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‘NO!’ Matt sounded panicked. ‘I mean, no, that’s okay, Neil. I’ll come out. Don’t bring them in here.’
But Beth knew it was too late when she heard a woman say, ‘We know where his office is, thanks,’ and Matt let out a groan. This was followed by, ‘Hey, there Matt… Jesus, why are you covered in lipstick?’ Pause. ‘Oh, shit! Have we caught you doing the dirty? Mum… Mum… come in here. You’ll never believe this.’
It was Beth’s turn to groan. She stayed ducked behind Matt, grateful for his size, holding onto to his trouser belt, her forehead leaning against his back and wishing the ground would open and swallow her whole so she wouldn’t have to face his family. But she knew she could only stay hidden for so long.
‘This is a nice surprise,’ he said, sounding like it was anything but. Then again, nobody wanted to be caught smooching by their family, did they? ‘What brings you down here?’ His voice sounded a little strained.
‘We wanted to support your charity event,’ a different woman said, who Beth assumed was his mother. ‘It’s such a good cause, so we felt it was important to come down, even if we don’t have a car. Maybe we could help make tea, or something?’
‘Plus, we haven’t seen you in over a week,’ the younger woman said. ‘So we thought we’d track you down and see what’s been keeping you occupied. And now we know.’ She sounded amused.
Beth knew it was time to reveal herself, however excruciating that might be.
With a final wipe of her mouth and forcing a smile, she stepped out from behind Matt, hoping she looked presentable enough. ‘Hi, I’m Beth.’
She was confronted by two very different women. Matt’s mother was pale and drawn, wearing ill-fitting clothes that looked too big for her. Whereas Matt’s sister looked like the picture of health… apart from the KitKat she was munching on. Her wide smile accentuated her heart-shaped face and there was a definite twinkle in her eye. Her small frame was a complete contrast to her solid older brother.
‘Oh, we know who you are,’ the sister said, bounding over.
Beth was squashed into a hug, and hit by a waft of chocolate, mixed in with a sweet-scented perfume. ‘Er… you do?’
‘Of course. You’re the woman Matt—’
‘Has been helping to plan the wedding,’ Matt cut in, clearly fearful of what his sister was about to say. ‘Can you let go of her, please, Leah?’
‘Ooops.’ Leah released her hold and stepped away, leaving a smudge of chocolate on Beth’s suit jacket. ‘Bugger. Sorry.’ She pulled the sleeve of her yellow top over her hand and began rubbing at the mark.
Beth stepped away. ‘It’s fine, really. Don’t worry, it’ll wash out.’
Matt shot Beth an apologetic look. He looked more uncomfortable than she’d ever seen him and her heart melted a little. Poor bloke. ‘Beth, this is my sister, Leah.’
Beth fixed Leah with a smile. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘Not as nice as it is to finally meet you,’ Leah said, with a wink. ‘We’ve heardsomuch about you, but I’m eager to hear more.’
Matt made an odd noise.
What had they heard about her? It was unnerving not knowing how Matt had described her. Prickly and combative? Or sweet and thoughtful? Strangely, the latter description unsettled her more. No one had ever called hersweetbefore.
‘And this is my mum, Susan.’ He gestured to the older woman standing by the doorway, clearly a lot less demonstrative than her daughter. ‘This is Beth Lawrence, Mum. She’s Megan’s sister and maid of honour at Zac’s wedding.’
‘And we all know what happens between the maid of honour and the best man at weddings, don’t we?’ Leah took a bite of KitKat, seemingly enjoying making her brother squirm. ‘Seems to me like it’s already started. Nice work, Bro.’ She gave Matt a beaming smile. ‘She’s even more gorgeous than you described.’
Matt let out another groan. ‘Please ignore my sister,’ he said, turning to Beth. ‘She has a habit of jumping to conclusions.’
‘Oh? We didn’t just walk in on you two chewing each other’s face off, then?’ Leah’s grin didn’t let up. ‘Because if that ain’t something happening, then I don’t know what is.’
‘Isn’t, not ain’t.’ Susan Hardy glared at her daughter. ‘You’re a schoolteacher, for heaven’s sake.’
‘I teach sports, Mother. Not English.’ Leah rolled her eyes. ‘My students don’t look to me for elocution lessons.’
‘All the same.’ Susan stepped forwards and held out her hand. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Beth. How are the wedding plans coming along?’
Beth shook the woman’s hand, noticing a slight tremor. ‘A bit tricky, to be honest. Megan and Zac don’t arrive back from Greece until Thursday night, so it’s all a bit precarious and last minute.’
‘It sounds like you and Matt have done a sterling job arranging everything in their absence. I hope Megan and Zac appreciate all you’ve done for them, as it can’t have been easy.’
Beth felt a rush of warmth towards Matt’s mother. She was the first person to acknowledge the burden that had been put upon them. ‘Not easy, no. But we’ve done our best.’
