Miranda's Big Mistake - Jill Mansell [58]
As he hoisted the camera case over his shoulder, Danny turned back to Chloe.
`I can give you a lift home if you like.'
`Are you sure? Oh no,' Chloe protested, `I'm miles out of your way.'
`No problem.' Danny glanced with amusement in Miranda's direction. `I don't have a girlfriend, you see. So, plenty of free time.'
He was making fun of her again, Miranda realised, and bloody annoying it was too. Anyway, why was he offering Chloe a lift home? He didn't fancy her, did he? Okay, so she was a pretty girl, you couldn't argue with that, but oh dear, a pretty girl who was three months pregnant…?
`I enjoyed that,' said Florence, watching from the window as Danny held open the passenger door of the green BMW.
With an odd sense of unease, Miranda saw him say something that made Chloe laugh. She tried to remember whether Danny had held the passenger door open like a gentleman when he had given her a lift home that time from the salon, or if he had simply jumped into the driver's seat and shouted, `It's open.' Which, let's face it, was pretty much par for the course these days in her experience. When men clapped eyes on her, Miranda realised sadly, their initial reaction wasn't to come over all exquisitely mannered, start tipping their hats and bowing and calling her ma'am.
She was no Scarlett O'Hara.
Maybe it was something to do with having blue hair.
I could dye it, thought Miranda, and stop being accident-
prone, and learn to do flirtatious things with parasols-'They get on well together,' Florence declared with
satisfaction as the car pulled away.
Chloe had swivelled round to wave up at them. Automatically Miranda waved back. Then she turned and frowned at Florence.
`Yes, but it's hardly ideal, is it?'
`What?'
`You, matchmaking! Why would Danny want to be lumbered with someone else's baby?' Miranda began to hyperventilate; she flapped her hand indignantly out of the window. `And why would Chloe want to get involved with anyone at all? It's not fair on either of them, in fact it's-'
She stopped abruptly. Florence was spluttering with laughter.
`Come on! Did I just offer to pay for their honeymoon? They get on well together, that's all I said. Where's the matchmaking in that?'
Oh dear, she'd overreacted. Biting her lip, Miranda paid elaborate attention to the BMW as it disappeared from view.
`It was more the look in your eye,' she said defensively. `I know what you're like when you hit on an idea.'
`Hit on a great one this evening, didn't I?' Florence gave her a nudge. `Asking Danny to go gigolo for a night. Roll on next weekend,' she chuckled. `I can't wait.'
Miranda's spirits lifted at the sight of Greg's car drawing up outside. As Danny and Chloe had been disappearing around one corner, Greg had been making his approach from the other end of the street. Like a relay race, Miranda thought, only without a baton.
Or synchronised swimming minus the nose-clips.
`I'll just get my stuff,' she told Florence, jumping down from the window seat.
`Staying over at his place tonight?'
`Is that okay?' Miranda hesitated. `If there's anything you want me to do before I go…'
Florence looked at her, so eager to get away. It was stupid, she knew, but she felt like a mother bird watching her chick prepare to launch itself from the nest. In the year she and Miranda had lived together they had grown so close, it was hard to come to terms with the possibility that, for Miranda, the time had now come to move on.
I should be thrilled for her, thought Florence. She's falling in love, maybe for the first time in her life. I should be happier than this.
Oh, but if only Miranda could have chosen someone else to fall in love with.
'I'll be fine,' she announced robustly. This was ridiculous, a severe case of empty-nest syndrome and she wasn't even the girl's mother.
I'm not going to have an empty nest either, Florence reminded herself. Miranda hasn't left yet. And when she does, I'll still have Chloe.
`Party over?' asked Greg when Miranda greeted him at the front door with her overnight