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‘We have chocolates,’ he whispers darkly.
Dom reaches out, catches my wrist and tugs me firmly toward him. ‘Haven’t you got a bit of skirt you have to chase?’ he asks his brother.
‘Nope,’ Shane says, and helps himself to a prawn from my plate. I realize I really like him. He must be the life of every party. He’s such fun. As if on cue, a tanned blonde in a tight, hot-pink dress and seven-inch heels comes up to us.
‘Hey, Dom,’ she greets politely, smiles at me uninterestedly, and then bats her eyelashes at Shane. ‘You said I could have the first dance.’
‘And I meant it,’ he says, and, taking her hand, leads her towards the music. A few steps away he stops and turns back to me. ‘You should come for lunch tomorrow. My ma makes a wicked Sunday lunch.’ Then he’s pulled away by the blonde. His departure leaves the air around us tense.
I sneak a look at Dom, and he’s staring at me, his eyes wiped of all expression. ‘Yeah, maybe you should come. Meet the rest of the family.’
‘Maybe it’s too early,’ I say, giving him a chance to back out.
His eyes twinkle. ‘We’re gypsies, Ella. We’re not subtle, and we don’t do tact. We say what we mean, and we do what we say.’
I chew on my lip. ‘Maybe we should wait until after Monday. Your family might hate me after my meeting with your accountant.’
‘I don’t care what happens on Monday. I could be dead by Monday,’ he says flatly.
Before I can answer, there’s the sound of a loud crash. Both of us turn to look. From where we’re standing, I see Justin pointing his finger and arguing loudly with someone whose body language is just as aggressive. Beside him, on the patio floor, is an overturned chair.
‘Shit, the Barberry brothers,’ Dom says, jumping to his feet. ‘Come on,’ he urges and we walk quickly toward the brewing quarrel. The men are arguing bitterly, their aggression quickly filling the air with tension. I can’t properly make out what they are fighting about with all the onlookers shouting at the same time. As we arrive, it transpires that one of the Barberry brothers has insulted one of Justin’s mates.
‘I’ll fucking kill you,’ Justin is shouting to the Barberry brother who’s supposed to have thrown the insult. There are four of them, and they all look as though they’re spoiling for a fight.
Dom looks at me. ‘Stay here,’ he orders, and he strides toward the men.
I can see that the situation is qui
ckly getting out of hand. And sure enough, seconds later someone throws a punch, and then it’s a free-for-all. Everyone’s swinging punches, chairs are being smashed, and more men are joining the melee. I stare at them in disbelief. I’ve never been to a party that’s erupted into a steaming fight before. And it’s a proper brawl, as well.
From the corner of my eye I see Shane wading in, coming to his brother’s rescue. Not that Dom seems to be needing any help. He’s roaring and going for it like a mad man. It’s incredible how this party has disintegrated into this mess in the space of just a few seconds.
To my surprise, the other partygoers aren’t trying to intervene and stop the fight, but are either watching it as though it’s part of the entertainment, or clapping and cheering on Justin and the Eden brothers against the Barberrys. There are four Barberry brothers against three, which seems unfair to me.
I see one of the Barberry brothers try to sneak in behind Dom and punch him from the back. Without thinking, moving purely on instinct, I pick up a wine bottle and, rushing forward, smash it over his head. There’s a loud clunk. The man turns back with a growl and sinks slowly to the ground.
Ooops! In the movies, bottles that come into violent contact with human heads always shatter to smithereens. I look up from his prone body and meet Dom’s eyes. There’s a trickle of blood coming from his eyebrow, and he’s staring at me with his mouth slightly open. I drop the bottle.
‘He was going to hit you from the back. And that would have been unfair,’ I say mechanically.
He grins suddenly, and it’s like the sun has come out from behind a dark cloud.
‘Behind you!’ I scream.
Dom whirls around in time to face another fierce-looking Barberry brother. With my hand over my mouth, I watch Dom lay into him. As the man clutches his side and stumbles away, Shane walks up to Dom. The left side of his face is swollen.
‘You OK?’ he asks, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world to turn up for a party and get into a massive punch-up.
‘Yeah. You?’
He smiles. ‘Always.’
Justin comes up to them and claps them both on the back in an almost congratulatory manner. He’s laughing. This is normal for them! Dom leaves them and comes up to me. His eyes are dark and devouring. He looks at me as if I’m … hmm … well, food.
He grabs my hand and starts pulling me away. I run to keep up with his long strides.
‘Where are we going?’ I ask breathlessly.
