Page 8 of The Wedding Game

He blinks, laughs in shock at the directness of my question. ‘Yeah. Are you?’

‘Yeah.’ His stubble gives him thatI might have shaved this morning, I might not have,devil-may-care look I’ve always liked. I don’t know what to do. I’m not the kind to stand upa man. And there’s a connection with Chris. I feel it. It’s tangible, despite having spent only a fraction of time with him. I know it’s real. I know it’s there. But he lives so far away and … Josh, well I don’t know where he lives, but I’ll be honest with myself: wherever it is, it has to be closer than sodding New York.

‘I …’ I trail off, glance at the two champagne flutes still on the bar, the bubbles rising to the surface, condensation trickling gently towards the base of each glass.

‘We can leave them there. I think they’ll be fine, if we ask the bartender to keep an eye on them?’ Josh points out helpfully as my gaze settles on the drinks while I debate what to do.

Couples are making their way onto the dance floor, and the bride and groom look relieved that help has finally arrived.

Josh’s hand is still outstretched, his hopeful expression cutting into me. I can’t leave him hanging any more, so I take his hand and let him guide me onto the dance floor.

The space is popular, as nearly everyone jostles on to support the couple, and Josh and I are pushed together as he holds me and we sway to Taylor Swift’s ‘Gold Rush’. It has quite the beat, so is easy to move to. Josh is polite; one hand remains in the small of my back and he never once tries to move it south. He glances down and smiles at me briefly as we move to the music. If I wanted to snog him and win, now would be the time, even though it might be a bit inappropriate and out of the blue. He swirls me around and pulls me back towards him. He’s getting into the groove, and so amI. But after three minutes the song comes to an end, and we join in with a round of applause for the bride and groom.

‘Thanks,’ he says.

‘You’re welcome. You’re quite the dancer.’

We stand for a moment and then, feeling so pulled back towards Chris, I say, ‘I’m really sorry, but I have to get that drink to someone.’

‘Of course. Yeah.’ Josh lifts his hand to wave and then follows a little behind me on the way to the bar, so he can scoop his drinks up and head back to the dance floor.

I’ve been gone so long, I really hope Chris is still outside.

CHAPTER THREE

Chris greets me by pushing himself away from the balustrade, a wide smile on his face as he says, ‘For a while there I thought you weren’t coming back.’

‘I’m so sorry. I got held up. I had to help save the bride and groom from embarrassment by joining in during their first dance. I boogied briefly with the best man, Josh.’

‘Oh, damn, I missed the first dance,’ Chris laments with an anxious expression.

I wonder briefly what it would have been like to dance with him instead of Josh. ‘But look,’ I say quickly, gesturing to the two full glasses.

‘Well done,’ he replies, taking one. ‘Thanks.’ His smile is so warm, infectious.

‘You are very welcome.’ I don’t tell him that it wasn’t me who paid for them. ‘I hope they’re not too warm by now.’

‘How was your dance with Josh?’ Chris asks warmly.

‘Quick. Easy.’ There was no more to it than that.I was preoccupied, willing it to finish, so I could get back to you. ‘It was a very short dance. The couple chose something fast, so we’d finished before we’d even got started.’ I laugh.

‘He hates dancing,’ Chris says.

‘Josh?’

‘Dan.’

‘Who’s Dan?’ I query.

Chris smiles. ‘The man who got married today. You’re at his wedding.’

‘Oh God, yes, of course.’

He laughs. ‘I have no idea whether Josh hates dancing. I don’t really know him.’

‘No?’

‘We only just met on the stag-do a few days ago. He seems nice, though. I’m friends with Dan from uni, and Josh knows him through school, so …’ he trails off, nowhere left to go with that small talk. Then Chris lifts his glass towards mine. ‘Cheers, Lexie.’

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