AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dino scooped the boy into his arms, his eyes still on Meg. For a moment she didn’t move. She just looked at him. Then she smiled and walked across the room, head held high.
‘Dino.’
He’d expected to see insecurity in her eyes but instead he saw fire and fight and felt the tension pulsing from her. Picking up on it, his eyes narrowed in silent question.
Something, or someone, had upset her and she’d come out fighting.
And you didn’t have to be a genius to guess who. ‘I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.’
‘Why wouldn’t I come?’ Her tone was slightly brittle and she helped herself to a glass of orange juice from one of the waiters who were circulating with drinks and canapés. ‘This is fantastic. I thought you said it would be just a few friends. Informal.’
‘It started out that way but it escalated, and I don’t have time to prepare food for this number of people so I thought it was easier to get caterers in. This isn’t how I planned it.’
She relaxed slightly and stayed by his side. They chatted about the day and then a couple of members of the mountain rescue team joined them and they all started talking about their latest rescue.
Halfway through the evening ‘Santa’ appeared with a sack of presents for the children.
As Jamie and the other children leaped around with excitement, Dino watched Meg. Finally she’d relaxed. Drink in hand, she was laughing as Jamie ripped the paper off his present to reveal a large plastic Batman figure.
Dino threw a questioning glance at Meg. ‘I know he already has one…’
‘It’s great. Really thoughtful.’ She smiled up at him. ‘You can never have too many. I’m trying to work out who is concealed under that Santa suit. It looks like Rob Hamilton from Orthopaedics but he isn’t quite that portly. Unless he’s hit the mince pies big time.’
‘We added some padding to his costume. He has the deepest voice. Not to mention the fact he was one of the few who was prepared to do it. Come on—’ He held out his hand. ‘Let’s dance.’
She hesitated, her cheeks pink. Then she slowly put her glass down on the table and gave a hesitant smile. ‘All right, but I ought to warn you I—’
‘Dino!’ Melissa bounced over to them, her breasts in danger of making a guest appearance. Grabbing his other hand, she pulled. ‘This is my favourite track. Dance with me.’
‘I don’t think so.’ Frowning, Dino extracted his hand but Meg was already backing away, her smile frozen to her face.
‘You go ahead. I’m useless at dancing anyway. And I need to see Jamie.’
‘Meg—’
‘Honestly, dance.’ She waved her hand towards the centre of the room. ‘I’ll catch up with you later.’
Dino reached out to grab her but she melted into the crowd, vanishing in the sea of shimmering dresses that closed in front of him, blocking his path.
She was a complete fool.
Meg stood in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. It was always going to be like this. What had she expected? That she could turn herself into some supermodel overnight? That putting on a pair of high heels and a sparkling dress would make her feel any different inside?
‘Meg?’ Dino’s voice came through the door. ‘Are you in there?’
She froze. ‘Give me a minute.’
‘I need to talk to you.’
Tugging open the bathroom door, she pinned a smile on her face. ‘Hi. Everything all right? The kids haven’t discovered the champagne, have they?’
‘Why do you do that? You just walked away.’ His eyes were very dark and very angry. ‘You always walk away when things get tough. You should have stood your ground and fought her.’
‘I didn’t want to make things awkward for you.’
‘Awkward? You think I care about awkward? Maledezione, Meg, what do you think is going on here?’
‘I think all the women in the room are interested in you—as usual. I think they all spent most of the last week planning what they were going to wear to catch your attention.’
