After Hours.... Christy McKellen
from the festivities and head back into the fray.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be here exactly; it was just that it had been so much fun hanging out with him. Just the two of them together, like friends. Or something.
Knocking back half a glass of wine in one go, she refilled it before offering the bottle to Max.
He was looking at her with bemusement, one eyebrow raised. ‘Thirsty?’
Heat flared across her cheeks. ‘Just getting in the party mood,’ she said, forcing a nonchalant smile. ‘It looks like we have some catching up to do.’
The raucous chatter and laughter in the room suggested that people were already pretty tiddly on the cocktails they’d been served.
‘Okay, well, I’m going to stick to water if I have to drive to the bed and breakfast place later. I think one of us should stay sober enough to find our way there at the end of the night. I don’t fancy kipping in the car.’
She gave him an awkward grin as the thought of sleeping in such close proximity to him made more heat rush to her face.
Picking up her glass, she took another long sip of wine to cover her distress.
Oh, good grief. It was going to be a long night.
The meal was surprisingly tasty, considering how many people were being catered for, and Cara began to relax as the wine did its work. She quickly found herself in a conversation with the lady to her right, who turned out to be Amber’s second cousin and an estate agent in Angel, about the dearth of affordable housing to rent in London. By the end of dessert, the woman had promised to give Cara first dibs on a lovely-sounding one-bedroom flat that was just about to come onto her books. And that proved to Cara, without a shadow of a doubt, that you just had to be in the right place at the right time to get lucky.
Turning to say this exact thing to Max, she was disturbed to find he’d finished his conversation with the man next to him and was frowning down at the tablecloth.
‘Sorry for ignoring you,’ she said, worried he was getting sucked down into dark thoughts again with all the celebrating going on around him.
He gave her a tense smile and pushed his chair away from the table. ‘You weren’t. I overheard your conversation about finding a flat; that’s great news—you should definitely get her number and follow that up,’ he said, standing and tapping the back of his chair. ‘I’m going to find the bathrooms. I’ll be back in a minute.’
She watched him stride away with a lump in her throat. Was he upset about the prospect of her moving out? She dismissed the notion immediately. No, he couldn’t be. He must be craving his space again by now. Even though she’d loved living there, she knew it was time to move out. Especially now that her feelings for him had twisted themselves into something new. Something dangerous.
‘That’s a good one you’ve got there—very sexy,’ Amber’s second cousin muttered into her ear, pulling back to waggle her eyebrows suggestively, only making the lump in Cara’s throat grow in size.
Unable to speak, she gave the woman what she hoped looked like a gracious smile.
‘Hi, Cara.’
The voice behind her made her jump in her seat and she swivelled round, only to find herself staring into the eyes of the woman she’d been trying to avoid since spotting her in the church earlier.
Her meal rolled uncomfortably in her stomach.
‘Hi, Lucy.’
Instead of the look of cool disdain Cara was expecting, she was surprised to see Lucy bite her lip, her expression wary.
‘How are you?’ Lucy asked falteringly, as if afraid to hear the answer.
‘Fine, thank you.’ Cara kept her voice deliberately neutral, just in case this was an opening gambit to get her to admit to something she really didn’t want to say.
‘Can I talk to you for a moment?’
Cara swallowed her anxiety and gestured towards the chair Max had vacated, wondering what on earth this woman could have to say to her. Whatever it was, it was better to get it over with now so she didn’t spend the rest of the night looking over her shoulder. Straightening her back, she steeled herself to deal with anything she could throw at her.
Lucy sat on the edge of the seat, as close as she could get to Cara without touching her, and laid her hands on her lap before taking a deep breath. ‘I wanted to come over and apologise as soon as I could so there wasn’t any kind of atmosphere between us today.’
Cara stared at her. ‘I’m sorry? Did you say apologise?’
Lucy crossed her legs, then uncrossed them again, her cheeks flooding with colour. ‘Yes... I’m really sorry about the way you were treated at LED. I feel awful about it. I let Michelle bully me into taking her side—because I knew she’d turn on me, too, if I stood up for you—and I was pathetic enough to let her. I want you to know that I didn’t do any of those awful things to you, but I didn’t stop it either.’ She shook her head and let out a low sigh. ‘I feel awful about it, Cara, truly.’
At that moment Cara felt a pair of hands land lightly on her shoulders. Twisting her head round, she saw that Max had returned and was standing over her like some kind of dark guardian angel.
‘Everything okay, Cara?’ From the cool tone in his voice she suspected he’d be more than willing to step in and eject Lucy from her seat if she asked him to.
‘Fine, thanks, Max. This is Lucy. She came over to apologise for her unfriendliness at the last place I worked.’
‘Is that so?’
Cara couldn’t see the expression on his face from that angle but, from the sound of his voice and the way Lucy seemed to shrink back in her chair, she guessed it wasn’t a very friendly one.
Lucy cleared her throat awkwardly. ‘Yes, I feel dreadful about the whole thing. It was horrible working there. In fact, I left the week after you did. I couldn’t stand the smug look on Michelle’s face any more. Although—’ she leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner ‘—I heard from one of the other girls that she only lasted a month before he got rid of her. She couldn’t hack it, apparently.’ She snorted. ‘That’s karma in action, right there.’ Clearly feeling she’d said her piece, Lucy stood up so that Max could have his chair back and took a small step away from them. ‘Anyway, I’d better get back to my table; apparently there’s coffee on the way and I’m desperate for some. Those cocktails were evil, weren’t they?’
‘Why are you here today?’ Cara asked before she could turn and leave, intrigued by the coincidence.
‘I’m Jack’s—the groom’s—new PA.’
Cara couldn’t help but laugh at life’s weird little twist. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah, he’s a great boss, really lovely to work for.’ She leant forward again and said in a quiet voice, ‘I don’t think Amber likes me very much, though; she didn’t seem very pleased to see me here.’
‘I wouldn’t take that too personally,’ Cara said, giving her a reassuring smile. ‘She’s an intensely protective person.’ She put a hand on Lucy’s arm. ‘Thanks for being brave enough to come over and apologise, Lucy; I really appreciate the gesture.’
Lucy gave her one last smile, and Max a slightly terrified grimace, before retreating to her table.
Max sat back down in his chair, giving her an impressed nod. ‘Nicely handled.’
Warm pleasure coursed through her as she took in the look of approval in his eyes. Feeling a little flustered by it, she picked up her glass of wine to take a big gulp, but judged the tilt badly and some escaped from the side of the rim and dribbled down her chin. Before she had time to react, Max whipped his napkin under her jaw and caught the rogue droplets with it, stopping them from splashing onto her dress.
‘Smooth!’