Dorothy sighed, her disappointment on the matter evident. “We haven’t seen Gabe since Hannah got her treadmill.”
Hannah couldn’t deny she’d been a tad disappointed too. She’d expected him to at least check up on how she was getting on with the running machine and specially devised training programme. She wondered if his mystery woman had anything to do with him going AWOL. More to the point, she wondered who the mystery woman was.
It would have been easy for Hannah to drop Kate into the conversation. After all, Liv would run straight back to Quentin to get the dirt and relay it back. But as much as Hannah’s curiosity was trying to get the better of her, she knew she had to ignore it. The last thing she wanted was to cause unnecessary strain on Liv’s relationship with Quentin. Or, indeed, on Quentin and Gabe’s friendship. That simply wouldn’t be fair.
“You know what they say, Aunt Dorothy,” Liv said. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Not on my part it doesn’t,” Hannah said, trying to maintain an air of coolness.
Dorothy, Mel and Liv all raised their eyebrows. “You’re sure about that?”
CHAPTER35
Safely back at their villa, Beth and Archie video called. While keen to find out how Carl’s marriage proposal had gone, Hannah didn’t want to appear too eager. Suppressing her enthusiasm, she knew Beth and Archie would get to it when they were ready. “So how was your sailing trip?” Hannah asked. Feet up on the sofa, she settled herself to hear all about it.
“The catamaran was very posh,” Beth said. “It had two deck areas. One had a canopy and was taken up by seating and a dining table.”
“The other was open air and it had these mats laid out for sunbathing,” Archie said.
Hannah fake smiled, trying to look interested as she waited for them to get to the good bits.
“Inside was decorated in beiges, whites and greys.”
“The cabins were a bit small. Although very nice.”
“And the beds were comfy.”
As she listened to them, Hannah wondered what was wrong with her children. It was one thing having to wait to hear all about Carl’s engagement, but they could have at least told her about their lazy mornings spent lounging under the sun, and afternoon swimming sessions in a never-ending crystal blue sea.
They could have let Hannah delight in the gorgeous cuisine they’d experienced, such as Daube Provençale, Fougasse smeared with Pissaladière, and Tarte Tropézienne. All cooked and served by charming and handsome French crew members. The last thing Hannah anticipated was some boring accommodation critique. Beth and Archie sounded so dispassionate about their boat trip, Hannah could almost hear thebutthat was about to follow.
Their faces fell and Hannah raised her eyebrows in readiness.
“We got seasick,” they said.
Hannah put a hand up to hide her mouth. She knew she shouldn’t laugh. Motion sickness was soul destroying. However, the waters between the South of France and Corsica at that time of year weren’t known for being choppy and Hannah swallowed, trying to stop her voice cracking. “You poor things.”
“It was awful,” Beth said.
“I’ve never felt so ill,” Archie said.
“But you must have something positive to say about your trip,” Hannah said. If nothing else, there was Carl’s engagement to talk about.
“We spent a day on Corsica.”
Hannah perked up. “That must have been nice.”
“But we couldn’t enjoy it. By the time the nausea had gone we had to get back on the catamaran.”
As much as Hannah empathised, she had thought Beth and Archie were made of sterner stuff. “Did Dad and Monica enjoy themselves?” Hannah asked, still waiting for the gossip.
Clearly onto her, her children shook their heads in disdain.
“You’re so transparent, Mum,” Beth said.
“Dad told us he gave you the heads-up about asking Monica to marry him,” Archie said. “We knew you’d be desperate to know how it went.”
“So the seasickness story was made up?” Hannah looked back at them, shocked they’d do that to her. “To teach me a lesson for being nosey?”
