“OK, so I need to give you a heads-up on everyone who’s coming tonight,” Jasmine declared as she slotted her neatly cased surfboard into a hall cupboard—this being one of her several new hobbies she’d taken up during the five months since settling here. “You know that Abby’s mum, Leanne, has a partner called Tom who owns the Tramonto Hotel on Kesterly Heights. Abby’s grandma is called Wilkie and she’s a blast, completely eccentric, and you’ll love her on sight, if she comes. Abby’s dad died, which is something else us two have in common besides all the other stuff, and the local theater is named after him, the Delaney. Oh, and she has a half sister who lives in the States called Kate.” She frowned irritably. “Is anyone listening to me?”
“Of course,” Claudia and Marcy answered in unison. They were in the kitchen laying out the canapés Marcy had picked up from M&S on her way back from the community center, while Claudia had rushed home to make sure there was champagne in the fridge and the flat was presentable.
“Good, so who’s Leanne’s partner?” Jasmine tested.
“Tom,” Claudia replied. “Now tell us what you know about Andee Lawrence.”
“Absolutely nothing.” Jasmine smiled sweetly, and taking the pile of hand-embroidered napkins she was being offered she began to fold them into the shapes her mother preferred.
“Actually, I can tell you something,” Marcy offered. “I mean besides the fact that she’s an interior designer. Apparently, she used to be a detective and is who everyone goes to if they’re in any kind of trouble.”
Slightly thrown by that, Claudia turned to look at her. “A detective?” she echoed.
“That’s right,” Marcy replied distractedly. “Henry said she gave it up a few years ago and—”
“Who’s Henry?” Claudia interrupted.
“Oh, just someone I know at the community center.”
Jasmine said, “Have you still not told her about him, Nana? I thought you had.”
As Claudia’s eyes widened Marcy became defensive. “There’s nothing to tell,” she retorted. “He’s just a friend.”
“But you’ve got a thing for him. You told me that yourself.”
“I didn’t say a thing, I said he’s an interesting man, that’s all.”
As she listened to them squabble and tease Claudia realized that her suspicions earlier were correct: this was why her mother always made such an effort when she went out. “Well,” she commented loudly, “I thought if any one of us was going to come home with a boyfriend it would have been Jasmine . . .”
“He’s not a boyfriend,” Marcy interrupted. “In fact, I’ve never been alone with him, apart from for a few minutes here and there. However, it seems that now might be as good a time as any to tell you that in the event he does get around to asking me out, I will probably say yes.”
Claudia watched Jasmine bounce into her grandmother’s arms, as thrilled as if she had a potential date lined up herself.
Marcy regarded her daughter curiously. “Would you rather I didn’t go?” she asked over Jasmine’s shoulder.
Jasmine spun around. “Don’t you dare say no,” she warned her mother.
“I wasn’t going to,” Claudia protested. “It’s not up to me, and actually I think it’s . . . wonderful. I’m just asking myself. . . . I mean, are you going to be interested in this new house if you’ve got other plans?”
“For heaven’s sake,” Marcy exclaimed. “Talk about getting things out of perspective. I want to see the house and if it’s right for us, I want to live in it.”
“Excuse me, what house?” Jasmine demanded. “No one’s mentioned anything to me about a house.”
“I saw it today,” Claudia explained. “It’s on Westleigh Heights: as far as I’m concerned it’s a dream home—or it will be—and I can hardly wait for you to see it.” She turned back to her mother, determined to hide how crushed she’d feel if Marcy answered her next question with a no. “Are you sure you want to live with us? You’re used to your independence . . .”
“And you’re going to rob me of it? Don’t be silly. Of course I want us to be together. It’s what we planned and it’s what we’ll do. Now, how many glasses are we going to need, and someone should fill up the ice bucket because our guests will be here any minute.”
Andee and Leanne arrived promptly at seven, bringing Abby with them, and in what seemed no time at all Claudia was opening a second bottle of Moët while the guests ate canapés and lounged on the sofas as if this was somewhere they came all the time. There was an easy flow of conversation right from the start and virtually no awkward moments, apart from Claudia’s embarrassment when Andee and Leanne lavished praise on her various handicrafts.
“She makes everything,” Jasmine stated proudly, “candles, diffusers, lamps, soap, photo frames. She even did some of the paintings . . .”
“OK,” Claudia said softly, “I think that’s enough.”
Look how pathetic you are, lapping it up as if the junk you make is something special. Get a grip, you’re embarrassing yourself.
Claudia shook Marcus’s vicious words off with a shiver and forced herself to reconnect with the real conversation.
“You’ve transformed this place,” Andee was commenting admiringly. “I came to view it for Dan, a friend of Graeme’s, about a year ago and it was nothing like this then. He decided it was too big for him, but it seems just right for you.”
“It’s a great spot,” Leanne agreed, “but isn’t the noise a problem?”
With a sigh, Marcy said, “It was worse during the summer when the windows were open, so many parties and concerts on the beach . . .”
“Which were totally cool,” Jasmine put in quickly, “you even came to some of them.”
“It was a Beatles night,” Marcy explained, “so we all went. And actually, it wasn’t the music that bothered us so much as all the shouting and swearing when the bars turned out. It still happens, but at least the windows are closed now.”
“Do you get people parking in your space in front of the building?” Andee asked sympathetically.
“All the time,” Claudia groaned, “which is another reason we’ll be glad to move.”
“Are you thinking of it?” Leanne asked, helping herself to another canapé.
“You should come and live nearer us,” Abby informed Jasmine.
“Actually, we might,” Claudia told her, and aware of Abby’s and Leanne’s interest piquing, she felt a little thrill of excitement as she said to Andee, “We’d like to view the coach house as soon as possible.”
“What coach house?” Abby demanded, looking from her to Jasmine and back again.
“It’s on Westleigh Heights,” Jasmine replied, “so if we do move there we’ll be about ten minutes from you and I’m definitely going to need a car.”
“Then you’d better work on passing your test,” Marcy reminded her.
“Give me a chance, I’ve only had three lessons.”
Accepting a top-up of champagne from Claudia, Andee said, “Let me know when the three of you are available and provided the others feel the same way you do, we’ll set everything in motion.”
“Thank you,” Claudia said warmly. “And don’t worry, I’ll be putting in orders for fabrics first thing tomorrow before I go to meet Cassie’s team. So, your commission remains my priority.”
“I’m not worried,” Andee assured her, and looking into Claudia’s eyes she added, “and you shouldn’t be either.”
It wasn’t until everyone had left that Claudia was able to say to her mother, “I think Andee knows something about us, or at least suspects it.”
Marcy frowned. “Like what?”
“I don’t know, I’m not sure.”
“You’re just paranoid,” Jasmine told her, carrying dishes through to the kitchen. “If you ask me, I think our little party went really well.”
“I’d agree with that,” Marcy responded, “although it seemed a bit odd that no one asked where we’re from, or what we were doing before we came here.”
“They know what Mum was doing,” Jasmine pointed out.
Marcy nodded pensively. “What do you tell Abby about your past?” she asked.
Jasmine shrugged. “Just that I was at school in London, and that my dad died when I was nine. Oh, and that Mum had a design shop. Other than that, it never really comes up. We’re kind of into other things, like studying, surfing, hanging out with friends, and in my case violin lessons, practice, and rehearsals.”
“So busy,” Claudia commented dryly.
“Tell me about it, and now you’re going to be as well. This is just the best thing for you, Mum, a new commission, a new house by the looks of it, so please don’t start getting all suspicious about things. Andee seems really nice, so whatever she said, I’m sure she didn’t mean anything bad by it.”
Finding herself able to believe that, Claudia smiled as she let go of some tension. “I guess I’m out of practice when it comes to making friends,” she sighed, and banishing the dark memories of Marcus that inevitably came to her mind, she added, “Time I learned to start trusting again.”
OUTSIDE ON THE Promenade Leanne and Andee were following Abby to the taxi rank, slowing their pace so as not to be overheard. “OK,” Leanne said, keeping her voice down, “are you going to tell me now why you didn’t want me to ask about their lives before they came here?”
Judging Abby to be sufficiently engrossed in her phone, Andee said, “I’m pretty sure they’re not who they’re saying they are.”
Leanne came to a standstill, eyes wide with surprise. “What on earth makes you say that?”
“You saw for yourself how talented Claudia is, and she wasn’t a bit fazed by the size of the order I’ve just put her way. This means she must have been in business before, and yet she doesn’t have an Internet presence or history, and nor does her mother.”
Leanne took a moment to process this. “So, who are they?” she asked, trying to get her head around it all.
Though Andee had a theory she decided to keep it to herself for now, and said, “I’m still working on it, but rest assured I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.”
“Well, that’s good, because Abby’s pretty tight with Jasmine, and I found myself warming to Claudia tonight. And her mother’s a delight.”
“Isn’t she?”
“Actually,” Leanne said as they started to walk on, “I’m thinking of inviting them to the little engagement party we’re throwing the Saturday after next. I take it you and Graeme are free?”
“We’ll make sure of it, and yes, do invite them. I think it would mean a lot to them, especially Claudia. Who else is on the list?”
“Family mostly, but I was wondering about asking Dan. Do you think he’ll come? He gets on very well with Tom.”
“I’m sure he will. I’m seeing him tomorrow for one of our RJ meetings. Would you like me to ask him?”
“No, I’ll do it myself, but perhaps you could assure him that we’re not trying to pair him off with Claudia, because that’s exactly what he’ll think when we introduce them.”
Andee frowned. “Aren’t we?” she countered dryly.
Leanne laughed. “I could say yes, but do we really want him to get involved with someone who might not be who she says she is, and who, for all we know, could take off again at any minute?”
“No,” Andee replied seriously, “we definitely don’t want to do that. And please, please don’t let her take off before the show home is done.”