Page 74 of Not So Very Sensible

But as they pushed him towards Lucinda, he realised just who they meant. And it wasn’t the woman he wanted to kiss. It was the one who had manipulated her way into this situation, the one pressing her lips against his while he tried to figure out how to retreat without embarrassing her even more.

“Surprise!” Francine crowed. “It’s your engagement party!”

Chapter 14

Ellie drove away, tears leaking from her eyes, which she kept stubbornly wiping away. So much for being over him. Oh, would this pain ever cease? For a second, she’d thought he’d wanted to talk to her, which only proved how stupid she was around him. Foolish. Gullible. Seeing what she wanted to see. Believing his lies.

How could she ever have believed him? What a fool she’d been. How mortifying to have acted like a flirt with him in the Blue Mountains. Oh, she knew very well what Francine had been about. She wanted to rub Ellie’s nose in it, to show her she’d never fit in with these proud people with all their money, fancy cars, and powerful connections.

That silver-haired man. She recognised him now from the TV. The opposition leader.

A true epithet, indeed. Opposition? She’d felt waves of it all night.

She glanced at the car clock. It was probably too late to join Annabelle at the movies, although hiding in a dark room was all she wanted to do. Maybe she should go, simply to have more distraction and to sit beside a friendly face who wouldn’t ask too many questions if Ellie let a tear or two escape.

The roundabout to Bowral approached, and she indicated and turned right. Then sharply swerved as a kangaroo hopped across the road.

“Oh my gosh!” Two native animal incidents in one night. Clearly these were signs that she shouldn’t have gone tonight.

By the time she’d parked in the main street and bought her ticket, the cinema operator said she was ten minutes late. “I don’t mind.”

His brow creased. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Just dandy.”

She slipped inside and searched for Annabelle’s red head, saw someone wave.

She picked her way up the stairs to slip into the empty seat beside Annabelle.

“You made it,” Annabelle whispered. “Did it go okay?”

She shook her head, then when someone behind hushed them, shot Annabelle a fake smile and fixed her attention on the screen.

But she couldn’t pay attention to the movie. She didn’t care what was happening. She only knew that what had happened was the final straw to the foolishness she’d still dared to entertain.

Ethan was engaged to Lucinda. His family had thrown a party to celebrate. Francine had wanted Ellie there because she had somehow suspected that Ellie had feelings for Ethan. And now everybody knew that the engagement was real, and Ellie’s feelings for Ethan needed to be stuffed in a box and the key thrown away. She wasn’t someone who broke up relationships. Not that Ethan looked like he wanted his relationship broken, with his lips on Lucinda’s. How could Ellie ever have believed he’d liked her?

Her breath shuddered as the images on the screen continue to flicker, the music and dialogue fading in and out. The audience gasped and laughed, but she sat numb. Maybe this was a bad idea to be sitting here. But being surrounded by people reminded her that, although her heart felt numb, she was still alive. The world kept on. And she would have to learn to keep on too.

Her phone vibrated, and she glanced at the message. Nicola, wanting to know how things had gone.

How could she explain exactly why Francine had wanted her there? “Looks like the lighting won’t be an issue,” she typed. That was true, wasn’t it? Francine had pretty much got her there under false pretences. And because it felt so personal, she didn’t want to have to keep playing pretend with her, so she added, “I’d prefer not to have to deal with Francine again.”

“Put your phone away,” someone hissed.

“Sorry,” she murmured, and switched it off.

She kept herself still, closed her eyes, focused on breathing in and out. In and out. The movie would end soon. The day would end. And tomorrow would be a new day. Sunday.

Her eyes flashed. Ethan wouldn’t dare come to her church, would he?

She shook her head. No. The likelihood of that was very slim. He didn’t know where she attended, and given the way the party seemed to be going, he probably wouldn’t make it to church anywhere, anyway.

Oh, why had she let her heart be touched by a man?

She didn’t want to let it continue to bother her. She had to get over him. Lord, help me get over him. She shuddered in another shaky breath.

Annabelle whispered, “Hey, is everything okay?”