out shopping so early?’
Brooke moaned, getting up off the sofa and pulling up her jeans. They were
falling off her and it only served to heighten the anxiety I was already
feeling.
‘Because we want to get it all done and have a
bite to eat for lunch, sweetie,’ Molly advised, reaching for her hand. I looked
away, Brooke always knew when I was lying.
‘It had better be a fancy lunch for dragging me
out of bed at this hour on my time off. I was fast asleep and I’d have loved a
lie in. I was hoping Oliver and Jonas would come and have cuddles in bed.’
‘They’ll have cuddles with you later, and
you’re welcome to have both of them in bed with you tomorrow, it gives me a few
extra precious minutes. Come on,’ I called over my shoulder as I headed for the
stairs. ‘Let’s move.’
‘Let’s move,’ Brooke laughed. ‘The rate you go
down the stairs, we could have another cup of coffee. You ought to put in a
fireman’s pole here, or a slide so you can whizz from the top of the house to
the bottom superfast.’
‘Brooke,’ scolded Molly, as I hung on to the
banister and took my time. ‘Don’t pressure her. After what she went through,
I’m amazed she can go on the stairs at all.’
‘I know, I was just being me, teasing. Sorry,
Ellie.’
‘That’s ok,’ I called, not taking my focus off
my feet.
‘Well don’t,’ Molly warned behind me. ‘She has
enough on her plate.’
‘What’s got your knickers in a twist? You’re
really grumpy this morning. In fact, not just this morning, you’ve been like
this for ages. What’s going on?’
‘Nothing, I’m just tired, that’s all,’ Molly
replied.
‘Then let’s not go shopping, we can all chill
out. I mean, Ellie’s having Eva in a couple of days and what if the stress of
shopping makes her pop today? What if her waters break in some posh shop? Or
worse, what if baby Davenport ends up being delivered in some discount store?
You wouldn’t want to tell people “My baby was born in the 99 pence store,”
would you? I mean, you’d want it to be somewhere like Harrods. Oooo, in fact,
to make up for dragging me out at this ungodly hour, let’s go to Harrods and we
can have champagne and oysters, babe.’
‘Ellie’s pregnant, she can’t have either,’ Molly
reminded her.
‘O yeah,’ she sighed. ‘Where are we going to go
then?’
I gritted my teeth as I headed to the front
door and they argued over where to go for lunch. Brooke was likely to blow a
fuse when she discovered the real reason for our early departure. Luckily for
us, she fell asleep in the limo, so we didn’t get an endless stream of
questions as to why we were heading away from the shops and towards her house.
I squeezed Molly’s hand when I caught her gazing at Brooke with a sad
expression on her face.
‘It’ll be fine,’ I advised, trying my best
reassuring tone, when really I wasn’t totally convinced it would be fine myself.
‘You’re just saying that to be nice,’ Molly
said quietly, giving me a small, tight-lipped smile.
‘It will be, because it has to be,’ I muttered
stubbornly. ‘We’re not losing her, Molly. Whatever’s wrong, we’re going to fix
it. Dan will pay whatever he needs to if she needs any treatment. She’ll have
the best possible care and she’ll be fine.’
‘I really wish I believed that,’ she whispered,
tears starting to roll down her face. ‘She’s my best friend and the love of my
life, Ellie. I can’t lose her, I just can’t. Where would I ever find someone
like her again?’
‘She’s one of a kind, that’s for sure,’ I
nodded, battling tears myself as I put my arm around her. ‘They broke the mould
when they made Brooke. Please don’t cry, you know what I’m like at the moment
and I’m on the verge of sobbing as it is. If she wakes up to find us both in
tears, she’ll know something’s up and all hell is going to break loose. You
already know how mad she’s going to be that we’ve dragged her here
Brooke moaned, getting up off the sofa and pulling up her jeans. They were
falling off her and it only served to heighten the anxiety I was already
feeling.
‘Because we want to get it all done and have a
bite to eat for lunch, sweetie,’ Molly advised, reaching for her hand. I looked
away, Brooke always knew when I was lying.
‘It had better be a fancy lunch for dragging me
out of bed at this hour on my time off. I was fast asleep and I’d have loved a
lie in. I was hoping Oliver and Jonas would come and have cuddles in bed.’
‘They’ll have cuddles with you later, and
you’re welcome to have both of them in bed with you tomorrow, it gives me a few
extra precious minutes. Come on,’ I called over my shoulder as I headed for the
stairs. ‘Let’s move.’
‘Let’s move,’ Brooke laughed. ‘The rate you go
down the stairs, we could have another cup of coffee. You ought to put in a
fireman’s pole here, or a slide so you can whizz from the top of the house to
the bottom superfast.’
‘Brooke,’ scolded Molly, as I hung on to the
banister and took my time. ‘Don’t pressure her. After what she went through,
I’m amazed she can go on the stairs at all.’
‘I know, I was just being me, teasing. Sorry,
Ellie.’
‘That’s ok,’ I called, not taking my focus off
my feet.
‘Well don’t,’ Molly warned behind me. ‘She has
enough on her plate.’
‘What’s got your knickers in a twist? You’re
really grumpy this morning. In fact, not just this morning, you’ve been like
this for ages. What’s going on?’
‘Nothing, I’m just tired, that’s all,’ Molly
replied.
‘Then let’s not go shopping, we can all chill
out. I mean, Ellie’s having Eva in a couple of days and what if the stress of
shopping makes her pop today? What if her waters break in some posh shop? Or
worse, what if baby Davenport ends up being delivered in some discount store?
You wouldn’t want to tell people “My baby was born in the 99 pence store,”
would you? I mean, you’d want it to be somewhere like Harrods. Oooo, in fact,
to make up for dragging me out at this ungodly hour, let’s go to Harrods and we
can have champagne and oysters, babe.’
‘Ellie’s pregnant, she can’t have either,’ Molly
reminded her.
‘O yeah,’ she sighed. ‘Where are we going to go
then?’
I gritted my teeth as I headed to the front
door and they argued over where to go for lunch. Brooke was likely to blow a
fuse when she discovered the real reason for our early departure. Luckily for
us, she fell asleep in the limo, so we didn’t get an endless stream of
questions as to why we were heading away from the shops and towards her house.
I squeezed Molly’s hand when I caught her gazing at Brooke with a sad
expression on her face.
‘It’ll be fine,’ I advised, trying my best
reassuring tone, when really I wasn’t totally convinced it would be fine myself.
‘You’re just saying that to be nice,’ Molly
said quietly, giving me a small, tight-lipped smile.
‘It will be, because it has to be,’ I muttered
stubbornly. ‘We’re not losing her, Molly. Whatever’s wrong, we’re going to fix
it. Dan will pay whatever he needs to if she needs any treatment. She’ll have
the best possible care and she’ll be fine.’
‘I really wish I believed that,’ she whispered,
tears starting to roll down her face. ‘She’s my best friend and the love of my
life, Ellie. I can’t lose her, I just can’t. Where would I ever find someone
like her again?’
‘She’s one of a kind, that’s for sure,’ I
nodded, battling tears myself as I put my arm around her. ‘They broke the mould
when they made Brooke. Please don’t cry, you know what I’m like at the moment
and I’m on the verge of sobbing as it is. If she wakes up to find us both in
tears, she’ll know something’s up and all hell is going to break loose. You
already know how mad she’s going to be that we’ve dragged her here
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