‘Mainly because Cynthia of the Eagle Eyes and Concrete Hair wouldn’t let her little boy shack up with someone,’ Bella said. ‘Is that why you got drunk tonight?’
‘No. That was the cartoon you drew for me,’ Grace said. ‘Fifty Shades of Beige.’
Bella winced. ‘Sorry. I meant it as a joke, to make you laugh and relax a bit. I knew you weren’t looking forward to the golden wedding party.’
‘But it was so accurate, Bel,’ Grace said. ‘I was the only woman there not dressed in beige.’
Bella couldn’t help laughing. ‘Ouch. I didn’t think it’d be quite that bad.’
‘Oh, it was,’ Grace said feelingly. ‘I really didn’t belong there. I drank three glasses of champagne straight down to give me courage and I didn’t even feel them, Bel.’
Which was really un-Grace-like. She always stopped after one glass. Sensible, reliable Grace who looked after everyone else and was usually the one mopping up, not the one throwing up.
‘I was just numb. And that’s when I realised,’ Grace said, ‘that I was walking into a life I didn’t actually want. In fifty years’ time, I don’t want to be sensible Grace Sutton, whose heart has never once skipped a beat, and whose mother-in-law directed the whole of her marriage.’
‘If anyone could live until well past the age of a hundred, marbles intact and with an iron fist, it’d be Mrs Concrete Hair,’ Bella said feelingly. ‘You’ve done the right thing, Gracie. It’s much better to call a halt now than to wait until after you married Howard and then have all the mess of a divorce to go through.’
‘Really?’ Grace didn’t look convinced. She looked guilty and miserable and worried.
‘Really,’ Bella said firmly, ‘and Mum and Dad will back you, too.’
‘I just feel that I’ve let everyone down—all the work that’s gone into arranging the wedding.’ Grace swallowed. ‘Not to mention the money.’
‘But you haven’t let anyone down,’ Bella said. ‘Well, except you should have told me all this a lot sooner, because I’m your sister and of course I’m going to support you. I hate to think that you’ve been miserable all these months when I could’ve listened to you and made you feel better. You’re doing the right thing, Gracie. And cancelling the wedding won’t be that hard.’ This was slightly surreal; it felt almost as if she and Grace had swapped places and it was her turn to be the sensible, super-organised one instead of the one who needed rescuing. ‘Just give me a list of the names and contact details of the people you’ve invited and your suppliers, and I’ll ring them all and explain the wedding’s off.’
‘I can’t make you do that!’ Grace protested.
‘You’re not making me do it. I’m offering. That’s what sisters are for.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Have you told Howard?’ Was that why her no-longer-future brother-in-law had been so conspicuously absent?
‘No. I’m going to do that tomorrow.’
A nasty thought struck Bella. ‘Does he actually know you’ve left the party?’
Grace nodded and winced. ‘I told him I had a migraine and was going home.’
‘And he didn’t even offer to take you home? That’s atrocious!’
‘How could he leave? It’s his parents’ golden wedding anniversary party.’
‘OK, so he probably had to stay there with the Gruesome Twosome,’ Bella allowed, ‘but he still should’ve made sure you were all right first and at least arranged a taxi to take you home.’
‘I’m sure he would’ve done, but I told him you were coming to collect me,’ Grace explained.
‘Hmm,’ Bella said, though she wasn’t mollified. What on earth was wrong with the man? Howard had been Grace’s fiancé for four years and he hadn’t even made sure that she got home safely when she’d told him she felt ill—whereas Hugh Moncrieff, a man Bella had met only a few minutes ago, had not only come to the rescue, he’d offered to help them indoors. So her new boss had a good heart as well as a gorgeous face.
Not that she should be thinking about that right now. Or ever, for that matter. Even if she wasn’t officially off men, her boss was completely off limits. She needed this job, to get her finances back on an even keel. ‘So what are you going to tell Howard tomorrow?’ she asked.
‘The truth—that I can’t marry him.’ Grace closed her eyes for a moment. ‘And that means I’ll lose my job and my home, too, Bel. No way can I go back to work at Sutton’s, not when I’ve just split up with the boss’s son—and in the circumstances I can hardly ask them to give me a reference to work anywhere else. Plus I’ve already given my landlord notice on my flat. I know he’s already found my replacement and signed a contract, so I can’t ask him just to ignore my notice and renew my lease.’ She blew out a breath. ‘I’ve really burned my bridges, Bel—and who knows how long it’ll take me to find another flat?’
‘You don’t have to. Come and stay with me,’ Bella said immediately.
Grace hugged her. ‘I love you, sweetheart, and thank you for the offer, but your flat’s barely big enough for one person. You don’t have room for me to stay. I’ll ask round my friends—one of them will put me up until I can find somewhere—and I’ll sign on with a temp agency. If I explain the situation, I’m sure they’ll understand about the problem with references and help me to find a way round it.’
This sounded more like her level-headed older sister, Bella thought. Planning. Being sensible. The oats were clearly soaking up what remained of the champagne. ‘It’ll all work out, Gracie. You know what Mum always says: when one door closes, another opens.’
‘I know,’ Grace said.
‘I was going to take you out for sushi and champagne tomorrow, to celebrate my job—because I wouldn’t have got it without you—but we can take a rain check on that, because I’m guessing you won’t want to see champagne again for months.’
‘Definitely not.’ Grace winced. ‘And you might’ve lost the job, because of me.’
‘Of course I haven’t. I’ll talk my boss round,’ Bella said, sounding slightly more confident than she actually felt. ‘Go and have a shower, clean your teeth, get in your PJs, and then we’re going to snuggle under a throw on your sofa and watch a re-run of Friends.’
‘I love you, Bel,’ Grace said. ‘You’re the best sister I could ever ask for.’
Even though they were total opposites, Bella thought. And, weirdly, tonight, it felt more as if she was Grace and Grace was her.
‘You came straight to rescue me without asking any questions,’ Grace said.
‘Of course I did! You’ve done it often enough for me,’ Bella said. ‘And you’re the best sister I could ever ask for, too, and I love you to bits—even when I don’t understand you. Now go and get yourself sorted out. I’m going to raid your fridge because I’m starving, and I’m sleeping on your sofa tonight. Tomorrow, you can talk to Howard and we’ll make that list and work through it together. And then things will start to look better. You’ll see.’ She hugged her sister. ‘Nothing fazes a Faraday girl, right?’
‘Right,’ Grace said. ‘Nothing fazes a Faraday girl.’
ON MONDAY MORNING, Bella left her flat at what felt like the crack of dawn. For the last couple of years, she’d been able to set her own working hours—meaning that she could sleep in until ten a.m. and work until late, which suited her body clock better—but she knew that she needed to make a good impression