Fern Britton 3-Book Collection: The Holiday Home, A Seaside Affair, A Good Catch

‘Thank you again.’

‘Mummy and Auntie Pru went all mysterious about him.’

‘Did they? In what way?’

‘They went all secretive. I mean, he did look quite hot.’

‘Did Mummy say that?’

‘She didn’t have to.’ Abi smirked.

Greg thought for a moment. ‘Don’t be so silly. And by the way, you’re not having a party on the beach.’

*

‘Muuum.’

‘Yes, Abi? And don’t throw yourself on my bed. I’ve just tidied up.’

‘Can I have a party for my birthday?’

‘Of course. We always have a party for your birthday. I was thinking one of Dad’s barbecues …?’

‘I was thinking one on the beach, no oldies.’

‘Oh, darling, Granny and Poppa will have to come. They’d be terribly hurt if they weren’t invited.’

‘Why don’t you and Dad take them out for dinner instead?’

It dawned on Connie that she, too, was now classed as an oldie. She absorbed the blow.

‘You mean, instead of me and Daddy coming to your party?’

Abi nodded.

‘No way, young lady. The beach and boys and booze is absolutely out of bounds. I’m aware what goes on, you know. I’m not so old that I can’t remember these things.’

Abi perched on the bed. ‘Go on then, you dark horse. Tell me what you got up to.’

‘Nothing.’ Connie grabbed a pair of Greg’s shorts and started to fold them.

‘Yes, you did! You and Auntie Pru had a big old rosy glow round you both when you saw old whatsisname today.’

‘His name is Merlin. An old friend.’

‘I think you had the hots for him, and I reckon he still fancies you.’

Connie couldn’t stop the flush creeping up her throat. She sat at her dressing table and started to brush her hair. ‘Don’t be so silly.’

‘That’s what Dad said when I told him.’

Connie spun on the dressing table stool. ‘You told your father that you think I fancy Merlin?’

‘Sort of.’

‘Well, guess what: you are sort of not having a party on the beach. OK?’

*

Next door in the master bedroom, Pru had had to forgo her bedtime bath due to the slow heating of the hot-water tank, but Francis, feeling much better now, was mixing some massage oil for his wife’s back.

‘What’s that smell, Francis?’

‘I’m burning lavender oil. For relaxation.’

‘Oh.’

Pru went to the bathroom to undress, wash and then clean her teeth. She looked at herself in the mirrored wall over the bath. Breasts small and still high. A few stretch marks on the tummy, but her hips were as narrow as ever. She shut her eyes and remembered how Merlin used to kiss her. How he’d admired her flat chest when she was so self-conscious about it. She remembered his body – how good it felt.

‘Come on, Pru, darling. This is going to help you sleep,’ Francis called from the bedroom.

Pru opened her eyes and saw her face as Merlin must have seen it today. A few lines, skin beginning to sag round the jaw. She stepped back into the bedroom and attempted a slow, undulating walk towards her husband. Maybe sex would do them both good. Francis looked at her.

‘Your back must be bad – it’s affecting your walk, love. Come on. Lie down and I’ll sort that out for you.’

As Pru lay under the kneading fingers and warm oil, she tried to keep all thoughts of Merlin out of her head.

Francis was trying, but failing, to keep all thoughts of Belinda out of his. He pictured her generous cleavage, her fleshy hips made more curvaceous by her slender waist – what would it be like to drip warm oil over her skin? How he would love to run his hands over her dainty feet and scarlet-painted toes. She’d be here in a few days. Oh God.

Pru, meanwhile, was indulging in something she hadn’t done for a long time – a fantasy. In her mind she was lying naked in the dunes with Merlin running his rough, sea-hardened hands over her shoulders, rubbing in sun cream. She was nineteen again and hopelessly, passionately in love with him.

As quickly as the fantasy had grown in her memory, it was gone. A phantom. In its place stood reality. A different Pru. A different life. This was her life. Sensible, responsible, mature.

She was grateful to Francis and all he had sacrificed to care for her and Jeremy. A good man. A man she could rely on. She called his name and he heard it, muffled as it was against the pillow.

‘Francis?’

‘Yes, Belinda?’

He stopped his massaging instantly and watched Pru lift her head and slowly look over her shoulder at him.

‘Who’s Belinda?’

*

Greg woke up on the sofa. It was almost midnight. Connie must have forgotten about him and gone to bed. Shivering slightly, he stood up and winced as a cramp shot through his left shoulder. The surfing had really done him in. He resolved to start running again, from tomorrow. Or was that today?

He bent to turn off the one table lamp someone had thought to leave on for him and felt his way to the kitchen to pour a small brandy. His laptop was still on the kitchen table where he’d left it. He sat down, hoping to find a message from Janie. Hope was rewarded.