Chapters (58)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Acknowledgements
- An Eastbourne Murder Mystery
- Canelo Crime
- About the Author
- Also by Sheila Bugler
She knew the food on her plate wasn’t enough to fill her up, but she couldn’t face the sharp comments if she admitted that. Instead, she shook her head and told Robert she was fine.
‘You should start dating again,’ Ursula said. ‘Robert, who was the lovely woman you were talking to last week? The equal marriage campaigner. We should introduce her to Emer.’
‘I don’t want to start dating again,’ Emer said. ‘And if I did, the last thing I’d want is for my stepfather to set me up with someone.’
‘I just think you can do a lot better for yourself,’ Ursula said. ‘Nikki was a fly-by-night. I suppose she hasn’t bothered to stay in touch since she moved away?’
‘I got an email from her last week actually,’ Emer lied. ‘She’s loving her new job.’
The truth was, she hadn’t heard a word from Nikki since they’d broken up and Nikki had moved to London. Emer had called, sent text messages and continued to send emails. But, so far, Nikki hadn’t replied to anything she’d sent her.
‘She wasn’t right for you, Emer,’ Ursula said. ‘I knew it the first time I met her. Now she’s gone, hopefully you’ll find someone a bit steadier to settle down with. I’m still hoping to be mother of the bride one day, you know. I’ve got that dress I bought for your wedding. You haven’t seen it yet, have you? It’s really rather gorgeous. Pale blue with a striking hat. I could try it on for you later, if you’d like.’
‘She does look very lovely in it,’ Robert said.
Emer didn’t doubt it. At sixty, her mother was still a strikingly beautiful woman. With sharp cheekbones, piercing blue eyes and the posture of a professional ballet dancer, it was no wonder she’d turned so many heads when she was younger. Emer knew her mother worked hard to maintain her good looks but, as Ursula herself had said on more than one occasion, she could only work with what she’d got. It was just that, in Ursula’s case, what she’d got was a lot more natural beauty than most women could ever dream of.
‘Can we not talk about it now?’ Emer said. ‘Please?’
‘I told you we couldn’t rely on her, Robert,’ Ursula said. ‘You’ll have to come up with some other ideas for getting the gay vote.’
‘Jesus…’ Emer put down her knife and fork. ‘Do you hear yourself? This is my life we’re talking about.’