Page 55 of Surprise Me Tonight
But I don’t.
I find my breath. And then I find my voice.
I step forward, just enough that Jeremy’s eyes snap back to me.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
His brow twitches. “I brought Vicky—”
“Yes, and that gives you the right to be part of her life. Not mine. Not this.” I gesture around us — the hall, the family, the people who are mine in every real, meaningful way. “You are not part of this family. You gave that up the moment you started treating me like something disposable.”
His jaw shifts. “Oh, come off it—”
“No,” I say, sharp now, but still steady. “You weren’t invited. You weren’t wanted. And after the way you spoke to me tonight, you’ve more than proved you don’t deserveto be here. So you can walk out, or you can wait until someone shows you the door.”
Jeremy freezes — torn between the impulse to throw one more insult and the realisation that no one,absolutely no one, is going to defend him.
Callum’s at my side now, not stepping in, just watching. His smirk is quiet, proud, satisfied. Like I’ve just handed him a priceless piece of art and told him it’s his.
Joan calls out, “Go on then, piss off.”
Jeremy exhales, a sharp, bitter sound. But he doesn’t say another word.
He turns, jaw tight, and walks out — alone.
The doors clatter shut behind him.
For a second, no one speaks.
Then someone claps.
Then someone else.
And then the room lets out a breath — like they’d all been holding it without meaning to — and the band awkwardly starts back up withSweet Carolinelike we haven’t all just witnessed a moral victory and a sexual awakening in the space of fifteen minutes.
I turn to Callum. His gaze meets mine, steady, lit with heat and something dangerously close to awe.
He leans in, lips brushing the shell of my ear.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
I manage a smile, even as the adrenaline keeps humming in my blood. “Don’t give me a reason, then.”
Callum slides his fingers between mine, links them tight. “Not planning to.”
Before I can say anything, Joan claps her hands, drawing the attention back like she’s running the bloody Oscars.
“Well,” she announces, cheeks flushed with gin and moral victory, “that was better than anything they’ve ever put on at the village panto. Ten out of ten. Would attend again.”
A wave of laughter breaks across the nearest tables.
I drop my face into my free hand. “Joan, please.”
She grins wickedly. “You’ve still got it, Love. Never doubted it.”
I shake my head, smiling despite myself and then I feel Vicky at my side, slipping her hand into the crook of my elbow.
“Mum?” she says softly.
