‘I don’t know what I’d do if Steph had done what Ben has. Not an actual fight, but …’ She shrugged. ‘Who knows? Come on, let’s see this photo.’
Scrolling through his messages, he found the latest picture he’d saved. It was of Sebastian on his own, and Jay had felt it was somehow wrong to delete it. He was propped up, gurgling at the camera, clutching a toy brick. Even seeing it again made his stomach tighten, but he also felt he wanted to share it with Lottie. She seemed to understand how he felt, and yet, she wasn’t connected with his family.
He handed her the phone. ‘Oh, he’s gorgeous. What a smile.’
‘Yes, he has Nadia’s eyes and dark hair …’ Jay said, thinking of the way he’d fallen instantly for Nadia when he’d met her at a rugby club dinner. She’d been on the committee and had known Ben even then. Perhaps, she even liked him that far back. He shook off the what-ifs that he’d gone over and over in his head.
‘Her dad is Jordanian,’ he went on, deciding not to say how hard he’d fallen for Nadia, how captivated by her he’d been … He’d gone on enough about his ex. ‘The smile is Ben’s though. He used to get away with murder with Mum and Dad – or anyone – with that smile.’
Jay took a gulp of his beer before realising that it wouldn’t make an ounce of difference to how he felt – even if it had had alcohol in it anyway. ‘He’s a bonny baby. I don’t hold anything against him – he’s innocent.’
Lottie put the phone on the table. ‘He’s your nephew,’ she said. ‘Like you told the twins earlier today.’
‘Yes … that’s the first time I’ve ever described Seb like that. I guess it’s a step forward to acknowledge it.’ He smiled. ‘But enough of my family dramas. How are you getting on with this last-minute wedding?’
‘Oh, it’s OK.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve had worse.’
Jay thought she didn’t sound very convinced although Lottie seemed to take the events management in her stride generally, and he’d only heard great things about her organisational ability.
Lottie started to tell him some stories about weddings and events she’d organised and the time flew by until it was almost closing time.
It felt strange, but not in a bad way, to think that she would walk into the house next door to him after their night out. He’d thoroughly enjoyed the evening, from the excitement on the twins’ faces when he delivered the tree, to the pleasure of Lottie’s company. She’d had him laughing out loud at some of her tales.
‘Thanks, I enjoyed tonight,’ he said on her doorstep.
‘Me too.’
He dithered, unsure what to say next or whether to ask her in for coffee. In the end he couldn’t think of any way of phrasing the invitation that didn’t sound as if coffee wasn’t the only thing on offer. ‘See you around?’ he offered.
Lottie laughed. ‘You can hardly avoid it.’
‘Oh yes. I mean … see you around, but not at Firholme again?’
‘Yes …’ She hesitated. ‘You’ll come to the ball, then? We do need to know pretty much straightaway. It’s a full sit-down Christmas meal, you see.’
The smile on her face alone was worth him saying ‘yes’ to the invitation.
However, before he could say any more, her phone pinged and she glanced at it. Her smile vanished instantly. ‘Sorry, I have to go,’ she murmured.
‘Anything wrong?’ Jay said.
She shook her head. ‘No. No. Only the usual stuff to do with this secret wedding. Nothing I can’t handle. See you at the Edwardian evening meeting tomorrow. I’d better get some sleep. Early start in the morning.’
‘Yes,’ Jay said and Lottie left, without pressing him on the ball invitation again.
He stood in the hall for a few moments after closing the door behind her. The text and her reaction to it had bothered him. It was late to receive a text about work business but he guessed that working with bridal couples could be intense. Whatever the message, it had ended her bubbly mood in an instant.
Chapter Fifteen
On Monday morning, Lottie joined Jay, Shayla, Lukasz, and a number of the other key staff for a final meeting about the Edwardian-themed event on the Thursday evening. She was still buzzing about the night out with Jay, but to say that families were complex was an understatement. They came in as many different shapes and sizes as the moods of the lake. She really liked Jay, and thought they were growing close, but he was carrying a lot of baggage.
It could well be a burden too far for her unless he had a change of heart over Ben and his ex … Lottie suspected he hadn’t got over her yet and wondered if that was the real source of his anger and hurt – was he still in love with Nadia?
At the same time, she’d had a lovely time, and thought he was much more relaxed. Then Connor’s mysterious text had floored her.
It had read:
Have to see you. DON’T call me, text.
C
The last person she expected to hear from was Connor – and especially in such a bizarre way. She was at a loss as to what he could have to say to her that Keegan couldn’t hear. Unless, of course, he was planning a surprise for his bride, like the fireworks Keegan had ordered for him?
That must be it, although a phone call to the office or an email to her work address would have done the trick.
Should she ignore it completely? No, that wasn’t an option, she reminded herself, he was her client and it would be unprofessional to let her personal feelings get in the way of the job.
Ha, she thought to herself, realising she’d already done that. She had to respond soon – but how? Putting it to the back of her mind, she focused her attention on the meeting. She was
