Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
ELLIE
Everyone turns to look at me when I walk in. I wish I was exaggerating, but every single person turns in my direction and all I can do is smile, hoping Mike will appear from the crowd and save me.
But he doesn’t come.
I scan the faces, none of them familiar except for one. Rick. Sitting with a cluster of guys, drinking beer and laughing at something on the screen of someone’s phone.
He looks up at me, double taking before recognition dawns. His eyebrows pull together and he mouths something, something I can’t decipher. The guy on his left nudges his arm, and he looks away as I continue to scan the room.
Guys in suits, women in evening dresses, the heavy smell of expensive cologne, but nothing that I recognise. There’s no flash of auburn. No Mike.
Then I hear footsteps behind me. A dull thud as they grow closer—but they don’t sound like Mike, either.
I spin around anyway, greeted by a guy around an inch taller than me. He’s dressed in—you guessed it—a suit. Dark hair swept to the side, and he’s wearing glasses; thick black frames that remind me of Clark Kent.
“I’m—I’m looking for Mike Betts,” I say. “Is he here?”
His eyes widen and his expression changes. Shock? I can’t quite tell because he tries not to make it obvious, but it’s there. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.
“Uh, Ellie, right?” he says. “Nice to see you again. I’m Danny.”
I take several seconds to realise I must have met him before, at Mike’s practice session, probably, but an interruption cuts our conversation short.
“Sorry, can I help you?” Another suited man, albeit a few inches shorter than Danny, comes to a stop behind us, angling himself towards me.
“I’m looking for?—”
“This is Bettsy’s missus,” Danny says.
The second man nods firmly and offers out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Brett Harris, Team GB Head Coach.”
“Ellie,” I say, returning the shake. “Thanks for having me.”
“Nice of you to come and support Betts—where is he?” He stretches himself up, peering around the room like a meerkat.
“I think he’s just stepped out,” Danny says. “Shouldn’t be long.”
“Right, well, make sure that you get yourself something to eat,” Brett says. “There’s a buffet table at the back there and there’re several waiting staff dotted around if you have any special dietary requirements. Owens, get the lady a drink, will you?”
A cheer from the back of the room grabs Coach’s attention and he excuses himself.
“Did you want a drink? Sorry, I should have asked.” A smile tugs at his lips. “How’s your headache?”
“Head—oh, yeah, better thanks. Strong painkillers. So, no booze for me.”
He nods. “Got it.”
We head towards the bar, but I’m busy surveying the room as Danny orders for me, handing me a diet Coke a few moments later.
“Well, I don’t know where his is. He disappeared to use the bathroom around twenty minutes ago and when he didn’t come back, I went to look for him but…” he shrugs before continuing. “No idea.”
“I should probably call him,” I say, abandoning my drink and pulling my phone out.
“I’ve already tried that but—” He pauses, and an uneasy feeling settles in my stomach.
“But what?”
“Nothing,” he says sharply.
“No … you were going to say something, but you… what’s going on?”
But Danny doesn’t reply. His eyes flick over my shoulder and I twist on the spot to see Rick striding towards us, stopping a few feet away.
I inwardly groan.
“Ellie—what’re you doing here?” he says. “Is everything okay with Kathryn and Greg and?—”
I shrug. “No idea?—”
“Mate, you haven’t seen Bettsy, have you?” Danny asks Rick.
He snickers. “Bettsy? Why would I care where he is?”
“Ellie’s looking for him. Just wondered if—” Danny says.
Rick narrows his eyes as he turns towards me. “And why do you care where he is?”
“You know they are married, right?” Danny says.
Rick’s jaw hangs open. He blinks several times, looking between Danny and I like this is some kind of ‘in joke’ between us, but since neither of us are laughing … he gets the message.
“You and Bettsy?” he says.
Before I can stop myself, I say, “Yeah. Childhood sweethearts. We reconnected recently and?— ”
“What the?—”
“Oh, that reminds me actually—while I’ve got you. I’m not going to be Kathryn’s maid of honour anymore, so there’s no need to include me in any of the big day plans.”
Rick’s sour expression takes a sharp turn toward confusion.
“Really?” he says.
“Yeah,” I reply, cool and clipped. “But you can run that past Greg if you need to.”
I turn to Danny with a polite smile I barely manage to hold. “Excuse me—I just need the ladies.”
I don’t wait for a reply.
My heart pounds as I step away from the bar and cross the lobby, already unlocking my phone.
I scroll straight to Mike’s name and press call, lifting the phone to my ear as the empty foyer swallows my footsteps.
Brr-Brr.
Brr-Brr.
Brr-Brr.
I’m about to give up when the tone stops and the voice of someone trickles down the line.
“Hello?”
Except, it’s not Mike. It’s a woman.