‘I prefer what Pam likes,’ Stephen countered cheerfully. ‘Happy wife, happy life.’
They both chuckled. Heather did too. But after a few seconds, the smile faded from Pam’s face. ‘How rude of me. I haven’t even offered you a cup of tea! Will you have a cup?’
When Heather looked at Stephen, he held her gaze for just a second longer than would be considered normal. And then she understood.
‘Oh, thank you,’ she said to Pam. ‘But I’m fine.’
‘What is the announcement?’ Tully said, looking from Stephen to Heather and back again. ‘Come on. Out with it!’
‘Hold on a minute,’ Stephen said. ‘We need champagne!’ He glanced around for a waiter; Tully shot Heather a wary look.
‘The girls are going to love you,’ Stephen had said last week, when he suggested the meeting. She asked him to tell her as much as possible about each of them, and Stephen, to his credit, had done a reasonable job. He told her about Tully’s neuroses. About the fact that Rachel, to his knowledge, had never had a serious – or even casual – relationship. But there were things Stephen left out of his summaries. Like the fact that Rachel was not just ‘pretty’ but breathtaking – as divine a creature as Heather had ever seen. And the fact that Tully’s entire being came alive when she talked about her little boys. And the fact that both girls looked at Stephen with an adoration that was palpable, but also something else, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
‘Dad!’ Tully tried again, but the waiter was already approaching the table.
Stephen glanced at the wine list for a second or two before sighing helplessly. ‘A bottle of your best champagne, please. And four glasses.’
‘Three,’ Heather corrected. ‘None for me.’
Stephen frowned at her. ‘Really? You’re sure?’
Heather wasn’t sure. Heather was rarely sure of anything. It was an unappealing trait, she’d always thought. Get a spine, she told herself constantly. Be more decisive. She’d decided yesterday that she wasn’t going to drink today. Or at the very least, she’d only have one. It had felt like a prudent decision at the time.
Heather never trusted herself after a couple of drinks; she relaxed a little too much. All the bad decisions she’d made in her life, all the ones she regretted, had happened after a couple of drinks. Today she wanted to be on her best behaviour. After all, she knew how she must look to Stephen’s daughters. A new, younger girlfriend. They’d assume she was a gold-digger or someone with daddy issues. She’d suggested they wait another six months or more before she met the girls, but Stephen had insisted. She envied his certainty that they would love her. It was yet another thing that she wasn’t sure of.
Three sets of eyes were staring at her. She had, she realised, made a faux pas. Heather had spent enough time in the middle-class world to know the rules, even if she didn’t understand them. Champagne was a team sport. When it was suggested, regardless of the time, date or occasion, the correct response was to squeal and clap. If someone didn’t want to partake, the wind was taken out of everyone’s sails.
‘Just one glass,’ Stephen cajoled. ‘It’s a special occasion.’
‘All right,’ she said. ‘You’ve twisted my arm.’
‘So,’ Tully said, the second their glasses were full, ‘what’s this announcement?’
‘Tully has always been like this,’ Stephen told Heather. ‘When she was little, she was the one up at dawn, desperate to open her Christmas presents, while Rachel was still fast asleep.’
‘Dad!’
‘Fine.’ Stephen smiled, reaching for Heather’s hand. ‘I’m very excited to tell you that Heather and I have decided to get married!’
Heather hardly dared to look at Rachel or Tully. Unlike Stephen, who seemed utterly certain that his daughters would be delighted for them, Heather knew how this was going to land. No matter how polite this family was, no matter how hard they slapped on the strained smiles, this was not going to be good news for them.
‘Well,’ Rachel said. ‘Well, that’s . . . wow, that’s really . . .’
Tully didn’t even attempt to hide her horror. ‘You can’t get married. You’re already married to Mum!’
Stephen’s smile dimmed only the slightest bit. ‘Straight into the logistics, that’s my Tully-girl.’ He laughed. ‘I’ll admit, there are some things that need to be worked out. And I’ll include you both every step of the way. But the main thing is . . . Heather and I have decided we want to spend our lives together.’