Fix You (14 page)

Sixteen

March 12
^th
2008

H
anna was deliberately running late, driving
Tom mad with her procrastinating as she went back into the house. First, she
had to check she’d turned the heating off. Then she wanted to make sure she had
unplugged her hair straighteners. Finally, she went back in to make sure she
had switched the burglar alarm back on, having turned it off the previous two
times.

She knew she was putting off the inevitable, but it really
didn’t make her feel any better.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Tom reached
out and took her hand, keeping his other palm steady on the steering wheel as
his car idled outside her apartment.

“Not really.” Hanna swallowed down the feeling of nausea.
She reminded herself she had gone through much worse than this before.

“We don’t have to stay for too long. Let’s watch the
ceremony, drink the free alcohol, then drive back to town and have a party for
two.”

Hanna smirked. Their parties for two nowadays had toned down
to a cup of tea in front of the evening news. Some days she felt much older
than her twenty-five years.

“I’m not going to let the Larsens down, Tom. I promised them
a real-life celebrity at the wedding, and by God they’re going to get one.”

Her words caused Tom to glance in the rear-view mirror. The
usual black utility vehicle was following behind them, driven by his security
advisor. It had amused Hanna when she first met Damon, and she found herself
constantly quoting from
The Bodyguard
. She had no greater wish than to
see Damon carry Tom away from a perceived threat. It would have made her day.

“They want me to take the heat off them,” Tom muttered. The
prevalence of cell phone cameras were making his life a misery. He was
constantly complaining he “couldn’t even take a slash without it being on Perez
Hilton the next day.”

“You’re going to stay with me at all times, right?” she
asked, leaning forward to switch on the radio, wincing when the drum and bass
came out at full volume. “Jesus, how can you stand to listen to this shit?”

“Would you rather I was playing a Fatal Limits album?” Tom
looked amused. “Because I might have a few in the glove box.”

Hanna turned and stared at him, her eyes narrowing. “The new
one?”

“Do you mean the recently recorded, unedited, unreleased
version?” Tom was still drumming his fingers against the steering wheel in time
to the cacophony emanating from the car stereo.

“No.” Hanna deadpanned. “I only like hearing your old songs.”

Slapping at her thigh, he reached across her and pulled open
the glove box. All the CDs he had pushed inside came tumbling out onto Hanna’s
legs, some falling around her feet, making her scramble around to pick them up.

Ignoring her remonstrations, Tom picked up a blank CD and
pushed it into the stereo, the soft sounds of a piano soothing Hanna’s ears.

He lasted a couple of minutes into the first song before he
asked her what she thought.

By this time, she had stuffed the glove compartment full
again and snapped it closed, making a mental note to never let it be opened in
her presence. It was an accident waiting to happen.

“It’s a change from the last album,” she ventured, her brow
dipping as she concentrated on the music, noting the guitar-based band was
going heavy on the electronics. A discordant bass seemed to thread its way through
all the tracks.

“We wanted to try something new.” Tom attempted a nonchalant
shrug, then noticing Hanna’s concentration, he shut up and let her listen.

They remained silent throughout their hour-long journey.
Hanna was so intent on listening to the music, she barely noticed when Tom
pulled the car into the driveway and came to a halt. It was only when she
looked up that she realized they were at the venue, ready to see the eldest
Larsen son be married off to his fiancée of a year.

She let out a puff of air, staring straight ahead at the
dashboard as she reminded herself she gave up the right to feel this way three
years ago.

Richard had every reason to move on. She had all but begged
him to. She had told him there was no hope for them, and she didn’t want him to
follow her.

So why the hell did she feel so low?

“You ready?” Tom pulled the key from the ignition and leaned
toward the rear-view mirror, pulling his lips over his teeth and rubbing them
with his finger, as if he was checking for bits in between them.

“Yes.” Hanna pulled the door open and slid her legs around,
smoothing the tight blue dress over her thighs. The heels of her stilettos
buried themselves into the gravel, and she found herself having to work extra
hard to walk across the driveway.

“Wipe that smirk off your face, McLean,” she growled, as Tom
watched her efforts with amusement. “Otherwise you’re gonna have to carry me.”

“I’d love to, but I’ve got a world tour coming up. I don’t
want to do myself an injury.”

They were ushered into the main ballroom, which had been set
up for the wedding ceremony. Hanna and Tom sat in the back row of chairs, both
of them hoping to dip somewhere under the radar—albeit for different reasons.

The few minutes before the ceremony was due to begin allowed
Hanna the chance to look around without being watched, and she luxuriated in
her anonymity. She could see Claire and Steven, seated in the front row, along
with Ruby and Claire’s mother, Lillian, who was still going strong at 93.

Then Hanna’s heart began to race.

In front of them, Richard and Nathan stood to the right of
the room. Neither could stand still, and she watched as Nathan jabbed Richard
in the side, swiftly followed by a return slap on the arm from Richard. Claire
leaned forward and said something to them and, whatever it was, it made them
both crack up in laughter. Hanna gasped as she saw Richard’s profile as he
turned, the sunlight through the front window creating a halo effect behind his
head.

He was still as beautiful as she remembered. She traced the
line of Richard’s straight nose, past his lips and to his razor-sharp jaw. She
couldn’t tell from here if he was clean shaven—although she assumed he was—but
somewhere in her mind the memory of breakfasts in bed, stubbled jaws and
clothes strewn around the room, came to the surface, causing a prick of tears
to her eyes.

Richard leaned down and whispered something to the woman
seated beside Lillian, and the girl reached out and smoothed down his jacket.
Hanna held her breath as Richard looked at the girl, his smile gentle and
crooked. Ruby had already told Hanna about Meredith, Richard’s fiancée.

Before Hanna could find an appropriate reaction to the scene
playing out before her, the wedding march started, and everyone turned to see
Nathan’s fiancée, Lucy, walking down the aisle on her father’s arm, followed by
an assortment of bridesmaids. Turning to watch the bridal procession also
alerted the guests to Tom’s presence. Hanna watched in angry astonishment as
more than a few people started to take pictures with their camera phones,
ignoring the bride altogether.

She began to wonder if bringing a famous singer to a Larsen
wedding was such a good idea.

“Looks like the cat’s out of the bag,” she whispered. Tom
tried to act nonchalant and ignore the flashes. “I’m so sorry.”

“It happens all the time,” Tom replied, glancing over his
shoulder to see a security guard trying to remain invisible at the back of the
room. “Don’t sweat it, Hanna. I’m here for you.”

They had debated back and forth for days whether she should
even attend the wedding. At first she thought it had been a cursory invitation,
only issued in the hope she would refuse it. But both Claire and Nathan had
called and urged her to attend, and promised her there would be no weirdness
between Richard and her. Claire had even gone as far as suggesting Tom be her “plus
one,” no doubt urged on by Ruby, who maintained an impressive devotion for the
singer.

After the ceremony, they moved into the dining room for the
customary wedding breakfast. She and Tom were sat at a round table full of
twenty-somethings in the middle of the room. Hanna couldn’t stop herself from
sneaking glances at the top table, her eyes seeking out Richard, her gaze
lingering on his face.

“You need to stop looking over there,” Tom whispered to her,
after a particularly long stare. “Eventually he’s going to notice.”

Hanna blushed and dragged her eyes away yet again. Glancing
at her watch she wondered how the hell she was going to get through the rest of
the day. She wasn’t sure if she could go for another eight hours without making
a fool out of herself.

“Keep reminding me,” she replied, before turning to the guy
called “Mosh” who sat on her left. He was trying to regale her with a
particularly lurid anecdote involving Nathan, a forgotten toothbrush and a
toilet scraper. Hanna was pleased she’d finished her food before he started his
story.

The toasts followed dinner, and when Richard rose to give
the best man’s speech, she felt Tom put his arm around her shoulders once
again. Hanna leaned into him, grateful he was there to support her. To hear
Richard talk about true love was like a knife to the heart, no matter how
light-hearted and funny he made his speech. His lips moved softly as he spoke,
and occasionally his eyebrows rose up to accentuate a joke, at which point the
guests all joined in the laughter. Her favorite part was when he made the toast
to the happy couple. She watched as he picked up his champagne to take a sip,
and his pronounced Adam’s apple bobbed below the taut skin of his neck.

As afternoon darkened into evening, the guests returned to
the ballroom for the entertainment. A band had set up in the corner, playing
modern, middle-of-the-road music which both Hanna and Tom found amusing.
Slowly, people trickled onto the dance floor, fuelled up with alcohol and food
and ready to bust a move.

Tom wandered to the bathroom, promising Hanna he would
return as quickly as he could. She found herself at the bar, ordering a beer in
the hope it would lend her some of that Dutch courage people always talked
about.

“Hi.”

Hanna turned to see Richard standing alongside her. Meredith
was next to him, her petite frame somehow accentuating his broad chest. Hanna’s
mind momentarily blanked, and she could feel her panic starting to rise as she
tried to think of something to say.

“Hi.” It wasn’t much, but it helped her avoid looking like
an idiot.

“Hanna, I’d like you to meet Meredith Devries. Meredith,
this is Hanna Vincent.” Hanna automatically shook the girl’s hand, surprised at
her soft skin and limp wrist.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Meredith.” Hanna was
surprising herself with her social graces. They were like a reflex action. So
ingrained, that saying the words was automatic.

“You too. Are you a friend of Lucy’s?”

Richard had never told Meredith who she was? Hanna found
this interesting, and for the first time turned to look at him. He stared right
at her, focused on her face, but not her eyes. It was like he was gazing at her
lips, and for some reason she found herself moistening them with the tip of her
tongue.

“No, I’m Ruby’s friend.” It was as good an explanation as
any.

“Hey, what have I missed?” Tom’s voice was like cold
lemonade on a hot day, and Hanna reached out to take his hand.

“Richard was introducing me to Meredith.” Hanna replied.

“Oh my goodness, you’re that singer aren’t you? My sister
loves your music.” Meredith’s smile lit up her face, and Hanna found herself
cataloguing all the reasons she hated beautiful American women.

“Ah, thanks. Are you a music fan?”

Meredith leaned forward and whispered, conspiratorially, “I
don’t really listen to music at all.”

Hanna’s eyebrows shot up as if they were trying to merge
with her hairline. She was trying not to look amused, but clearly failing. Her
eyes automatically moved to look at Richard. As soon as he looked back at her,
a grin broke out and Hanna found herself returning it.

God, it felt good.

Despite the band’s mediocrity, Hanna and Tom made an ironic
attempt to dance. She collapsed in a fit of giggles when he started throwing
himself all over the place in a parody of John Travolta, causing more than a
few cell phone cameras to be turned to “video.” She couldn’t help but feel
grateful to him, for supporting her at the wedding, for throwing himself under
a bus to make her smile. He was a true friend.

Ruby joined them after a while. Wanting to give her at least
something to talk about when she returned to university, Hanna gestured to them
she was going to the bathroom, leaving Tom and Ruby performing an interesting
rendition of the Macarena.