The Night Of The Wedding

‘I’m so pleased, Kate. I’ve wanted to ring you for a while but I’ve kept putting it off. I feel a bit torn, being friends to both you and Stephen…and also with working with Natasha.’

‘There’s no need to feel awkward, Tanya,’ Kate assured her. ‘It’s all water under the bridge now and I’m happily getting on with my life.’

‘Are you seeing someone else?’

Kate hesitated, wondering how much of this conversation would go back to Stephen. ‘Well…you know, I’ve got a few irons in the fire.’ How many more clichés could she use to extract herself from this situation? she asked herself sardonically.

‘That’s great! Listen, what are you doing the weekend after next?’

‘I don’t know.’ Put on the spot, Kate blustered feebly. ‘Nothing much, just the usual—’

‘That’s brilliant, because David and I are getting married.’ Tanya’s voice resounded with happiness. ‘And I want you to come.’

Kate could feel her temperature rising. She wanted to ask if Stephen and Natasha would be there, but that would go against the relaxed ‘I’m over him’ attitude, wouldn’t it? So instead she resorted to cheerful congratulations, while trying to work out a sensible reply to the invitation. Why hadn’t she said she was busy that weekend? Why the hell hadn’t she said she was out of town, going to Paris…anything?

‘I’m so pleased for you, Tanya,’ she heard herself gush.

‘Thanks, Kate. I was worried about telling you…what with you and Stephen splitting up. You two had lived together as long as we have…and, well, I felt a bit…awkward.’

‘There’s no need,’ Kate said sincerely. ‘I really am happy for you.’

‘Yes, I should have known you would be. I’m glad you will be able to come, Kate, it means a lot to me. I’ll stick an invitation in the post for you…oh, and bring a partner if you like.’

‘Thank you.’ Kate didn’t know what else to say.

‘OK, see you soon. Bye, now.’

Tanya’s cheerful tones rang in her ears as she put the phone down. You should have just told her you were busy, that you’d forgotten some important previous engagement, Kate told herself fiercely. You don’t want to see Stephen and Natasha. It will be pure torture. On the other hand, why should she stay away? She had been Tanya’s friend before Stephen. Hell, on his request she had even pulled the strings to help him get the job there. She had nothing to be ashamed of…unlike Stephen. If he and that woman had any conscience, they would be the ones to stay away.

It crossed her mind that she could ask Nick to accompany her. That would cause a few raised eyebrows. It would also wipe that note of sympathy out of people’s voices. No one could feel sorry for her if she had a man as gorgeous as Nick on her arm. She could pretend that he was her lover, they could dance close together on the dance-floor, gaze into each other eyes. That would knock the arrogant smile off Stephen’s face. For a moment she felt a burst of happiness at the thought, then the daydream faded into reality. Stephen wouldn’t care if she were dating Prince William, and Nick wouldn’t want to pretend to be anything but her friend. It would be too embarrassing even to ask him.

Kate glanced at her watch and then got up to put the shopping away. She had better get a move on. She had invited Nick for dinner and he would be arriving in a little over an hour.

The lasagne safely in the oven and the table laid, she went to make herself presentable. She showered and changed into a pale blue skirt and matching top. Then she applied some make-up to hide the dark circles under her eyes and some brighter lipstick.

Not bad, she thought as she ran a smoothing hand over her long dark hair and stepped back to survey her appearance in the full-length mirror. She hadn’t seen Nick in a few days. He’d been to Paris on business and she had really missed him.

She didn’t think she would have been able to get through these last few weeks if it hadn’t been for Nick. Somehow being with him had made things feel better. He’d taken her out quite a bit, to the cinema and for drinks. Of course, she knew he was doing it to cheer her up, but she appreciated it…and it had worked. He had been very good company.

She felt excited at the prospect of spending the evening with him tonight; she glanced at the clock, counting the minutes until he’d arrive, and hoped his flight wasn’t delayed.

As Kate made to leave the bedroom she noticed a pile of Stephen’s books sitting on the top of a chest of drawers. She really needed to start sorting things out, putting his stuff into boxes and clearing out the debris. She took out an old suitcase from the top of one of the wardrobes and dropped the books inside. Then on impulse she started throwing a few other things in. It felt quite good tossing bits of Stephen into a box—his football kit, his magazines, his dreadful pictures of motor racing. She was starting to enjoy herself when the front doorbell rang.

Nick was standing on the front doorstep, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

‘Hi.’ He smiled at her.

‘Hi, yourself.’ She grinned back at him, feeling happier than she had felt in a long time. ‘You’re just in time to help me carry a heavy suitcase down the hall.’

‘Am I? Whose suitcase is it?’

‘Guess?’ Kate reached to kiss him on the cheek and was overpowered by the scent of lilies and mimosa. His arms went around her, delaying her momentarily beside him.

‘So how are things with you?’ He looked deep into her eyes, his gaze moving over her face, noting the hollows beneath her cheeks, the slight shadows under her eyes.

She felt her body tingle with awareness at his closeness. Felt her heart starting to speed up, her pulses race. ‘I’m OK, but I’m glad you’re back.’ Did her voice sound as breathless as she suddenly felt? Perplexed by the rush of adrenalin, she pulled away from him and led the way into the apartment. ‘Thanks for the flowers,’ she said, burying her face into their sweet scent and breathing deeply.

‘It’s the least I could do when you’ve offered to cook me dinner.’ Nick grinned. ‘So, where’s this case you want me to carry out for you?’

‘It’s in the bedroom. You can do it later.’

As he followed Kate through the smart apartment to the dining room, he noticed that she had lost weight, the pale blue skirt that used to reveal the delightful curves of her hips now hung on her.

‘So, what’s the news?’ he asked. ‘Have you heard anything from Stephen?’

‘No, I’ve no news on that front. I just thought I’d make a start and pack up some of his stuff for him so it’s ready if he calls by.’

‘I’d throw it out if I were you,’ Nick muttered.

‘I couldn’t do that.’

Why not? Nick wondered as he watched her walk through to the kitchen to put the flowers in water. Surely she wasn’t still carrying a torch for Stephen after the way he’d treated her? The notion angered him. He wanted to tell her to just forget the guy.

‘Anyway, I’ve started to pack things up, because I’m going to have to move,’ she said as she returned to put the vase of flowers on the sideboard. ‘This apartment is too expensive for me to manage on my own, so I’ve had to give in my notice.’

‘Oh, Kate, I am sorry. I know how much you love this place.’

The gentleness of his tone made her insides twist with a painful kind of longing. She shrugged. ‘Maybe it’s for the best. There are a lot of memories here for me, and I’m better to move on, forget them.’

He nodded. ‘Have you seen anywhere you like yet?’

‘I’ve only looked through the papers. I’ll start in earnest next week.’

‘Well, if you’re stuck you can always stay in my spare room for a while.’

‘Thanks.’ She wondered what it would be like to stay at his place. For a moment her mind flicked back to the night she had slept there. She remembered the way she had felt when they had been alone in the bedroom, and how she had forgotten where she was the next morning and raced out into the landing to answer the phone, only to find Nick standing there with a towel around his waist, his hair and his body still glistening damply from the shower.

‘It’s for me,’ he had said calmly as he’d turned and met her eyes.

She had found herself gibbering something, her skin on fire, as she’d wrenched her gaze away from the powerful masculinity of his body.

Kate met his gaze now and felt herself heating up at the memory.

Maybe staying at Nick’s place wouldn’t be a good idea, she told herself.

She glanced at her watch and tried to bring her thoughts back to reality. ‘Help yourself to a drink, Nick. I’ll just check on the oven and then you can tell me all about Paris.’

When she came back, Nick had poured them both a glass of red wine.