I watched him start to gather some of his ingredients together. “Anything I can do to help?” I asked.
“Yes. You can grab this…” He poured me a glass of wine. “And go and read one of those books of yours.”
I grinned, telling myself I could get used to being ordered out of the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here forever?” I asked.
Handing me my drink, Fin appeared surprised by my question.
“That was a joke,” I said. “Of course I don’t expect you to give up your hard-earned career.” My mobile began to ring again. “I’m going to have to get that,” I said. “It’ll be Mum. She’s already tried twice. If I keep ignoring her she’ll be straight round to check we haven’t been murdered in our beds. You don’t mind, do you?”
“I don’t mind at all,” Fin replied. “Go. Relax. Say hello from me.”
I retrieved my phone from my bag and taking my wine with me headed through to the lounge. “Hi, Mum,” I said, taking a seat on the sofa as I answered her call.
“Holly! Where have you been?”
“Whoah!” Forced to pull the handset away from my ear to stop my eardrum from bursting, Mum sounded way more excited than was good for her.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked before I could say anything else.
I frowned, wondering what the woman was talking about. “Tell you what?”
Mum giggled. “You know exactly what.”
“No, Mum, I don’t.”
“I can’t believe we had to hear it from someone else. You could have phoned to tell us personally. Or better still, popped round.”
“Tell Holly I’m opening a bottle of champagne,” Dad called out from somewhere in the background, sounding as equally upbeat.
“Dad said he’s opening a bottle of champagne.”
I shook my head. Wondering if that was their second bottle as neither of my parents seemed to make any sense. “And he wants me to know this because?” I asked.
“To celebrate, of course. It was Joan who told me. She heard it from Sally’s mother-in-law’s sister.”
I rolled my eyes, wishing she’d explain herself better. “Heard what, Mum?”
“About you and Fin, silly.”
“Here you are, Maz,” Dad said.
“Cheers!” They both called out, to the sound of clinking glasses.
“What about me and Fin?” I asked. I began to wonder if my parents had taken something; something that had clearly impaired their mental capacities.
“Your engagement, of course.”
“My what?” My eyes widened in horror.
“For your upcoming wedding.”
“What upcoming wedding?” Mum and Dad really had lost the plot.
“The one you were talking about in the café today.”
My jaw dropped at the same time as the penny.
“Dad said you were probably saving the news for tomorrow, but sleeping on Christmas Eve is exciting enough. I had to ring to say congratulations.”
