Just then a gong was sounded.
“Ah, we’ve to go to our seats! Good job, I’m starving!” bellowed Fenton.
“I might just powder my nose first – I’ll follow you in,” I said to Harry. “Make sure you keep me a seat!”
I fought my way against the crowd, heading for the ballroom and out to the ladies’. There really was a lot of style and I was glad I’d made such an effort.
Well done, Holly Green! I congratulated myself in the mirror. Now get out there and enjoy yourself.
When I returned to the corridor, it was empty save for one last tuxedoed man, striding away from me.
Oh my God, I would have recognised those shoulders anywhere.
“Mark?” I called.
He turned. My heart gave an inexplicable flip.
“You made it!”
Mark looked at me, still not saying anything, and then his mouth opened in shock.
“Holly? Is that you? Oh my God, you look amazing!”
“You don’t look too bad yourself!” I smiled as I deliberately sashayed towards him, the champagne having well and truly kicked in by now.
“Seriously, you look absolutely stunning.”
I blushed furiously underneath my make-up, but his reaction was exactly what I’d hoped for.
“Where’s Tara?” I asked.
“Eh, well,” he blushed, “I left her in Lady Hannah’s actually – she’s going to keep an eye on the mare while I’m here.”
Good old Tara.
I looked up at him from under my heavily mascara’d eyelashes and offered him my arm.
“Shall we?”
Chapter 50
It was fast turning into the best night out I’d had in a long, long time. The ballroom, like the lobby, was dripping with luxurious decorations and every cream-covered chair had a huge scarlet-and-gold bow on the back. Giant candlesticks bedecked every table and the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling glittered like a million tiny stars. Fenton and Marian were delightful company and I’d the pleasure of sitting with Marian on my right during dinner. We’d shared a giggle about how utterly impossible vets were and she’d let me in on quite a few of Mark’s secrets.
“Oh, he thinks he’s all macho and hard,” she winked at me, “but did he ever tell you about the time he fainted during a C-section?”
“Ah Marian, that’s not fair!” Mark objected loudly.
“You fainted!” I said in disbelief. “I find that very hard to believe.”
“Oh, he fainted alright,” Marian rolled her eyes, “and broke two instrument trays on his way down.”
“Tell her the full story!” Mark was mortified. “Tell her!”
“Oh yes,” she rolled her eyes, “he claims he was under the weather that day, some kind of virus, but then he would, wouldn’t he!”
I laughed again and turned back to my dessert. I shouldn’t eat another bite – my dress was tight enough as it was.
“Are you glad you came?” Mark whispered as I put the last mouthful of chocolate éclair into my mouth.
I nodded. “Absolutely, it’s just what the doctor ordered – they are such lovely people.”
“Yes, if slightly economical with the truth.” Mark was clearly still resentful about the fainting story.
“Oh, don’t worry! I’m sure it happens to loads of vets!” Before I realised what I was doing, I’d patted his knee to comfort him.
Our eyes met and it was as if the air suddenly became charged with electricity. I pulled my hand back quickly but our eyes never wavered.
With a boom, a loud-voiced man with a microphone shattered the moment.
“Ah! It’s the auction!” shouted Fenton.
“Now, Fenton, you are to keep your hands to yourself!” warned Marian.
I blushed, thinking I could have done with the same advice only seconds before.
Mark smiled as if reading my mind, and I smiled back before excusing myself from the table.
I paced the ladies’ in an attempt to pull myself together.
Holly Green, you behave!
After all, I was here to put all my muddles behind me, not to acquire some more. But whether it was excitement or the fact that my dress was crushing my ribcage, my heart was still hammering in my chest and I didn’t trust myself to return yet to the table.
“Holly?Whatever are you doing here?”
I froze, hoping I hadn’t been admonishing myself out loud. Turning, I saw Maureen Costello exit one of the cubicles.
“Oh, Maureen, hi, don’t you look wonderful!” I said, lamely trying to change the subject.
“Who are you here with?” She wasn’t for changing any subject.
“Mark’s boss put together a table, so he asked me to come.”
“Oh right.Gosh, they must have been stuck for numbers if he had to bring his baby-sitter!” she trilled.
I literally wanted to thump her.
“And what about your boyfriend, is he here too?”
Damn her, how did she know about Oliver? Then I remembered that morning at the Mother and Toddler Group.
“No,” I said, suddenly feeling all my earlier excitement start to drain away. “He’s away on business.”
“Oh, well, have a good evening. I have to say, you do scrub up rather well, though I am surprised at Mark, what with Emma not really being gone all that long.”
She left before I had a chance to answer her.
With a slightly subdued step I returned to the table.
“Hey, what’s up?” Mark looked at me, concern in his eyes.
“Oh nothing, I just met Maureen Costello in the toilet.”
“Oh dear, what did she say to you?”
“She said you must have been desperate to make up a table if you had to resort to bringing your baby-sitter to a ball,” I said dolefully, deciding to omit her last barbed comment.
Mark threw back his head in laughter. “Oh, Maureen never fails to disappoint!” He looked at me.“You’re not seriously letting that comment get to you, are you? You should have told her the truth, that you’re actually my live-in accountant!”
I smiled. “Oh, she’s probably a self-trained accountant with a PhD in vets’ finances.”
“Well, anyway, I was wondering if my baby-sitter would care to dance?”
I looked at him, for a second not knowing what to answer. I mean, it was a perfectly reasonable request. We were at a ball after all. But why then did I really feel I should say no?
He stood up and held out his hand.
“Please?”
I was definitely over-thinking this. I held up my hand and answered, “Yes, I’d be delighted.”
The minute I stood up, I knew all eyes were on us. I supposed that I shouldn’t care – after all, in a week I’d be gone from this tiny village and no one here would ever see me again. But I could feel the eyes of the entire table bore into my back as Mark led me onto the dance floor.
“Have I mortified you?” he asked as I made him take me almost to the far side of the room before I’d start dancing.
“A bit,” I smiled, “but I’m sure I’ll get over it.”
“Good,” he said, placing one hand on my bare back, making me shiver involuntarily. “You look amazing tonight, you know.”
“Thanks,” I said, suddenly unable to look at him.
“Don’t tell me you’ve gone all shy on me?”
I didn’t answer.
Mark put one finger under my chin and tilted my face upwards.
“Please don’t be,” he said. “I only enticed you out here because I really want to take this chance to thank you.”
“To thank me?”
“Yes, for everything you’ve done for me and my family.”
“Oh Mark, please, there is no way you should be thanking me. After all the lies and –”
He put his finger gently on my lips.
“Shhh, we’re not going to mention any of that tonight. All I want to say is that, thanks to you, my home is somewhere I don’t min
d coming back to any more. And I doubt you’ll ever know how much that means to me.”
“Oh Mark!” I looked up at the sincerity in his eyes, not really knowing what else to say.
“And just one last thing . . . about that boyfriend of yours . . .”
Now it was my turn to reach up and put a finger on his lips.
“Not tonight,” I said softly.
He nodded his agreement and I placed my head on his chest and we danced as if there was no one else in the room.
There was no escaping the fact that the mood between us had changed and I’m not sure which of us moved first but only seconds had passed before we were staring into each other’s eyes again.
Every fibre in my being was telling me to walk away, but I was frozen to the spot. As he reached down, I knew exactly what he was about to do, and I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to reach mine.
Instead, they brushed my neck andhe whispered in my ear, “Jesus Christ, Holly, I can’t do this here.”
I smiled and, taking him by the hand, led him from the dance floor, my legs shaking and my heart thumping in my chest. Within seconds we were in a secluded corridor in a passage that led off the ballroom and he had me in his arms.
“Mark, are you sure?” I managed, my breath coming in short gasps.
“Yes,” he said quietly, “I’ve been sure for weeks.”
And then Mark Fielding kissed me. And it was the most powerful kiss I’d ever experienced. The world seemed to spin around my head, and I forgot who I was, where I was, I forgot everything that didn’t matter.
All that mattered, at that exact moment, was how utterly right that kiss felt.
I reached up to hold his face, his strong jaw peppered with stubble. And we kissed for what seemed like forever.
And when we stopped, he engulfed me in an embrace that threatened to take away whatever breath I had left in my body.
“Oh Holly,” he whispered, “I’m sorry, but there was no way I couldn’t do that.”
“Well,” I smiled, “at least I can blame the champagne in the morning, but I reallydon’t know what your excuse is going to be.”
And with that he took a step back from me, his face white.
“So that’s what this is to you, is it? A drunken mistake?”
“Mark! That’s not what I said – that’s not what I meant!”
“Forget it,” he snapped and before I could say anything else he had turned and was striding away from me.
Chapter 51
I stood there for a minute, in total shock.
Still reeling from the effect of his kiss, I couldn’t believe that the spot where he’d been standing, only seconds ago, was empty.
What had I said that was so wrong? Surely he’d known I was joking? Could he really be that sensitive?
I started to make my way back to the table, dreading seeing him again. Would everyone know what had happened? I took a detour to the ladies’, swearing that if I happened to meet Maureen Costello again, I was going to sock her one before she got to open her mouth.
In the ladies, I tried to formulate what I was going to say to Mark back at the table. Would I even get a chance to talk to him with everyone around? Surely he had to let me explain.
Did I want to explain?
What was I doing running around after someone that bloody moody?
You have a boyfriend! I screeched to myself, but for some reason, the fact that Oliver existed somewhere in a parallel universe didn’t seem important. All I could remember was Mark’s kiss, and how utterly right it had felt. Even thinking about it now, despite its abrupt ending, still sent shockwaves through my body.
He had to let me explain.
I finally mustered up the courage to return to the table, but there was no sign of Mark.
“That bloody Lady Hannah!” Marian shook her head when she saw me. “Can you believe he had to go back?”
I looked from her to Harry. “He’s gone?”
Harry nodded. “You didn’t know?”
I shook my head. “No, I was in the ladies’.”
“Apparently Tara rang him when he was away from the table.”
Fucking Tara.
I sank down into my chair in despair.
Harry leaned close and whispered, “Okay, tell Uncle Harry what’s wrong.”
I shook my head again, looking at Marian and Fenton who were well within earshot.
“Okay, well, then, come and dance with me.”
“No, Harry, honestly, I’m not in the mood.”
“Then get that down you,” he plonked a glass of champagne in front of me, “and get in the mood, because we are going to dance all night long!”
And we did. To be fair to Harry, he could be pretty persuasive, and it helped that he knew Mark so well. Hebellowed with laughter when I told him what happened in the corridor.
“I cannot believe you kissed my brother,” he howled, practically holding his sides with merriment. “I mean, I can believe he kissed you alright, but what were you thinking! He’s a psychopath!”
“I know that now,” I admitted glumly, “but it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
He laughed again. “What I wouldn’t give to be at your breakfast table in the morning.”
“Oh Harry, that’s a great idea, please stay! I’m not going to be able to face him on my own.”
“Not a chance, my dear. Anyhow, he won’t show up – he’s probably going to have his head up a horse’s arse for months now, just so that he doesn’t have to face you!”
“Feel free to suggest that idea to him,” I muttered.
“Right, that’s it, too much chatting and not half enough drinking or dancing. I’m off to the bar – more champagne?”
I shook my head, I’d really had enough, but he vanished anyway. All I actually wanted to do was go home but there was no way I could leave yet.
Marian sat down beside me.
“Are you having a good night?” she asked.
I nodded. What else could I do?
“You’re disappointed he’s gone, aren’t you?” she said softly.
I stiffened but said nothing.
“Oh Holly, that’s only natural. You two seem to have become quite close.”
“No, honestly, I’m fine. We’re – we’re not that close really.” The memory of his kiss followed swiftly by that of his wrath came flooding back and for one awful moment I thought I might cry.
“Don’t think too badly of him, Holly. He works very hard. Too hard, Fenton says, but we’re terribly, terribly fond of him.”
I sat looking down, not really knowing what to say.
“I’ve embarrassed you now.” She patted my arm. “I’m not trying to interfere, my dear, but go easy on him. He has been through some terrible times.”
Thankfully at that moment Harry returned with another bottle of champagne.
Gratefully, I held out my glass.
We made a very wobbly pair when we arrived back at Meadowlands sometime after three in the morning. I’d eventually persuaded Harry to stay the night – in any case he was in no condition to even think about heading anywhere further afield.
Now that we were back at the house, the enormity of what had happened suddenly seemed very huge indeed. I sank down on the couch beside Harry.
“Oh cheer up!” he said, putting his arm around me. “It’ll all be fine, wait and see.”
“No, it won’t, Harry.” I shook my head. “Things will never be alright again. You don’t understand.”
“Oh, what’s there to understand? You were drunk, you kissed your boss. These things happen.”
“But why do they happen so often to me!” I wailed before bursting into tears.
He started to laugh. “It’s not your fault you’ve an addiction to men in authority!”
“But I think I really like him!” I said, covering my face with my hands.“I’ve tried to pretend I don’t, I’ve tried to ignore everything I feel about him and then, tonight, I actually thought he
might feel the same. But it’s all gone wrong and I don’teven know what I did!”
“You didn’t do anything. That’s Mark for you. Poor Emma was worn out trying to keep him happy.”
“Poor Emma obviously never did put a foot wrong in her life!” I moaned. “She definitely didn’t have theself-destruct button that I can’t seem to get my finger off.”
“Oh come here!” Harry pulled me in for a hug. “I’m just very proud that you can pronounce ‘self-destruct’ after the amount of drink we’ve just put away!”
I started to laugh, about to tell him that it had in fact been him that had drunk most of the champagne at the table, but then a voice behind us made me jump.
“So this is how it is now, is it?”
I swung around and looked over the back of the couch. It was Mark, still in his dinner shirt and suit trousers, looking like a madman.
“No!” I cried, struggling to get out from under Harry’s heavy, and almost lifeless, arm, “Harry was just –”
“I could see exactly what Harry was just doing,” he snarled, “and I don’t know why I’m surprised at either of you.”
“Oh Mark, put a sock in it,” Harry sighed without even turning around.“You had your chance and you blew it. Get over it.”
With a roar, Mark strode around the couch and I screamed.
“No! Mark, for God’s sake, he’s pulling your leg!” I sprang to my feet.
But Harry just slouched there, laughing. “Go on, big brother, you’ve been waiting to hit me all your life! Well, here’s your chance to get it out of your system. You’ll be hitting me for no reason, but sure that wouldn’t matter to you. You’ve been flying off the handle for no reason for years now.”
Mark’s face was white with fury. “I want you out of my house,” he said. “Now!”
“No problem, bro.” Harry stood up, “I was just seeing your nanny home safely, seeing as you abandoned her. I’m not sure why you even bothered coming out tonight – all those people, drinking, having fun – it must have nearly killed you.”
“Out. Now, Harry.” Mark was barely able to speak. Then he turned to me. “And, as for you, I think a good night’s sleep might be in order for you too.”
“Oh, leave her alone for God’s sake! What’s she done only have a bit of fun? Oh I forgot, fun is a crime in this house, isn’t it?”
Between You and Me Page 32