Something Borrowed (14 page)

He had a cool edge to him that was cross and angry, but she didn’t think it was with her as he pressed the glass to her mouth and tipped. ‘Now, drink some more. A big gulp. That’s it, and another one. That’ll make you feel better.’

The wine slipped down very easily, fresh and cooling. And hell, she needed it. ‘That bad, eh?’

He grinned, his hand still resting loosely on her neck as she drank. ‘No, not at all. No one really noticed World War Three starting in the middle of the dance floor between you and my feckless cousin and his sappy girlfriend.’

‘Now you’re just outright lying.’ She couldn’t help but smile. He had a way of making things feel better. No, actually, of making her feel better. ‘It was hardly a world war, just a little… er… disagreement.’

‘Okay, if you say so. But let’s just say the wedding-that-never-was is the main topic of conversation at the wedding-that-currently-is.’ His smile was gentle, but he removed his arm and leant against the railings. His smile fell as he looked at her. ‘It’ll blow over, Chloe. Don’t worry.’

There was a cool breeze where his arm had been, and she missed his heat already. Craved it. There was something strange going on here inside her, something that longed to feel his touch on her skin. And more. There was a heat inside her, too, that only ever flickered into life when she was with him. But, right now, there were more pressing matters. ‘Don’t worry? My client hates me. Amy hates me. My ex hates me—’

‘That’s not what he was saying to me.’ Vaughn looked at her and she couldn’t read what he was thinking.

‘Which was…? Come on? What did you say to Jason? Rather, what did he say to you? No. Don’t answer that. He’s your cousin; you probably have a secret Bro code or something.’

‘Why do you want to know?’ Vaughn took a noticeable step back. ‘Do you still love him? After everything he did to you?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Amy said you were jealous.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. Seriously? What does she know? She hasn’t ever asked me how I feel. But for the record, I’m not. Jealous, that is.’ Not about Jason, but maybe about the baby. Yes, about the baby. Chloe’s ears went pink and her cheeks blazed—talking about this personal stuff with Vaughn was plain embarrassing. He’d been there, after all, at her most humiliating moment. And again now, at her second most humiliating moment. Maybe it was him? Maybe he was the humiliation catalyst? ‘I just want to make sure that Jason has left the building.’

‘I can confirm that he has.’

‘Good. Good riddance.’ She had to get the words out somehow because if she didn’t, they would sit in her gut and rot. ‘You know she’s pregnant? Amy?’

Vaughn nodded, looking grim. ‘I do. And I’m sorry.’

Chloe raised her chin. ‘It’s fine.’

‘It isn’t.’

Her heart squeezed; there was no point in lying to him when he could clearly read her mind. ‘No, it isn’t. But it will be. I’m just a bit shocked. It was supposed to me, you know. That baby—it was supposed to be ours. One day, anyway. We had plans, at least, I did. He had plans too, just not the same ones as me, obviously. I do want a baby, at some point, and now Amy’s got that too.’

‘Oh, Chloe. Come here.’ Vaughn wrapped her into a hug and held her there for a few minutes. Just held her. No words, no soothing noises or empty phrases. Just his warmth around her. As she breathed in his scent, she felt the strength in his arms and matched her breathing to his. It felt amazing just to have someone hold her after such a long time. To feel as if someone cared.

She’d read somewhere that a hug of more than twenty seconds had actual real medically proven healing properties, so she made sure to hang on to him for a few seconds longer, just to test out the hypothesis.

And, for the record, she certainly felt a whole lot better being wrapped up in Vaughn Bloody Brooks than she had before.

She looked up at him, and noticed the little lines around his dark eyes as he smiled, the hair that was supposed to be neat and now wasn’t, and the smart dark suit that did not make him look like every male movie star ever. It made him look much more unapproachable and sexier and just more beautiful.

And it all made her feel a little off balance. Because Jason was his cousin, but Vaughn had been the one defending her. And that made her feel a little sad because she didn’t want to get in between two cousins. Cousins were family, and the one thing she knew more than anything else was that family should always stick together.

Then she felt a little bump in her heart at the thought of her mum in bed, feeling sick because she’d lied. And the anger still deep in Chloe’s gut about the lie. And the fact she’d lied to her mum and to Jenna about money. And it was all out of love and a desire to protect family from hurt.

All in all, families were very confusing.

He’s Jason’s family.

‘Thanks for that.’ Feeling much better and a little guilty, she wriggled out of his arms and dredged up a smile. ‘I’m fine. Really.’

‘I know you are. You are more than fine, Chloe Cassidy.’ Vaughn tapped her gently on the nose, then settled against the rail again. ‘And he isn’t. I told him he was an idiot to make a scene, and that he was making a fool of himself and you. Then I hailed a cab and sent them both packing. He shouldn’t have even come tonight.’

‘He was drunk.’

‘He’s got a very poor track record of making decent decisions.’

‘Too right.’ Exhibit A, m’lord:
Searching4U
. ‘Well, he’s ruined it for me tonight. No one’s going to book
Something Borrowed
for a wedding after that, and I doubt Jane’s going to recommend me to anyone anytime soon.’

Vaughn’s eyes softened, and on such a big, masculine man, it looked… well, it looked adorable. Who’d have thought the bouquet-battered best man could look like this? ‘Forget it. Screw them all, Chloe. There are other people who will book you.’

‘Please explain that to the bank when they come knocking at my door.’

‘It won’t get to that. You have plenty of things you can fall back on. Haven’t you?’

The Inland Revenue job she hated? But there it was, she had people relying on her, so she had to do what she had to do if it came to winding up the business. ‘I just wish I didn’t have to. Bloody Jason. Again. I should have just ignored him, or told him to piss off. Why is it only afterwards that you think of things you should have said and done?’

‘Trust me on this. You can’t change the past. You can only move forward.’ Vaughn tipped his drink at her in a kind of salute, nudging her gently forwards. ‘Think of ways to do that and don’t focus on Jason.’

‘Believe me, it’s not like I want to, but he was so entwined in my life for so long. Ten years, over a third of my life. And he keeps turning up and reminding me all over again.’ But she had been focusing too much on her past, and Vaughn was right; it was definitely time to strategise a future rather than looking behind her all the time at the bad bits and the things that went wrong. Like her mum and dad, and the Jilting.

Then she thought about the bad Collini review and Vaughn’s lost loved one and wondered how far forward he could move, too, when things kept getting sticky and too hard to push past. ‘I can certainly go into damage limitation mode. But it sounds as if Jane was only tolerating me because we’d already arranged so much before my wedding and I was in too deep for her to extricate herself. I’m not sure she’ll be overly keen to let me use her photos now.’

‘So? You have your own. And here… I’ve taken a few too, so we can pool resources. There’s bound to be something you can use out of this lot.’ He reached for his phone and showed her some very arty-looking close-ups of the flowers and the costumes and the venue, with a filter that made them look retro and vintage and chic and exactly the kind of look she was aiming for.

‘Wow, you’re really good at this.’

One side of his mouth tipped up in a smile, and she got the feeling people didn’t pay him compliments very often. Which was a crime! The world needed to see that smile more often. ‘It’s just something I picked up. My… er…’ He looked out across the water. ‘Someone I used to know was a photographer.’

‘Well, you learnt well. And thank you.’ She was intrigued by the sad smile, but he had a sort of hands-off look about him that told her this topic was clearly not up for discussion.

For a few moments, they stood in silence staring out over the river, the evening breeze fluttering around them. Tugboats sloped by, bars emptied and filled, people carried on their busy Saturday night lives. Inside the museum, the DJ had started to play some 80s tunes and the dance floor creaked with jumping bodies. Out here on the balcony, it was quiet and peaceful and for once Chloe didn’t feel the need to speak to fill the silence.

Eventually, Vaughn turned to her, edging a little closer. Once again his scent washed over her, tugging at her heart and her gut and the deeper parts of her. He glanced at the door. ‘You want to dance?’

She didn’t want to break this precious moment of solidarity. Or to call it anything other than that, even though she suspected there were things happening inside her that were so much more than solidarity with Vaughn. ‘Dance? In there? With that lot? No thanks. Is it wrong of me to want to grasp some peace out here just a little while longer?’

‘No. Do exactly what you want. What do you want, Chloe?’

Lots and lots of things and so many of them seemed to involve him—-kissing him, for example. That was at the forefront of her mind right this second. Running her tongue over his lips. Inhaling him. Tasting him. All the things she shouldn’t be doing or thinking about when she was at work. All the things she’d missed these past three months; just being held, a forehead kiss, Mind-blowing sex.

Just being held.

Spending time with someone who made your heart sing, who
got
you in a way that no one else did. Who you were excited to see. All the things that would be on her list of reasons to avoid Vaughn—the man who couldn’t commit because of something, or someone, that happened to him years ago, and that had taught him to steer clear of complications.

Never mind the fact that despite what she hoped in her heart of hearts, maybe there really was a Cassidy curse, because so far she’d been pretty unlucky where men were concerned.

But for once, she was going to go with her gut and decide what she wanted to do and just put it out to the universe. ‘Actually, I’d like to dance out here.’

‘Then that’s what you’ll do, madam.’ And even though the music was an up tempo, bass boom-boom beat, he reached for her waist and pulled her closer.

Not close enough… there was a distance that he still maintained, not just in the outstretch of his hand that held her apart, but it was all around him, worn like an aura. It was who he was, and she was okay with that. He had no pretences or agenda. She couldn’t imagine him having an affair or keeping a dating website profile when he was in a committed relationship.

But she did wonder if he ever let anyone truly in. And again her mind trailed to the Lost One and who she’d been and how much he had really lost—all of his heart or just a part of it? All of his hope? A good part of his future? Because she knew that once you’d truly loved someone, then a part of you goes when they do.

She looked up at him. ‘Thank you, Vaughn. Thank you for the photos and the support and for this. It’s good to know I have at least one…
friend
?’

‘I may live to regret this, but yes. You do. I’d like us to be friends.’ An eyebrow rose. ‘God knows what I’m letting myself in for. And remind me to keep well back from the bouquet throwing and table arrangements in there. I know what you’re like around flowers.’

‘You’re safe. For now,’ although, she didn’t feel very safe at all. Dancing with him was a wild step into the unknown, and she felt as if the ground was shifting and she was losing her footing. She reached a hand to his shoulder and one to his waist, steadying herself, feeling his heat through the expensive linen. Feeling the honed muscles under her fingertips, making her breath hitch a little in her chest.

Because friends didn’t act like this. Did they?

They moved slowly side to side, each single step to a double beat of music. It was out of time and out of sync but seemed to perfectly match their tune. And it felt totally natural to talk to him as they moved. ‘I also wanted to say that clearly Collini doesn’t know anything about food.’

‘Actually, he does.’ Vaughn shrugged at the admission as if he were giving up something huge by saying those words. ‘But he liked the food, right? To be honest, he was right about the service. And if I want to shoot myself in the foot, I have to admit that Laura was right too. Even you suggested I was being a jerk by changing things on a daily basis.’

‘I never said that. Jerk wasn’t a term I actually said out loud.’
Oops.
‘Was it?’

‘No. You didn’t have to.’ His thumb smoothed over the back of her hand in mesmerising strokes, and she wondered if he even realised. The gentle rhythmic movement stoked something hot inside her, making her legs shake a little. He didn’t seem to notice that either as he kept right on holding her. ‘That’s not to say you were right. But if three people are telling me something, I do need to sit up and take notice. I’m big enough to accept when I’m possibly, just a teeny bit… mistaken.’

She dug her fingers underneath his ribs and laughed as he squirmed away. ‘Wrong, you mean? I think you’ll find the word is
wrong
. Go on, say it. I bet you can’t. You can’t say the words,
I’m wrong
.’

He opened and closed his mouth a few times like a goldfish, frowning and laughing at the same time. Then he shook his head. ‘No. No, I can’t.’ He laughed again, eyes dancing before his forehead rested lightly against hers, the gap between them closing just a fraction. His voice softened to almost a whisper. ‘And don’t push it, Chloe Cassidy. There’s a line you’re about to cross.’

‘A line? Why?’ Her heart hammered at the shift in atmosphere. It felt as if static electricity twitched between them—urgent and bright and shocking. She lifted her head and looked up into those gunmetal eyes. She saw a lot of heat there, underwritten by something she’d never noticed before… unease? Guarding. Something that held that distance between them. ‘What will you do if I cross it?’