the heat from the crowd was getting to her and that was all.
Maddie was rescued from Evan’s gaze by a paper plate with a generous slice of cake being thrust in front of her. Since Riley, no other man had made her this nervous and her mouth was so dry that each bite of the lemony sponge formed a hard ball in her oesophagus.
Jem scurried over to her again. ‘Come on, I need a cuppa.’
Maddie followed Jem to a longer table set against the far wall upon which was an obedient line of tea cups, saucers and labelled urns.
‘Here, let me.’ Maddie noted the size of the urn compared to Jem.
‘Don’t be silly.’ Jem swatted away the offer of help. ‘How do you think I stay looking so youthful? This is my weight training.’ She smiled impishly. ‘My brain stays in check with this Nintendo DS thingamajig Evan and Holly bought me for my 95th.’
Maddie could well imagine her using one, and it made her smile as they took their cups of tea over to the chairs lined up against a wall at the edge of the dance floor.
‘I don’t condone all this screen time youngsters have nowadays,’ said Jem, slurping the top of her tea, ‘but I’m old. I’m supposed to sit down a bit.’
Jem’s family and friends seemed a lively bunch, but given the choice between this crowd and twenty girls making pottery penises and downing shots, Maddie knew this party was the lesser of two evils.
‘Are they your great-grandchildren?’ Maddie nodded towards a group of kids on the dance floor who looked as though they were auditioning for The X Factor.
‘Most of them, yes.’ She pointed to a little girl dressed in a silky, bottle-green and white polka dot dress with an enormous bow tied at the back. ‘That’s Ava, Holly’s daughter. She’s four going on fourteen. Reminds me of when I was her age.’
‘She’s gorgeous, quite the little lady.’ Maddie watched as Ava pulled Evan in from the sidelines and pleaded with him to twirl her around in his arms. She hadn’t thought it possible to be jealous of a four-year-old before.
‘She’s already got her eye on this.’ Jem patted the butterfly brooch pinned to her dress. Tiny circles of crystal made up the wings and two thin antennae poked out, curling at the top.
‘It’s beautiful.’
‘My late husband gave it to me. But I’m not daft. I won’t be taking it to my grave. I’ll let her have it.’
Raucous laughter erupted as party poppers exploded across the room with streams of yellows, pinks and reds landing on unsuspecting partiers. The kids dived on to the floor, grabbing at the strands.
‘And are you with anyone, Maddie? I don’t see a ring.’
Maddie laughed at the bluntness as she pushed her cup to join Jem’s on the table next to them. ‘No, I’m single.’ If Riley had still been alive, her answer would probably have been ‘married with children’.
‘What, a lovely slip of a girl like you?’ Jem shook her head. ‘What’s the world coming to?’
‘I’m getting on a bit now. I’m thirty-six.’
‘That’s young by my book. Ah, look out, here comes trouble.’
Maddie followed the direction of Jem’s gaze to see Evan fast approaching in an attempt to escape the rigours of the dance floor. Pink’s ‘Get the Party Started’ was blaring out at this far-from-average tea and cake birthday celebration.
‘Are you coming to request a dance with the birthday girl?’ asked Jem cheekily. ‘Because if you are, I’ll have to take a rain check. My bladder isn’t quite what it used to be, and that tea has gone right through me.’ She excused herself but not before she put an arm on Maddie’s, looked at Evan and said, ‘Don’t you let this one go anywhere. I haven’t finished with her yet.’
Evan took the vacant chair, and Maddie tried to keep her composure when his thigh brushed against her own.
‘What did you think of the cake?’ he asked.
She gulped as his question conjured up the image of him watching her so intently just before she was offered a slice. ‘It was lovely.’
‘Now I know you’re being polite. It was dry, even Jem said so.’ The corners of his mouth tugged in amusement in the same way Jem’s had moments ago. ‘She’s still hankering for a slice of that gigantic penis, you know.’
His laughter was enough to set her at ease when she flushed at the sound of the word ‘penis’ tumbling from his mouth. She wished she could hide