‘Yeah, Dad.’ Jack took back his tooth and examined it carefully. ‘Do you think it’s a front tooth or a back tooth?’
Matt’s gaze automatically flipped towards Beth, but she only shrugged slightly, her smile telling him that he was on his own with that one. ‘I don’t know, mate.’ He hazarded a guess, based on nothing in particular. ‘Perhaps it’s a back tooth. We’ll see if we can find some pictures on the internet.’
Jack seemed content with the rather lame answer, and Beth rose, putting her chocolates in pride of place on the mantelpiece. ‘I’ll put these up here where they’re safe. Then I can enjoy them on Christmas Day.’
‘So when you go away for Christmas, you’ll take them with you?’ Jack seemed concerned about the logistics of the operation.
‘I’m staying right here for Christmas, so I won’t need to.’ Her eyes moved from Jack to Matt, and the brilliance of her smile hardly seemed to dim at all. ‘Are we ready to go?’
‘We’re staying here, too, aren’t we, Dad?’ Jack had no compunction about making the observation and Matt wondered whether he might follow up with the question that was in his own mind.
‘That’s nice. I bet you’ll have just as good a day as I will. And I’ll be thinking of you when I open my chocolates, so it’ll be just as if I was seeing you.’ The firmness of her tone invited no further comment, and appeared to satisfy Jack, at least. ‘Now, let’s go, or we’ll be late.’
Matt grabbed Jack before he raced past him and did his best to tuck his shirt back in, hampered by a fair bit of squirming on his son’s part. ‘Hold on, mate, you can’t go out with a lady like that.’ Jack sighed and muttered under his breath.
Beth grabbed a dark woollen wrap from the hallstand and slung it over her shoulders, refixing her hair in front of the mirror. Then, collecting a small evening bag and a bottle-shaped wrap of tissue paper, she opened the front door. As he followed her down the front path to his car, Matt reflected that his son had beaten him to the punch and slipped his hand into Beth’s.
Jack had insisted on carrying the box of cherry liqueurs they had purchased that morning, and presenting them to Marcie, while James received the bottles, peering inside the tissue paper and brightening when he saw the label on Matt’s offering. Finally Matt had the opportunity to play the escort and pride rose in his chest as he took Beth’s wrap, his senses quivering at her scent and the light brush of her hair against the back of his hand.
‘Mmm. Nice decorations.’ She looked around at the sparkly stars that hung from the ceiling in the hallway.
James grimaced. ‘Yeah, I nearly broke my neck getting them up there. Marcie insisted that they should go all the way up the stairwell.’
Beth patted his arm. ‘Well, they look lovely.’
Matt had only wanted the one moment to play her date, and he’d had that, but he was greedy for more. He watched as Jack ran into the family room, where a little group of children were playing, and then resigned himself to letting Beth circulate, while he followed James to the kitchen to get a drink.
She turned and her eyes were round, pale pools of quicksilver, which put her jewellery to shame for lustre and hue. Before he could move she had slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and wound her fingers around his arm. ‘Come along, let me introduce you to everyone.’
Beth had no idea what she had been thinking. It was one thing to arrive with the newest member of the hospital staff, whose eligibility had already been assessed and discussed by the gossip machine. That could be construed as accepting a lift. It was quite another to take his arm and walk with him into the large open-plan sitting room. That would most definitely be construed as something more.
He’d looked so lost, though, standing alone in the hallway after Jack had run off to play with the other children and what had started off as a friendly gesture seemed to have got out of hand. A dozen pairs of eyes were on them as soon as they walked in and she instinctively moved closer to him for protection.
Matt guided her over to where the
food was laid out, and handed her a plate. His manners were impeccable, warm and attentive, but somehow indicating that this was the way any man would treat a woman and that there was nothing in it. She wasn’t sure whether the sudden veneer was for her benefit or the rest of the room, but it gave the gossipmongers precious little fuel for further speculation.
She introduced him to the small cluster around the drinks table and he smiled and talked with everyone. Beth reckoned that it was about time she melted quietly into the background, but suddenly he snagged her arm.
The movement was so quick that it was almost imperceptible. His finger ran down the inside of her wrist and into her palm, staying there just long enough to make his meaning clear. He was not looking at her, but he moved slightly closer and she felt the soft cashmere of his sweater brush her skin. When he turned towards her, the look in his eyes was unequivocal. Stay. You belong next to me.
CHAPTER NINE
THE party was moving into its second phase. Easy chairs were pulled back to make way for dancing, and the bass notes of the music began to pump in Beth’s head as James turned the volume of the CD player up. A child-friendly fruit punch was replaced with a killer concoction, which was Marcie’s own invention, and she and James announced that the party was now for adults only by performing a practised tango across the sitting room.
Matt had left to drive Jack over to his grandparents’ for the night and when he returned he was quickly lost in the crowd. It appeared that Beth no longer belonged at his side.
She shrugged to herself, biting back her disappointment. He probably wanted to dance or get to know people or whatever. Suddenly there seemed to be an empty space around her, even though the room was full of friends and acquaintances.
James caught her hand and pulled her into the group of dancers, while Marcie made for a young physiotherapist who was standing on his own in the corner. They were obviously both doing their usual job of getting everyone to join in, and Beth wondered whether she had looked as alone as she had felt.
‘Having a good time?’ The thud of the music was distracting her and James had to repeat the question.
Beth nodded, grinning.
‘Matt having a good time?’ This time James took his hand from her waist and signed.
Beth gestured over to where he was standing, deep in conversation with three of the nurses from A and E. ‘Looks like it.’