Page 3 of The Engagement

He was right, of course. I trust each of my daughters enough to know that if one of them confides a big problem to the other, they’ll turn to me for help.

‘Amber, what on earth do you mean “the man she got engaged to”?’ I ask again, unable to resist the inquisition.

‘I dunno. Just some guy she met.’ Then her face breaks into a cheeky ten-year-old grin, framed by her stringy long hair, her left ear poking out from between the strands. ‘Belle’s in lurrrve…’

Rob squeezes my knee, anticipating the barrage of questions building up inside me.

‘I can’t remember his name, but it’s notfrançais,’ Amber continues. Like Rob, she uses an overstated French accent.

‘Well, I’m all for her having a boyfriend,’ Rob says. ‘In fact, I’m surprised she’s not had a queue of lads snaking down the road for years, your sister.’ He chucks Amber under the chin, and she pretends to bite his finger. ‘But engaged? Are you sure?’ He shoots me another look.Surely this isn’t true. ‘It doesn’t sound like our Belle.’

I’m about to continue my inquisition when my phone pings.

‘Talk of the devil.’ Relief floods through me. I hold up my phone for the others to see Belle’s name and the photo I set for her profile picture – a shot of her grinning by a pool on our last family holiday. Her straight teeth flash white in the sun and her tanned shoulders are broad and elegant. Big sunglasses conceal her dark eyes.

Miss you too Mum. Can’t wait to see you. So much news. Love to all B xxx

CHAPTER TWO

HANNAH – NOW

‘Thank you, yes, that’s fine,’ I say to the caterer on the phone the next morning. I’d struggled to get to sleep last night, with what Amber had said playing on my mind.

Engaged?

Surely Belle wouldn’t do anything so stupid.

There’s a lot to get organised today – making final arrangements, double-checking everything’s ready for the party tomorrow. With Belle back this evening, I don’t want to give the game away once she’s home. My heart skips from excitement and nerves.

Amber must have got it wrong.

‘I think you just need to relax now, Han.’ Rob says as I hang up from the call. He’s standing beside me, his hands on my shoulders, as I sit on my dressing table stool. He bends down so I see his face in the mirror, his mouth nuzzling my neck. ‘Belle will be blown away by all the trouble you’ve gone to.’

‘I hope so,’ I sigh. Part of me worries that she’ll hate the surprise, but then she isn’t one to cause a fuss or be ungrateful. Suddenly, my mind sweeps toback then…how completely different I was at the same age.

‘You don’t think she reallyhasgot engaged, do you?’ My stomach churns at the thought. ‘She’s still just a kid and has another year of school left.’

‘Nooo, of course not,’ Rob says with a laugh. ‘We’ve been over this, love. Either Amber has got it wrong or Belle’s winding her up about some summer romance in France. Coffee?’

‘Mmm, yes please,’ I say, standing up. ‘Oh, God, I’d better hide this before we fetch her.’ I grab my new dress from where it’s hanging on the front of my wardrobe and carefully slip it inside.

As we go downstairs, I look at my watch. Ten thirty. We need to leave by four to get to the airport in time. I have ‘Welcome Home’ banners and balloons to wave when she arrives. In the kitchen, Rob grabs a couple of espresso cups and presses some buttons on the coffee machine

‘List, list…’ I say, riffling through a pile of papers stacked on one end of the worktop. ‘Right…check, check, check…’ I say, running my finger down it. Most things have been crossed off, but I still go over it about three times a day.

‘What can I do to help?’ he says, passing me a coffee.

‘You still OK to pick up the cake at twelve? Take it round to Marcie’s. She’s looking after it until tomorrow. And then you need to fetch your suit from the dry-cleaner.’

Rob nods, giving a little salute.

‘And a haircut?’ I dare to say.

‘On it.’ He knocks back half his coffee.

‘And we’ll pick up Amber from day camp on the way to the airport.’

‘Sounds like it’s all covered,’ he says, putting his cup in the dishwasher. Then he swipes up his keys from the side and gives me a kiss on the lips before heading out.

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