Nadia Knows Best (20 page)

“So you can move.” Laurie broke into a grin. “When I saw you there freeze-framed, I thought maybe you'd slipped a disc.”

“I was just thinking about something.” Leaning back on her heels, Nadia slowly rotated first one shoulder then the other.

“Where's that packet of Tylenol?”

“Actually, my back's loads better today, it hardly aches at all.”

“Not for you. For me.” Touching his head, Laurie winced. “Hangover.”

“Oh.” Stumbling to her feet, Nadia fetched her haversack, slung over the low wall, and dug out the Tylenol and a bottle of water.

Laurie swallowed the tablets, rinsed them down with the water, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Fancy a wedding on Saturday?”

Nadia felt as if she'd been plunged into a pool of ice-cold water. Her heart was clattering against her ribs.

“Meaning what?”

Not what she thought he meant, surely.

“I rang Nick Buckland last night. You remember Nick?”

Nadia nodded. Laurie and Nick had trained together to become stockbrokers and had remained good friends. With his average looks and ebullient character, Nick had always maintained that if he was ever going to land himself a gorgeous woman, he'd need to make a serious pile of cash.

“Is he still working at the same place?”

“Yep, and loving every minute. Doing brilliantly, by all accounts. And—can you believe it?—he's getting married on Saturday.”

“Good for him.” Nadia's cheeks reddened fractionally. “I always liked Nick.”

“Oh dear.” Laurie surveyed her with wicked amusement. “Did you think I was asking you to marry me on Saturday?”

Energetically unrolling the first strip of turf and patting it into line, Nadia said, “I could always wallop you with my level and make your headache worse.”

“OK.” Grinning, he held up his hands. “Anyway, last night was his bachelor party. Timing or what? When I rang him he was just setting off for the Alpha Bar, so he insisted I joined them. Did you wonder why you didn't see me last night, by the way?”

“No,” Nadia lied. “Get on with it.”

“Well, we met up and had a few drinks. Then we had a few more drinks. And after that, quite a lot more drinks.”

“Who's Nick marrying?”

“A girl called Sophie. I met her when she and her friends turned up around eleven. She's great,” said Laurie. “Tall, thin, pretty, and blonde, of course. Nick always had a thing about blondes.”

When Nadia had known him, Nick's chief ambition had been to land himself a girl with hair. Success, clearly, had bred choosiness.

“It was a fantastic night,” Laurie went on happily. “Well, apart from the hangover afterwards. They make a great couple. And they invited us along to the wedding. Nick sends his love, by the way. He can't wait to see you again.”

It would be nice to see Nick too. Nadia wondered if Laurie had been chatted up by any of the girls at the Alpha Bar last night. It was a glitzy, upmarket place whose female clientele weren't renowned for being shy.

“You'll have to wear a suit.”

“I'll grit my teeth and think of England. I do own a suit, you know.”

“You'll need to press it.”

“Oh well, I'll buy another one.” Laurie shrugged. “Don't worry, I won't embarrass you. I can look smart when I have to.”

Nadia knew Laurie would look jaw-droppingly stunning in a suit. He sent jaws dropping wherever he went, even when he was wearing his customary scruffy T-shirts and jeans.

“Was it busy at the Alpha Bar?”

“Heaving.”

“So you had a good time?”

Damn, he'd already told her he had. And now Laurie was giving her one of his looks. That was the trouble with old boyfriends; he knew her too well.

“You mean did I get flirted with and chatted up while I was there?”

“Just interested.”

“Was I flirted with and chatted up by girls who were far nicer to me than you are?”

Yes!

Nadia shrugged. “You don't have to tell me.”

“Of course I was flirted with.” Laurie rolled his eyes. “Of course I was chatted up.”

A wasp landed on Nadia's arm. Irritably, she flicked it away.

“But I'm not interested in being hit on by girls in bars,” said Laurie. “There's only one reason why I came back here. And you know what that is.”

“OK.” Out of the corner of her eye, Nadia saw Bart's portly figure moving about behind the French doors leading out onto the terrace. Hardly the moment for a romantic… um, moment. Pushing her hair back from her forehead, she said, “Bart's watching us. I think he's wondering why it's taken me forty minutes to lay three feet of turf.”

“But you'll come to Nick's wedding on Saturday?”

“Yes.” Nadia smiled; of course she'd go to Nick's wedding. “So what's this suit of yours like, then? Where did you get it?”

“God knows. Top Man, I think.” Laurie scratched his head. “Top Man-ee?”

“What?”

“No, that's not it. I remember now.” He winked at her. “Our Man-ee.”

Armani.

“Careful,” said Nadia. “Wouldn't want my sides to split.”

Together they began unrolling the lengths of turf. After a minute or two, Laurie said, “Speaking of Our Man…”

“Oh God, not more designer jokes.” Nadia let out a groan. “If I laugh any more, my head might fall off.”

“Actually, I was talking about our man Jay. Your boss.” Laurie tossed his head like Simon Cowell in a huff. “But now you've made fun of my joke, I'm not going to tell you.”

It was like being sixteen again. How many times, all those years ago, had he done this, safe in the knowledge that he was teasing the world's nosiest person?

Giving her impression of someone who really couldn't care less—it was a very poor impression—Nadia said, “Hmm? Tell me what?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“No really, you wouldn't be interested.”

“He's my boss. It's your duty to tell me.”

“Sorry.” Laurie nudged a bale of turf with his foot, unrolling it like a red carpet.

Nadia played her trump card. “I've got a worm here.”

“Really, it wasn't even that interesting.”

“A big old daddy worm, all twisty and squirming.”

“OK.” Laurie held up his hands in defeat. “It's just that I saw him at the Alpha Bar last night.”

Nadia dropped the worm. It wriggled away in relief.

“What was he doing there?” Her voice came out a bit higher than she'd planned.

“The usual.” Laurie was busy pressing the edges of the turf together to disguise the join. “Why do single men generally go to places like the Alpha Bar? Apart from me of course,” he added with a grin. “I only went along because Nick made me.”

Nadia was now unrolling turf at a rate of knots. It was completely irrational to feel betrayed, but somehow she did. Jay had done what he'd said he'd do and it felt like a kick in the gut.

“Who was he with?”

“On his own. Well, to begin with,” said Laurie. “The next time I looked he seemed to be getting on pretty well with a couple of girls.”

A couple!

“What were they like?”

“Ugly. A right couple of dogs.” Laurie kept a straight face.

“Really?”

“Duh, joke. Why would Jay waste time talking to dogs?”

“So what happened?”

“Haven't the foggiest. We left just after midnight, went on to the Alexander Club. Nick ended up dancing on one of the tables with a feather bra tied round his head.”

“Some things never change.” Nadia mentally resolved not to think about Jay; he was free to do whatever he liked, with however many women he liked.

“Pete got a photo of him.”

“Of…?” Who, Jay?

“Nick, with the bra wrapped round his head. He looked like a Spitfire pilot with feather goggles. Pete's planning to slip copies into every Order of Service booklet in the church. You can sleep with him if you want.”

Nadia thought she must have misheard. But from the way Laurie was waiting for a reaction, she knew she hadn't.

“Sleep with Pete? I don't even know him!”

“He's Nick's best man. He's good fun, you'd like him.” Laurie paused. “But that wasn't who I meant.”

Nadia swallowed. This was definitely a weird conversation to be having on a Tuesday morning. Not your run-of-the-mill chat about the weather at all.

The sun chose that moment to come out from behind the clouds, illuminating the greenness of Laurie's eyes and bouncing off his disheveled gold-blond hair.

“Jay Tiernan?” he said helpfully. “The chap you work for? The one you were on the verge of getting involved with when I came back and threw a wrench in the works?”

“Who told you that?” Nadia's fingers were tingling, a sure sign that she was breathing too fast.

“Oh, come on, I'm not stupid. I have eyes in my head.” With a brief smile Laurie added, “Plus, Clare may have mentioned it in passing.”

Sisters, who'd have them?

“But that's not—”

“She just filled in the details. I'd already guessed most of it. But now you're torn. You can't help wondering what you might be missing if you choose me. So find out,” said Laurie. “Sleep with him, then decide.”

“This is ridiculous.” Nadia shook her head. “You can't be serious.”

“If that's what it takes, I'm completely serious. Because if you don't, you'll never know. I think I'll win in the end.” Laurie broke into an unrepentant grin. “Sorry, I just do. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone who's always going to be wondering, deep down, if she made the right choice.”

Nadia was lost for words. Was Laurie mad? Or so super-confident that he simply didn't believe he could lose?

“And if I did this… this
thing
? What would you do if I decided I'd rather be with him than with you?”

Him. She couldn't even bring herself to say Jay's name.

“That's a risk I just have to take. But at least then we'd know.”

“I can't believe you want me to sleep with another man.”

“I don't
want
you to. I just know it's the only way, otherwise you'll never be able to decide.” Laurie waited. “That is, if he's still interested in you. After last night he may not be. You see, that's the thing about men like him, they don't exactly sit at home and mope. If it doesn't work out with one girl, they move on to the next. Still,” he added encouragingly, “you could always ask.”

Nadia was just thankful that Jay was attending an auction today. If he turned up now, Laurie was liable to ask him on her behalf.

Bart, flinging open the kitchen window, bellowed, “Kettle's on.”

“Shall I get on with this?” Laurie indicated the rolls of turf at his feet. “I could murder a mug of tea.”

Never mind tea, thought Nadia as she headed up the stone steps. I could murder a vodka and tonic.

Cal met up with Tilly at the school gates.

“Janice smiled at me in the corridor today.”

“That's nothing.” Tilly smirked. “She stopped me in the toilets at break and told me you're cute.”

Cal looked horrified. “Cute? That's terrible! How
dare
she call me cute? Yesterday she said I was cool! How can anybody be cool
and
cute?”

“Don't knock it. She fancies you.”

“Now you're starting to scare me.”

Daringly, Tilly said, “Don't you fancy Janice?”

“No, I do not.” Cal spoke with feeling as he slung his schoolbag over his bony shoulder. He paused. “So what are you up to now?”

“Me? Just waiting for Janice. I fancy her even if you don't.”

He broke into a grin that definitely managed to be cool and cute. “Want some help learning your lines?”

Thanks to Janice, word about Cal's attributes had evidently spread; girls streaming past them were glancing at him with renewed interest. Flushed with pride, Tilly said, “OK.”

Cal shook his head. “Sorry, not enough enthusiasm. Not nearly enough.”

“You mean you'd do that for me?” Clutching his arm, Tilly widened her eyes and gave him a look of incredulous delight. “Oh my God,
really
? That is
so
fantastic. Thank you, thank you, I can't believe this is happening to me!”

“Much better.” Cal's gaze was locked on hers, his amusement unconcealed. Two Year-10 girls going past nudged each other.

“That's him, the one Janice was going on about,” hissed the darker haired of the two.

“Hmm, she's right, you know. Definitely something about him.”

“See?” Tilly teased, when they were gone. “There's definitely something about you.”

Cal's eyes twinkled. “Has to be better than cute.”

***

The wedding ceremony was proceeding without a hitch. Beautiful blonde Sophie had arrived bang on time, her sleek ivory dress uncreased and her smile dazzling. Nick, paunchier than the last time Nadia had seen him, was looking uncharacteristically smart and had remembered to peel the price stickers off the soles of his new shoes for the kneeling bit. Everyone had sung along, more or less in tune, to the jolly hymns. Nobody had burst in at the crucial moment to object to the ceremony taking place.

Nadia marveled that outside, the rest of Clifton was carrying on as usual. It was one o'clock on a Saturday afternoon and people were shopping, drinking in bars, taking their children to the playground, and filling their cars with petrol. Yet here inside the church, Nick and Sophie were plighting their troth, promising to love and honor each other in sickness and in health until death did them part.

Extraordinary, thought Nadia, when so many marriages these days didn't even last as long as the guarantee on a washing machine. Gullible, that was the only word to describe people who got married and actually expected to live happily ever after. And it cost thousands to hold a wedding like this, talk about money down the drain, why
did
people bother?

“Stop sniffing,” Laurie murmured out of the corner of his mouth. “Oh no, not again,” he added, glancing at Nadia and passing her the handkerchief from his top pocket.

Cursing her inability to cry without sniffing—well, she
could
cry without sniffing, but her nose would run in a most unattractive manner—Nadia wiped her eyes and dabbed at her mascara. Why, why did this always have to happen to her?

“You big wuss,” Laurie whispered, squeezing her arm.

It was the triumph of hope over bitter experience, she knew that now. Combined with the look of naked adoration on Nick's ruddy face as he'd gazed into Sophie's eyes and slipped the platinum ring on her slender finger. It was the unwavering inner belief that, OK, other people's marriages might not work, but theirs would. When you loved each other this much, nothing could go wrong…

“You may kiss the bride,” proclaimed the vicar.

“Whmmph.” Nadia muffled the sob by burying her face in Laurie's hankie. She couldn't help it; Nick and Sophie were in love. Nick, normally so bawdy and cynical, looked as if he might be on the verge of tears himself. This was all he wanted in the world. Oh bugger, and now her mascara really was starting to run.

“We could do this.” Laurie's mouth was millimeters from her ear.

A shiver zipped down Nadia's spine. “Do what?”

“This. The whole church bit. All you have to do is say yes.”

Nadia gazed straight ahead at Nick and Sophie ecstatically kissing each other. She couldn't breathe.

“I want to marry you,” Laurie went on.

Talk about shameless, thought Nadia. He was taking advantage of her while she was in a vulnerable state.

“I mean it.” Laurie squeezed her hand. “You wouldn't regret it, I promise.”

The organ was striking up; Nick and Sophie were no longer kissing, just grinning idiotically at each other like a couple of… well, newlyweds.

That could be us, Nadia thought.

Aloud she said, “Have you ever thought about becoming a door-to-door salesman?”

When the service was over, the bride and groom led the exit from the church. The people in the front pews peeled off row by row, following them outside into the blazing sunshine. Nadia and Laurie, five pews back, left their seats when the time came and made their way down the aisle.

Nadia admired the posies of white rosebuds and stephanotis attached to the ends of each of the pews. Spotting a woman in an ornate orange hat the size of a satellite dish, she wondered how much it had cost—anything more than a fiver, basically, and the woman had been had. Oh, but there in the row behind her was someone with far better taste, a tall redhead wearing a knee-length old-gold silk jacket over a peachy-yellow dress of the same material. The colors were stunning together, complementing the girl's auburn hair perfectly, and her amber necklace exactly matched her shoes. Now that was the way to make a good impression on—

Oh,
good
grief
. As she'd been thinking nice things about the redhead's way with accessories, Nadia's attention had wandered idly to her companion. Now she faltered, utterly poleaxed to discover that it was Jay.

How? How could he be here?
How?

“What?” said Laurie.

“Nothing.”

The redhead was chattering away in a vivacious fashion. Next to her, Jay nodded and smiled as if agreeing with whatever she'd just said. Then his gaze shifted and came to rest on Nadia. He nodded again briefly, this time in acknowledgement, then carried on listening to the redhead at his side.

He'd spent the last hour sitting two pews behind her. No wonder he wasn't as shocked to see her as she was to see him. Nadia really hoped he hadn't heard her sobbing embarrassingly into her hankie.

Laurie, following her line of vision, said, “Hey, look who's here!” Grinning, he waved at Jay. “How did this happen? You didn't invite him along, did you?”

“Of course I didn't invite him.” Feeling hot all over, Nadia realized too late that Laurie had been teasing.

“Losing your sense of humor.” He gave her a playful nudge. “It's OK, I've figured it out. That's one of the girls he was with at the Alpha Bar the other night.”

Nadia's stomach did a clumsy double back-flip. “And?”

“Well, she must be one of Sophie's friends. She was out for her bachelorette party.”

***

The reception was being held at the Holborn Hotel, famed for its views over the suspension bridge. It was a really nice hotel, rather posh, quite grown-up.

Nadia, in contrast, wasn't feeling nice at all. What's more, she was having a hard time behaving like a grown-up. Everyone else was mingling in the hotel garden, drinking champagne and socializing in time-honored weddingy fashion. On the surface, this was what Nadia was doing too. But inwardly she longed to stick out her foot next time Redheaded Girl wandered past, and trip her up.

It wasn't logical, but it was happening anyway. She couldn't help it; Redheaded Girl was annoying her intensely. The way she threw back her head and laughed whenever Jay said something even remotely amusing. The way she kept picking invisible bits of fluff off the lapels of his jacket. And as for the way she ran her tongue over her lips before speaking, well, that was the most irritating mannerism of all. Talk about obvious. Any woman doing that porn-star-in-training thing with her tongue absolutely deserved to be tripped up.

“Nadia! Brilliant to see you again. You're looking fantastic!” Nadia found herself enveloped in a bear hug that quashed all the air out of her lungs. Nick had never known his own strength.

But he was right, Nadia thought with a trace of smugness; for once, she
was
looking fantastic. The dark blue spaghetti-strapped top Clare had bought last week went brilliantly with her own indigo-and-silver long floaty skirt from Monsoon. For once her hair had done as it was told. Miraculously, even her high-heeled sandals were comfortable enough for her not to be longing to kick them off.

She just hoped Nick wasn't the only person here who'd noticed how completely gorgeous she was looking today.

“You too,” Nadia told him. “And now you're married! I can't believe it.” Over Nick's sturdy shoulder she watched Jay refilling Redheaded Girl's glass. He was wearing a dark gray suit, a purply-blue shirt, and a tie that was—oops, quick, look away.

“You'll be next.” Beaming all over his face, Nick said, “When Laurie told me the two of you were back together—”

“We aren't back together,” Nadia interjected. Bloody hell, what had Laurie been telling him?

“I didn't say that.” Next to her, Laurie shook his head. “I didn't. I just said we were seeing each other again. In a purely platonic way. Until I can persuade Nadia to change her mind.”

“He did. Absolutely right.” Nick nodded vigorously. “That's what he told me. But you will change your mind, won't you?” He clutched Nadia's hands. “Give him another chance? I know he's an ugly bugger, but he's not so bad, deep down. Go on, give him the benefit of the doubt. If you two tie the knot we'll be able to have married-couples dinner parties like proper grown-ups. With matching cutlery, the works.”

“That's a great reason to get married.” Nadia nodded thoughtfully. “Thanks, I'll bear it in mind.”

Leaning in for another clumsy kiss, Nick whispered, “He really does love you, you know.”

This was definitely a case of the confetti talking. Under normal circumstances, Nick would be more likely to dance in
Swan
Lake
on stage at Covent Garden than discuss—yeeugh—
love
. He clearly wasn't himself today. Spotting Sophie's mother heading their way, Nadia said, “Your mother-in-law's coming over.”

“Jean!” Letting go of Nadia, Nick said cheerfully, “You won't believe this, but I actually like my mother-in-law. Weird or what?”