thought she was over Nick. Then a couple of years ago she and Nick had a bit of a fling over the summer. Just a no strings attached type of affair. She actually told me herself that’s what they had decided. She’d got this terrific job at the university—I mean she’s brilliant, quite brilliant—and Nick’s always made it plain where he stands on commitment.’
Jenny stopped abruptly, looking at her anxiously.
‘It’s all right.’ Cory forced a smile. ‘He’s made it plain to me too.’
‘But since then she’s been…odd. She’s trying to get him back, I’d swear it.’ Jenny sighed deeply. ‘So just watch out for her, that’s all I’d say. I wouldn’t trust her an inch.’
‘You don’t like her.’ Cory stated the obvious.
‘Loathe her.’ Jenny shrugged. ‘But she’s Mum’s goddaughter and Mum likes her. Feels sorry for her a bit, I think. The thing is, if someone thinks your child is the bee’s knees you can’t help liking them, I suppose.’
Great. Had Nick’s mother always hoped he’d marry Margaret so everything in the garden would be hunkydory? If so, she’d view all his girlfriends as obstacles.
As Jenny bounced away to rescue Rod as the dance ended, Cory’s mouth drooped. She watched Jenny join Margaret and Rod, who were walking off the dance floor with Nick and his mother, and Catherine had one arm through Margaret’s and the other through Nick’s. It looked cosy. Natural. Happy families.
Nick’s eyes were searching the room and then as he saw her he lifted his hand and waved, leaving the others. She couldn’t see the expression on Catherine’s face as she was obscured by a young couple walking by, but Margaret looked straight at her, her eyes deadly.
Then Nick reached her, taking her in his arms as he murmured, ‘I’ve missed you. We’ve been apart for five whole minutes. Mum’s going now; come and say goodbye till tomorrow.’ All the family were going to Catherine’s for Sunday lunch.
For the next hour or so until the party finally broke up Cory said and did all the right things. She laughed and joked with the others, danced with Nick and avoided Margaret’s lethal green gaze.
On the way home she pleaded exhaustion when Nick asked her why she was so quiet, and, refusing a nightcap—which would be much more than a mere liqueur coffee if Nick’s smouldering gaze was anything to go by—went straight up to her room. And then regretted bitterly that she hadn’t stayed with him.
She sat down on the bed with a little sigh, feeling as flat as a pancake. Which was crazy when she thought about it because nothing had changed. Nick had said he loved her. Fine. He had probably loved all his women, or the longterm ones at least. She knew that, so what difference did it make if he and Margaret had slept together a couple of summers ago and Catherine Morgan would like her goddaughter as a daughter-in-law too? He wasn’t going to marry Margaret any more than he was going to marry her, so feeling upset and jealous and put-out was plain stupid.
It didn’t matter if she was here on sufferance as far as Nick’s mother was concerned. It didn’t matter that Margaret was far more a part of Nick’s life long-term than she was. It didn’t even matter that Margaret was going to be at Nick’s mother’s tomorrow where she’d no doubt be a limpet attached to his side.
None of it mattered. She burst into tears.
One good cry, a scrub of her face and a brush of her teeth later, Cory climbed into bed, the exhaustion she’d spoken of real. It had been a long day after just a couple of hours’ sleep the night before. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A GOOD night’s sleep worked wonders. Cory awoke wide awake and alert—not a normal occurrence for her—at nine the next morning, and she was in a different frame of mind entirely. Climbing out of bed, she walked across and drew the curtains and immediately bright sunlight flooded the room. It was another gorgeous day. Flinging the windows wide, she leaned on the sill and breathed in the scent of the climbing roses beneath her, their heady, rich scent a wonderful start to the day.
She wasn’t going to let all this about Margaret get her down. She turned from the window, staring across the room. She wished she’d stayed downstairs with Nick last night but there you were, she hadn’t. She groaned softly.