by Raquel Lyon
“It’s not a laughing matter, Ames. He lied to me.”
“He denied it?”
“He doesn’t know that I know.”
“Then how do you know?”
“I found the mask in his wastebasket.”
“A mask?”
“The mask.”
Amy waved her hand, unconcerned. “It could have been any old mask. The room service in this place is terrible. Maybe the last person in the room liked dressing up as Zorro or something.”
“No. It was the right one. A black, plastic, almost-full-fucking-face, mask.”
“But still…”
“And his silver G-string.”
Face powder clouded the space between them as Amy coughed her surprise past the end of the brush. “Huh?”
“He was still asleep, so I did a little snooping. It was in his bag.”
“Then I guess he’s guilty.”
“One hundred percent.”
She shrugged. “So what?”
“So what? What do you mean, so what?”
“So he likes to shake his booty? So what? I bet you weren’t complaining last night, and personally, I think it’s kind of sexy. Hey, do you think he’ll tell me where he got his little silver number. I might get one for Josh. Of course, it would need to be a slightly smaller size.” She stared off into the corner of the room, undoubtedly picturing the sight.
“Will you be serious for a minute?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t see what your problem is.” Amy smudged her blue eyeshadow to blend it, and offered it to Nessie. “Try this. It’s the perfect shade.”
“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear,” Nessie said, accepting the case. “He. Lied. To. Me.”
“Only by omission, and when you calm down, you’ll realise that.”
“He also admitted to only ever sleeping with women for one night.”
“Hmm.” She took a beat. “Was that before or after he rocked your world?”
“Before.”
“And yet you still did it?”
“Well… yes.”
“Makes you about even, I’d say.”
“How do you figure that one out?”
“I take it you were happy to have a one-night fling too?” She admired herself in the mirror, smoothing down an errant eyebrow. “Ness, you can’t knock the guy for being honest. Besides, have you not wondered why?”
“Why he was honest?”
“Why he only sleeps with women once.”
“Because he’s a user.”
“Because he’s in love.”
“In love? I don’t get it.”
“Ness, I’m a psychologist. It is my job to study people’s emotions, and taking all the evidence into consideration, that’s my conclusion.”
“And you arrived at that… how?”
“Sex is merely a mechanical act for him.”
“Oh gee, that makes me feel so much better.”
“Ness, he can’t connect to other women because he already has a connection.”
“Who to?”
“You, stupid. Are you really that dim?”
Nessie finished applying the lipstick Amy had lent her and rubbed a bit of stickiness from her front tooth. “He still lied.”
“Look, what are we really talking about here? Him or you?” Amy said, accepting the return of the lipstick and stashing it back in her bag.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“How about, if you don’t get involved, you can’t get hurt again?”
“Now you’re the one being dim.”
“Am I? Personally, I think you’re making excuses.” Amy checked the time on her phone. “Aw, shoot, we’d better get to Mum’s room. It’s hair time.” She stood and walked to the door. “Talk to him. I’m sure it’s all a big misunderstanding.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
When Matt opened his eyes and found he was alone, he panicked. Where was Nessie? How long had she been gone? What time was it? He threw back the covers, jumped out of bed, and trod on the mask.
Ouch. What the…?
How the hell had that ended up on the floor? It was supposed to be in the bin. He picked up the mask and stared at it. Had she seen it and that was why she’d snuck away in the middle of the night, or was she giving him a taste of his own medicine? He deserved it; he knew that. But if it had been her intention to get her own back all along, she should have become an actress instead of a fashion designer because she’d seriously convinced him she’d forgiven him. He had to talk to her to find out the truth. Whatever her reason, they could work it out. No way was he going to let her slip away from him again. Snatching at his phone to call her, he realised he no longer had her number and cursed.
Personal visit it is, then.
Impatient to find her, he dressed in the first items of clothing to come to hand and flung open the door, only to be met by Johnny’s fist, readying to bang on the panel.
“Great. You’re up.” Johnny beamed. “Have you eaten yet?”
“Um… no. Not yet.”
“Good, ‘cause I’m starving, and the boys are gonna start the day off with the full works.”
“Can you give me ten? There’s something I have to do first.”
“Is it to take a shower? Because if I’m not mistaken, there’s a faint pong of eau-de-sex drifting in the air?”
Matt raised his elbow to sniff it, as Johnny hooked an arm around his shoulders. “Never mind. Plenty of time to ponce up later. Right now, we eat,” he said, steering Matt towards the elevator.
“I need to see Ness.”
“And you will.” Johnny shrugged. “All fucking day, man.”
“I was thinking more like… now.”
“Amy’s with her. They’re getting ready. Best not to disturb them. You know what women are like.”
Matt wasn’t sure. He would have given anything to know what one particular woman was like. Nessie sure knew how to confuse the hell out of him, but he couldn’t say what he had to say in front of Amy. He’d have to corner Nessie later.
“So,” Johnny began, pushing the ground floor button and leaning against the handrail, “are you two an item yet?”
“No fucking idea, mate. Last night was off the scale. Then I wake up and she’s gone.”
“Takes after her mother, that one. Cora gave me the runaround for a while and look at us now, about to do the deed. Keep at it. She’ll be back for some more of that awesome Matt ass before you know it.”
***
As she waited for the ceremony to start, Nessie poked her head around the door to the room where it was being held. Chairs were placed regimentally in rows all the way back to the door, but there were an embarrassing number of empty seats. A red-clothed table, adorned with garlands of flowers, stood at the end of a central walkway. Behind it, a man and a woman, dressed in dark suits, chatted whilst waiting for the procedures to commence. More garlands adorned the chairs on either side of the red-carpeted aisle, and their scent was giving Nessie a headache. She never had liked lilies.
Despite the small affair, Nessie realised she only knew a handful of people there. The congregation consisted mainly of her mother’s friends. She could count her family members on one hand, and apart from Kendrick, most of Johnny’s family were dead, so there were hardly any guests on the groom’s side—only a few distant cousins and a couple of friends. One of them was Matt.
Nessie’s stomach leapt as she caught sight of him, and she couldn’t help feeling connected to him, despite her defences telling her it was a bad idea. Amy could spout all the psychobabble she liked; Nessie was convinced he had a different agenda. He’s done with you, Nessie. He had a game plan, and you fell for it and played along. It’s a done deal.
“Two minutes to go,” Amy said, at her side. “Are you ready, Mum?”
Nessie tore her gaze away from the back of Matt’s head and the fuzz of hair on the nape of his neck and tried to forget how soft it felt under her fingers.
Her mother
fidgeted with the top of her dress and smoothed down the sides of her waist before nodding her perfectly coiffed stack of blond curls nervously. She accepted the bouquet Amy held out and looped her hand over the crook of Grandad Bishop’s arm. He patted it reassuringly and smiled.
“Still time to change your mind, my dear,” he said, his dark eyes widening as he stared down his nose at his daughter.
A thought that her grandfather must have been quite formidable in his teaching years crossed Nessie’s mind. His wild, grey hair gave him an intellectual, Einstein appearance, but those scary eyes must have been able to strike down a student at ten paces.
She was still deep in thought when the music started.
“That’s us, Sis,” Amy said, steering Nessie through the door and into a sea of expectant faces.
They made slow progress down the aisle. Unused to wearing such high heels, and with her dress still too tight to breathe, Nessie had to take small steps. She daren’t look at Matt. She could feel his partially turned head watching her walk towards him and felt sure that actual eye-to-eye contact would cause her knees to buckle and her body to land in an embarrassing heap on the floor. So she focussed on the bouquet of white roses in her clenched hands and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
Throughout the service, her eyes only misbehaved, to steal a sideways look, twice. Both times, they were met by Matt’s gaze. Why wouldn’t he stop staring? Was he trying to mess with her head?
Somebody really should have opened a window before the ceremony; the heat radiating from too many bodies in close proximity had become positively claustrophobic, she thought, struggling under a wave of nausea. She sucked in long breaths to stave off the sickness, and when the newlyweds finally kissed, the room erupted with the sound of clapping, and Nessie hitched up her dress and hurried to the door.
“Ness. Wait,” Matt called after her.
“Not now, Matt,” she said without looking back, hoping to make it to the toilets before he caught up to her. If she didn’t get there soon, vomit was sure to be added to the list of wedding decorations.
“Ness. Will you wait up?”
“I can’t talk now.” She grimaced. The truth was, she still hadn’t decided what she was going to say to him, and she didn’t like being forced into the position before she was ready.
She’d almost reached the door when Matt snagged her arm. “Tough luck, because you’re going to,” he said, pulling her next to a plant stand and trapping her against the wall. “You’re not running from me again.”
Don’t show him you care. “No. You like to do all the running, don’t you?”
He looked deep into her eyes, and Nessie could have sworn she detected a trace of hurt behind his. “I thought you’d forgiven me?” he said.
Don’t fall for his lies again. Look away. Take no notice of the muscles caging you in. Stop remembering how it felt to be in those arms and to have his lips on yours. Stop thinking about how hot he looks in that damn suit, and for God’s sake, stop picturing him without it.
Kendrick saved her from answering. “Hey, you two. You’re wanted downstairs. Everyone has to be seated before the couple’s grand entrance.”
Matt turned. “Be there in a minute, mate.”
Taking advantage of the distraction, Nessie ducked under Matt’s arm and fled through the bathroom door.
“No. Now,” Nessie heard Kendrick add. “Shit. Where’s she going? She’d better not take too long in there. Johnny’ll whip my ass if I don’t round everyone up.”
“I’m sure she’ll be along soon.” Matt’s voice grew fainter as he and Kendrick walked away.
Nessie let out a relieved breath. Cool air wafting through the bathroom’s open window helped to clear her senses. She swallowed large gulps of it as she waited for Matt to be a safe distance away before emerging from her hiding place.
It would be so much easier if she could run. All the way back home would be good—as far away from Matt as possible. She didn’t need any more problems in her life right now, particularly another complicated relationship. What she did need was to forget. She’d done it before; she could do it again. Immerse her mind in work—that was the answer. Concentrate on her career and put all thoughts of love behind her.
Cora was waiting outside the conference room when she got there. “Where’ve you been? Everyone’s waiting,” she chastised.
“Sorry, Mum. I’m not feeling too good.”
Cora huffed. “How typical. I should have known it would be too much to ask for you not to make trouble today. Go and sit down.”
Jeez, her mum could be a cow sometimes. It wasn’t as if she’d planned on any of this happening. All she’d done since she’d got here was to try to be the dutiful daughter and ensure her mother had a great wedding, but picking up shit and having it stick seemed to be her lot in life, however hard she tried to scrape it off.
When Nessie reached the top table, she was alarmed to find the seat awaiting her was next to Matt. She made a detour and whispered in Amy’s ear, “Swap seats with me.”
“I can’t. They’re allocated,” Amy muttered.
“Please. I’m begging you.”
“No, Ness. Mum’s angry enough as it is.”
“You know, you can be a real bitch when you want to be.”
“You’ll thank me in the long run.”
“Like hell I will.”
Taking her seat without affording Matt a single glance, she got the feeling he was about to talk to her, but a loud, slow clapping filled the air, and the happy couple entered the room, smiling and greeting their guests on their way to the top table.
As soon as they were seated, Matt leaned in. “What’s going on?”
Nessie ignored him and turned to Kendrick, seated at her other side. “So, Rick, it’s about time I got to know my new uncle. Tell me everything.”
Two courses and a lifetime of Kendrick later, Matt spoke again. “Is it my turn now?” he asked, laying a hand on Nessie’s arm.
She slid her arm away, determined not to show how much his electrifying touch reawakened the longing she was trying hard to suppress. “I know everything I need to know about you.”
“Unlikely.”
“Okay. Everything I want to know… and a few things I’d rather not.”
“Such as?”
“How long are you going to keep this up?”
“Until you come back to me.”
Nessie drained the last of the wine from her glass and stood up, with a sudden desire to be as far away from him as possible. “Enjoy the wait.”
“If you’re going to blow me off, I have a right to ask why,” Matt said, snagging her wrist.
She shook him off. “No. You don’t. You proved yourself, and you had your night. Now go shake your snake-hips at some other girl and leave me alone.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Matt watched her haughty ass weave between the tables. Enough of this shit. Did she honestly think he hadn’t heard the sharp intake of breath or felt the tiny trembles ripple up her arm when he touched her? She could play the revenge-fuelled bitch all she liked, but she couldn’t pretend he meant nothing to her. She wasn’t fooling him. He rose to follow her but was halted by her grandmother. “I’m afraid you can’t leave, dear. It’s time for the speeches.” Matt opened his mouth to protest, but the old woman smiled and continued, “Sit down. She’ll be back.”
“I’m not convinced,” Matt said, reluctantly resuming his seat. “She’s pretty annoyed with me, for some reason.”
“Trust me.” Her eyes were soft and perceptive. “I may be old, but I know a thing or two about love.”
“All I know is, it’s too one-sided at the moment.”
“Are you willing to work for it?”
“As long as we breathe the same air, I will love her.”
Grandma Bishop covered Matt’s hand with her cold, craggy one and squeezed. “Then it will all work out,” she said, whilst, at the other end of the table, her husband e
ased to his feet, clinking a spoon against his glass.
Matt kept his eye on the door all the way through the old man’s speech, wondering why Nessie hadn’t reappeared. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it. He rushed through his own speech, bungling the jokes and causing the punchlines to fall flat. Then, as the guests resumed chatting and waiters emerged from the kitchen with dessert, Matt tried to sneak away, impatient to find her.
Johnny stopped him.
“What the fuck was that shit you were spouting? I’ve never heard such a crap effort at a best man’s speech in all my life.”
“Sorry, mate. My mind wasn’t on it.”
“Then where the fuck was it?”
“On the case of the missing bridesmaid. Have you not noticed Nessie’s gone?”
“Cora has. And let me tell you, she is not pleased.”
“It’s been nearly an hour. I have to find her.”
“She’s a woman, mate. Strange creatures, women. Never can tell what they’re going to do next.”
“Exactly. This is her mother’s wedding. She should be here, and it’s my fault she isn’t. I need to know why.” He pushed past Johnny.
“I’ll come with you,” Johnny said. “It’ll keep Cora off my back, and I’m too stuffed to eat the cheesecake anyway.”
After stopping a woman leaving the bathroom, who confirmed Nessie wasn’t inside; they made their way up to the ground floor. She wasn’t in the lounge or the bar, either, which left her bedroom as the only other option.
On his way to the elevator, Matt paused at the reception desk. He recognised the brunette behind the counter as the same girl he’d made his previous enquiry to, and he didn’t hold out much hope of garnering a more productive answer this time, but he asked regardless, “Have you seen a girl in a blue dress come through here, maybe go upstairs?”
“A blue bridesmaid dress?”
“Yes,” Matt said, his hopes soaring.
“She went outside about thirty minutes ago.”
“Which way did she go?”
“I didn’t notice, sir, but I haven’t seen her return. Have you tried the garden?”
