Chapter 35
When Fen opened the door to him that evening, Jamie nodded and said simply, ‘Wow. Look at you.’
He wasn’t looking too bad himself, in a dark blue shirt and trousers, and a charcoal-grey suede jacket.
This morning his hair had been wet from the shower and he’d hastily thrown on shorts and a T-shirt.
Mind you, his time in Australia had given him a deep tan, and most women would have swooned at the sight of him then.
Not her, though. Swooning was something she was keeping a lid on.
As time went by, keeping tight control over her emotions was something she was getting better at.
Practice was on the way to making perfect.
She had loved Leon so completely that the very idea of developing feelings towards another man after his death had been unthinkable.
Which was why it had come as such a shock to her when meeting up with Jamie again in Amsterdam had caused her emotions to go into overdrive, like a washing machine on spin, reminding her of how it felt to be alive.
Yes, those feelings had grown more intense during the time they’d spent together then.
And yes, they did still insist on surging to the surface each time she saw him.
But she was definitely learning how to squash them down again.
What he didn’t know couldn’t embarrass her.
Deep breaths helped. So did imagining Jamie’s reaction if he were to discover the effect he was having on her. The thought of his incredulous laughter was the best antidote of all.
He’d been Leon’s best friend and he happened to be ridiculously attractive, but that was OK, she could get through this.
In the car on their way to the hotel, Jamie said, ‘Thanks for saying yes to this, by the way. I thought you might come up with some reason why you couldn’t make it.’
‘I nearly did.’ Fen kept her tone playful. ‘But then I felt sorry for you. I still can’t believe you didn’t have anything else arranged for your birthday.’
‘Honestly? Same. I did put out a few feelers, but everyone had other things planned. Apart from Kev and Annie. And now you. Which is fine with me.’ He nodded to the left as they pulled up at traffic lights. ‘M. T.’
Fen looked and laughed; it was a game he and Leon had always played when they were out and about.
Anyone spotting someone who resembled a celebrity would announce the initials and the other one had to figure out who they meant.
This one was easy; an elderly but upright woman with a rigid eighties hairstyle and a tweed skirt was clutching her handbag as she hurried along the pavement. ‘Margaret Thatcher.’
He applauded. ‘Well done. Now it’s your turn.’
‘Not fair.’ It wasn’t something you could do on command; it took time to spot a lookie-likie. But the next moment, like a miracle, she saw one waiting to cross the road. ‘Oh, F. C.!’
Jamie’s head swivelled from left to right, in a hurry to find the person before the lights changed. As the man crossed directly in front of the car, he turned and raised a hand to thank them, his long hair and beard gleaming white in the headlights. ‘Got it.’ Jamie grinned. ‘Father Christmas.’
Without thinking, Fen raised her own hand and they exchanged a high-five, just as he and Leon had always done after a successful spot. And there it was, the explosive rush of adrenalin she’d briefly forgotten and that almost took her breath away.
‘God, I’ve missed doing that,’ said Jamie. He turned to look at her. ‘Can we always play it? Keep the tradition alive?’
A warm glow spread through her. Yes, it was something she’d love to do, could see herself doing in the future. Nodding, she said, ‘Sounds like a plan. Although I don’t think my last one was a lookie-likie, pretty sure he was the real Santa.’
They reached the hotel’s jam-packed car park and, true to form in Jamie-land, a Volvo pulled out as they arrived, allowing him to slide into the only available parking space.
‘That never happens to anyone else, you know,’ Fen pointed out.
He smiled. ‘Leon used to tell me that too. He called it my superpower.’
‘It must be fun,’ Fen said lightly. ‘Swanning through life, everything going your way.’
‘Sometimes.’ He shrugged. ‘Not always.’
‘How’s Sadie?’ She knew they didn’t see each other that often, but once or twice they’d been photographed together. Not that she kept checking Instagram. Well, not more than a few times a week.
‘We broke up.’
‘I had no idea! I’m sorry!’
‘I thought you knew.’ Jamie shook his head. ‘Don’t sound so shocked. It was a mutual decision.’
‘I thought you really liked her.’
‘She was great. No big deal, though. Sometimes these things just peter out.’
‘Got anyone else lined up?’ Fen realised she was holding her breath.
Another shake of the head, followed by a rueful smile. For a moment he seemed about to say something else, then his phone went tingggg with a message.
Phones. They really knew how to pick their moments, didn’t they? He checked the screen.
‘It’s from Kev, wanting to know why we’re late. They’re waiting for us in the Beaufort Bar. Come on, we’d better get going.’
‘Here he is! Happy birthday!’ Kev greeted them at the entrance to the bar, clapping Jamie on the back then turning to give Fen a big hug. ‘And you brought Fen along too. Hello, lovely, come and meet Georgia while she isn’t screaming her head off.’
Fen’s heart melted at the sight of Annie holding baby Georgia. ‘Look at her, she’s like an angel!’
‘Takes after me,’ Kev said proudly.
‘You wish,’ said Jamie. ‘She’s a miniature Annie.’
‘Here. Have a cuddle.’ Annie deftly passed the baby over to Fen.
‘She’s perfect.’ Gazing down in wonder at the big eyes and tiny starfish fingers, Fen stroked Georgia’s velvet-soft head and shell-like ears. ‘What a miracle. Look at her mouth!’
Two minutes later, clearly bursting with impatience, Jamie said, ‘That’s enough. My turn now.’
He held out his arms, and Fen, turning to face him, discovered it was a far more complicated manoeuvre than simply passing a bundle of washing to another person.
She attempted to offer Georgia to him sideways, but her head needed supporting, her legs were scrunched up like a frog’s and her body was so floppy but infinitely precious that before long their own arms were entangled, the baby was trapped between them and the unintended but unavoidable physical contact with Jamie was sending what felt like showers of sparks through her body.
Good grief, so much for thinking I had all that under control.
‘I know, it’s tricky,’ Annie sympathised as they finally managed to complete the awkward handover. ‘Took us some getting used to at first!’
Approaching them, a waiter said discreetly, ‘I’m afraid it’s that time.’
‘No problem.’ Kev nodded, then explained, ‘No babies allowed in the bar after eight. But it’s fine, there’s a place upstairs we can go.’
As they made their way through the wood-panelled reception hall, other guests noticed them.
A chatty middle-aged American couple passed them on the sweeping staircase, and the woman gazed with delight at Jamie holding the baby in his arms before turning to Fen and saying, ‘Honey, look at your husband and adorable baby! Did you ever see such a proud daddy in your life?’
Which could have been embarrassing, but what would be the point in correcting her? Fen smiled at the woman and Jamie, at her side, replied cheerfully, ‘I am.’
They reached the first-floor landing and Annie said, ‘Let me take her back from you now. They told us we can make ourselves comfortable in the Beaulieu Suite.’ She expertly relieved Jamie of his charge and Kev pushed open the double doors at the entrance to the suite, which was in darkness.
Then the lights came on and a massive cheer went up as a couple of hundred people bellowed, ‘SURPRISE!’
‘Your faces,’ Annie exclaimed with delight several minutes later, ‘when you and Jamie walked in together and the lights came on. So brilliant! Well, you’ll see it for yourselves later, loads of people were videoing it.
I can’t believe we managed to pull it off; we were so scared he’d guess when everybody said they were too busy to see him on his birthday.
And you’d have been invited too, but the rugby guys said you weren’t really going out and wouldn’t have wanted to come along .
. . except you’re here anyway! None of us had any idea you were seeing each other! ’
Oh God . . .
‘We really aren’t, not at all. I was kind of the last resort tonight, that’s all. And this is fantastic.’ Hastily Fen gestured around the vast oak-panelled conference suite, its ceiling covered in silver and blue helium balloons. ‘He had no idea it was happening. Well done, you.’
‘It wasn’t just us.’ Annie touched her arm.
‘Leon was the one who thought of it. He told Kev back in the summer and said it’d be a good thing to do, so Kev got in touch with the chaps from the rugby club and they organised it between them, putting out the word and getting everyone to invite Jamie’s friends from all over.
At one stage we thought we’d need to hire a bigger venue,’ she said with a laugh, ‘because so many people wanted to come!’
‘I say. Look at you,’ a voice behind her declared twenty minutes later, and Fen swung round in surprise, because of all the people here tonight, she hadn’t expected to see Amanda.
Who still had no idea she was the one who’d given Jamie that stern telling-off on the evening of her own birthday party, way back in March.
‘Hi!’ Amanda sat down on the chair next to her. ‘Fancy bumping into you here tonight – I love your shoes! And look, I was so sorry to hear about your boyfriend. I did mean to send you a text, but you know how it is, don’t you? You never know what to say.’
‘That’s OK, it’s fine.’ Fen nodded. ‘I didn’t know you’d be here either.’