Her heart sank. ‘Connor! What are you doing here?’
‘Keegan wanted to come to the event. I could hardly keep her away when the wedding’s happening here. I need to see you. We need to have a proper talk about the situation …’
‘Shh.’ Lottie glanced around her. ‘I think we’ve said everything there is to be said about …’ She was going to say ‘about us’ but she changed it to: ‘about the situation. I don’t see why we need to meet face to face.’
‘I have to talk to you. Since we met again, I’ve been thinking about how things ended between us. There’s so much I left unsaid. I want to explain.’
‘Fine but what if I don’t want to hear it?’
‘I promise I won’t hassle you but can I come round tomorrow?’
‘It’s my day off,’ Lottie said then kicked herself for admitting it. ‘I’d planned to see Steph.’
‘I thought she worked in a school?’
‘She does but I was going later in the day …’
‘OK, I’ll come round mid-morning while Keegan has a trial appointment with the hairdresser,’ he said sharply. ‘I don’t have many opportunities to get away from her.’
Charming, thought Lottie, but realised he wouldn’t go away until he’d said his piece. ‘If you absolutely can’t tell me what you want to say now, I can spare ten minutes tomorrow.’
‘Thanks. I owe you.’ Connor placed his hand on her arm. ‘I’ll always regret causing you so much pain.’
‘Hello, you two!’
Connor snatched his hand away and sprang apart when Keegan appeared from behind them. ‘Discussing plans for the wedding, are you?’
Lottie’s mood had been completely dampened. She should have known the evening had been going too well … Keegan could hardly have failed to see Connor and her deep in intimate conversation.
While Lottie felt guilty and annoyed at being put in this position, Keegan seemed happy enough and slipped her arm through Connor’s. ‘Anything I should know about or are you planning a special surprise?’ she asked silkily.
‘If I was, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?’ Connor replied smoothly.
Keegan pouted. ‘I guess I’ll have to be patient then.’
Lottie had by now perfected The Smile so well that it set on her face like concrete every time Keegan materialised.
‘How are you enjoying the evening?’ she asked. ‘Have you been in the house yet?’
‘Yes, we have. We’ve just been on the tour. I kept wanting to tell everyone that we were having our wedding there.’
‘I don’t blame you. Even though I’m biased, I must admit it looks spectacular tonight.’
‘It does.’ Keegan studied her. ‘You know, Lottie, I’m not an easy woman to impress. I have very exacting standards.’
‘This is true,’ Connor said, smirking, and probably relieved not to have had more of a grilling from Keegan.
‘I expect a lot from people,’ Keegan droned on. ‘In work, in my relationships – and not everyone can live up to those standards.’
‘I’m glad we have so far,’ Lottie said, itching to escape.
‘Good job I did,’ Connor said with an edge to his tone that Lottie knew only too well.
‘Of course, you did, babe. You swept me off my feet.’
‘You said “no” the first time, if I recall,’ he muttered.
‘Well I had only known you a month.’ She gave him a little push on the arm. ‘A month! Can you believe it, Lottie?’
Lottie was speechless. She’d guessed the relationship had progressed fast, but a month from meeting to a proposal? Her tongue was paralysed but Connor managed to speak.
‘Keegan …’ Connor’s smile wobbled while Keegan was hurtling on like an unstoppable Aussie road train.
‘I rapidly found out,’ she said, ‘if Connor wants something, he won’t stop until he gets it.’
It was impossible for Lottie to maintain her game face when she remembered Connor’s own proposal to her the previous year. That’s how she’d felt: swept off her feet; blown away by Connor’s romantic gesture, the passion in his voice.
Lottie knew exactly how easy it had been to ignore the little warning voices in the face of Connor’s protestations of love and devotion. She felt foolish now – but should she be kinder to herself? She had been in love with him. She had believed he was in love with her.
He’d probably believed it himself until the cold light of day had dawned on him.
‘Keegan. It’s freezing,’ Connor said, his voice rising in desperation. ‘We should be getting home now. Mum’s expecting us to pop round tonight.’
He was clearly mortified and Lottie’s own brain was scrabbling for reasons to leave. Her fingers itched for the radio to crackle with an emergency. Even a minor blip would do: a blocked toilet, Wilf Carman’s coach tour kicking off after too much mulled wine. She had the distinct feeling that Keegan was marking her territory in terms of Connor – rather like Trevor.
‘We have plenty of time, yet, Connor,’ Keegan said, before addressing herself to Lottie. ‘Did you know Connor told me that he was scared about taking this new job in Australia?’ Keegan’s tinkly laugh was underpinned by steel. ‘He didn’t know anyone in Oz, but the opportunity was too good to miss and he’d never forgive himself if he ran away from a challenge.’
‘How lovely …’ Lottie heard herself saying. ‘How lovely …’ She was teetering on the edge of blurting out the truth. Of shouting ‘How lovely … Did you know Connor did the exact same thing to me? Did you know I believed him right up until the moment reality hit him and he changed his mind …? Do you know how excruciating it
