“Not exactly. She’s a TV presenter. Annoyingly perky and her career is on the rise whereas everything about me is sliding, from my career to my boobs. I’m like a soufflé that someone took out of the oven an hour ago.”
“Please don’t tell me you’ve been watching her on TV.”
Claudia hesitated. “Occasionally. When I feel like torturing myself.”
“You have to stop that,” Erica said. “It’s not healthy.”
“I know. Chocolate isn’t healthy, either, but somehow it makes me feel better about life. I don’t have your self-discipline. Do you know what I really envy? Confidence. I wouldn’t have the confidence to take my clothes off in front of a twenty-six-year-old, but it didn’t bother John at all. Why is it that men become more attractive as they age and women become invisible?”
“It’s one of the many injustices of the universe,” Anna said but Erica shook her head.
“Don’t let yourself be invisible. I would have no problem taking my clothes off in front of a twenty-six-year-old if I found him attractive.”
“That’s because you never eat chocolate and look about a decade younger than you really are,” Claudia said gloomily. “I envy you being married to Pete, Anna. He’s such a great guy. Also, you’re guaranteed to have great sex whenever you want it for the rest of your life. I will probably never have sex again.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Anna said and Erica nodded agreement.
“That is ridiculous. I can have sex whenever I want it. Being forty doesn’t change that.”
“Yes, because you just call sexy Jack,” Claudia said. “I don’t have a Pete in my life, and I don’t have a Jack, sexy or otherwise.”
Erica raised her eyebrows. “Jack and I are strictly casual.”
“Of course you are.” Claudia exchanged glances with Anna, and Erica sighed and put her glass down.
“Why the look?”
“No reason. And anyway, I don’t want casual sex. I want relationship sex. The sort of sex where you fall asleep together afterward and wake up still together. The sort of sex where you feel close to someone and know you’re going to be seeing them again.”
Erica was still thinking about that look. They obviously thought that her relationship with Jack wasn’t casual, but that was absurd. She and Jack went weeks without seeing each other.
She was about to point that out when she heard the sound of the front door opening.
Lola barked and went racing out of the kitchen, and a moment later returned with Pete.
“This is good. Our kitchen is full of our favorite people.” He greeted them warmly, quietly commiserated with Claudia for her recent woes, and then tugged Anna against him and kissed her on the mouth.
They’d been together for twenty-two years, Erica thought as her gaze slid away, and he still kissed Anna as if he couldn’t help himself; as if seeing Anna was the best part of his day.
She imagined the two of them ten years in the future, then twenty and thirty. They’d grow old together, bound by love and the life they’d shared.
“Could you two have a fight or something?” Claudia took a mouthful of wine. “All this marital harmony is a little nauseating for those of us less fortunate.”
Anna pulled away, her cheeks pink. “Good thing you didn’t arrive five minutes ago,” she said as she brushed flakes of snow from Pete’s shoulders. “We were talking about sex.”
“Damn the traffic.” Smiling, Pete helped himself to the last of the champagne. “Sex is one of my favorite topics.”
It was unfortunate that Meg chose that moment to come into the room. “Ugh, Dad, that’s gross. Please. You are too old to think about sex. It’s disgusting.”
Pete grabbed Anna and kissed her on the neck. “I love you. Have I told you that lately? I love you.”
“I need to leave home right now. I can’t wait until next year. This is cruelty to teenagers.” Meg backed away and sent Erica a pleading look. “How do you stand it? Message me when they’ve stopped.” She fled from the room and Pete grinned and let Anna go.
“Works every time.”
Anna was laughing, too, and she gave him a little push. “You have to stop winding her up, Pete.”
“If ever I want some private time with Anna, all I have to do is kiss her.” Pete shrugged off his coat and slung it over the back of the nearest chair. “The kids leave the room so fast. It’s my best and only parenting tip.”
“They’ll be off to college next year,” Anna said, “and we’re going to have nothing but private time.”
“That will be romantic.” Claudia slumped in her chair, not even bothering to hide her envy. “You must be looking forward to it. Nonstop date nights.”
Erica saw Pete glance briefly at Anna, who was suddenly busy laying the table.
What did that look mean?
When Anna had first introduced them, Pete had been a shy, gangly teenager with untidy hair and a passion for science fiction, computer games and crossword puzzles. But there had been a kindness and warmth to him, and also a sense of humor. He and Anna were always laughing about something.
He’d grown into a quietly confident man, who was a good listener and a rock for his family. He was also, Erica mused, very attractive. Gangly had given way to tall and broad shouldered. The crinkles at the corners of his very blue eyes were testament to the fact that his sense of humor had remained intact.
She knew it for a fact, because whenever she was staying here she often heard Pete and Anna laughing about something.
She felt a twinge of envy and the feeling irritated her. She wasn’t used to feeling envious. She didn’t like feeling envious.
She was forty years old and happy with her life choices.
Wasn’t she?
SEVEN
Hattie
“You’re fully booked from now until January?” Lynda put a mug of tea in front of Hattie. “That’s quite an achievement. Also, a lot of pressure on you.”
They were sitting in the Petersons’ cozy farmhouse kitchen and thanks to a generous helping of Lynda’s apple and ginger cake and the warmth from the range cooker, Hattie was finding it harder and harder to stay awake. Her head felt fuzzy and her limbs were leaden. She could barely string a sentence together. Still, it was good to be with Lynda, who always made her feel as if she was doing a great job and not just hanging on by a thread.
“I don’t know about an achievement. It’s a relief, that’s for sure.” She suppressed a yawn and tried not to slur her words. “Providing we don’t have staff issues, the inn should be fine for a few months.”
“I’m sure the inn will be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“Me?” Hattie took a sip of tea to wake herself up. She was reaching the point where she was going to have to slap her own face or go and stand naked in the freezing air. “Why are you worried about me?”
“Because you’re twenty-eight years old and you’re working yourself to the bone,” Lynda said. “You’re about to fall asleep in my kitchen.”
“Your kitchen is comfortable. Also, I didn’t have a good night. Delphi’s had this cough and then last night she had a bad dream, so I caved in and let her sleep in my bed.” Was that an awful thing to do? When she was pregnant she’d read every parenting book she could lay her hands on, but after Delphi was born there had been no time. Now she was making it up as she went along. “She wriggles and sleeps across the bed. Every time I fell asleep last night she rolled over and woke me up. Also, she kept stretching out her arms like a starfish and smacking me in the face.”