Page 14 of Best Laid Plans

‘I’m sure a little fresh air is a good idea,’ she said and she went with him through a doorway in the side of the marquee into the moon silvered night.

They found two chairs abandoned by smokers and as soon as Lucy sat down, she slipped off her shoes and rubbed at her aching feet.

Will chuckled softly.

‘I’m not used to wearing such high heels,’ she said defensively. ‘You should try them. They’re sheer torture.’

‘I don’t doubt that for a moment, but they look sensational’ He released a button on his jacket, letting it fall open. His shirt gleamed whitely in the moonlight and he stretched his long legs in front of him.

After a small pause, he said, ‘I meant what I said in my speech. You look lovely tonight, Lucy.’

Her cheeks grew warm again. ‘Thanks. Mattie chose our dresses. She has very feminine tastes.’

He let her self-effacing comment pass.

‘It’s been a perfect wedding,’ she said to make amends, but then she was ambushed by an involuntary yawn. ‘But it seems to have worn me out.’

‘You’ve probably been working too hard.’

She shook her head. ‘My work doesn’t very often make me tired. Weddings on the other hand –’

‘Can be very draining.’

‘Yes.’

He was watching her with a lopsided smile. ‘It’s not always easy to watch your friends tie the knot.’

‘I –’ Her mouth was suddenly dry and her tongue stuck to its roof. She shot Will a sharp glance, uncertain where this conversation was heading. She tried again. ‘I’m really happy for Mattie, aren’t you?’

‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘Marriage couldn’t have happened to a nicer girl.’

Lucy nodded. A small silence limped by. ‘I suppose weddings are tiring because they involve lots of people.’ Hunting for away to disguise the fact that Will’s presence at this wedding was her major problem, she made a sweeping gesture towards the crowded marquee. ‘I’m more used to animals these days. They’re so much quieter than humans.’

‘And I’m used to rocks.’

Lucy laughed. ‘I daresay they’re quieter too.’

‘Silence is one of their better attributes.’ Will chuckled again. ‘Sounds like we’ve turned into a pair of old loners.’

‘Maybe’ she said softly, but she knew it was hazardous for her to talk of such things with this man.

Quietly, he said, ‘It’s happening all around us, Goose.’

Goose…her old nickname.

Only her father and Will had ever called her Goose, or Lucy Goose… and hearing the name now made her dangerously nostalgic.

She tried to shake that feeling aside. ‘What’s happening all around us?’

‘Friends getting married. Starting families.’

Lucy stiffened. Why did he have to bring upthatsubject? ‘It’s hardly surprising, given our friends’ ages.’

‘Yes, and we’re older than all of them.’

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…

Lucy closed her eyes as the familiar, breathless panic gripped her.No. She wasn’t going to think aboutthatworry tonight. She’d declared a moratorium on all thoughts that involved babies, having babies, wanting babies, losing babies. She couldn’t imagine why Will had raised such a sensitive topic.

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