25
Heath
There was no way Heath wanted to go to a singles night with his secret girlfriend, not that he was entirely sure what Rhett felt she was to him. He wanted her to be so much more, but taking things as slowly as she wanted, or needed, was for the best. It shouldn’t matter too much, seeing how long he’d waited for her to notice him again, but it did matter. It bugged the life out of him. If there was one thing he hated, it was feeling unstable, and Rhett brought out all his insecurities.
He fiddled with the top button on his midnight-blue shirt, unsure if to go for the fastened look.
Why am I even bothering?
It was only supposed to be a fun night out, raising some money for the Sandly Choir, so why he was making such a fuss about his appearance was beyond him. It wasn’t as if he was going out to find a date, not that he’d ever had one of those nights, but still. Something felt off.
He spritzed on some cologne, told himself to get a grip, then headed off to meet the others signed up for a promised night of fun and games.
Rhett had told him she’d meet him there, which he thought daft at the time but couldn’t be bothered to debate. He jumped in his truck and drove the short distance to Pepper River Inn by himself. It was a muggy night, and the last thing he wanted was to turn up with armpit sweat and flushed cheeks. He’d made the effort to shine, so shine he would.
Whoa! There are a lot of people here.
On first glance, the dining hall in the hotel looked to be hosting a wedding. White streamers draped from the ceiling, pink and red roses sat on tables, silver bows were tied around chairs, and pop music was muffled by the lively buzz. Heath wasn’t sure if someone was having their wedding reception at the same time as the fundraiser. The one thing he was sure of was just how stunning Rhett looked in a short green dress.
Looks like Florence got her hands on her.
He smiled to himself, then stopped to frown at the man taking Rhett’s attention.
Who’s that?
It really wasn’t fair that Heath couldn’t go over to the DJ, borrow his microphone, and tell the room Rhett was his partner.
I could, but she’d kill me.
The thought made him laugh. He decided to leave her to her conversation, figuring mingling would do her confidence some good. But before heading to the bar, he telepathically sent her a message telling her not to just talk about horses with the fella, as he knew she would.
Ned waggled over a bottle of lager, which Heath took happily.
‘Hey, Ned. I want to run something by you. I’m fixing up Rhett’s house. Turning it into a BB. It’ll be nice for horse lovers, but what with you owning this hotel, well, I—’
Ned chuckled. ‘Mate, it’s all good. Please don’t worry about us. People stay wherever suits them. I’m sure you won’t be taking our guests. Yours is about horses, ours is more for the river and nature walks. Let me know when you want to advertise. You can leave some leaflets at our reception.’
Heath clinked bottles with him. ‘Thanks, Ned.’ Heat was already creeping up his neck, and as if reading his mind, or feeling the warmth too, Ned told him he would open the side doors to let in the night air, not that there was a breeze.
The DJ interrupted the chatter, introducing the host for the evening. A robust woman in her thirties, with bright red lips and blonde hair. She told the singles to get ready for the meet-and-greet, which was basically a two-minute chat before switching to the next person to their right.
The women sat at the tables, with the overflow lining up, waiting their turn. Each person had a clipboard and pen, ready to mark each other out of ten in a list of areas such as personality, charm, first impression, and so on.
Heath felt rude already. What if he didn’t take to someone? Should he be honest and mark them low?
The host, Caroline, reminded them it was just some light-hearted entertainment and to relax and have fun.
As soon as the buzzer went, making Heath jump, the woman opposite him beamed his way, took some notes he couldn’t see, then wasted the first thirty-seconds staring at his muscular arms.
‘Hi. I’m Heath. Do you live on the island?’ was all he could think to say.
A Yorkshire accent came his way. ‘I’m on holiday. Saw this on a noticeboard. Thought it looked like fun. Plus, I’m single.’
‘Would you live here?’
And I asked that why?
‘No. Island life’s not for me.’
Heath desperately wanted to draw a line through her name on his clipboard but felt too rude to write anything in front of her. She seemed nice enough, but they weren’t a match, and as he’d promised to play the game properly, she was on the big fat nope list.
He tried to disguise his relieved exhale as the buzzer went again, telling him to move to the next table. Scribbling something quickly about lady number one, who didn’t give her name, he sat down.
‘Oh, it’s just me,’ said Florence, flapping her pen his way. ‘That last man asked me out already. He was so sure of himself. I bet he asks everyone.’
‘You’re pretty, Florence. That’s probably why.’
She tapped his clipboard with her own. ‘Quick, let’s tick some boxes while it’s us. I’m expecting full marks from you.’
Heath laughed and gave her all tens. ‘Is this cheating?’
‘Who cares! At least we know we’ll have some tens.’
‘Seriously, Florence?’ Heath leaned closer, drawing her in. ‘Trust me, you’ll get loads of tens.’
She shook her head as her nose wrinkled in disagreement. ‘Men only wanted me when they thought I was someone rich. Once they find out I’m jobless and practically homeless, they won’t want to take me out.’
‘The right man will love you no matter what.’
Florence raised one shoulder to her cheek. ‘I’m happy on my own. I only agreed to do this to get Rhett here. I wanted her to match with you, as I’m not as stupid as I look. But I know now you two are together. I’ve seen you snuggling when you thought no one was around.’ She glanced down the tables to Rhett. ‘She’ll talk once she’s ready.’
Heath just hoped it was sooner rather than later.
The buzzer went again, and he gave Florence a reassuring smile before heading off.
Once again, he found himself with someone staring at his biceps, and he wished he’d worn a long-sleeve shirt. Florence was the only woman who had spoken to his face instead of his body, and he was starting to get annoyed with being gawped at, rather than spoken to. He tried so hard to engage and create small talk with each woman he faced, but he wasn’t having much luck. They kept asking the same questions, which focused a lot on his looks.
Deflated and slightly bored, Heath didn’t realise he sat at Rhett’s table until he plonked himself down in a huff.
She bit her lip and laughed. ‘You okay?’
‘No. I hate it here.’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘There are some women on a hen night. Pretty sure they think I’m about to rip my shirt off and whip out the baby oil. Don’t laugh. It’s so annoying. I keep getting asked about my muscles. One lady said she liked my bum. If I’d said that, I would’ve been kicked out for sexual harassment or something.’
Rhett tilted her head, glancing at his seat. ‘You do have a nice bum.’
‘Can we go home now? I’ll show you my bum.’
‘Wait, let me write that down.’ She scribbled away on her clipboard, bringing the first smile to his face since sitting with Florence.
‘Are you having any fun?’
‘It’s okay. One man asked me out, but I spoke to the lady next to me, and he asked her too. I think he’s asking everyone. Ooh, there was one man who owns horses. I liked him.’
Heath laughed. ‘Good to know.’
Rhett grinned.
The buzzer went, Heath swore under his breath, then moved on, with Rhett waving him away. At least she was taking it all in her stride, so that gave him some comfort, except for horse man. He could bugger off. Heath glanced around, wondering who the fella was.
Considering it was only two minutes with each person, it certainly dragged on for Heath. He was glad when it was over. Not so much when Caroline announced the next round was about to start.
Oh, what now?
Food tasting. So not too bad, in his opinion. He hadn’t eaten anything before venturing out, so he could do with a snack or two. All he had to do was taste the food laid out, mark each dish out of ten, and job done. He had no idea what that had to do with the price of wood, but free food was never to be sniffed at, so he dived straight in with no complaints.
The last task involved a slow dance, which Heath deemed stupid, but in for a penny. There weren’t many things that made Rhett’s eyes come alive, so he figured the man she was dancing with was the horse dude. Had to be. She was jabbering away as though in a happy comfort zone. He was a good-looking man as well. All charm and fancy gold watch. Just like Dennis.
The lady in Heath’s arms sang along to the song whilst slowly stroking one hand over his shoulder. He widened his eyes at her, thinking the gesture might be the hint she needed, but nope. The bride-to-be was acting as though it were her wedding, and Heath was the groom. She hiccupped in his face, failed to apologise, then somehow managed to slide down his leg to sit in a drunk slump at his feet until Ned came along to carry her away.
Rhett slipping into his empty arms brought him back into the game. ‘You’re my last dance tonight,’ she whispered close to his ear.
‘Better make it a ten then.’ He lightly nudged the side of her cheek with his nose as he pulled back.
‘I’m so surprised that I actually enjoyed tonight. It’s been such a laugh.’
Heath scrunched his nose. ‘Not sure about that. How about next time, we go see a film and have some dinner?’
‘Erm, you can’t just ask me out like that. You have to wait and see if we match.’
He tugged her closer to his body, not caring if anyone noticed. ‘It’s a bit daft, don’t you think? Whatever happened to opposites attract? They wouldn’t stand a chance here.’
‘I wish I could kiss you right now.’
‘Good subject change. Just do it. Give them something to talk about.’ He leaned closer, hopeful in every sense.
‘No. We need to talk to Willow first.’
Heath pulled back, knowing the plan. He huffed to himself as the dance came to an end, and Caroline asked for the clipboards to be filled out and handed over to one of her team members.
Finally!
He decided to head to the bar whilst his fate was being decided by some teenager in the corner. He just hoped he wasn’t matched to the bride-to-be and was expected to take her out or something. He never did check the small print on the dating rules.
Rhett and Florence were huddled in a group that included jockey-boy, so Heath chatted to Ned till the buzzer made him jump once more.
Caroline cleared her throat, beamed widely, announced a couple of close matches, which thankfully didn’t include him, then said it was time for the main winner.
Heath was still laughing at the poor soul who had been matched to the plastered bride, but he soon stopped grinning when his name was called out to claim top prize.
In a slight daze, he approached the makeshift stage by the DJ and nodded his hello at Caroline. As soon as she called up Florence, his heart sank.
Oh no!