Summer at Tiffany's by Karen Swan Read Free Book Online Page A

squeeze of her knee. ‘You will get past this, Suze. Archie isn’t going to die. He wouldn’t bloody dare, not till you give him the OK at a hundred and six, once his arthritis means he’s stopped being able to open bottles of cava for you.’
    Suzy sniffed. ‘You think?’
    â€˜I know. But I also know that it’s going to be a while before he’s back on his feet, so you’re going to be spending a lot of time around here for the foreseeable. What can I do to pick up the slack? Didn’t you say your last bride’s getting married next Saturday?’
    Suzy nodded. ‘Texted me at eleven thirty last night wanting to know if the scented candle wax had been poured into the garden urns yet because she’d changed her mind on the patchouli.’
    Cassie grimaced. ‘What did you do?’
    â€˜I didn’t reply. I didn’t trust myself not to tell her where to go. Who gives a fig about—’
    â€˜She doesn’t know what you’re going through. It’s not her fault. Listen, I’ll speak to Marie, OK? She can take the reins, and anything she can’t deal with, she can come to me and I’ll deal with it, yes?’
    â€˜Are you sure?’ Suzy asked, without protest for once, as she handed over the phone.
    â€˜You need to put your time and energy into helping Arch get better. Nothing else matters for the moment.’ Cassie had become well versed in the dramas of Suzy’s business after she’d worked for her during her first summer in London while the divorce was going through. She knew the contacts, protocols and drills for dealing with stressed brides and their mothers, and Suzy passed as many catering jobs over to Eat ’n’ Mess as she could, so they often still worked together. ‘And what about Velvet? Do you want me to carry on staying at yours with her till Arch is discharged?’
    â€˜If you can just carry on holding the fort till Mum gets here? She’s already on the way. She was in Scotland doing some, I dunno, herbaceous borders convention or something, but she should be here mid-morning. She might take Velvet back home to West Meadows with her for a bit. Or not. It depends on how long the docs think Arch will be in for.’ Her lower lip trembled. ‘It was so horrible in there last night.’
    â€˜I bet it was.’ Cassie rubbed her hand soothingly.
    â€˜Did you know I’ve never spent a night apart from Velvet before?’
    â€˜I didn’t,’ Cassie smiled. ‘But you both got through it. And she looks OK, doesn’t she?’
    â€˜Actually, it’s depressing how unbothered she appears to be,’ Suzy replied with a sniff, a glimmer of her old fire flickering in her voice. ‘I think you could just take over from me and she wouldn’t much notice.’
    â€˜That’s not true. I can only buy her love and attention with food.’
    The doors opened and they watched as a few nurses walked in – either on their coffee break or at the end of a shift. Suzy stiffened as though their watch may be over but hers wasn’t. ‘We should get back.’
    Cassie glanced at the untouched food on the tray. ‘Sure.’
    They took the stairs. ‘The lifts take too long,’ Suzy said, as she walked straight past them, carrying Velvet in her arms, her body vibrating to the same nervous energy as Henry’s. Cassie hurried to keep up, already dreading the smothering synthetic quiet that was contained by the CCU’s locked glass doors.
    The same nurse who’d buzzed them in earlier came to the door again and Cassie knew from her surprised look at the fact that Cassie had actually come back that she wasn’t going to be setting a foot over the threshold this time.
    â€˜I’d better, uh, leave you here,’ Cassie said quietly, not wanting to alert Suzy to her ‘persona non grata’ status; the poor woman had bigger things to worry