Page 42 of The Worst Guy Ever
The thought coincides with the end of the song. Rob keeps me held in his grasp, but it’s far too painful now.
“Stay,” he pleads when I let go of his hand and twist out of his arms, but I mumble my excuses and escape to the loos, locking myself in the far cubicle. I take my time peeing, sitting in the cubicle trying to calm myself down until I hear the main door swing open.
“Hattie?” I hear the voice I’d know anywhere. My beautiful Kara. “You in here?”
“Yeah.”
“You OK?”
“Yeah, just a sec.” I finish up, meeting her out by the sinks. She tries to hug me while I wash my hands, but I don’t want her to see my face. She always knows when something is up. “I know I’ve said it a few times, but you look absolutely gorgeous, darling. This dress is amazing. You must wear it every day forever.”
“Can you imagine? I’ll wear it to paint and do the garden,” she says, laying her head on my shoulder and swaying with me the way I wanted to with Rob. She’s more than a little tipsy, and we’ve all had enough to drink that no amount of artisan pizza is going to put a dent in it. “You’re not yourself. What’s going on?”
“It’s just work stuff, babe.” And Rob Beautiful Bastard Morgan getting under my skin. “You are absolutely not to worry about it on your wedding night. Do you want me to call a cab for you soon?”
“Actually,” she pulls her head back and blinks a few times, her eyes widening to stay focused. “There’s been a bit of a mix-up with that.”
“What? What can I do?”
“Luke thought our flights were 7pm tomorrow, but we’ve just realised they’re 7am, so we’re going to skip the hotel and go straight to the airport and sleep there.”
“Kara, you can’t spend your wedding night in an airport. What about all the consummating?” I laugh.
“Trust you to think of that,” she swats my arm, missing by a fair distance. “Anyway, there’s no point in us staying at the hotel for only a few hours. We’ve had so much to drink we’d probably sleep in and miss our flight.”
“That would be awful.”
“I thought you might like to stay there.” She fishes a keycard out of her bra and presses it into my palm. “My brother already picked up our bags, I don’t want it to go to waste.”
“Wouldn’t your parents rather stay there or something?”
“No, you know they’re just keen to get home to their own beds. You’ve been working your sexy butt off,” she gives me a firm spank and it’s so loud we both burst out laughing. “You need a break. There’s a jacuzzi bath and everything, just go enjoy it. We booked a late checkout too.”
My eyes feel spiky and tears well up as I swallow the lump in my throat. The weight of my exhaustion hits me, everything catching up all at once. I hug her tight and choke out a thank you.
“Honey, you deserve it.”
“I love you so much. I know you’re only going for a week, but I’m really going to miss you.”
“I know, I can’t believe it, me going on holiday? On a plane? Did you ever imagine!” My darling angel sacrificed so much of her twenties on her house and her business, she deserves this more than anyone I know.
“You’ll love it.”
“And you’ll love the hotel,” she says. I know I will. Especially sleeping in a massive bed and sitting in that tub until I’m wrinkly all over.
Chapter 18
Rob
SomethingiswrongwithHattie. She’s not been herself all day, and I would know, I’ve been watching her every minute. She’s barely said a word since the speeches, and when she has she’s been quiet and soft, not the firecracker I’m used to sparring with.
I’m completely thrown, with no idea how to handle her when she’s like this, all shut down and sad. It’s not even my place towantto handle it. I thought a dance might cheer her up and help her relax, but like always, I’ve somehow made it worse and now she’s run off again.
At the bar I find Luke and his Mum laughing away, both more drunk than I’ve seen them in a long time. I give Sarah a peck on the cheek and slide my arm around Luke’s shoulders.
“Have you seen Hattie?”
“No, sorry mate,” he slurs. “Hey, do you want to stay in the honeymoon suite tonight?”
