Five Ladies Go Skiing: A feel-good novel of friendship and love. Karen Aldous

I left the office a bit earlier to collect one, popped into the Horse and Groom of course, but got back to wrap them before you got home.’

      ‘Ooh, something mega sexy I hope. Yours is.’ Angie’s black locks bounced with excitement as she imagined a seductive silk negligee coupled with the latest, most wonderful sex toy on the market. Robbie knew how much she liked to try new gadgets. Their sexual connection had been major from the off. He was the first man she had ever met who knew how to please her, as well as being warm and funny.

      Ginny and the girls had never really grasped her insatiable appetite for sex, but it had always been a huge part of her and Rob’s relationship. Even after the menopause, Angie persuaded her GP to keep her on HRT just in case her libido faltered. Lately, though, she had found Rob a little forgetful and complaining of being tired; maybe it was his age – he was sixty-four in a month. But he hadn’t forgotten her Christmas present. Hopefully things were looking up. ‘Eek, I’m so excited. Can’t wait until tomorrow. In fact, if we’re still waiting for the food to cook, we could fit in a quickie.’

      Placing the sweet potatoes back into the oven, Rob swiped his neck with the back of his hand. ‘I don’t know where you get your energy from, sweetheart, but I’m bushed.’

      ‘Nonsense. You just want me to seduce you, don’t you?’ she said and, wasting no time, screwed the nail varnish top back on and leapt swiftly from the stool. She sidled up to him and pulled him close, sweeping one arm around his neck and reaching for his crotch with her other hand. ‘You are sex on legs, Rob Ricci, and what if we don’t get another opportunity before I go away?’

       Lou

      It was almost two o’clock when Lou Cavendish checked her watch and straightened the last cushion in the show house. She pulled her scarf tighter so that it hugged the back of her neck; it probably wasn’t her greatest idea to get her hair cut so short in the winter, but she was certainly pleased with the result and it would be easier to wear a ski helmet. She decided she looked and felt so much younger and Terry, her husband, had approved too, which was unusual. He usually preferred her hair long.

      She switched off the lamps and headed to the hall, happy that the house was finally furnished and tweaked ready for the New Year launch. She opened her classic Chanel flap bag, pulled out her Chanel lip gloss, leaned towards the mirror and stroked her lips with the pink-orange tones of Corail Naturel, until they shone. Satisfied, she rolled and smacked her lips before tossing the lip gloss back in the black bag and slipping on her matching ballerina flats. After a final smile at her reflection, she turned off the hall light and rubbed a speck off the switch with her shiny long fingernail.

      ‘OK, done.’ She grabbed her winter coat from the hook and brushed the faux-fur collar before sliding it on. At least that was one more thing ticked off her list; now all she had to do was finish her packing and decide what to wear for Christmas Day.

      She and Terry weren’t cooking a Christmas dinner this year. They had all been invited to her son Ollie’s house with his wife Ella and their two girls, as well as her daughter Emma and Emma’s partner Joe. Lou was looking forward to not having to rush around like a headless chicken with all the usual pressures of preparing food for Christmas Day and all the mess that came with it. It was Terry’s job to tidy after her. Lou hated any kind of housework but still held a passion for her and Terry’s property business – building and selling them. Fortunately, show houses didn’t get too messy when you employed good cleaners.

      Once out and on the road, the traffic was lighter than she had expected for Christmas Eve, so she was soon back in the village, clocking that Ginny’s car wasn’t in the drive opposite. She parked her Range Rover Evoque beside Terry’s big Range Rover. She knew he would still be down the Horse and Groom with Robbie, possibly Anthony if he dared to leave Cathy alone in the house, and Mike’s old partner Scott, along with the contractors who often worked on the developments together. They went Thursday nights and every Christmas Eve. Terry and Anthony even wheeled Mike down to the pub last year – to think he was only a day away from entering the hospice. Lou shivered at the thought. Mike’s last day at home had been Christmas Day.

      After a bite to eat and a much-needed hot cup of tea, she climbed the stairs to one of the spare bedrooms, Emma’s old bedroom, where a case lay partially full on the crimson carpet and clothes were scattered across Emma’s pink and purple duvet cover. Ski garments were neatly folded, whilst others awaited their fate.

      ‘So, who is travelling to Switzerland with me?’ Lou began to pair up some more outfits, wondering what was most suited to après-ski and what accessories to include. Opening a drawer containing several boxes of costume jewellery, she rummaged through for some navy and pearl beads that had matching earrings. With her new haircut she wanted earrings, but she had no idea which box they were in. She found a set of red beads with earrings, which she thought would go splendidly with her charcoal-grey cashmere, and she placed them on the bed. Tugging at the lid of the next box, her eyes brightened, and her heart gave a light flutter. She lifted a gold belcher chain with a half-sovereign and untangled it from a silver one. The gold one, her parents had given her for her eighteenth birthday. The silver chain, now tarnished, with the words ‘I Love You,’ also in silver, was from her ex, Jimmy Dixon, when she was twenty-one.

      Lou bit her lip remembering her first love. They met at university in Sussex. Instantly smitten with each other, their chemistry had been strong. She smiled while picturing him then, his black curls flopped over the most gorgeous sultry brown eyes. He was two years older, drove a sporty Ford Capri, and treated her with the latest records, her first ever cassette player and album cassettes among other gifts.

      They were inseparable at university and, once home, Jimmy had even proposed. But according to her parents, it was too soon. She should wait, they said, persuading her to concentrate on her banking career for a few years and encouraging her to travel, explore life. Knowing her mother had never had the same opportunities as herself, she considered it fair advice. And after much heartbreak, all she could do was forget him. That is, until he found her on Facebook a few years ago.

      Lou heard the front door slam and, instantly blasted from her trance, threw the jewellery back into the box. Speedily, she searched the other boxes for the navy and white beads and placed them together with the red in a small drawstring bag before tucking them into the case.

      ‘Terry, hi. I’m upstairs finishing my packing,’ she shouted, grabbing a polo neck sweater from the bed and arranging it in her case.

      She heard the loo flush in the downstairs cloakroom and the thump of Terry’s bare feet stomping on the carpet on the stairs. As she stood back up, the alcohol on his breath and his clothes wafted straight to her nostrils as he walked up beside her.

      She met his lips and pecked them. ‘How was the pub?’

      ‘Mm, downbeat to begin with. Sad, without Mike, but we soon came to the conclusion that Mike wouldn’t want us moping. He was our social secretary – we couldn’t let him down – so we toasted his memory a few times. Poor sod. I do miss him.’

      Lou rubbed her husband’s arm. Terry was still very attractive for a man of his age and she cared for him deeply, despite the chemistry between them never matching her and Jimmy’s. ‘I know, darling. Must be hard. How was Robbie? Did Anthony go?’

      Terry shrugged, clasping her hand. ‘Both like me – still missing Mike and grateful we’re all still alive. What can you do? I just hope it doesn’t happen to us yet.’

      ‘I know – poor Ginny. I can’t imagine going through what she has. And I didn’t think Ant would go today if I’m honest. He’s been down. He seems to have missed Mike most.’

      ‘Nah, I don’t think it’s just Mike he’s missing. I think he’s getting bored. Maybe retirement makes you like that. Bit worrying, isn’t it?’

      Lou squeezed Terry’s hand and kissed him briefly on the lips again. ‘Well, if and when we sell the business and retire next year, I hope we don’t get bored. I want to do a variety of things. As well as watching