“Yeah.” He took a seat at the end of the table. “Mum’s message was more of a summons than an invitation.”
Beth tried not to be annoyed by his inference that having dinner with his mum was a chore. He’d got the one thing she longed for, and he didn’t even appreciate it. That was unfair though; Trystan had been joking. And Beth had never fully appreciated her time with her mum until she didn’t have it any more.
“Did you do anything fun today?” Trystan asked, his eyes on Ellie, who was laughing as she hopped over the sprinkler.
“We went for a train trip this morning and spent the afternoon on the beach.”
“Is the novelty of this place wearing off already? Because you just made that sound incredibly tiresome.”
“No. It was good. Sorry, I’m just miles away this afternoon. Ignore me.” Her eyes swept over the garden and landed on the paddling pool. “Thank you for the pool, by the way. Ellie loves it.”
“No problem.” His smile was warm, but the scrutiny of his gaze made her self-conscious.
Mirren wandered out of the kitchen and greeted Trystan with a kiss on the cheek.
“What’s for dinner?” he asked.
“Just pasta and salad. Nothing exciting.”
Ellie skipped over, her wet hair dripping onto Trystan’s khaki shorts as she leaned on him. “Can we have something different for dinner?” she asked, looking pleadingly up at Mirren.
“You love pasta.” Beth leaned out of her chair to pull Ellie away from Trystan, not that he seemed bothered by her dripping all over him.
“On my birthday I always get to choose what we eat for dinner, so I thought you could choose today.”
Beth winced.
“Is it your birthday?” Mirren asked.
“Yes,” Beth replied hesitantly. “And I would definitely have chosen pasta, so that’s perfect.”
“You always say pasta is boring,” Ellie announced.
Her cheeks felt as though they were on fire as she smiled weakly. “Only the way I make it.”
Mirren let out a sigh. “I’d have baked a cake if I’d realised it was your birthday.”
“It’s a big birthday,” Ellie chimed, making Beth shrink into the chair.
“Is it really?” Trystan asked with a lopsided smile.
“That’s what Dee said,” Ellie told him. “She’s Mummy’s best friend, so she would know.”
“I wonder how big?” Trystan said, eyes sparkling in amusement.
“You may as well tell us,” Mirren said. “Don’t make me go and look up your date of birth in the guest files.”
“Forty,” Beth muttered with her head bent.
Mirren puffed her cheeks out. “You definitely can’t eat boring old pasta on your fortieth birthday.”
“Honestly, I’m just happy not to have to cook. And I was hoping to pretend it wasn’t my birthday, so we really don’t need to make a fuss.”
“You can’t let your fortieth slip by unnoticed,” Mirren said. “You ought to have a treat.”
“I had cake at lunchtime.”
Mirren looked thoughtful. “Trystan could take you out for dinner.”