"I"m sure you did everything perfectly, but I might go and have a quick check on how it"s coming along, unless you want to do it?"
"No, no, it"s all yours, sis. I"ve done enough cooking for one day," Evette insisted.
The wonderful aroma of roast turkey filled the kitchen.
"It smells delicious," Nicole smiled, as she basted the roast. "My compliments to the chef."
Evette was rummaging about in the cupboards, searching for gla.s.ses. She pulled a bottle of chilled Champagne and some freshly squeezed orange juice from the refrigerator, then she proceeded to fill two flutes with a concoction of Champagne and orange.
"What is it?" Nicole asked, as she dubiously accepted the gla.s.s her sister offered.
"It"s Buck"s Fizz, a traditional drink to celebrate Christmas Day," Evette explained.
"Merry Christmas!" They clinked their gla.s.ses together and sipped their drinks.
"It"s pleasantly refreshing," Nicole said, sounding surprised.
"Shall we exchange our gifts now or wait until later?" Evette asked.
"I think we should wait until everyone"s here."
There were piles of gifts heaped under the tree and Evette couldn"t wait to get her hands on them. "You never were any good at waiting," Nicole laughed.
"Tell me about it. How many guests are coming to dinner anyway?"
"There"ll be mom, dad, Paul and us, of course; quite a small gathering, actually."
"Everyone"s gone to their parents for dinner," Evette said. "I"m surprised Paul isn"t having dinner with his family."
"Don"t you remember his mom and dad moved to France during the summer. They were supposed to be going for a holiday but they loved it so much they never came back."
"Lucky them, I"ve always wanted to live in France, ever since the year I spent studying there." "I"d miss you too much if you moved away."
"I"d miss you too, besides I"m a high-powered business woman now, with an empire to run." Evette giggled, the Champagne had already gone straight to her head.
"Speaking of business, how"s Amanda and the wedding of the century?"
Evette rolled her eyes. "They"ve gone skiing in Aspen for two weeks, so my life should be fairly quiet. I"ll be glad of the break from her incessant emails and phone calls. Anyway, everything"s under control, I think."
The buzzer heralded the arrival of their first guests.
"Come on up." Evette buzzed their parent"s through the gates.
"Merry Christmas darlings! John Baxter enveloped his daughter"s in a bear hug.
"Merry Christmas! Let me take the gifts from you," Evette grinned as she helped her mother place more parcels under the tree.
"All for me, I hope."
"Oh, Ev, you haven"t changed since you were a child," her mother smiled fondly at her daughter. "I remember when you were small you were a terror for searching for your Christmas gifts. You"d ransack the entire house. Nowhere was safe from you."
Everyone laughed at the happy memories.
The two sisters busied themselves in the kitchen, making the final preparations for dinner, while their parents relaxed in the living room.
"I hope Paul and I are as happy as mom and dad when we"re their age," Nicole sighed, helping herself to another gla.s.s of Buck"s Fizz.
"I"m sure you"ll be very happy together," Evette a.s.sured her sister. "You both want it to work and you"re both willing to work at it."
"I hope so. I"m sorry for inviting Paul to dinner without asking you. It was such a spur of the moment decision and I couldn"t stand the thought of him being alone on Christmas Day. It won"t be too awkward for you, will it?"
"Don"t be daft," Evette protested. "The more the merrier. If you can forgive Paul, then I can forgive him too."
"Everything looks and smells absolutely delicious," John smiled lovingly at his daughters as they brought in plates of food and placed them carefully on the table.
"My mouth is watering," Paul agreed.
"Darlings, you"ve outdone yourselves," Imelda Baxter looked appreciatively at the feast in front of her.
"If it tastes even half as good as your Christmas dinners, mom, we"ll be thrilled," Nicole complimented her mother.
Bon appet.i.t, everybody, tuck in, Nicole smiled around the table at her guests.
The table was laden down with a mouth-watering feast of food. The succulent turkey, with all the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, took pride of place in the centre of the table. There were plates piled high with golden brown roast potatoes, brussel sprouts and a myriad array of roasted winter vegetables. Bread sauce, gravy and cranberry sauce made up the usual Christmas dinner condiments and of course there was plenty of wine flowing to keep everyone merry.
You"ve outdone yourself, sis. This is one of the most delicious Christmas dinners I"ve enjoyed in years.
It"s almost as tasty as your mother"s cooking, John agreed.
Ahem, Imelda coughed dramatically.
I said almost as tasty, darling, John laughed and squeezed his wife"s hand.
High praise indeed, Nicole beamed at her guests.
I"m absolutely stuffed, Paul groaned and leaned back in his chair. If I eat another bite I might just explode.
I"ve got pudding and brandy cream if anyone"s interested? Nicole teased.
Well have some later, sis. How about we open our presents now?
Great idea, Paul and Imelda agreed.
You"ve been dying to open your gifts for weeks, Ev, Nicole teased. I"m surprised you managed to resist the temptation, especially when they were staring at you from under the tree.
It was difficult, I must admit, but I didn"t dare open them. I knew you"d kill me.
The ladies retired to the couch while Paul and John cleared the table and washed the dishes.
Ahh, this is the life, Imelda sighed as she curled up in her seat and slowly sipped the last of her wine. It makes a pleasant change to have someone else cook the dinner, especially a dinner as tasty as that, thank you darlings.
You"re welcome mom, our pleasure.
Evette jumped up and began pa.s.sing out the gifts as soon as John and Paul reappeared. There was a flurry of gift wrap and excitement whilst they opened their presents and thanked each other.
Where"s Paul? Nicole asked. He"d suddenly disappeared.
I"m right here, sweetheart, he sat beside her and gave her a beautifully wrapped box. I saved the best for last.
Whatever could it be? Nicole smiled as she carefully unwrapped her gift. You certainly didn"t wrap this, she teased him. You"re not exactly the most precise wrapper I know.
Paul watched her face intently.
There, sitting in a dark purple velvet box was the most exquisite ring. It was a sapphire stone, surrounded with tiny, sparkling diamonds on a platinum band.
Nicole and everyone else gasped when they saw it. Paul took the box from her and got down on one knee.
Nicole Ann Baxter, will you do me the great honour of marrying me?
Yes, of course! she exclaimed, without hesitation.
He took her hand in his and delicately slipped the ring on her finger.
She hugged him tight and kissed him. She buried her face in his neck, desperately trying to swallow the lump in her throat. Tears of joy threatened to overwhelm her at any moment. Congratulations! they were both covered in hugs and kisses.
This calls for Champagne! Evette popped open a bottle of bubbly and filled everyone"s gla.s.ses.
A toast, John said, raising his gla.s.s. To love and new beginnings.
To love!
Chapter 25.
Ev! Where are you? Call me back as soon as possible, please! Nicole left her umpteenth voicemail on her sister"s mobile phone.
She"d been trying to contact her all morning, as she really needed her sister"s moral support. It was the afternoon of William"s wedding and she didn"t relish the prospect of attending the wedding by herself. Evette had promised to help her but she"d mysteriously slipped out of the apartment earlier that morning and hadn"t answered her phone since.
Nicole still hadn"t met William or his bride. There had been terrible snow storms in New York and his original flight had been grounded for days. He"d finally gotten a seat on the midnight flight from JFK.
They"d arranged to meet at the hotel, just hours before the wedding. Nicole was inexplicably nervous. She desperately wanted the wedding to go perfectly and so far it wasn"t looking good.
She put the final touches to her hair and makeup and took one last glance at herself in the mirror. Her lilac trouser suit complemented her colouring and figure perfectly and she"d styled her hair into a sleek bob. She adjusted the rose which was attached to her lapel and sprayed herself liberally with Coco Mademoiselle.
h.e.l.lo, she answered the phone on its first ring, silently praying that it was her sister.
Taxi for Nicole Baxter, said the voice on the other end of the line.
Ok, I"ll be down in a minute.
She carefully folded the precious wedding dress and made her way downstairs.
Thank G.o.d it"s not raining, she thought as she climbed into the taxi.
The Blarney Park Hotel and Towers, she instructed the driver.
She checked her phone a million times on the way to the hotel.
It"ll never ring if you keep checking it, the taxi driver said cheerfully, watching her in his mirror.
Nicole forced herself to smile.
Deep breaths, deep breaths. This will all be over in a few hours.
Ev! Finally! Nicole exclaimed. Where are on earth have you been?
I"m at the hotel.
What are you doing at the hotel?
I thought we"d arranged to meet there.
We must have our wires crossed. Anyway, never mind. I"m on my way in a taxi now. I"ll be there in ten minutes.
Ok, see you soon. I"m in the bridal suite. William"s here already, and with that she promptly hung up the phone, not giving her sister a chance to respond.
William"s not supposed to arrive for an hour and why hasn"t he called me? Im his wedding planner, not Ev. This day just gets better and better, Nicole sighed to herself.
Happy New Year to you, love, the taxi driver said as he pulled up outside the hotel.
Same to you, Nicole said curtly, hauling herself out of the taxi.
The hotel was already buzzing with New Year revellers. It was packed with people and there was loud music blaring from the bar.
I could do with a drink right now, she thought longingly, as she gathered the wedding dress in her arms and walked past reception to the elevator.
She straightened her shoulders and put on her happiest face. It wouldn"t be professional to let the client know how anxious and stressed she was feeling.
She took a deep breath and knocked on the door of the bridal suite. Evette immediately opened the door and beamed at her.
Hi, sis, she enveloped her sister in a big hug.