Chapter 11
11
Carole had no clue what her mischievous nieces were up to with those ridiculous moves on the dance floor, but the fact that Tom was indulging their whims with cheerful good humour warmed her to the man even more.
Lingering at the side of the room, she watched him twisting around as he followed her nieces’ outlandish instructions, happy to keep the pair of them entertained. It said something about a man that he had no qualms about allowing two little girls to have fun at his expense.
Her recent ex, Greg, would’ve had no time for such foolishness. If he’d been here with her today, she would’ve had to coax him up from his seat to dance with her, never mind with her nieces, and he would’ve looked miserable for the entire duration.
Dancing had never been Greg’s thing. The time she’d spent dancing with Tom so far tonight was a refreshing change after so long in a relationship with a man who, she’d discovered too late, was just a bit too staid and stuck in ways.
If she’d still been with Greg and he’d been here with her today, she wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun as she’d had so far with Tom.
And to think she’d only brought him here as a handy human shield against Steven Weaver.
“Hello, Carole.”
Surprised by the unexpected voice in her ear, she turned in dismay to find the cretin himself standing just behind her, grinning his annoying smug grin and clutching a wine glass in his hand. He looked a little worse for wear, as if he’d had more than his fair share of alcohol. His tie hung loose and his eyes looked glazed.
“I thought we’d never get a chance to catch up tonight,” Steven said. “So, how have you been, Carole?”
Terrific. Just when she most needed Tom, he was off being sweet and wonderful to her little nieces, while she was trapped here with Steven. Glancing across the dance floor, she tried to catch Tom’s eye, but between the other dancers pressing around him and the rhythmic demands made on him by her nieces, his attention was elsewhere.
“I’ve been fine, Steven.”
“Are you enjoying the wedding?”
“Yes, I am.”
Maybe responding with curt answers would get rid of him. Unfortunately, as Steven had clearly had far more to drink than she’d had, he failed to pick up on her cold and standoffish tone.
“So, what’s been going on with you since we last saw each other?” Steven asked with a broad smile.
Was he serious?
“You mean, since fifteen years ago when I caught you in bed with my friend?”
He at least had the good grace to look ashamed.
“I was an idiot back then, Carole,” he said, holding up his hands, the wine in his glass sloshing precariously. “I’m sorry about what happened. I just wanted to, you know, try and be friendly since we’re both here at this wedding.”
Carole had no idea if Steven was sorry or not. They’d never discussed what happened because she never saw him again after that dreadful night. She’d been too humiliated.
And now, well, it didn’t really matter, did it? His betrayal was so long ago, and she had no intention of letting all that drama from the past get in the way of having a great night at the wedding reception. She wasn’t about to stand here and trade barbed blows with a man who simply wasn’t worth the trouble.
“Look, you’re right,” she said. “You were an idiot back then, Steven, and the truth is I don’t really feel like catching up for old time’s sake. Can we just agree to keep out of each other’s way for the rest of the evening?”
His expression shifted from shame to something that looked like… regret?
“I just wanted to find out how you were, that’s all,” he said. “Nothing more, nothing less. I was just curious about what you’ve done with your life and whether you’re happy.”
Carole sighed. Okay, she could do this. She was a smart and mature woman who could certainly exchange a few polite words with someone she didn’t like, to avoid a scene and keep things civil.
“I’m pretty happy, Steven,” she said, her tone even. “I like my job, I just moved house, and things are looking good.”
“Oh, you moved house? That’s always a bit of an ordeal. Did it go all right?”
The way he latched onto this morsel, his expression full of empathy in an effort to connect with her, made her take pity on him. She wanted to kick herself for that, but innate decency had her responding once more.
“It went okay. It wasn’t a huge move, just from London to Hamblehurst, so things were relatively easy to coordinate.”
“Hamblehurst? What took you there?”
“My parents moved there a few years ago and I liked the town. So, where are you living these days?” she asked, keen to move the conversation away from herself.
“I’m near Maidstone. I just moved there six months ago. Things went south with the company I was working for and it was time for a fresh start somewhere new.”
The way he said it made it obvious there was more to this story and that Steven was hoping she’d ask for details. Carole had no intention of doing that. They’d traded enough small talk by now anyway, surely?
She was about to wrap things up and make her escape when Steven started talking again.
“I was working for a car dealership, you see,” he continued.
So, her earlier impression of him as a slippery car salesman had been bang on the money, then.
“The guy who owned the franchise was a bit of a walloper and didn’t like some of the deals I struck or the sales tactics I used. The dealership was up in the wilds of Norfolk, see. All a bit too slow for my tastes. When the manager decided he didn’t like me making shedloads of money for him, I decided to take my talents elsewhere.”
Steven laughed, but despite not seeing this guy in fifteen years, Carole detected the fabrications underpinning this story he was spinning. The shifty look in his eyes made her wonder whether he’d actually been sacked from the job, rather than chosen to leave.
This was, after all, a man she knew only two well had a track record of underhand behaviour, to put it mildly.
He was still talking, still rambling on with his bizarre account of the job he’d left and the new job he had now at another car dealership in Maidstone. Carole wondered why on earth she was still standing here listening to any of this.
“Listen, Steven?—”
“So, anyway, have you got any kids, Carole?”
The clumsy and unexpected question left her blinking in surprise. “Er, no. What about you?”
“God, no,” he said, as if the idea was ludicrous. “Not much of a fan of kids, to be honest. My second wife was all keen on having one, which was when I legged it out the door.”
Steven brayed with laughter. Carole could only stare. Had she really been engaged to this awful man? He was even worse than she remembered.
“Your second wife?” she found herself asking, unable to stop herself. “So, you’ve been married twice?”
“Three times, actually,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Married three times, divorced three times. I must be a glutton for punishment. You had a lucky escape when you caught me in bed with your pal, Carole.”
More guffawing. Carole was speechless. A minute ago, Steven had been telling her how sorry he was about what he’d done all those years ago. Now he was making jokes about it?
Still, he was right. She did have a lucky escape back then. Listening to him now, it was luckier than she could’ve ever imagined. If she hadn’t found out he was a two-timing sleazeball when she did, she would’ve almost certainly become yet another of his divorced ex-wives.
At least she was spared that mess.
Steven was still talking—nothing seemed to shut him up—but from the corner of her eye, Carole saw a very welcome sight indeed.
Tom, hurrying off the dance floor and heading straight in her direction.
Thank God.
Tom’s eyes swivelled towards Steven, who had his back to him, and then back to Carole. He wiggled his eyebrows as if to say, Do you need rescued?
Yes, I need rescued! she mentally replied. Hurry up!
In a flash, Tom arrived at her side.
“Carole, your nieces wore me out with their dance moves and…” He made a show of registering Steven beside her, as if he hadn’t realised he was there. “Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?”
“Not at all,” Carole said, ignoring Steven’s frown. “In fact, I was just about to get another drink at the bar.”
“I’ll come with you,” Tom said.
“Hope you have a nice night, Steven,” she said, already moving off. “Take care.”
For a moment, she thought he was about to latch on and follow them to the bar. But Steven’s date, Jilly, appeared at his side just then and said she wanted him to say a proper hello to her friend, the groom. Carole used the distraction to make good her escape.
“Bloody hell, Tom, it took you long you enough to realise I was in mortal jeopardy!” Carole laughed as they fled around the dance floor and out towards the bar. “You’re supposed to be my wedding wingman!”
“I’m know! I’m sorry! But you should probably blame your nieces. They kept insisting I try new dance moves and wouldn’t let me leave until I proved I’d learned them. Once I realised you were talking to Steven, I came over as fast as I could in case you needed rescuing.”
His exhausted face was testament to his ordeal on the dance floor, and Carole couldn’t help but be amused.
“I did need rescuing, although to be honest, listening to Steven talk was… interesting.”
Tom gave her a curious look. “Oh?”
She was about to tell him about the three ex-wives Steven had revealed, and the weird job situation he’d been rambling on about, but found she didn’t want to think about any of that for another second longer.
“Look, let’s just forget about him,” she said instead. “Come on, let’s get a drink.”
After talking to Steven, she needed it.