All They Need - By Sarah Mayberry Page 0,63
him myself?”
Her mother reached for the necklace at her throat, pulling the faith, hope and charity charms back and forth across the chain. A sure sign she was nervous.
“Why don’t you want him to come? You obviously like the man. And he obviously likes you. Why wouldn’t you want him there?”
“You of all people know why,” Mel said.
Her mother shut her jaw with a click and dropped her hand. After a long moment she nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. We just want you to be happy again, Melly Belly.”
“I know, Mom. But you can’t make me happy, especially not by pushing me into something I have no idea if I’m ready for or not.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought maybe you just needed a little nudge.”
“No.”
“Okay. I’ll cross him off the list, then,” her mother said.
Mel turned and walked back toward the garage. “He’s coming.”
“But you just said—”
Wisely, her mother didn’t complete her thought. Mel picked up the wire brush and resumed her attack on the garage wall. After a few seconds her mother reentered the house.
Mel spent the next hour trying not to feel like the world’s biggest hypocrite—because, of course, she was over the moon that she would be seeing Flynn this weekend. But her mother didn’t need to know that just yet.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THREE DAYS LATER, Mel plugged in the final string of fairy lights and stepped back to assess the effect. She gave a nod of satisfaction.
“Not too bad, if I do say so myself.”
“Yeah, not too shabby,” her brother agreed.
They’d been working since daybreak to transform their parents’ yard for the big occasion. Thanks to their labors, fairy lights now hung from every conceivable anchor point—the eaves, the side of the freshly painted garage, along the fence—and pots full of flowering annuals had been borrowed from Mel’s garden and placed in strategic locations to cover various domestic uglies like the tap and the grease trap. Assorted outdoor chairs were placed in conversational groupings, and the caterers had set up a long trestle table beneath the covered patio. Later, guests would help themselves to a selection of salads as well as roast lamb and beef, both of which were currently being spit-roasted on a rotisserie located in front of the garage, sending delicious aromas across the backyard.
“I’m going home to get ready before Mom spots us standing around,” Harry said, already fishing in his pocket for his car keys.
“Good point.”
Officially the party didn’t start for another hour, but her mother’s sister, Lydia, was notorious for being early, and the neighbors would probably drift over sooner rather than later. Unless Mel wanted to be caught in her dirty track pants and equally dirty sweater, she needed to make a quick exit while she could.
“Two-minute warning, here comes Mom now,” Harry said. He ducked down the side of the house just as their mother exited the sliding door to the patio.
“Mel. Thank God. The light’s blown on the front porch. Can you believe the timing? Your father’s in the shower. Would you mind?”
Mel held out a hand for the lightbulb her mother was already carrying and followed her through the house to the front door.
“I’m still not sure if we’ve got enough wine. Do you think I should send Harry out for more champagne? And ice. Do we have enough ice?” her mother asked.
Mel handed her the blown bulb before placing her hands on her mother’s shoulders.
“Mom. Calm down. You have enough drink to keep the Australian cricket team happy, and we have ice up the yoo-hoo. Why don’t you get ready, then sit down and put your feet up for a few minutes and have a glass of wine?”
“I’m not sure. I wanted to make sure the caterers know where to set up the bar. And—”
Mel gave her mother’s shoulders a little shake. “Quit it with the excuses. Go get ready. I’ll tell the caterers where to put the bar on my way out, okay?”
Her mother looked relieved. “All right. If you insist.”
“I do, crazy lady. Now go make yourself beautiful, and I’ll see you in half an hour or so.”
Mel waited till her mother had disappeared up the hallway to her bedroom before ducking outside to have a quick word with the caterer. Then she escaped before her mother came up with another task for her to do.
She headed straight for the shower when she got home. Standing under the warm water, she allowed herself to think about Flynn again.
She’d been rationing herself,