‘I love travelling,’ Alex said. ‘In fact, I once fancied myself as a sort of Robinson Crusoe type and drove around south-west France with a tent and a clapped out old car. But after about two weeks trying to cook my own food on a campfire, I rather lost the will to live and checked into the nearest hotel for a hot shower and a juicy steak!’
Lucy laughed, he was proving to be rather an irresistible combination of good-looking, funny and modest. ‘I know the feeling. I did a lot of travelling in my twenties, but I’m not sure that I could face doing it on such a shoestring budget now. Some of the places we used to stay in don’t even bear thinking about!’
‘Whereabouts did you go?’ asked Alex.
‘South East Asia mostly. I backpacked for a year after I left uni with a friend who went on to teach. We were such good travelling companions that every summer I would save up my holidays and join her wherever she was travelling during her summer break… God how envious I am of teachers and their bloody holidays! Twelve weeks! Ridiculous, isn’t it?’ said Lucy.
‘Quite unbelievable!’ Alex replied. ‘Perhaps we should all retrain?’
‘Mmmm… not a bad idea. What do you do for a living?’ she asked.
‘I’m a lawyer, I’m afraid. Terribly unexciting,’ he said as he broke into a crusty brown roll and helped himself to butter.
‘What kind of lawyer?’ Lucy asked, watching him take a bite and feeling strangely envious of the crumbs that fell onto his blue shirt, nestling there.
‘Corporate stuff mainly. Though recently earning a living has taken me across the pond for a couple of years, so I can’t complain. It’s been amazing, but it’s good to be back, I must admit. I’ve missed it here more than I had realized,’ he said, looking at Lucy with such intensity that she felt herself blush. ‘Yes, I am glad to be back,’ he leant closer to Lucy and muttered, ‘very glad indeed!’
Lucy was pleased to see that Mabel was now chatting merrily away to Claudia’s cousin who was sitting on her left, yet another relation of hers. She was clearly having a lovely time so there was no need for her to tear herself away from Alex quite yet. During the course of dinner, the conversation between them flowed easily. They found that they had lots in common – they both loved travelling, food and literature, as well as a shared hatred of pretentious foreign films. Lucy felt herself glow like the embers of a fire under the warmth of his attention. A tide of nerve-jingling anticipation rose up from the pit of her stomach and she found a joyous grin spreading across her face as she laughed along with him. She was entranced by his dashing good looks, the knowing twinkle in his eye as he looked at her. She admired his strong, determined jawline, resisting a crazy urge to trace her finger along the angular lines of his face. He ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair, brushing it off his forehead as he laughed raucously at the tales she told from her travels around Laos. Lucy felt the fluttering of a thousand fireflies stirring deep within her. For once, she couldn’t believe her luck… this man, this incredibly gorgeous man was flirting with her!
She took another sip of rich Chablis, savouring the sharp tang of liquid on her tongue and leant closer to Alex, squeezing her arms together to emphasize her ample cleavage. His eyes flickered towards the seductive shadow of her breasts and, for a moment, their eyes locked. Lucy felt an electric current pass between them and she was sure that he could feel it too. A thrill of excitement and hope rushed through her as a tiny voice asked,Could itfinallybe my turn?
A tinkle of glass caught their attention. Lucy wrenched her gaze away from Alex and turned to face the Master of Ceremonies, Claudia’s best friend from work Louis. He announced the speeches and Lucy leant back in her seat, giddy with happiness for Claudia and Dan, filled with excitement from this new, unshakeable feeling that something momentous was happening to her.
Her leg was pressed firmly against Alex’s thigh. She was acutely aware of his presence next to her. Neither moved away as they laughed at the speeches, raising their glasses to the bride and groom, cheering and clapping as each speech ended.
Taking the microphone for one last time, Louis announced Mr and Mrs Brightman’s first dance and the wedding guests all raced over to the dance floor to watch. Lucy pushed her way to the very front of the crowd, determined to get a good view.
Lucy was so thrilled for her best friend, watching as Dan spun her around like a white bird of paradise. Claudia’s feet barely touched the floor and her face beamed with happiness. It was definitely true love, Lucy thought. As the newly-weds beckoned for their guests to join them, Lucy looked around. Unfortunately her dinner companion was nowhere to be seen but even this realisation couldn’t bring her down from the buzz of happiness she was currently experiencing,. She grabbed Auntie Mabel instead and they danced the fox trot, Mabel’s favourite from when she used to frequent the dance halls during the war. Lucy found herself twirling into a group of university friends and they jived to ‘Let’s Twist Again’, giddy with laughter as they snaked their hips up and down.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she realized someone was standing directly behind her. A male voice bent down and muttered in her ear, ‘May I have this dance?’
Lucy found herself spinning around and pressing into Alex’s chest. As they moved in time to the music she was only too aware of his hard torso just millimetres away from her body, the peppery smell of his aftershave made her feel dizzy with longing.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of dancing, drinking and laughter. Lucy and Alex were inseparable and at one point the ethereal bride grabbed her and said, ‘So, do you like him?!’
‘Are you kidding?’ replied Lucy, grinning. ‘He’s divine!’
Claudia smirked, ‘I told you so! If only he hadn’t been bloody working in Chicago, I would have introduced you years ago!’ she said as she twirled around to find Dan. True, Lucy thought, but she didn’t even care, because there was Alex, down on his knees, strumming an imaginary air guitar, the life and soul of the party, with a crowd surrounding him, cheering him on.
Seeing her looking at him, he stumbled over to her, threw his arms around her and flung her backwards in a dramatic Hollywood-style embrace. He looked into her eyes, ‘You’re beautiful, Lucy,’ he whispered. ‘I am so glad I met you.’ Then, putting on a good show for their audience, he kissed her. The dance floor erupted into hysterical cheers and claps. Lucy’s head spun with joy and her body fizzed and tingled as he kissed her, her knees going weak beneath her.
