Six Naughty Nights: Love in Reverse, Book 2 (32 page)

By the time they left the restaurant, Esther had warmed to the occasion and the nerves that had flared earlier on had dissipated. She still couldn’t believe Eve had been kind enough to invite her on her hen night. The other girls were either Eve’s close friends or relatives, but when Esther had announced that she was quite happy to stay at home alone, Eve wouldn’t hear of it.

She’d spent the first hour a little intimidated by the other girls. She also missed Charlie. Toby’s parents had offered to have him for the night again. Esther had accepted gratefully, pleased that her son was happy to go to them and happy on the surface to have more time to herself. But it was strange spending so much time away from him. It had been the two of them for so long, she felt as if half of her was missing.

As the Sauvignon took hold, however, and the other women welcomed her into their conversation, she gradually relaxed and joined in the fun. She even accepted the tiara and veil Faith had made for them all to wear. She caught her breath when Faith showed her the photo she’d taken of her on her phone. The white lace framed her flushed cheeks, and her green eyes sparkled. It wasn’t only the wine that had given her the glow, however. At that moment, Faith had said, “Smile for Toby, Esther,” and just the mention of his name had brought heat to her face.
 

She’d put him to the back of her mind, though. She didn’t want to start thinking about Toby Wilkinson while under the influence of alcohol or she’d end up either depressed or randy, and neither of those options was likely to have a happy ending.

Full with pasta and tiramisu, the girls wandered down the high street toward the wine bar. Faith and Rusty had planned a route for the two pre-wedding parties so they wouldn’t meet, to keep the tradition of the bride and groom not seeing each other the night before. The guys were going to the an Indian restaurant for a curry before making their way to the sports bar.

Esther walked in a hazy dream, thinking how exotic the palm trees looked outside the shops, and how lovely and warm it was, even at ten o’clock at night.
 

She rounded the corner, slightly ahead of the other girls, and stopped in her tracks at the sight of the guys milling about close to the wine bar.
 

She squealed and several of them turned, so she walked backward, bumping into Faith. “Groom alert!” she said hastily.

Faith woman-handled Eve into an alleyway. “What are they doing here?” she snapped. “I mapped out the route for Rusty, for God’s sake.”

“I’ll go see.” Esther, along with a couple of the other girls, walked unsteadily toward the men. One of them whistled, and several others cheered. The other girls giggled. Esther’s amusement fled at the thought of seeing Toby and her heart pounded. Where was he? She couldn’t see him.

She approached Dan, who grinned. His brown hair was ruffled, his eyes at half-mast, and he’d clearly had more than a few beers.

“What are you doing here?” she scolded him. “You’re supposed to be at the sports bar.”

“We had a detour,” he said, speaking very carefully as if he was worried he wouldn’t be able to pronounce the words. “How is my lovely wife-to-be?” He stared hopefully up the road.

“You’re not allowed to see her, Dan. It’s unlucky.”

“I miss her.” He looked forlorn.

She laughed and rubbed his arm. “Only a few more hours, then you’ll be stuck with her for life. Don’t stress.”

Rusty pushed through the guys and came up to her. “Hey, Esther.”

“Faith’s pissed with you,” she said. “You weren’t supposed to come this way.”

“We’ll be off in a minute. One of the guys needed some cash from the cashpoint.” Like Dan, his hair was ruffled and his eyes slightly feverish.

“Are you drunk?” she asked suspiciously, trying not to slur her words while accusing him. “I didn’t think you liked alcohol.”

“It seemed rude to let him drink on his own.” He blinked slowly.

“You’re with about ten other guys, Rusty.”

“Oh yeah.” He rubbed his nose. “I’ve only had a couple. Mind you, it only takes a couple for my hamster to break loose.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Is that prison slang? For God’s sake, don’t get your ‘hamster’ out in public or Faith’ll never hear the end of it.”

Behind her, someone snorted with laughter, and then a pair of warm arms slid around her and a nose bumped the back of her head. “Hello sweetheart.”

She turned with surprise, warmth stealing up through her body and into her face as she realised it was Toby. “Hello. I’m guessing you’re pretty plastered too.”

“Not at all. I’m the only sober one here.” He planted a kiss noisily on her cheek.

“Hmm.” She eyed him suspiciously.

He raised an eyebrow. “Hey. She who wears tiara and veil in public should not throw stones.” She’d forgotten about the veil. She snatched it off her head hurriedly, and he grinned. He pulled out his phone. “Don’t worry, I have a beautiful picture to remind me.” He clicked a few buttons and then turned it to show her the photo Faith had taken.

“She sent it to you?” Her voice rang with indignation.

“Yup.” He kissed the screen. “You look gorgeous.”

She couldn’t stop her lips curving. “Dear, oh dear. You are drunk. Lord, you’re clumsy enough when you’re sober.”

His eyes met hers. He slid his phone into his pocket, put his arms around her and pulled her up against him. “Not that drunk.”

“Toby…”

He took the tiara out of her hand and placed it back on her hair, then adjusted the veil around her face. “It suits you,” he mumbled when she protested. He studied her for a moment, face serious, his eyes clear.

Then he kissed her.

A series of wolf whistles arose from the men, along with cheers from the girls who’d spotted what they were up to.

“Put him down,” Rusty said. “You don’t know where he’s been.”

Her cheeks burned, but Toby tightened his arms around her, and in the end she gave in and kissed him back. She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to his tongue as he kissed her deeply.

“Great.” Dan said to one side. “Now Toby’s getting some and I’ve got to sleep on my own tonight. How’s that fair?”

“It’s your last night alone,” came Rusty’s voice. “Think of it as a farewell party for your right hand.”

Esther couldn’t stifle a giggle and Toby pulled back, chuckling. “Sorry,” he whispered. “But you look so lovely.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.

She shook her head, embarrassed, flustered and a tiny bit pleased. “For goodness’ sake. Now go on, all of you, off to the sports bar. The girls want a drink!”

Laughing, the guys headed off down the road, sending final catcalls along to the girls. Esther watched them go, lips curving. She touched the veil where it lay on her neck, the cheap lace stiff between her fingers. Would she ever get to wear one for real? She’d never thought about getting hitched before.

For a brief moment she entertained the notion that it was she who was getting married the next day, and it was her hen party they were out on. How exciting would that be? To know the next day she’d be going to the church to declare her intention to love her man forever. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. Her husband would be at her side every day. Every night. To support her and Charlie, to look after and love them both.

She bit her lip. It was a fine fantasy. Too bad fairy godmothers didn’t exist in real life.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Toby arrived at Rusty’s house at eleven the next morning to pick him up distinctly the worse for wear.

A bleary-eyed Rusty opened the door, confirming that Toby hadn’t been the only one to lose track of the number of whisky glasses on the table the night before.
 

Rusty winced as Charlie hollered from the bedroom. “I wish kids came with a mute button.” He stepped back to let Toby enter.

“You think this is bad?” Faith gave him a dark look as she passed with a basketful of washing. She wore a bathrobe and her hair was wrapped in a towel. “Wait until it’s an octave higher and twice the volume at two a.m.”

Rusty watched her disappear along the corridor and smiled sheepishly. “She’s mad at me.”

“Why? You throw up on the sofa or something?” Esther must be with Charlie in the bedroom, Toby thought.

“On the duvet. She had to change the entire bed at three in the morning. She wasn’t a happy bunny.”

Toby pulled a face and then smiled brightly as Faith came back along the corridor. “Morning.”

She glowered at him. “Don’t you start.”

“Me? I haven’t done anything.”

She stopped and stared at him. A thoughtful expression settled on her face. “Hmm.”

“What?” Unease settled over him. “What did I do?”

Her lips twitched and she shook her head. “I’ll tell Esther you’re here.” She went along to the bedroom, knocked and slipped inside.

Toby met Rusty’s bloodshot eyes. Rusty shrugged.
 

“Did I do something last night?” Panic rose inside Toby. “Shit, I can’t remember.”

“I have no idea. I can barely remember making it home.”

“We got Dan back to the house though, didn’t we?”

“Far as I remember.”

They both fell quiet for a moment.

“I seem to recall stopping by Eve’s parents’ house,” Toby said after a while.

“Yeah. Why did we do that again?”

“Dan wanted to see Eve.”

Rusty frowned. “Did her Dad come out and yell at us?”

“Um, yeah, for trampling his begonias.”
 

Toby scratched the back of his head. Rusty cleared his throat.
 

Toby sighed. His stomach roiled uneasily. “Oh well, I guess we’ll find out what else we did soon enough.”

“Hmm.”

They both watched warily as Faith came out of the bedroom, followed by Esther. Toby’s heart swelled. She wore trackpants and a T-shirt. Her hair hung damply about her face, and she’d yet to put on her makeup.

She looked fresh as a glass of cold water, and he could have done her right there.

His head throbbed. Okay, maybe not. But she was beautiful. And he had to fight not to fold her in his arms.

He met her gaze warily, however, conscious that she’d carefully arranged her features into a blank, quizzical stare. “Morning,” she said. She folded her arms, her whole body tense.

“Morning.” He smiled hopefully. Her lips twitched but didn’t curve into the reciprocal smile he wanted. “Everything okay?” What the fuck had he done? He remembered meeting the girls outside the bank and kissing her. Had that pissed her off?

She exchanged a glance with Faith, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged as if to say, “Told you.” Her gaze slid back to him and she exhaled slowly, her mouth now curving into a welcoming, if rueful, smile.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Naked as the day he was born, Charlie shot out of the bedroom and ran like a bullet to wrap his arms around his father’s knees. “I’m going to a wedding.”

“Hey, buster.” Toby bent and lifted his son into his arms. “Are you going to church like this?”

Charlie giggled. “No, Daddy. I’ve got to get dressed.”
 

“Well, thank goodness. You’ll frighten all the bridesmaids.”

Esther rolled her eyes. “He’s pretty excited. I’ve been trying to get him into his clothes for the last half an hour.”

“I’ve got a tow bar,” Charlie said.

Esther laughed. “He means a bow tie.”
 

“Have you got one?” Charlie asked his dad.

“No—I’ve got an ordinary tie. A shiny silver one.”

“Where is it?”

“At Dan’s house. Rusty and I are going there to get dressed.”

“Can I come wiv you?”

Esther smiled and stroked his hair. “No, sweetie. Daddy has a special job to do, remember?”

“Yes.” Charlie beamed. “You’re going to be the brest man.”

They all burst out laughing at the look on Toby’s face. “How does he know?” he said.

“Why’s everybody laughing?” Charlie protested.

“It’s
best
man,” Esther told him, highly amused.
 

Toby grinned. At least she was smiling. “Okay. We’d better be off and make sure Dan’s up.”

Faith led Rusty off to give him instructions for the day. Toby put down the wriggling Charlie and watched, smiling, as his son ran down the corridor. Then he turned his attention to Esther.

Her eyes looked sad. Why was she sad? He cupped her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She stood woodenly for a moment, and then visibly softened and nestled her cheek into his palm.

He leaned forward and kissed her. He’d only meant to make it a quick kiss, but his lips lingered, entranced by the softness of hers. In response, she slipped her arms around him and moulded her body to his. He sighed inwardly and threaded his hand through her damp hair, holding her as he deepened the kiss. She tasted of chocolate, and her skin smelled fresh, of oranges and strawberries.