‘None of us has known Carmen very long, but she seems wonderful and I’m sure she’ll make Lorcan very happy. She’ll have me to answer to if she doesn’t,’ he finished, fixing Carmen with a mock-steely gaze.
This was greeted with nervous laughter, no one quite sure how to react, but on seeing Carmen laughing up at Will, everyone’s anxious titters dissolved into rapturous applause as he sat down again.
As soon as dinner was over and everyone was circulating, Freddie sought out Will. ‘Brilliant speech!’ he enthused. ‘It had just the right balance of sentimentality and menace. Threatening the bride with mayhem was an inspired touch.’
‘Glad you enjoyed it.’ Will glanced furtively at Kate. ‘So, how’s Kate?’ he asked ultra-casually.
Freddie wondered how long he’d been practising that. It was a good job he’d never pursued a career in acting. ‘She’s fine,’ he replied. ‘You know – okay.’ He tried to sound ambivalent. Will was clearly miserable, so he didn’t have the heart to rub it in and talk up how happy she was with her new boyfriend, as he was supposed to.
‘Where did she—’ Will gulped. ‘Where did she meet this new guy?’
‘In Thailand. They bonded over dysentery or something.’ He was beginning to regret having come up with the idea of Jonathan. ‘It probably won’t last,’ he found himself saying.
‘Do you think so?’ Will asked, gazing longingly across at Kate, who was being pulled into Jonathan’s arms on the dance floor. He had braced himself for this. Lorcan had warned him that Kate was bringing a man to the wedding, but nothing could have prepared him for the torture of seeing her with someone else.
‘Holiday romance,’ Freddie said dismissively. ‘They never do.’
* * *
‘Now would be a good time for that snog,’ Jonathan whispered, as they swayed on the dance floor. ‘Your bloke’s watching.’
‘Oh, you don’t have to do that.’
‘No problem.’ He put a hand on the back of her neck as his lips met hers. ‘All part of the service.’
He was a good kisser, and he certainly gave it his all, bending her back over his arm and kissing her on and on as they came to a stand-still, apparently so wrapped up in each other that they were oblivious of their surroundings. But all the time Kate could feel Will’s eyes burning into her back.
However, as they came off the dance floor, she saw that he wasn’t watching her any more at all. He was engrossed in conversation with Freddie and didn’t even seem to notice her as she passed.
Suddenly weary and depressed, Kate decided to go home. The party was in full swing and she was sure she could slip away unnoticed. She told Jonathan that she was leaving, then got her coat and left the hotel. It had been freezing all day and now it was snowing. She stood at the edge of the pavement trying to hail a cab, but with no success. She had forgotten it was New Year’s Eve and that getting one would be nigh on impossible.
‘I hope you’re not leaving because of me,’ a deep voice said at her shoulder.
She spun around to find Will behind her, his breath a white cloud in the icy air.
‘If you are, you can relax,’ he said. ‘I’m leaving now, so you can go back in and enjoy the party.’
As if by magic, a car appeared at the kerb at that moment, and Kate recognised Dave, the driver who had met her at the airport.
‘Oh no, I wasn’t.’ Why did he make her feel so damn guilty? ‘I think I will go back in, though. There’s no chance of getting a cab anyway.’
‘Wait!’ As she turned to go, Will grabbed her wrist. ‘We need to talk.’
‘No, we don’t.’ She pulled her hand away. ‘I have to go. My— um… my boyfriend wouldn’t like me being out here with you.’
‘Jealous type, is he?’
‘Yes, as a matter of fact, he is.’
‘Ditch him!’ Will said, his eyes glinting.
‘What?’
‘Ditch him and come home with me.’
‘And why on earth would I do that?’
‘Because you don’t love him – you love me,’ he said.
