Niall leaned to the side to get his pen and notepad and knocked into Cat. ‘Sorry. So, definitely the mini cheese soufflé vol-au-vents. What about something meaty?’
Cat gave a devilish smile and widened her eyes at Nell. ‘I do like something meaty.’
Who was this woman in front of her? The Cat she had seen only a few days before was as different to this one as could possibly be. Last night, Cat had seemed tired and fed up; this one was like Cat on Viagra. She looked the same and dressed the same, but a playful vixen had reared her head. Over the top of her hot chocolate, Nell eyed the situation with mounting concern. Was it her imagination or had Cat moved closer to Niall? No, it wasn’t, and Niall too looked increasingly uncomfortable at Cat’s proximity.
‘What other things would you suggest?’ Nell asked, trying to give the meeting some kind of focus.
‘I do this fabulous chicken salad in a baby gem lettuce cup. It’s one of my favourite light bites.’
‘Light bites,’ Cat giggled, and Nell looked at her like she’d gone completely insane.
‘Let me tell you about them,’ said Niall, pulling open another white box to show the tiny baby gem lettuce leaves piled with chicken, halved grapes and sprinkles of chopped walnuts. As he did, Nell studied his face, trying to figure out what was happening. Niall had one of those faces that wasn’t really attractive until he spoke and his personality came through. At first his features seemed quite plain, due to a very square jaw and crooked nose, but when his love of food filled his face, his features softened. The crooked nose gave him character and hinted at a bad-boy past, while his stockiness and manly features gave the impression of security and protection. He wasn’t Nell’s type, but she was a bit worried that Cat had randomly decided he was hers, even though he wasn’t giving any indication of being anything other than professional. ‘I’ve made a sample. Here.’
Nell took one, hoping Cat wouldn’t like it so they could hire a different caterer she wasn’t going to flirt with, but it wasn’t to be. Cat took a bite of hers and was rapturously enjoying the taste, making strange ‘umming’ sounds when Nell decided to intervene. Maybe Cat hadn’t had much lunch. As a midwife, her days were unpredictable. She had mentioned how busy she was today with a woman on the verge, a couple who were overdue and a delivery that had gone swimmingly producing a gorgeous, squidgy pink baby girl. Perhaps three gins on an empty stomach had gone straight to her head. It was the only reasonable explanation for this weird behaviour. ‘Shall we get some water, Cat?’
‘Oh, Niall. Yum. This is amazing. We should definitely have this too.’
‘Cat?’
Cat looked up in surprise and swallowed. ‘No, thanks, Nell. I’m fine.’
Nell grabbed her arm and yanked her up out of her seat. ‘No, you’re not. You need some water and so do I. Come with me. Back in a minute, Niall. Make yourself comfortable.’ Just not too comfortable, she added internally.
‘Don’t go anywhere,’ called Cat over her shoulder.
Once they were in the safety of the basement kitchen and Cat had pulled herself onto the countertop, swinging her tiny legs, Nell took three glasses from the cupboard and poured some water into them from the cold filter in the fridge. ‘What are you doing?’ Nell asked, unable to contain herself any longer.
Cat pulled down the hem of her skirt and picked fluff off her bright purple thick woollen tights. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Yes, you bloody well do. When did you start flirting with guys? You haven’t flirted with anyone since you and Kieran first laid eyes on each other. You weren’t even behaving like this the first time we met him. What’s going on?’
‘Nothing,’ she said with a shrug. ‘I’m just trying to enjoy my wedding preparations without my mother badgering me, that’s all.’
Nell leaned against the countertop, her other hand on her hip. ‘Well, do you think you could enjoy them a little less enthusiastically? You’ll give Niall the wrong idea.’
‘No, I won’t. Oh …’ She paused, her hand at her mouth. ‘Do you like him?’
‘Me? No.’ The idea had never crossed Nell’s mind actually. He wasn’t her type. She wasn’t exactly sure what her type was, but it certainly wasn’t Niall.
‘Or is handsome Harry more your thing?’ Nell felt her ears grow hot, and shook her head, knowing full well it wasn’t very convincing. ‘I’m engaged to be married, Nell, I’m not dead from the waist down. I was just having fun.’ Cat crossed her arms over her chest.
‘You’ll be dead from the neck up if you keep flirting, or I’ll lock up the gin.’
‘I didn’t realise I was flirting like that, I was just trying to have a bit of silly fun, like we used to when we were younger, but I promise, I’ll stop.’ Cat’s shoulders slumped down in a sulk. ‘Why is everyone determined to make my wedding bloody miserable?’
‘I’m not trying to make your wedding or its planning miserable,’ Nell replied, gently touching Cat’s knee. ‘You know how much I love you. But you’ve been acting a bit weird. Is everything okay? Is your mum getting to you?’
Cat shrugged. ‘A bit. I just wanted to enjoy myself while she wasn’t here. She takes over so much when she’s around, it takes all the fun out of it.’
‘You’re going to have to talk to her about this, you know. If she keeps making you miserable, you have to say something.’
‘I know.’ Cat hopped down off the counter. ‘Can we get back to eating the food now? Mum’s put me on a diet, and I’ve been starving all day.’
Nell tutted at Brenda’s machinations. If Cat didn’t speak
