Later, tucked up in bed, with a mug of cocoa—containing a generous slosh of brandy, and with hands shaking slightly in anticipation—Annie finally opened the little note containing big numbers from John. They were, in fact, big numbers. With this offer he could not only afford carers for Mari, he could probably buy the company. But Annie had never been one to balk at the throwing down of a gauntlet, and she reasoned that John was a fair man, with an emotional attachment to Saltwater Nook. She could work with this; she just had to get Max to agree to her terms before it was too late.

Chapter 63

A ting emitted from Annie’s and Gemma’s phones as a message came through on the book club chat.

Sally: Sorry ladies, I’m going to have to bail on tonight. Susan’s got the worst cold. I’m playing nursemaid.

Gemma: Oh dear, poor Susan. Why don’t we postpone till next Wednesday?

Sally: I don’t want you to miss your club just because of me.

Maeve: Poppycock! We’re not doing it without you. All for one and one for all and all that!

Annie: Same. Pass my love on to Susan. Hope you don’t catch it!

Gemma slipped her phone back under the counter. She liked to keep it handy in case there was any kind of emergency at school with the children.

“Oh, well, that’s a shame,” said Gemma.

“Yes. Although to be honest, I hadn’t quite finished it yet anyway. I was going to have to Google the end of the plot.”

“Cheat,” said Gemma. “You’ll just have to enthrall me with the details of your tryst with John instead. I have very little excitement in my life and with no book club to look forward to I need some drama to keep me going.”

“I keep telling you, it wasn’t a tryst! Who even uses that word anyway?”

“I do! My husband is away a lot, I read a lot of romantic fictions, trysts are a prominent feature.”

“We were probably just on a sugar high from all the marshmallows.”

“But you did dirty dancing.”

“It was hardly dirty dancing.” Annie’s stomach thrilled at the remembrance of John kissing her throat. “Well, all right, maybe it was a little bit dirty dancing.” She had suddenly come over rather warm.

Gemma punched the air.

“I knew it!”

“It can’t come to anything,” said Annie. “It’s just not practical, for either of us.”

Gemma pouted but didn’t push it.