“Why are you so sure I wouldn’t have given in?”
Addie turned to Ed. “Would that have happened?”
“He never gives up. He’d have turned into an ice cube first.” Ed’s voice seemed subdued.
“See?” Addie turned back to Will. “Only now you’ll never know whether I let you win.”
Will groaned and Ed chuckled. “It took me fifteen years to learn that trick.”
“Want to try again?” Addie asked. “Ed can judge.”
“No, I have something else in mind that doesn’t require an audience,” Will said. “And if get back on that lounger I won’t be fit for it.”
With a speed that made her jump, Ed sprang out of the hot tub and strode off.
“What’s the matter with him?” Will asked.
Addie stared after Ed. She knew and so, she suspected, did Will.
Chapter Thirty-One
Addie opened the packet of stick-on bra cups and studied the diagram.
“Can’t you wear the dress without them?” Will asked.
“No.”
He leaned against the bathroom door watching her walk around in red lace pants, black shoes and nothing else.
“Why do we have to leave the hotel for the meal?” she asked.
Just what Will was thinking. “Jack likes to use a restaurant in Ludlow that belongs to a friend of his.”
“So Jack’s going to be there?”
“Yep. He’ll be interfering tomorrow too, and presenting prizes.”
“Ooh, am I in line for one?”
“You should be.” Will sat down before he fell. His heart was extracting blood from his legs and pumping it to his groin.
Addie peeled off the adhesive tape, stuck it to the edge of the cup and pressed it under her breast.
“Is there a right and left?” he asked.
Addie’s gaze flashed to his. “Why? Does it look wrong?”
“I just wondered.”
She took her hand away and the cup flopped forward. Will earned a glare for his snicker. He tightened his lips when she fastened two of her fingers together. From then on it was all downhill. By the time Addie had the tape in place on the second cup, the first was peeling off. Addie clamped her hands over each breast.
“Don’t laugh,” she said.
“Want me to help?”
“You won’t keep your hands still.”
After a couple of minutes, Addie let go. The two pieces of foam dropped to the carpet.
“What did I do wrong?” she wailed.
Will retrieved them and examined the edges. “These aren’t going to stick to anything. Are you sure you weren’t supposed to stick the tape on you?”
“God, I give in.” Addie pulled on the dress. “I feel half naked. I am half naked.”
Will gulped. Her back was bare and her breasts covered only by strips of diaphanous material secured at her neck by a chain. A fast movement would reveal everything. A slow movement would have a similar effect. In fact, she didn’t even have to move at all.
“Well, that’s that. I don’t know why I let you buy me this dress. I can’t go to the ball, evil fairy godfather.”
“Don’t you have it on back to front?”
“No, It’s…oh.” She rolled her eyes. “Will, I won’t be able to move in this in case my boobs pop out.”
“Great.”
“I mean it.”
“They’re only little things. No one will notice.”
“Bastard.”
“Hussy.”
“All right, I’ll sit with my jacket on.”
“Are you going to dance with me with your jacket on too?” he asked.
Addie lifted her face to his. “Dancing?”
Will kissed her nose, then her lips. “I only want to dance with you. I don’t want you dancing with anyone else. At all.” Especially not Ed. “You’re mine and I’m yours.”
They travelled to the restaurant by coach. Jack Magelan was waiting to shake hands and exchange a few words as each person arrived. When Addie moved in front of him he acted as though she was the invisible woman. She stood with her hand out for a few awkward seconds before moving away, her face burning. Will hadn’t noticed, but Genghis shot Addie a puzzled look. For once Addie felt a hint of sympathy from her boss. Addie lingered nearby and watched. She was the only person Jack treated like that. Maybe he knew she was leaving.
Will came up with two glasses of champagne and handed one to her.
“Cheer up,” he said.
Addie smiled. Who cared about Jack Magelan and his hairy palms?
“You look a bit silly in that jacket. Aren’t you going to take it off?”
“No, I’d look even sillier without it.”
“No, you won’t. You look delicious. Please take it off.”
Addie surrendered it to the cloakroom in bad grace and came back, looking for Will, her arms pinned at her side. She felt self-conscious, sure everyone was staring at her. The least Will could do was stay with her. But he was talking to Jack, so she went to check the seating plan. Addie was disappointed to see each group had been put together. Will and Ed were with Jack and Isaac.
A loud voice announced it was time to eat. When she got to her table, Addie found her place card between Tony and Graham, and groaned. If she hadn’t messed around with her jacket she’d have had time to move her name. Now it was too late.
“I’m not happy about the judging of the snow sculpture,” Tony said the moment he sat down. His eyes homed in on Addie’s chest. “We should…have known choosing…the Titanic would…be a disaster.”
At the other end of the table Louise was turning into a lobster.
“Have you always been a male-chauvinist Vietnamese potbelly pig?” Addie asked.
To his credit, Tony laughed. “Yes, and proud of it.”
“We did all vote for the Titanic, Tony.” Phaedra pointed out. “Even you.”
To Addie’s relief, Tony turned to lecture Bernie about Hawaii. Graham was busy boring Phaedra about Australia, and Louise and James had their heads glued together. Addie wished she was with Will. She risked a glance. He looked her way and smiled. She cheered up.
Addie was about to devour a scrumptious-looking crème brûlée when she heard a collective intake of male breaths. She looked up and was zapped by a massive jolt of electricity. Vee glided across the room wearing a long white wool coat with a fluffy faux fur collar. She shook a few flakes of snow from her head and her hair swirled around her face like a silky river. Jack jumped to his feet and kissed her on each cheek.
“Who’s that?” Graham asked.
“Will’s wife,” Tony said. “Met her once. French woman. Gorgeous. I thought they’d separated.”
Will stood and took the coat from Vee’s shoulders, then passed it to a waiter. Addie took comfort from the fact that Will’s face looked thunderous. When Vee’s gaze began to sweep the room, Addie picked up her wine and took a huge gulp. When she risked another glance, a chair had been placed between Will and Jack, and Vee sat smiling like a cartoon cat. Addie told herself not to look again. Instead, she stared at her dessert but couldn’t have eaten it to save her life.
“Don’t you want that, Addie?” Graham asked.
She pushed it toward him. Speaking was beyond her. It was a miracle she could breathe. Something else was going to happen, Addie could feel the inevitability of it. It was like watching a plane spiralling out of the sky, knowing she was powerless to do anything except watch the disaster unfold.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jack said, tapping a spoon against a glass. “Attention, please.”
Addie only half-listened as Jack thanked them for attending the training course, asked them to take the lessons they’d learned back to their part of the business and help it grow.
“Try not to spill too much blood tomorrow making sure your team comes out on top, because whilst winning is important, it isn’t everything,” Jack said.
“Yeah, right,” Tony whispered. “I’ll remin
d him of that at the next board meeting.”
As Jack spoke, waiters moved around the room pouring champagne. Jack made jokes and people laughed. Addie tried to pull herself together. This wasn’t the end of the world. Will hadn’t expected Vee to turn up.
“Do we all have some bubbly?” Jack asked. “Great. Now, apart from toasting our success as a company and welcoming the staff of Booth’s to our fold, we have something else to celebrate. Two people in this room are pretty soon going to be admitted into a special club. Will Mansell found out a week ago he’s going to be a father. So I’d like to make a toast. To fatherhood.” Jack raised his glass. “To Will and Vee and their future little bundle of joy.”
Oh, Addie was wrong. It was the end of the world.
As Vee flung her arms around Will and laughed, Addie was frozen in time while the world carried on around her. The pain flooding her body was so severe she was quite sure people could see her distress. She wanted to run, but although she’d stood for the toast with everyone else, her feet refused to move. She watched in amazement as her hand picked up the champagne and raised it in the air. Treacherous fingers brought the glass to her lips, but she didn’t drink. The liquid spat its bubbles onto her face, cheering her stupidity. Addie sank down.
“Why did the stupid twit get pregnant if they’re not together anymore?” Graham muttered.
For a moment, Addie liked him.
“Although, I wouldn’t mind giving her a root myself,” he added.
And the moment was over. Addie’s body might not have been capable of movement, but her mind tossed like a rudderless yacht. She had no energy left to do anything other than breathe and even that was an effort.
Around her, people began to leave their tables and congregate at the bar. Someone turned up the music. Louise and James went to dance under a swirling disco ball that peppered the room with light. Graham shot over to Genghis, and Tony disappeared. Addie sat alone at the table, struggling with the most terrible emptiness in her heart, wondering if there was any way to get a train or a bus home. And then she saw Vee walking toward her and knew it was too late to do anything.
Vee sat on Tony’s chair.
“Hi, Addie.”
Her voice sounded normal. Addie wasn’t sure she could manage that trick.
“Congratulations,” she said. Too squeaky. Damn.
“Thank you. We’re so excited.”
We. They were we. “How many weeks?” Addie gulped her wine.
“I think it’s seven.” Vee lowered her voice. “But to be honest, it could be less than two. We got a bit carried away after I came up from London.” She giggled. “I think Will was making up for not seeing me for a while.”
Addie had thought she lay at the bottom of the hole, but it turned out there was further to fall. The day she and Will had so much fun at Robin Hood’s Bay, the day Addie had lost her virginity, the day Will let her run from his bed, that same day he’d welcomed Vee into it. In everything else that had happened, it seemed the worst betrayal of all.
Vee leaned closer. “Will and I lost our first baby. I was in a car accident and the baby died.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Addie couldn’t take in what Vee was saying. Did Vee really expect her to feel sorry for her? Grief swamped Addie, huge waves pounding her down into the sand.
“Will blamed himself. It almost destroyed us. We’ve been through a rocky patch, but now we have another chance. Will was so thrilled last week when he found out I was pregnant.”
Addie shivered, her skin clammy with shock. She picked up her champagne with trembling fingers, drained the glass and looked at Tony’s untouched drink.
“Will’s always wanted lots of children.” Vee smiled. “I’m not too keen on the names he has in mind. I had to veto Indiana and Maverick.” She laughed, the shrill noise cutting Addie like a knife.
Addie had intended the alcohol to numb her, but instead she felt sick.
“I know I’m not supposed to mind what I have, but I’d love a boy. I want him to look just like Will. Don’t you think he’s good-looking? I bet everyone at work fancies him. Do you? Does Chloe? Which one is she?”
Vee still smiled. Predator’s teeth. Addie’s meal gave her a warning that it no longer wished to remain in her stomach. She swallowed hard.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need the loo.”
Addie got to her feet and knocked over her chair as she dashed from the table.
Will hadn’t thought he could feel much worse until he saw Vee with Addie. His first inclination was to rush over, and then he realized there was no point because Addie would never forgive him for this and he could never forgive Vee.
“Do something,” Ed said at his ear.
“What’s the point?”
“Addie’s the point. Do you want me to go over there?”
Will shook his head.
“Then sort it out,” Ed snapped.
Addie’s face had the pallor of someone who was going to throw up. Will felt the same way. As he neared the table, she bolted and he was left with Vee.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked.
Vee helped herself to champagne.
“You shouldn’t be drinking when you’re pregnant.” Will stopped himself moving the glass out of reach.
“A little champagne won’t hurt.”
Will clenched his fists, counted to five and took a deep breath. Nothing helped. He still boiled with rage. “What are you doing here?”
“Jack and I thought it would be a good idea to—”
“Jack? What does this have to do with Jack?”
“You know how fond he is of me.” Vee smiled. “I told Jack that I didn’t think you and Addie should be near each other when I wasn’t around. And don’t try to look innocent. I’m not that naïve. I saw the way she looked at you at the Christmas party with her stupid cow eyes. I saw the way you looked at her at her house. Anyway, you got off lightly. I could have made a big scene and accused her of stealing my husband.”
Will closed his eyes for a moment, hoping for a miracle. He didn’t get one. Vee hadn’t vanished in a puff of smoke. “You and I are not together anymore. How many more times do I have to say it? The divorce is back on track. Three weeks and the marriage is over. The baby changes nothing. I’ll support the two of you until you prove the child is mine, but I don’t want—”
“Shut up,” she shouted. “Just shut up.”
“I won’t shut up. How dare you do this? Letting Jack announce it like that. I won’t be manipulated—”
“The first of many.” Jack slapped Will on the back.
“That’s what I keep telling him,” Vee said, tucking her arm into Jack’s.
“Jack, do me a favour. Dance with Vee.”
Will walked away before either of them could protest, but found himself trapped in a whirlpool of affection as he crossed the room. People touched him on the arm, congratulated him and what was he supposed to say? Thank you? He could hardly blurt out the truth, that he wished the baby didn’t exist, that he didn’t even know if the child was his.
Addie’s happiness slipped through her fingers like water, and soon, every good thing about her life would be gone. She pushed open the door of the Ladies’ to find there was a line. She couldn’t even throw up in peace.
“Addie, I love your dress,” Phaedra said. “It’s beautiful.”
Addie nodded, she didn’t dare speak.
“Are you okay?” Phaedra looked at her with concern.
“Headache,” Addie muttered, torn between a desire to cry and the need to vomit.
The door opened behind them. Vee walked in and Addie could do neither.
“Congratulations,” someone called.
“Thank you. We’re so excited.”
Addie reached the head of the line and was moving toward the vacated cubicle when Vee swept forward and pushed her out of the way. “I’m desperate. It must be the baby. You don’t mind do you?” Vee slammed the door in her face.
Addie ha
d to be on her own. The remains of her dignity hung by the flimsiest of threads. She left the toilet, retrieved her jacket from the cloakroom and went outside.
The darkest part of the car park beckoned. Hoping for a crazy psycho killer to put her out of her misery, Addie struggled through the snow. Out of sight of the restaurant doors, she leaned over a wall and brought up everything she’d eaten. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she knew why her stomach was trying to kill her, she’d have been worried. She swept a handful of snow from the top of the wall into her mouth and then spat it out, kept going until her mouth was as numb as her toes. Pity the snow couldn’t numb her brain.
When her stomach stopped rebelling and the psycho killer failed to appear, Addie walked back into the cleared part of the parking area. The temperature had plummeted. She’d hoped to sneak onto the coach, but the doors were locked. She pulled on her gloves and kept walking to keep warm. The shock of snow melting on her bare toes made every step painful. Will loved her shoes. She loved Will. Oh God. She loved him. But he’d known Vee was pregnant and said nothing.
She was a fool. All dreams of a future with Will dissolved like the snow under her feet. There would be no her and Will going for meals together, no holding hands in the rain, no cuddling in the cinema. She’d never see his home in London. She’d never have his baby. Addie slumped against a car. He didn’t love her. She’d made excuses for him over and over again. She should have realized long ago what a mistake she was making, that she’d only clung to Will because he’d let her believe she was lovable. Now, she could see her mother had been right all along. She wasn’t loveable at all.
After her third circuit of the car park, Addie stopped by a red car and gave a short laugh. So that was how Vee had got to Shropshire. Lisa’s car. Why had Lisa done that? But a moment later, Addie sat behind the wheel having retrieved a spare key from a hidden magnetic box. Addie decided she’d wait in the car until the others started to come out and until then she’d think of nothing that might upset her.
Good plan, but everything upset her. Her world had imploded. She refused to cry. No way would blotchy cheeks and red eyes betray her. Her face nearly melted under the pressure of keeping the tears at bay.
Doing the Right Thing Page 28
