A chill ran down my spine. One man alone. Brooding and planning. But exactly what was he planning? And to whom was he planning to do it?
We were silent on the drive back to the hotel. Martine’s head was still in the clouds but I was sure Billy and I were thinking about the same thing. Boris. Well at least I was thinking about him most of the time. I did spend a minute admiring Billy’s profile in the gathering darkness. But apart from that, I was one hundred percent committed to the case.
Music tinkled on the night air as we climbed out of the buggy. We hurried into the hotel and down the hall to the restaurant. Sal waved at us as we entered the room, and then sauntered to Billy, linking her arm through his and leaning in to graze his cheek with her lips. I was sure the way she pushed her breasts against his arm was purely accidental.
‘Deep breaths,’ Martine said, taking my hand and leading me away from them. She had come out of her love coma just in time to stop me grabbing onto Salindra’s hair and wrenching her away from Billy. It was a good thing. Apart from the scene it would create, I was betting she could bitch slap with the best of them.
‘Chanel.’ Nat raised her arm and beckoned me over to where she was sitting with Elaine. ‘You look amazing.’ She pulled me down onto a spare seat next to her. ‘Where did you get that dress?’
‘Tall Poppies,’ Martine said, taking the next seat.
I glanced over at Billy in time to see Sal giggle at something he had said. I knew the act was necessary, but did she have to be so convincing?
‘I love that shop.’ Elaine took a sip from her champagne flute.
Of course that took me to the question I had been trying to avoid – was Sal still acting? Or had Billy and her relationship progressed to something more than work colleagues?
‘I’m going back there tomorrow,’ Martine said. ‘Do you want to come?’
There had been a lot of running together, and Sal looked amazing in her running gear. And then there was the way they were gazing at each other. Could you fake that level of intensity?
‘Oh yes.’ Elaine clapped her hands together. ‘We can get something for the hen’s party.’
They looked right together. Two glowing, beautiful specimens of Homo Sapiens. Misery set up camp in my gut.
‘Chanel?’ Martine nudged me. ‘What do you think?’
‘Champagne.’ I turned to look at her.
‘No silly.’ She let out a laugh. ‘We’re all going shopping tomorrow.’
‘Oh right. Will Tara come?’
‘Tara’s not so hot on the whole shopping thing.’ Nat picked up a spare flute, filled it from a bottle in an ice bucket and handed it to me. ‘But she’ll come for the company.’
I nodded my head as I took the glass from her. After that afternoon it was even more imperative that I stuck with Tara when she was out of the hotel. Things were going to be easier though with Alex’s back-up in place. ‘We’ve got the practice ceremony in the afternoon haven’t we?’
Elaine nodded. ‘So we can go after breakfast.’
Tara’s Mum, Bet, pulled a seat out and perched on the edge of it. ‘Mind if I join you?’
Nat leant over and kissed her. ‘You look wonderful.’
Bet pulled a face. ‘I’m feeling a little frazzled.’
‘Wedding dramas?’ Elaine emptied the last of the champagne into Bet’s glass and then tipped the bottle upside down into the ice bucket.
Bet nodded, took a slurp and let out a sigh. ‘Aunt Esme turned up this morning.’
‘Urrrr,’ Nat said, ‘I didn’t think you invited her.’
Bet sniffed. ‘I didn’t. After the way she treated Tara with the whole Tash and Jake thing, there was no way I was inviting her.’
Jake. The name sounded familiar. I managed to wrench my mind away from Sal and Billy to concentrate on it. Of course. Jake had been Tara’s ex-husband, but I had no idea who Tash was.
‘It’s most weird, I tell you.’ The voice was old and cranky and, if the way Bet sank further into her chair was any indication, I was guessing it belonged to Aunt Esme. ‘All these people I’ve never even heard of.’
‘Well Aunt Esme, I do have a few friends you’ve never met.’ Polite frustration filled Tara’s voice.
‘I should go and save her,’ Bet said, ‘but I’ve put up with the old bat all day.’
I saw Tara’s Dad, Bert, duck behind a pole as Tara and Aunt Esme headed his way.
Aunt Esme let out a snort. ‘It’s not right I tell you.’
‘Oh look,’ Tara said, ‘there’s Dad.’
Bet looked over her shoulder at her husband and gave him a cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes and stepped out from behind the pole.
‘Well,’ Bet said looking back at us. ‘That should keep her busy for a while. He’s been hiding from her all day.’ She looked at me and said, ‘Speaking of hiding, where’s your funny, little friend?’
‘He had a wardrobe drama.’ I looked at my watch. ‘But he’ll be here soon.’
Bet tutted. ‘Must be hard getting clothes to fit him.’
‘Oh no.’ I smiled broadly. ‘He shops in the kid’s section of Target. They have a range for obese children.’
‘I didn’t know that,’ Bet said.
I nodded and took a sip of my drink. ‘Yep, means he can get the width he needs with the short leg length.’
Martine let out a giggle. ‘Although some of the prints he has to wear are questionable.’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I thought the cartoon, zoo-themed shirt was adorable.’
Elaine’s husband, Alistair appeared by her side and replaced the finished bottle of bubbly with a new one. ‘Hey gorgeous,’ she murmured.
He leant down and kissed her, their lips lingering on each other’s in a way that promised things to come. He pulled away and touched his nose to hers before saying, ‘I rang Mum.’
‘Oh, how are they?’ She placed her hand on his arm and stared up into his eyes.
‘Misbehaving as usual.’ His lips quirked up. ‘Leo pushed Lydia into the fish pond. Again.’
Elaine’s face broke into a radiant smile as she shook her head. ‘He’s so naughty. What are we going to do with him?’
Alistair laughed and said, ‘I suggest two weeks locked in his room without rations.’
‘And who,’ she replied, ‘is going to whip your butt at Mario Brothers?’
I turned to Nat and said, ‘Their children?’
She nodded as she pushed waves of honey-blonde hair back behind her shoulder. ‘The twins turn three next month.’
‘What about you and Ricardo?’ I looked over to where her God-like husband stood at the bar. As I watched, Alistair re-joined him.
‘We’re waiting for him to finish his latest fellowship at the end of the year.’ Nat shook her head. ‘I mean how many letters does one person need after their name?’
Elaine leaned into her. ‘He needs it if he’s going to lecture internationally.’
‘I know, I know.’ Nat blew at a piece of hair that refused to stay with the others. ‘But these ovaries aren’t getting any younger.’
‘You’re born to be a mother.’ Bet patted Nat on the hand. ‘And well, if it doesn’t happen for you, we can always get you another animal from the shelter.’
Nat rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t you think a three-legged cat and a dog that thinks it’s a three-legged cat is enough?’
‘Plenty more where they came from,’ Elaine said.
Martine picked up the fresh bottle of champagne and topped up our glasses. ‘I was saying to Chanel I can’t believe there are two neurosurgeons in your group.’
‘Almost three.’ Nat looked over to where Dinah and her girlfriend Gloria were talking to Matt, Billy and Sal. ‘All going well, Gloria should graduate at the end of next year.’
‘You’re kidding?’ I slumped back into my chair. Good Lord. Gloria didn’t look that much older than me and she was going to be a neurosurgeon. What had I been doing with my life?
‘She’s a
freak,’ Elaine said. ‘One of those high I.Q. kids that finished school a couple of years early.’ The look of pride on her face belied her words.
‘Like Doogie Houser,’ Martine said.
Nat let out a laugh. ‘Don’t let her hear you say that.’
I only meant to look at Gloria I swear, but of course with her standing so close to Billy and all that, well I couldn’t help it if my stupid eyes decided to check him out as well. And well, my brain had to agree with my eyes that he was well worth the effort of checking out.
The rolled sleeves of his black, button-up shirt showed off his strong brown forearms, and the width of it spoke of back muscles you could really dig your fingers into. He had that I-shaved-yesterday look that enhanced his bad-boy aura. And his buttery-brown eyes…well, need I say any more? I could drown in Billy’s eyes.
‘And then,’ Sal said, slipping one of her arms through his, ‘he asked me to marry him.’
Billy did a remarkable job of keeping a straight face. I was probably the only person who noted the miniscule bulging of his eyes, although it did look like Matt was struggling to control a smile.
‘But I said I think we should wait a little longer. To make sure it was really what we wanted.’ She put her other hand on his chest as she spun into him, staring into his eyes. ‘But now I’m starting to think I should have just said yes.’ The look she gave him made my stomach flutter in an oh-wow-that-cliff-is-really-high way.
The restaurant door opened and a couple came in and looked around as if to make sure they were in the right place. The man was tall with sandy-blond hair and a sprinkling of freckles on his face. The woman was shorter. She had a peaches-and-cream complexion and her long brown hair was pulled back into a bun. Wisps of hair floated around her face.
Neither of them looked like Russian assassins but you can never be sure. I reached for my handbag as I looked over at Billy.
‘Oh my God.’ Tara let out an excited shriek. ‘I can’t believe you’re here.’ She rushed to the entry and threw her arms around them. Then she dragged them towards Matt.
So not Russian assassins. I relaxed back onto my seat.
‘Jesse.’ Matt clasped the man’s hand and pulled him into a hug. ‘And Tahlia.’ He hugged her and then held her out at arm’s length to study her. ‘You look more beautiful every time I see you.’
‘Show me, show me.’ Tara bounced up and down on the balls of her feet till Tahlia held out her left hand. She grabbed Tahlia’s hand with both of hers and stared at the rings on her fourth finger. ‘They’re beautiful.’ She reached a hand over and punched Jesse in the arm. ‘About time you made an honest woman of her, but did you really have to elope?’
Tahlia laughed and, in an English accent said, ‘It’s not his fault. I’ve been on assignment in the Middle East. It was either that or not get married at all.’
‘Pfffff.’ Tara let out a laugh. ‘You got off lightly. You didn’t have to try and organise a wedding with Juliette.’ She rolled her eyes and smiled at Jesse as if softening the blow of her words.
‘Who’s Juliette?’ I whispered to Bet.
She sighed. ‘Jesse’s mum.’ She cocked her head to the side and looked me. ‘You know that Jesse is Jake’s twin?’
Eeeeek. That was possibly something I should have known if I was good enough friends with Tara to be her bridesmaid.
‘Chanel’s been overseas since she and Tara went to university together,’ Elaine said. ‘She never really met Jake.’
‘Ahhh.’ Bet nodded her head. ‘Although,’ she reached out a hand and touched my face, ‘you do look very young dear. Are you like Doggy House as well?’
Nat let out a laugh. ‘It’s Doogie Houser.’
‘And no.’ Martine said. ‘Doogie didn’t use Botox the way Chanel does. She practically drinks it.’
‘You can drink it?’ Bet swung her head, looking between the four of us.
‘She means I use it all the time,’ I said. ‘That’s why my skin looks good. I can barely move a muscle. Look.’ I grimaced so that just the corners of my mouth pulled sideways. ‘That’s my smile.’
Bet threw her head back and laughed. ‘I don’t know about that. I’ve seen you smile better than that at Billy. But he does seem to be fairly well taken.’ She looked over at Sal who was admiring Tahlia’s engagement ring. ‘Although I get the feeling he’s not as in to her as she is to him.’
Geez Louise. This conversation was like a mine field.
‘Oh no,’ I shook my head. ‘Billy’s my brother.’ I twitched my hand towards my face. If I kept this up, my nose was going to be ginormous.
‘Really?’ She looked between him and me. ‘Huh. I so missed that one. I really thought there was a bucket load of unrequited love there. I mean the way he looked at you the other night….’ She drained her glass, shook her head and stood up. ‘Time I go rescue poor Bert.’
Bert wore a harried look as Aunt Esme waved her finger in front of his face. He definitely looked like he needed rescuing but I wanted to call Bet back to ask her what she meant. What look? What night?
Two other women detached themselves from a group and rushed over to Jesse and Tahlia.
‘Gina.’ Jesse picked the smaller, strawberry-blonde woman up and spun her around before turning to the older woman. ‘Mrs King.’ He pulled her into a hug.
‘Jesse,’ she said, ‘how many times have I told you to call me Rebecca?’
He pulled a face. ‘Old habits die hard.’
‘John is over there.’ She gestured back toward the group she had been in. ‘You must come and say hello. It’s been far too long. Now, are you going to introduce me to your new wife or not?’
He laughed and started the introductions.
It was all so happy and normal and suddenly I felt like a farce. I was here under false pretences, but I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be the one hanging off Billy’s arm, admiring engagement rings and meeting the family. I wanted to be the one gazing into his eyes and getting all loved-up on the pre-marital energy.
Martine’s eyes were full of sympathy when I looked back at her. She picked up the bottle and topped up my glass. ‘How’re you doing?’
‘Might just go check the perimeter.’ I stood up and headed for the door to the pool. I wanted to make sure Alex’s men were in place.
I pushed through the door out into the pool area. The warm, breathless air was a tangible weight on my skin. Tonight, I was happy to be inside with the air-conditioning on.
The lighting from the hotel lit the near side of the pool, but the far side was in shadow. A person standing still in those shadows would be hard to see. I was hoping at least two men stood there, and I was hoping they were ours.
I walked to the near edge of the pool and stared out to sea. A cluster of lights from moored boats twinkled in the darkness.
The door behind me creaked shut and I turned to see Billy walking towards me.
‘Be still my beating heart,’ I muttered.
‘What was that?’ He stopped a couple of feet from me.
‘How are you doing in there? Things seem pretty intense.’ I didn’t know if it was a good idea to stand that close to him with alcohol swirling through my veins. The barricades holding in my emotions weren’t good at the best of times.
‘Yeah.’ He scrubbed at his hair with a hand and looked out at the lights. ‘Look, there’s something I need to tell you.’
Nausea flooded me. Oh God. Something had happened between them. They weren’t acting any more. Those looks they’d been exchanging? They were real.
‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘You don’t need to tell me.’ There was a very good chance I would throw up in the pool if I had to listen to the words come out of his mouth.
‘But I do.’ He took a step towards me and grabbed one of my hands. ‘Chanel. Look at me.’
I stared at my feet for a moment longer, then I bit my lip and lifted my eyes to his.
I had lost him.
Without even a fight.
‘What is it?’ I whispered.
He took a deep breath. ‘I should have told you this in the beginning.’
So it had been going on for longer then. Probably since the first day they’d met. A wave of raw pain washed over me. I’d been so stupid to think he could ever be mine.
‘It’s just that….’
‘Billy.’ Sal stuck her head out the door. ‘Quick. You’ve got to come and tell Jesse about how we met rock climbing in Mongolia.’
‘Mongolia?’ I said.
He shrugged. ‘I let her write our cover story. It turns out she’s got an over-active imagination.’
She wasn’t the only one. My mind was going crazy conjuring up pictures of what the two of them had been up to over the last few days.
‘Billy,’ she called again.
‘You’d better go,’ I said, ‘before she has a conniption.’
‘A conniption?’ He barked out a laugh. ‘Make a note of the word conniption,’ he said in a booming voice. ‘I like it. I want to use it more often in conversation.’
I snorted. ‘Let me guess. Monty Python?’
He shook his head. ‘Black Adder. When this is all over you and I are going to spend a day doing nothing but watching Black Adder.’
I could think of things I’d rather spend all day doing with him, but with Sal in his life now they weren’t even worth thinking about.
‘Billy.’ She sounded exasperated as she stepped outside and held a hand out to him.
‘You’d better go,’ I repeated, my heart squeezing painfully within my chest.
He stared at me for a moment longer and then nodded his head before turning and walking back towards Salindra.
How did he get his dress pants to fit perfectly while also revealing how amazing his buttock muscles were? It just wasn’t fair.
I let out a sigh and turned back to the ocean. Time to check out the far corner of the pool area. With those shadows, it was the perfect spot to cry.
I had a pretty good sniffle going when a shadow broke away from under a palm and said, ‘There you are.’
‘Eeeeeeek,’ I screeched as I skittered backwards.
Two Weddings and a Fugitive (The Chanel Series Book 4) Page 14