The Night Of The Wedding

‘What happened?’ She looked up at him. ‘You went out with her for a long time, Nick, you must have been smitten—so why finish it?’

‘Kate, it’s in the past, there’s no point raking over it. Jayne’s probably married with children by now,’ he muttered.

She frowned. ‘Yes, but that’s not the point, is it—?’

‘The point is that we all make mistakes—’

‘At least you didn’t make the mistake of living with Jayne,’ she murmured. ‘Moving in with Stephen was a big, big mistake, I can see that now.’

‘Hey, I’ve had my share of disastrous relationships.’ Nick lightened his tone. ‘Remember Rebecca Palmer?’

Kate laughed.

‘There you go, I knew I could cheer you up.’ Nick’s hands left hers. ‘Was she off her trolley or what?’

‘She was a bit weird.’

‘A bit weird, she was seriously scary, and yet when I took her out first time, I thought she was gorgeous.’

‘That’s because you never look much further than a great body…it doesn’t matter about the personality.’

‘That’s not true.’ Nick looked at her with a twinkle in his dark eyes. ‘It does matter if they want a second date.’

‘You’re incorrigible,’ Kate muttered. ‘You do nothing but break women’s hearts. Just as well I never fell in love with you.’

‘Why was that, I wonder?’ Nick’s voice was suddenly contemplative. His eyes moved over her face. ‘How come I never added you to my list of conquests?’

Kate shrugged. Suddenly she was very conscious of the fact that she had very little on. The T-shirt was hardly modest—it reached her knees but it was very fine cotton and the shape of her breasts was visible to the discerning eye. And suddenly his eye did seem to be more than a little attentive.

‘You’re a Gemini and I’m a Sagittarius,’ she murmured. ‘We wouldn’t be compatible.’ She moistened her lips as his gaze rested on their softness.

Nick grinned. ‘You’re not still into that astrology stuff, are you?’

‘You may mock, but my stars said this morning that I was entering a phase of profound change.’

‘So you think every Sagittarian came home to find their partner had…strayed.’

‘Don’t be obtuse, Nick. Change takes many forms.’

‘Exactly, which is how these astrologers can claim success so often. You can read anything into those columns.’

Kate frowned. ‘You’re such a sceptic, Nick.’

‘And you’re such a sucker when it comes to superstition.’

‘I rest my case.’ She shrugged. ‘You’re a Gemini and I’m a Sagittarian. We’re totally opposite and that’s why a relationship would never have worked between us.’

Nick’s gaze moved again to her lips. ‘I could blow a hole in that theory very easily,’ he murmured. There was something dangerously seductive about his words and the way he was looking at her.

She felt her body temperature increase dramatically. ‘So…so why don’t you?’ Kate angled her chin and sent him an unconsciously provocative look from glittering emerald eyes.

‘Because now’s not the time.’ He moved back from her.

About to challenge him to what exactly he meant by that, she changed her mind as he glanced at her again. Maybe some things were better left as they were.

‘And anyway, friendship seems to last longer than everything else, doesn’t it?’ Nick glanced at his watch. ‘And given the fact that we are so…opposite in every way…we are lucky to have that in spades, aren’t we?’

There was a dry irony in the last part of those words but she decided to ignore it. ‘Yes, we are. What time is it?’ she asked.

‘Almost one, we’d better try and get some sleep.’

‘Yes. I suppose we should.’

‘Will you be OK now?’

‘I’ll be fine.’ She smiled at him. ‘You’re right, I am strong and I will bounce back.’

‘Not if you don’t eat, though.’ He pointed to the food beside them on the table. ‘Try and have something.’

She nodded.

‘See you in the morning, then.’ He leaned towards her. Her heart missed a beat as he kissed her on the cheek. She could smell his cologne, feel his warmth. His hand rested lightly on her shoulder, yet she imagined she could feel it burn slightly through the shirt.

‘Sleep well,’ he said as he got to his feet.

She watched as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Somehow she just knew that she wouldn’t get any sleep at all.

CHAPTER THREE

THE phone was ringing as Kate let herself into her apartment. She wondered if it was Stephen. It was almost six weeks now since he had left and she hadn’t heard a thing from him. Most of his clothes were still hanging in the wardrobes; his CDs were still beside the hi-fi. She supposed he would get in contact if only to collect them, but she wished he’d get it over with—this waiting around seemed interminable. It felt as if she were living in no man’s land; their relationship was over and yet he was still here in essence. Every time the doorbell or the phone rang her nerves seemed to go into freefall.

She put her shopping down on the kitchen counter and snatched up the receiver.

‘Hi, Kate, it’s Tanya.’

‘Oh, hi, Tanya.’ She sat down at the breakfast bar, not knowing if she felt relieved or disappointed that it wasn’t him. ‘How are you?’

‘More to the point, how are you?’ Tanya said, sympathy filling her voice and for some reason jarring on Kate. ‘I’m really sorry to hear about you and Stephen splitting up.’

‘Well, don’t be too sorry, it’s probably for the best.’ Kate tried to sound upbeat. She liked Tanya and they had been friends for a while, but she was very aware that the other woman worked with Stephen and so anything Kate said might be repeated to him.

‘So you’re really OK?’ Tanya sounded surprised.

Did she think I’d fall to pieces? Kate wondered, feeling a tinge of anger. And, if so, why hadn’t she rung before now?

‘Yes, I’m really fine. In fact I couldn’t be better,’ Kate purred, her voice exuding a glowing happiness that was completely at odds with her reflection in the mirror opposite. She looked tired, testament to the fact that she hadn’t been sleeping very well recently.