stayed close to Eveline’s side as white-haired well-wishers surrounded them. Their unconditional happiness for the two of them was almost painful to receive, and he wondered if he’d ever been the recipient of so much love before. His childhood had been harsh, and his adult life swathed in secrets. He may have received validation in private from his clients, but never anything in public like this.
Jack had believed himself happy in the south of France. He had the clothes, car, and he attended the fanciest parties. But it was a superficial veneer that never touched his heart. Here, now, as Jack rather than Jasper, he felt truly seen, appreciated, and loved for the person underneath the façade. This was happiness beyond anything he could have imagined.
‘Congratulations,’ Robert called over to him from a position of safety, outside the scrum of excited women.
Jack checked Eveline wasn’t being jostled, then went to join him, clasping his outstretched hand.
‘Thank you, Robert. I couldn’t be any luckier.’
Robert gazed over at Shirley, a huge smile on his face. ‘I know what you mean. I never thought I’d find love at this stage of my life, but look at me! I feel fifty years younger.’
‘I’m so happy for you both,’ Jack replied.
‘Well, I don’t think I could have done it without you. You gave me the push I needed.’
There was a pause as they both gazed at the women they were in love with. Eveline was so breathtaking, Jack couldn’t drag his eyes from her.
‘Jack?’
‘Hmm?’
‘May I ask you something?’
He turned back to Robert. ‘Yes, of course. Go for it.’
Robert lowered his voice. ‘I’m planning on popping the question to Shirley soon, and, if she accepts me, I wanted to ask if you would consider being my best man?’
A lump rose in Jack’s throat, but it couldn’t block the smile spreading across his face.
‘I don’t have any family,’ Robert continued. ‘And my close friends have unfortunately passed on. You’ve been such a wonderful friend to me, and if I’d ever been fortunate enough to have had a son, I hope he would have been just like you.’
Utterly overwhelmed, his eyes stinging, Jack held his breath and tensed his jaw, fighting to keep the feelings down. Whatever demons drove his father to treat him and his sister the way he did was not their fault. And now, with Robert, he’d been given the gift of his friendship, and a father figure to put his childhood into perspective.
‘I’d be honoured,’ he finally managed. ‘Thank you.’
Robert clapped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed. ‘You’re a good man, Jack. A good man.’
‘Okay everyone, can I have your attention, please?’ Erica clapped loudly to silence the chatter, then went to the end of the room where the mural was hidden behind a temporary curtain of dust sheets. ‘Can I please have the photographer from theJournal, and our Lady Mayoress?’ Erica caught Jack’s eye. ‘You too, sunshine, come on up here,’ she beckoned. ‘And you, Eveline.’
Jack took Eveline’s hand and squeezed it, moving in front of the mural but positioning himself furthest away from the centre. Butterflies fluttered inside his stomach.Come on, it’s not exactly a tough crowd. His mother had made her way to the front, her phone held up to take pictures. This made the butterflies thrum their wings faster.
