Heath squatted down to lift the mast back up and leant it against the wall. More heat flooded my face as I looked down at the ground, one of my hands going up to rub the back of my neck.
“I’m sorry, Yaz,” he said as he backed away again like I was a wild animal he was afraid of spooking. “I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t on top of everything. I just worry about you. We all do. And we miss you.”
I sighed. “I know you guys mean well. I just…” I didn’t know how to explain it. All I knew was that I had to prove myself, and I had to do it on my own.
“You’ll still come this weekend though, right?” Heath asked. “To the gala? You don’t have to follow the dress code. If you wanted to tip up in flip-flops, nobody would care. Everyone’s going to be there.”
Of course, he’d expect me to turn up to a black-tie dinner in flip-flops, despite the fact that I had actually worn dresses before for Max and Verity’s award ceremonies. Okay, so they hadn’t exactly been conservative choices, but it wasn’t as though I’d turned up in my beach gear. I decided then and there that yes, I was going to the bloody gala – but not as typical ridiculous Yaz.
Verity owed me one anyway.
Chapter 25
Crazy man
Yaz
“Right, let’s get this show on the road,” I said as I pushed open the front door to Max and Mia’s house and strode into their house with Verity following closely behind. “The sooner I can get these heels off and into the bin, the better.”
I was trying to shove my phone into a stupid tiny bag made for elves as I walked into the kitchen, and once I’d snapped it shut I looked up to see Max, Mia, Heath and Teddy standing around the island staring at me. They all looked like they’d been smacked across the face with a wet fish. Teddy actually dropped a cup, sending it clattering onto the granite surface and swearing as the tea slopped over onto his hand.
“Bloody hell, Midge,” Max was the first to break the silence, and his voice was laced with shock. “You look… different.”
I rolled my eyes. My brother probably thought that ‘different’ constituted high praise indeed. Truth was, I hadn’t even had much of a chance to look in the mirror. Verity had arrived at my flat two hours ago armed with a dress, these torture devices I currently had strapped to my feet, and a whole suitcase full of make-up.
“Doesn’t she just,” said Verity, moving around me to come up beside her brother and elbow him sharply in his side. His mouth snapped shut, and he cleared his throat.
“Yaz… I–”
I tilted my head to the side in confusion as I watched him scramble for words. Heath was always so confident and charming – he always had the right compliment ready for the right situation. The fact he couldn’t muster up one now was a bit disappointing. And I’d never but never seen him lost for words.
He tried again. “You look… I don’t even know–”
“Crikey, Auntie Midge, you look proper mint,” Teddy exclaimed.
I smiled at Teddy. At least the teenager in the room could string a sentence together.
“Thanks Ted. I’d like to say the same, but I reckon that t-shirt has seen better days.”
Teddy was home for the summer holidays from university, and when he wasn’t at his temporary job in Max’s office, he was in full slovenly teenager mode. Everyone else, however, was dressed up – the men in black tie and the women in long ball gown style arrangements.
“V, you look mint as well, mind,” Teddy added. “It’s just I’m used to seeing you and Mia all trussed up in this stuff. It’s rare Auntie Midge gets caught in a skirt.”
“Don’t make it weird, man-child,” I said, shifting uncomfortably on my feet and not liking this level of scrutiny. What the hell had Verity done to me? I felt like I’d grown a second head.
“I think we’d better get going,” Mia said, as always being perceptive enough to notice my discomfort and doing something to alleviate it. “I’m driving, obviously.” One of her hands dropped to her bump self-consciously, and I moved to her with a wide smile on my face, pulling her in for a hug when I rounded the island. It was getting exciting now. Only four weeks to go. To say I was pleased for her and my brother was an understatement. Max was made to be a dad. He’d always been such a wonderful father figure to Teddy, even when Teddy’s mum deserted them both for London. I was thrilled he would be able to have the opportunity again, but this time with someone who I knew would stick with him every second of the way.
“You are one hot mama-to-be,” I said as I gave her and my future niece a squeeze. I wasn’t lying. Mia looked totally stunning. But then she always did for this sort of thing. At every award ceremony she’d been to with Max over the last year, her appearance had been flawless. But I knew that, like me, she didn’t enjoy having to dress up, didn’t like being on show. Before she met my brother, Mia had been in an abusive marriage, and a lot of importance was put on the proviso that she look perfect at all times. Being ‘trussed up’ brought back painful memories for her, but she did it for my brother because she loved him, and she knew that even if she wore a bin bag, Max wouldn’t bat an eye. My brother might be a gruff, grumpy northerner, but he loved his wife and wanted her happy. “But you don’t have to drive just because you’re preggers. We could–”
“I’m driving,” Max said.
“Honey, it’s fine,” Mia put in. “You can have a beer and then–”
“Are you drinking?” Max asked.
“No but–”
“Then why am I drinking? Anyway, you hate driving late. Let’s all stop staring at my sister and get out of here.”
