Breaking All the Rules

by Rachael Richey

  “Thank you for tonight,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry I spoilt everything.”

  Sam turned on the engine and smiled at her. “You didn’t. But something just wasn’t quite right tonight. We’ll do it again another time, when it will be right.”

  Kate fumbled with the seatbelt while she tried to imagine what he meant. She had to agree things had not been quite right between them. Firstly talking about Richard, and Sam suggesting she was having second thoughts, and then her faux pas of referring to the past.

  But what did he mean about doing it another time? As everyone kept pointing out, she was getting married in three weeks. They could hardly go on a romantic picnic together after she was married, so he must be suggesting they go on another date fairly soon. She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. Why would he even want to do that?

  Things really did seem to be getting more and more complicated, and for once there wasn’t really anyone she could discuss it with. Jenny must not know of her second date with Sam, and Jenny was really the only person she ever discussed things with.

  She opened her eyes and sneaked a look at Sam as he drove. And what had he meant about her not understanding—not knowing the whole story? Of course she did. She had been there. What else could there be? What had he been running away from other than the heartbreak they all knew about? She would have to try and get him to tell her.

  But not tonight.

  As they pulled up to the kerb outside the park gates, Sam turned to her with a chuckle. “Of course it all makes sense now why I had to pick you up here on Thursday. I did think that was a bit odd. Come on, I’ll walk you back across the field again.”

  Kate slid down onto the pavement and slammed the door behind her. “It’s all right. You don’t have to,” she said half-heartedly. “I’ll be okay on my own.”

  “Nonsense. I want to make sure you get home all right. Come on.” He reached out, caught her hand, and pulled her towards the park entrance.

  Desperately aware of his flesh touching hers, Kate stumbled along behind him, trying to make sense of his behaviour. She was fairly sure he liked her. In the same sort of way she was afraid she still liked him.

  But if so, he was taking the news of her engagement rather too well. Unless—she frowned as a thought occurred to her—unless he just wasn’t taking it seriously. Didn’t actually believe she’d go through with it.

  They had reached the wall that bordered the field, and Sam vaulted effortlessly onto it, holding out his hand to pull her up beside him.

  “I am going to marry Richard,” Kate said, as they watched the last rays of the setting sun disappear below the horizon.

  “Of course you are.”

  “No, really. I am. It’s all booked and paid for. It’s cost my dad a fortune.”

  “I know.” Sam jumped down into the field and waited for Kate to join him. He caught her hand again, and they set off through the long grass towards the houses.

  As they got closer, Kate found herself automatically slowing her pace so as to delay their separation. She really couldn’t imagine Sam wanting to make another date with her now he knew about Richard. And to be honest, she really shouldn’t be considering it herself. It would most definitely be wiser for her to stay well away from him until after the wedding. She corrected herself—and stay away from him after the wedding, too. The thought made her suddenly feel very depressed, and she slowed almost to a stop, pulling on Sam’s hand.

  He turned, and she saw his eyes gleam in the growing dark. “Are you okay, Katy?”

  Kate stopped walking altogether and stared up at him. “Yes. No. I don’t know. Not really. What do we do now?”

  Sam looked down at her quizzically. “Well, I shall go home to bed, and I suggest you do the same.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  He grinned at her. “I expect you’ll be pretty busy with the wedding for the next few weeks. Not much time for picnics.” He had moved very close to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “But you know where I am, if you have a spare evening.” He lowered his head and fastened his lips onto hers, this time lingering for a few seconds before pulling back and letting go of her. “See you soon.”

  With a wave, he turned and started back across the field towards the park, leaving Kate standing bemused and confused, her heart beating just a little faster than usual.

  Chapter 10

  Friday 10th July

  “I really don’t see why you have to go to Bristol for your Stag anyway.” Kate gripped her phone under her chin while she attempted to struggle into her dress. “What’s wrong with Exeter?”

  She listened for a moment and rolled her eyes. “Well, do you have to do what they say? It’s your Stag do. You should have an input.” She listened again and frowned in annoyance. “Well, no, Jen organised it all, but that’s not the point. You’ll probably end up chained to a lamppost, or on a container ship bound for the Antarctic, and you won’t get back till three weeks after the wedding. Anyway, I have to go now or I’ll be late. I just wish we could have seen each other this week. You must come over on Monday and tell me all about it. Well, all the stuff I won’t have already seen on Facebook, that is!”

  She rescued the phone from under her chin and pressed it close to her ear while she slid her shoes on. “What? Oh, great. So do I not get to see you again before the wedding? Honestly, Richard, this is too much. How long will you be in London?…The whole week! Great. Well, you’d better send me a picture, then, or I’ll forget what you look like. Got to go.”

  She disconnected the call and tossed the phone onto her bed. Really, it was too much. What was the point of her having a fiancé if he was never there? She had really needed to see him this week to reassure herself that she wasn’t having second thoughts, but he had been tied up the whole time.

  And now he was off on his Stag weekend—how come he got a weekend when she only got a night?—and then straight off to London for a big case for the whole of the next week.

  Kate picked up her bag and stomped downstairs. That would take it to just one week before the wedding. She really needed to see him before that. If only to confirm that the wedding was taking place. Which of course it was.

  “Just off now, Mum. See you later.” Kate pulled the front door open, hoping to escape outside before Helen responded. She was too late.

  “Where are you going tonight?”

  “Oh, just out with Jen. Haven’t seen her all week. Need a bit of a catch-up.”

  “That’s nice. Don’t be too late.”

  “Mum, I’m twenty-six! It’s not a school night, and I have a key.” Kate rolled her eyes dramatically. “Stop fussing.”

  “You may be all grown up and getting married,” Helen retorted, “but you’re still my baby. Now have fun.”

  With a smile and a wave, Kate disappeared through the door and out into the garden. The weather was still very warm, and she was pleased with her choice of clothing for the evening. She was wearing a brand new, bright red dress she had only bought that day. It had caught her eye in the window of the clothes shop opposite her work, and she had succumbed to its charms in her lunch hour. She knew she looked good in it, and set off down the street with a spring in her step.

  Since the picnic with Sam nearly a week ago, Kate had spent most of her time trying to put him out of her mind and concentrate on the wedding. The task had not been made easier by her not being able to see Richard at all, and now she had found she wouldn’t be seeing him again for another week. At least she was seeing Jen tonight. Maybe she should confess about her second date with Sam. But not about the kiss. That was too confusing.

  As she reached the centre of the village, she made sure she gave the Harlequin’s Arms a wide berth so as to lessen the chance of seeing Sam, and hurried on along the road towards the village’s only other pub, the very small Plough and Sickle. It was the pub most favoured by the older generation in the village, and normally she and Jen wouldn’t have spent the evening there. Howeve
r due to her present predicament with Sam, Kate had refused to go to the Harlequin’s, and since neither of them wanted to drive, it was the Plough or nothing. As she approached the main entrance, Kate saw Jenny hurrying along from the opposite direction.

  “Hi.” Jenny waved as she got closer, wobbling dangerously on her heels on the uneven pavement. “Sorry, running a bit late.”

  “It’s all right. I’ve only just got here.” Kate grinned. “I wasn’t early for once. Why are you wearing those shoes? No one’s going to see you.”

  “I can see me,” Jenny retorted, putting out a hand to steady herself against the wall. “I like these shoes, and I think I look good in them. We don’t always have to dress to please other people, you know.”

  “I know.” Kate laughed and pushed open the door of the pub. “But I bet you take them off to walk back home!”

  The interior of the pub was dark, with low-beamed ceilings and heavy wooden furniture. It was split into two bars, a tiny lounge that was carpeted with a worn, red, patterned Axminster, and a larger public bar equipped with a pool table and darts board. The latter was relatively full, mostly of middle-aged farmers, while the lounge was completely empty.

  Kate glanced back at Jenny. “Lounge, so we can talk?”

  Jenny nodded and stepped carefully over the raised wooden step. “Yeah, too noisy in the other one. What are you drinking?”

  “I’ll get these.” Kate was at the bar. “Wine?”

  “Okay, ta.” Jenny glanced around. “I’ll grab a table before they all go, shall I?” she asked with a chuckle, crossing the room in two steps and sliding behind a small corner table.

  Kate joined her with two glasses of white wine and a couple of packets of crisps, and sat down opposite. “There we go. Get stuck into that. Or did you want proper food?”

  Jenny shook her head. “No. I had dinner before I came out. The food’s pretty shit here anyway.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Kate opened her crisps and shoved a handful into her mouth. “That’s better.”

  “So, how’s your week been?” Jenny leaned back and surveyed Kate closely. “I feel you have something to tell me.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  “The way you were on the phone. You saw Sam again, didn’t you?”

  Kate shifted uneasily in her chair and took a long swig of wine. “Why would you think that? He knows I’m engaged now.”

  “I still think you saw him again. I know you too well.”

  “Bloody hell, not you as well.” Kate scowled in annoyance.

  “As well?”

  “Sam said that too.” Kate sighed. “Okay, yes, I saw him again on Saturday night.”

  “Kate! Why?”

  “I thought I owed it to him to explain about Richard, and try and explain why I didn’t tell him. I actually thought that was why he wanted to meet up.”

  “And it wasn’t?”

  “Well, sort of. He did want to know why I hadn’t told him, but…”

  Jenny raised her eyebrows. “But?” she prompted.

  “But he could have done that anywhere. Like the pub we went to on Thursday. I thought that’s where we were going, actually.”

  Jenny sighed in frustration. “Get to the point, Kate! Where did you go?”

  “He took me on a picnic. By a lovely river. And he’d made proper Italian pizza for me.” Kate glanced up. “It was kinda romantic. He didn’t need to do that.”

  Jenny sat back in her chair and whistled. “Phew! Kate you’ve got to stay away from him. Has he called you since?”

  Kate shook her head. “No. And I haven’t called him.”

  “Good! I should hope not. So it was a proper date, then? What did you talk about?”

  “He wanted to know about Richard and why I had agreed to go on a date with him when I was engaged.” Kate shrugged. “I said I wasn’t sure it was a date, and maybe it was more of a friend thing. Then I messed it all up and mentioned him going travelling without me.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything to mess up here, Kate.” Jenny frowned at her. “You can’t have a relationship with Sam. You’re getting married in two weeks.”

  “And one day.”

  “Don’t be pedantic! Why did that mess things up anyway? You knew why he went.”

  “I know. That was a bit weird, actually. He said I don’t know the whole story, but he wouldn’t tell me. I don’t know what he means. We were all there when it happened. What else could there be to know?”

  “No idea. But Kate, that really doesn’t matter. What matters is you went on a romantic date with Sam Somerville just three weeks before your wedding. And I can tell you want to go again.”

  “No, I don’t. He hasn’t asked me again. He knows I’m marrying Richard.”

  “But are you?” Jenny sounded genuinely worried. “Are you having second thoughts? If you have feelings for Sam, and not just high school crush feelings, then what about Richard? Do you still love him?”

  “Yes, of course I do.” Kate wriggled impatiently. “I love Richard. But I guess I do have feelings for Sam. Can I do that?”

  “No! Of course you can’t. You have to choose, and if you say you still love Richard, and the wedding is all organised and paid for, then I think you should marry him and keep well away from Sam.”

  “I know.” Kate sighed and stared out the window. “But he’d let me be an explorer. In fact he’d come with me. But I don’t even know if he likes me like that.” She bit her lip as she guiltily remembered the kiss, and realised she was actually quite sure how he felt about her. But maybe he just wanted to have a fling with her. He might not be a good long-term bet. Kate closed her eyes. What was she turning into? She was twenty-six and thinking like a fifty-year-old. She shouldn’t be worrying about a “long term bet,” she should be out having fun like Vicky. Why was she even marrying Richard in the first place?

  With a sudden movement, she picked up her wine and downed the lot. “Jen, I need your help.”

  “Of course, what is it?”

  “Major panic attack here. Why am I getting married? I’m too young to settle down. Why did I ever agree?”

  “Because you love Richard. You get on very well, and he loves you. Until Sam came back, you didn’t even question it.”

  “But maybe I should have done. Maybe Sam is just a catalyst to show me what a mistake I’m making. I’ve just realised how boring Richard is, remember? And now I’m worrying that I didn’t notice before because I was just as boring. What the hell am I going to do? The wedding is all paid for. I can’t let Mum and Dad down!”

  “Kate, you love Richard. You said you still love him You need to see him, talk to him, remind yourself why you’re marrying him.”

  “That’s easier said than done.” Kate pushed her chair back in frustration. “I haven’t seen him since the day of the fête, the day Sam came back, and I shan’t be seeing him for at least another week.”

  “Why? That’s a long time.”

  “He’s in Bristol this weekend for the Stag. That’s okay, I guess, but then on Monday he’s off to London for the whole week for some big case. I shan’t see him till this time next week, at the earliest. Jen, that will only be one week until the wedding. I need to see him before that. I’m forgetting what he’s like. I need to have sex with him.”

  “God, Kate! I don’t need to know that.”

  “No, that’s always been really good. I need to do that to remind myself of the good things about our relationship. We’ve always really clicked in bed.”

  Jenny wrinkled her nose. “As I said, I really don’t need, or want, to know that. But Kate, you can’t marry someone solely because they’re good in bed. That’s no basis for a relationship.”

  “Whose side are you on?” Kate stared at her desperately. “I thought you wanted me to marry him. Now you’re confusing me.”

  “Of course I want you to marry him, but only for the right reasons. You must marry him because you love him and want to spend the re
st of your life with him. Not because he’s a good shag!”

  Kate giggled. “I know. He is, though. But I think if we spend some time together and have sex, I’ll remember why I love him. That’s what I mean. I think I’ve only been looking at Sam because I haven’t actually had Richard here for so long. I know I love him, really. We get on very well.”

  “Okay.” Jenny looked at her doubtfully. “Well, find some way for that to happen, then, and quickly. You don’t have much time. Could you go and join him in London, maybe?”

  Kate nodded slowly. “Maybe. I’d just have to turn up, ’cause I know he’d tell me not to come. He gets so precious about his work, but I’m sure he must get some time off. If I took a couple of days off mid-week, I could go up and surprise him. It needn’t interfere with his work. We could just spend the evening together, but it would give me a chance to reconnect with him.”

  “That sounds like a good plan.” Jen nodded with approval. “You really do need to see him. Get this sorted once and for all. And for god’s sake, keep away from Sam.” She picked up the glasses and headed back to the bar for refills.

  “I will.” Kate sighed. She just wished she didn’t have to. She picked up her phone and logged onto Facebook. Richard and his friends should be out on the town in Bristol by now, and she wondered if they had posted any pictures. Maybe if she saw him having fun, that would reassure her. She scrolled down the page, and suddenly there was a picture of Richard, a top hat on his head adorned with the words “Future Slave” and with a large plastic ball and chain attached to his ankle. He was, thankfully, grinning widely, and his friends were all crowded around him. Clearly someone had thought to take a selfie stick, not something Kate would ever have associated with her fiancé.

  Jenny arrived back from the bar and deposited the drinks on the table, followed by some packets of peanuts.

  “Look, Jen, I found a pic of Richard at his Stag. They’ve dressed him up. He looks pretty happy, though.”