Page 12

Daisy looked back at the house. It was hard to imagine a more romantic destination, but given all the effort Theo had gone to, there was no way she was going to say that.

‘A romantic night away anywhere with you sounds absolutely perfect,’ Daisy said as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss firmly on Theo’s lips. She had intended it to be nothing more than a peck, but as his hand slipped around herwaist, she found herself leaning more into him. Given how he had been driving all day, she barely had time to stop and kiss him or revel in the fact that he was indeed her fiancé. As such, the kiss was one she could have lost herself in for several more minutes, had the front door to the house not swung open.

‘At last, Theodore. We were expecting you hours ago,’ a pristinely dressed woman said from the doorway. Every inch of her was exact, from the gentle curls of her hair to the perfect points of her shoes, although it was her expression that held Daisy’s attention the most. With a slight pout, she looked Daisy up and down so slowly that it wasn’t even subtle, and when she stopped and locked her gaze on Daisy’s, her smile tightened ever so slightly.

‘So,’ she said, with a voice that was both breathy and yet direct. ‘You must be the wonderful Maisy I’ve heard so much about.’

15

Daisy blinked and opened her mouth as if to reply, but she wasn’t sure what to say. She had misheard, surely? Theo’s mother hadn’t just called her the wrong name, had she? Swallowing back the fear that was flooding through her, she was still trying to believe it was her mistake when Theo spoke.

‘It’s Daisy, as you well know. Daisy with a D.’

‘Oh, yes, well, you know what it’s like with these modern names. They’re all far too easy to confuse, aren’t they?’

Her smile widened as she looked at Daisy again, although there was no warmth to it at all. Everything from the bright blue of her eyes to her narrowed lips screamed ice queen. Any hope Daisy had had of a warm welcome was rapidly fading.

‘Daisy, this is my mother, Penelope. Or Penny, if it’s a good day,’ Theo said.

Daisy’s immediate thought was that Penny didn’t sound any less modern a name than Daisy, but she kept that to herself as she smiled.

‘Penny, so pleased to meet you.’ She stretched out her right hand.

‘Really, Penelope is fine. Why Theodore insists on only using half the name we gave him is beyond me.’

‘Right, sorry, Penelope,’ Daisy said. Her hand was still outstretched, but after a moment longer, she realised it wasn’t going to be met and lowered it to her side.

A bit of time to warm up? Wasn’t that what Theo had said about his parents? Judging by their encounter so far, Daisy doubted that even several hours on defrost in a high-powered microwave would be enough to thaw Penelope out.

‘Is that Theo? Tell him to come inside and stop dawdling.’

The booming voice came from deep inside the house and was shortly followed by the appearance of a large man wearing a checked shirt, green trousers and a strained waistcoat struggling to remain buttoned up.

‘Come on, lad, let’s get those bags of yours inside. Don’t want you letting all the warm air out, do we?’

Daisy couldn’t imagine how hot it would have to be inside the house for it to be warmer than outside, but this felt like something to keep to herself, so instead she turned to Theo.

‘I’ll go get the bags,’ she said. ‘You stay here with your mum and dad. You’ve got lots to catch up on.’

She could see from Theo’s face that he was about to refuse, but the look she gave was all it took for him to nod quickly in agreement. Still, when she turned to walk to the car, she quickly heard him speak again.

‘Actually, I think some of those bags are quite heavy. It’s probably best if I give her a hand too,’ he said. ‘We’ll just be one second. We’ll take our bags up to the guest room and then come down to the kitchen. I think we’d both love a cup of tea.’

When Daisy turned back towards the house, her eyes fell on Theo’s mother, who was pouting with such force, her entire cheeks were drawn inwards.

‘Fine,’ Penelope said with a huffiness that made it sound like Theo helping Daisy was the worst thing he could possibly offer to do. ‘But try not to trample mud through the house. You know how your father abhors having to vacuum more than three times a week.’

16

It was only when Theo’s parents disappeared into the house that Daisy let out a long sigh of relief that sounded more like a gasp. A moment later, Theo was standing by her side, taking her hands.

‘Well, I guess I know what you mean about standoffish,’ Daisy said. Now that she was away from the situation, the conversation they’d just had was starting to sink in. ‘She did that on purpose, didn’t she? Calling me the wrong name?’

Theo paused. A slight cough caught in his throat before he released it as a groan.

‘I’m sorry. I’d love to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I did say there was a reason I lived so far away.’ He shook his head and let out a groan even longer than the first one. ‘I honestly thought introducing you was the right thing to do, so we could tell her about the engagement together, but she’s much better when there are more people. I should have thought about that. I mean, I’m sure she’ll get better. It’s a defence mechanism, you know? Mum always has to feel like she’s got one over on you. I have no idea why, but after that, she tends to mellow out a bit. But if it’s going to be too difficult, we don’t have to stay.’ As he looked down at Daisy, a sense of sadness and disappointmentfilled his eyes. ‘I can ring the hotel. See if they can squeeze us in for an extra night.’

Daisy was torn. In her opinion, Penelope needed to do a lot more than mellow to become anywhere near palatable. After all, who aimed to get things over on people they didn’t even know? Certainly not the type of person she would choose to spend any time with. But however strong a dislike she had taken to the woman, she was still Theo’s mother, and he wouldn’t have brought her there to meet his family unless it was important to him.