A House Full of Windsor by Kristin Contino

Author:Kristin Contino [Contino, Kristin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781948018999
Published: 2021-07-12T16:00:00+00:00

Brentwood, January 1987

“You awake, Debs?”

I rolled over, careful not to whack Will and Anne in the face. They’d climbed into bed with me after both insisting that they had monsters in their closet, and the bed had become a pile of tangled brown curls and tiny limbs thrown in different directions over mine.

“Shh,” I said, sliding out from under the covers inch by inch. I tiptoed over to the bedroom door and motioned for Alan to step outside. “It’s three in the morning, for God’s sake.”

“Sorry,” he said, running a hand through his new, shorter and spikier haircut. “I couldn’t wait until morning to tell you. We’ve got the deal!”

“Wow, well done,” I said, reaching up for a hug. Alan and his brother had been hoping to open a second location of their most popular club, Beats, after the success of the first club. After two different properties had fallen through, he’d been waiting to hear about a converted factory space that seemed perfect for their vision.

“You must be so pleased,” I said between yawns.

“Long night with the twins again?”

“The longest.” I padded out to the kitchen and put the kettle on. “Might as well since I’m up now. You want some?”

Alan shook his head no and sprawled out on the sofa, kicking off his shiny black shoes. “Can’t believe it. This is actually going to happen.”

I busied myself getting the milk and lemon out, but really I didn’t know what to say. Was I happy for my husband’s success? Surely. We’d come a long way from our early days in the flat, and with business booming, money was never an issue. But a second location would only bring more nights out clubbing … oh, I meant working ….

“It’s quite exciting,” I finally said, pulling out one of my Buckingham Palace mugs. “When do you think it’ll open?”

He shrugged. “Anyone’s guess, depending on how soon we can get the guys in for the renovations. But by the spring, hopefully.”

“Well, just make sure you keep your promise to Sarah about that holiday for her birthday. She’ll be gutted if you don’t follow through.”

I could’ve added “again” to the end of my sentence, but decided to refrain. It was too late, or in this case, early, to start a row.

“The cottage is already booked,” Alan said. “My mum took care of it the other day. Right by the sea as requested. And I’m not going to cancel, I promise.”

I thought he’d drifted off to sleep since I didn’t hear another peep from him as I finished preparing my tea, but when I carried it over to the sofa, his eyes popped open.

“What do you think about moving?”

“Moving?” I said, nearly choking on my Earl Grey. “To where?”

He reached into his briefcase and pulled a newspaper out. “Here. In Brentwood. Just a bigger place.”

I scanned the advert, eyes growing wide when I spotted the cost. “Can we even afford this?”

“Course we can. You know we’ve been doing well lately, but with the second location of Beats it’s going to change everything.

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