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CHAPTER 24
Liam groaned as music thudded through his skull, colliding with the headache that had been brewing all afternoon. Now he remembered why he’d stopped coming to these village dances. He’d avoided several over the last year and, according to Alex, was fast turning into an old fart.
Sipping at his warm beer, he stepped back, but not before Michaela had stomped on his toes in her silver ankle boots. For someone who ran a weekly keep-fit class in this hall, she was surprisingly sturdy.
‘Sorry,’ she yelled, before being whirled away by her husband to some eighties classic whose name Liam couldn’t recall. Belinda had booked the disco, and probably stipulated the music choices too.
This evening was a throwback, rather like Heaven’s Cove itself, which often felt like a living museum, with its historic buildings and fishermen setting off from the quay, as they had done for centuries.
Liam contemplated his love-hate relationship with the village while the music got faster and the dancing more frantic. He was no longer happy in Heaven’s Cove, but there was nowhere else he’d rather be. It was quite a conundrum.
He stood on tiptoe and scoured the crowd bobbing up and down under the strobing lights. Alex was chatting up Coral’s daughter, Ella, and Nessa was throwing some moves on the edge of the dance floor. But Rosie wasn’t here.
‘You made it, then.’ When Liam turned, Katrina was standing very close to him. Her glossy dark hair brushed his shoulder when she tilted her head. ‘Actually, a little bird told me that you might be braving Belinda’s disco.’
‘Who was that?’
‘Morris, when I bumped into him in the bakery.’
‘Ah.’ Liam vaguely remembered mentioning to Morris that he might give the dance a go, and nothing remained a secret in Heaven’s Cove for long. Though Rosie’s bombshell about her dad not being her real father seemed to have slipped under people’s radar.
What a secret for Rosie to uncover so soon after losing her mother. And she’d trusted him with it. For a moment, the pounding beat faded and he was on the beach again, his hand brushing the soft skin of her cheek.
‘Liam, I do believe you’re not listening to me,’ scolded Katrina, moving even closer. ‘I said that I was worried you’d totally given up on these sorts of dances.’
‘There’s nothing much else to do around here on Saturday nights.’
‘I’m sure I could think of something. Did I mention that Stephen is away at some boring conference in New York? He’s not back until Monday so I have the whole weekend to myself. What do you think of that?’
The touch on Liam’s arm was light, but it spoke of heated kisses and company. They could slip back to her place and make out on the very expensive designer rug she’d told them all about. She looked amazing in her tight, shimmery blue dress and would no doubt look even more amazing out of it.
‘Well, look who’s here.’ Katrina was craning her perfect long neck towards the door. ‘And she’s brought an attractive man with her. Wonders will never cease. Hey, Rosie,’ she called, waving. ‘Over here.’
Rosie weaved her way through the dancers, her fair hair falling loose to her shoulders. She smiled at Katrina but didn’t catch Liam’s eye.
‘Who’s this you’ve brought with you, Rosie?’
‘This is Matt, my boyfriend.’
‘Gosh, she’s kept you well hidden.’
Matt, in tight jeans and black T-shirt, looked rather taken aback by the full Katrina dazzle. He took hold of her hand, raised it to his mouth and brushed his lips across her skin, right in front of Rosie. God, what a creep.
‘I live in Spain with Rosie,’ shouted Matt above the music, which seemed to be getting louder. ‘Well, we’re not actually living together.’
Maybe not, but they were definitely sleeping together. Not that it was any of his business. Liam took a large gulp of his warm beer and wished he’d stayed at home with Billy.
‘What kind of dance is this?’ laughed Matt, eyeing up the locals strutting their stuff.
‘Matt’s never been to a village disco before,’ said Rosie, smoothing down her shirt that was white as snow next to her golden skin. ‘He grew up in London.’
‘Very cosmopolitan,’ purred Katrina.
Matt leaned closer to Rosie as ‘Thriller’ started playing. ‘Shall we give it a go?’
‘I don’t know. It feels weird being here so soon after Mum’s death.’
‘I know, babe. But she wouldn’t want you to be unhappy, would she? Come on.’
