As he finished drying his hands he realised he’d left his jacket with Lottie. That was cool. It looked a lot better on her than it had on him, despite her compliments. Still buoyant, he walked back into the vestibule, intending to find Lottie as soon as possible.
‘Jayyyy …’
The foyer was empty – so where did the groan come from?
He soon found out. Steph was slumped on the padded bench at the back, under the stairs that led up to the bedrooms.
‘Jayyyy …’
She looked pale and her eyes were half-open. Jay’s heart sank. He crouched on the tiles and picked up her hand. ‘Steph, I’m here. Are you OK?’ Clearly, she wasn’t but he was hoping it was the champagne, not something more serious, that had caused her to collapse here.
She sparked into life. ‘I’m fine. I’m great. I’m wonderful!’ She tried to stand but stumbled, grabbing his arm to steady herself. ‘Have to go back to the ball. Cinderella needs me.’
‘Whoa, careful.’ He slipped his arm around her shoulders, now almost certain that she was only suffering from too much party spirit. ‘It might be better to sit down again,’ he said, gently, helping her back onto the bench.
She was clearly having trouble focusing on his face. ‘But Lottie will miss me.’
‘I can fetch her if you like?’
‘Yes. No.’ She put her finger on her lips. ‘Shhh.’ Her hand slipped and hung loosely by her side.
‘Will you be OK for just one minute while I find her?’ Jay slowly rose from the bench.
‘No! Don’t go.’ She grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
‘I really think I should find Lottie. I promise I won’t be more than a few moments.’
‘Mm. Okayyyy.’ Her word were slurred. ‘Ijustwannasay, has anyone ever told you you’re a lovely guy?’
‘Not often, no,’ Jay said and might have been amused under other circumstances. Knowing Steph’s medical history, he couldn’t help being concerned. Maybe she was on some medication?
‘Lottie thinks you’re luvverly. She thinks you are Kit Harry ton.’
‘Kit Harry …’ Jay was flummoxed. ‘I’m not sure I understand.’
‘Kitty Harington.’ Steph gave him a little push and tutted at his ignorance. ‘You know. It’s your hair, mainly and all your tools – choppers, stuff like that.’
‘Choppers?’ Jay was still completely confused.
‘The hot one from Throne of Games … Game of Stones … oh, sod it. Anyway …’ Steph poked her finger in his chest. ‘She really fancies you. You should snap her up … but she’s too scared to tell you how much.’
‘Too scared?’ Jay’s intrigue level was now off the scale, but he didn’t dare wait any longer to find Lottie.
‘Someone broke her heart. Bastard,’ Steph declared. ‘She deserves someone better. Someone lovely like you. You are a lovely man.’
‘Thanks. I’ll be back in a sec. You stay here and don’t move.’ Gently, Jay disentangled Steph’s fingers from his, his heart leaping at the prospect of Lottie fancying him although any comparison to Kit Harington was obviously a product of Steph’s drunken imagination.
‘Wait!’ Her fingers closed around his wrist and she gave him a dreamy look. Jay was worried she might slip into unconsciousness.
‘Lottie never shuts up about you now … Jay this, Jay that.’ Steph smiled then shook her head like a child. ‘It used to be all Connor. Connor, Connor. On and on about him.’ She wagged her finer. ‘Not now. Jay, Jay, Jay.’
Jay’s intrigue switched to confusion. ‘Connor?’
Steph pulled him close to her face. ‘You’re not like Connor,’ she whispered. ‘He’s a shit. I thought they’d get married one day but he dumped her. You woodendotha’. You’re a nice guy.’
Jay’s skin prickled with unease. Why would she say Lottie was obsessed with Connor? Was it simply the booze and meds talking or was there more to her relationship with Connor than a passing acquaintance and the wedding?
Steph rested her head on his shoulder. Jay tried to move but she’d flung her arms around him. Her head slid off his shoulder and onto his lap and she closed her eyes.
Jay sat there for a few seconds. Had Lottie been lying to him? The image of Connor, so perfectly at home in Lottie’s cottage, reared its head again. He saw it through new eyes and so many things dropped into place – none of them pleasant.
However, his suspicions had to wait. His only priority was to find Lottie and help her get Steph safely home to the Bothy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
‘OK, this is the final ticket. It’s a green one, number 23. Bumper box of Firholme biscuits!’ Lottie held the raffle ticket aloft and one of the Firholme security staff trotted forward to collect his prize.
Her work was done.
She stepped off the dais, eager to find Jay but even keener to track down Steph who she hadn’t seen for over half an hour. No matter what Steph had told her, Lottie felt bad about simply abandoning her sister, even if she was desperate to continue the delicious moment on the terrace with Jay.
The DJ had started up the music again, and she was halfway across the dance floor when Shayla met her, an anxious look on her face.
‘Lottie! Now, I don’t want you to worry.’
Lottie was instantly on the alert. ‘Worry about what?’
‘It’s Steph. I think it’s only the wine, but you’d better come all the same.’
Lottie let out a groan. ‘I should have warned her to go easy but I didn’t want to be a killjoy. She’s had such a rough time. I should have stayed with her.’
‘I’m sure she’ll be fine,’ Shayla said. ‘She’s with Jay.’
They hurried out of the ballroom, where everyone was bellowing out The Pogues’ ‘Fairy Tale of New York’.
‘Jay?’
‘He found her on the banquette in the vestibule and came to find you but he saw me first. There they are.’
Lottie ran over
