Someone to Love, page 20
The air left her lungs with a whoosh. ‘You do?’
‘I do.’ The room suddenly felt a lot smaller, his presence a lot larger. ‘But it’s clear I overstepped and misread the situation, and for that I’m truly sorry. It won’t happen again.’
Right. Well, okay. Good.
His response was better than she could have hoped for. He wasn’t pushing things, or arguing his case – he was apologising. Accepting defeat and promising to back off. She should feel relieved. Instead, she felt a crushing sense of disappointment like she’d never experienced before. ‘It won’t?’
He shook his head. ‘Not if it isn’t what you want.’
A heavy pause followed. Neither of them reacted, each one waiting for the other to make their next move. The ball was in her court. She was faced with two options. Back off or say, ‘to hell with it’, and jump in head first.
‘What if it is what I want?’ The words were out before she could sense-check them.
He stilled. Understandably so, as she was giving him mixed messages.
A beat passed, before he said quietly, ‘Is it?’
Was it?
Oh, hell.
Her small nod coincided with her launching herself at him and banging her mouth abruptly against his. It was clumsy and inept, but he didn’t seem to mind, and any awkwardness soon morphed into the kind of embrace she’d only ever witnessed in films and never experienced first-hand. It felt like she was being consumed. Eaten alive by this bear of a man, with his big hands and wide chest.
The closer he pulled her, the hotter she became. It was like he had several pairs of hands, all of them exploring her curves, squeezing her bum and sending her mind into a frenzy. Holy cow.
Her suit jacket strained at the seams as her arms reached up around his neck, deepening the kiss. A kiss that sent waves of lust crashing through her. She’d lost all semblance of control. She couldn’t get enough of this man, he was intoxicating. She wanted more… craved more… needed more… until the door flew open and a male voice said, ‘Whoa, shit. Sorry, boss.’
The heat vanished as though someone had turned the fire hose on her.
Matt sprung away, stepping in front of her like the true gentleman he was, shielding her behind him.
She was grateful, as there was no way she wanted his work colleague seeing her in this dishevelled state. Her glasses were at half mast, her shirt was untucked and her jacket had lost a button. She suspected this was nothing compared to the state of her face, which she imagined was smeared in lipstick.
Frantically shoving everything back into place and wiping her mouth, her embarrassment shot up another notch when the man said, ‘Your mum and sister are here to see you, boss. Shall I show them in?’
‘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 heard so much 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 her sweet before.
‘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.’
‘I’m sure you have. My son’s never shied away from commitment or hard work, but he says he couldn’t have done it without you.’ Susan gave Matt a soft smile. ‘Let’s hope everything goes smoothly on the day.’
Leah snorted. ‘Hardly likely when the two families can’t even agree on what suits to wear.’
Beth felt a rush of heat hit her cheeks. ‘I’m hoping my dad will see reason and change his mind,’ she said, ashamed that her father was causing such grief.
‘And I hope my dad gets refused early release and doesn’t show up at the wedding.’ Leah took another bite of KitKat. ‘But we don’t always get what we want, do we?’
Beth felt Matt stiffen next to her, his whole body tensing like he’d been tasered.
Beth was confused. ‘Early release?’
‘Let’s head outside.’ Matt ushered them from the room. ‘It’s daft to be stuck inside on such a nice day.’
Beth followed him over to the door. ‘I didn’t realise your dad might be coming to the wedding,’ she whispered, aware of the sudden tension. ‘He wasn’t on Zac’s list of invites.’
Matt shook his head, his brow furrowed. ‘He won’t be.’
‘Are you sure we don’t need to add him to the top table?’ It suddenly occurred to her that he’d barely mentioned his dad during their conversations. He’d only ever talked about his mum and sister, and the awkward situation with his half-brother. Was this the cause of the tension, she wondered?
Matt rubbed his eyes, as if trying to block something out.
Then his mother appeared and placed a hand on Beth’s arm. ‘My husband’s currently in prison,’ she said, squaring her shoulders as if braced for the fallout. ‘I’m sorry if you didn’t realise that.’
Prison? Beth was too dumbfounded to react.
She looked at Leah, who shrugged as if to say, ‘Whatever’.
Beth turned to Matt, whose eyes were forlorn and downcast. ‘You never mentioned that.’
Matt shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t.’
A horrible silence followed.
‘Apologies for keeping you in the dark, my dear.’ Susan’s assertive tone was a contrast to the shake in her hands. ‘My husband’s serving ten years for manslaughter.’
Bloody hell.
It was times like this when Beth wished she possessed her sister’s acting talents. Deep inside, she knew the kindest response would be to act as though it wasn’t a big deal. All families had their dramas, right? Hers included – although maybe nothing quite so dramatic as being banged up, the Megan issue aside. But unfortunately, her open-mouthed shocked expression ruined any attempts at nonchalance, and all she could manage was a feeble, ‘Oh.’
Oh, indeed.
And then she was hit by a horrible sinking feeling.
It seemed she didn’t know Matt quite as well as she’d thought.
Chapter Sixteen
Friday, 7th June – 2 days till the wedding
Matt sucked in a breath and reminded himself that in forty-eight hours’ time this would all be over and he’d be back home in Surrey, beer in hand, watching a film, knowing he’d never have to suffer any of this crap again. It was the only thing keeping him going.
The breeze picked up, flapping the flags on their poles as the wind rolled in from Bodmin Moor. It was an overcast day, not the best weather to be outside trying to control bunches of golden balloons that tugged on their decorative strings, eager to escape and disappear into the Cornish sky.
‘Bloody hell,’ moaned Beth, as she frantically tried to flatten the roll of thin red carpet, laid down for the bride and groom’s arrival at the Jamaica Inn. No sooner had she secured one end, than the other side lifted and rolled towards her. ‘You could help,’ she snapped, searching for stones large enough to weigh down the edges.
‘You instructed me to hold these balloons. I can’t do both,’ he snapped back.
In truth, he was as grumpy as she was. The stress of planning the damned wedding, coupled with the strained atmosphere between them which had yet to thaw, had resulted in a frosty greeting this morning. It was hardly his fault his dad was in jail, was it?
The wind kicked up another notch, rattling the champagne flutes lined up on the trestle table decorated with flowers and confetti… which was currently blowing around the forecourt, making it look like it was snowing.
Beth glared at him. ‘Don’t just stand there, do something.’
‘What is it you want me to do? I have no control over the weather,’ he quipped, glaring at her. ‘This was your idea, remember? I told you it was too windy to set up outside, but you wouldn’t listen.’
‘It wasn’t this windy earlier.’
‘Well, it is now!’ The balloons fought to escape his grasp. ‘The forecast warned of high winds.’
She turned away from him. ‘No need to be so smug.’
‘I’m not being smug, I’m simply pointing out that we can’t control the weather, and we’d have been better off doing this inside.’
‘Well, it’s too late now, isn’t it? Megan and Zac will be arriving any moment, so how about you stop rubbing it in that I misjudged the weather and help me.’
He gritted his teeth. ‘Like I said before, what is it you want me to do?’
‘I don’t bloody know, do I!’
‘Fine.’ He stormed over to the hotel entrance and tied the bunches of balloons to the wooden porchway, ensuring they were firmly secured and wouldn’t fly off.
Still grumbling, he went over to the trestle table, picked up the tray of champagne flutes and placed them on the floor. He then lifted the table and shuffled it nearer to the hotel, hoping that repositioning it in front of the brickwork might protect it from the wind. Replacing the tray of champagne flutes on top, he moved the flower displays in front, so they acted as a barrier.
Finally, he joined Beth on the red carpet and helped secure the edges with stones.
‘Happy?’ he said. All semblance of relaxation had disappeared, and she was back to being buttoned-up and starched to within an inch of her life.
‘Oh, ecstatic,’ she replied sarcastically.
He bit his tongue – he was a whisker away from saying something they’d both regret. ‘This weekend is going to be painful enough without you bitching at me all the time.’
She straightened. ‘I am not bitching.’
‘You haven’t stopped bitching since we arrived this morning, and it’s totally unfair.’ He went in search of another stone.
‘Unfair?’ She ran after him, darting in front of him so he’d get the full impact of her hands-on-hips stance. ‘You mean like not telling me your father was in prison?’
‘Keep your voice down,’ he said, checking the forecourt was empty, but it appeared they were the only ones stupid enough to be outside on a day like that. ‘I don’t want the whole world to know. And why should I have told you? What business is it of yours?’
She visibly flinched. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the minor matter of him potentially being at the wedding?’
Matt stepped closer, stung by the unfairness. ‘Which he isn’t going to be, and never was going to be. It was wishful thinking on his part, so there was no need for me to bring it up.’
She held her ground. ‘Maybe not, but what about what was happening between us?’
Was she serious? He threw his hands in the air. ‘Are you for real? There wasn’t anything happening between us. Something you’d made perfectly clear.’ He took another step towards her. ‘Or at least you did, before you changed your mind, and then changed it back again. Talk about giving mixed messages.’
Her face flushed pink with indignation. ‘That’s because I didn’t know if I could trust you. Turns out I was right.’
‘Why? Because I failed to mention one tiny detail?’
She looked incredulous. ‘Hardly tiny – your father’s in bloody jail!’
‘And has been for the last ten years, so it’s old news. It’s also private and humiliating and painful. So, excuse me if I don’t blurt it out to every person I meet. Like you, I also have to trust a person before I share private information, and that is not something I’m about to apologise for.’
What she would have said next, he’ll never know.
A taxi pulled up and the rear door shot open.
‘We’re here!’ Megan sprang from the taxi, looking all tanned and glamourous in a white dress and killer heels. She ran over and hugged Beth, leaving Zac to pay the driver. ‘It’s our wedding weekend! I’m so excited!’
Having squashed the air out of Beth, Megan switched her attentions to Matt and ran up to him like an overzealous puppy. ‘Darling!’ She threw her arms around his neck and he was hit by a strong waft of perfume, which immediately disappeared when the wind picked up. ‘How are you?’ She didn’t wait for an answer and kissed his cheek, before returning to Beth. The whirlwind that was Megan Lawrence.
Zac emerged from the taxi, looking less assured than his wife-to-be, and shot Matt a tentative glance. And so he should be worried, after absconding to Greece for a month.
Matt went over and helped him unload the suitcases.
‘It’s good to see you, Uncle Matt.’ Zac held out his hand, unsure of the greeting he was about to receive.
Matt pulled him into a hug. ‘Come here, you daft thing. It’s good to see you, too.’
Zac held on, his relief palpable. ‘You’re not mad at me?’
Hell, yes. But what was the point of yelling now? The damage was done. Besides, he’d had enough yelling for one day. ‘Let’s just say, I’m happy you’re home.’
Behind them, Megan was chattering away, hugging her sister and enlightening Beth as to the wonders of Greek culture. Beth looked somewhat dumbfounded, as though struggling to keep up with all the twists and turns of Megan’s chaotic life.
‘We need to talk, Megan.’ Beth lifted her hand, attempting to interrupt her sister.
‘But I need to hear about the wedding preparations. What surprises do you have in store for us?’
