Page 47 of The Wedding Proposal

And did him no credit.

He moved restlessly. Lucas was used to being largely at peace with himself. He might not agree with others, they might not agree with him, but usually he was confident that he was in the right.

Usually.

* * *

Loud laughter jumped him from a sleep he couldn’t remember sliding into, but, as the skies were dark above the skylight, he seemed to have slept for a good portion of the day.

The marina could be noisy, especially if the kiosk’s patrons were playing bingo or watching an important football match on the TV that hung on the wall.

But the laughter that had dragged him from sleep was Elle’s.

Too glad to worry about his hair being on end or that he’d slept in his clothes, he jumped up the steps to the saloon and out onto the Shady Lady’s bathing platform.

A few yards away, Elle, Charlie and Kayleigh were gathered with Loz and Davie, Loz being her usual one-woman conversation machine.

Elle glanced across at the boat. Her gaze caught on Lucas’s for a still moment. Then she looked away.

OK. So he’d been put in his place. Lucas could take his punishment like a man. He sat down on the cockpit seat to wait.

For twenty minutes, the merry knot of people entertained one another without apparently feeling the need to include, or even acknowledge, Lucas. Gales of laughter greeted anecdote after anecdote, passers-by regarded the happy group with curiosity.

Elle took her full part in the conversation, laughing, shoving Charlie playfully. She wasn’t wearing the clothes she’d stalked off in this morning. From somewhere she’d procured a black maxi dress slit up both sides and decorated with flamboyant golden flowers. In the lights that lined the quay the dress looked amazing with her hair, which tumbled loose over her shoulders.

Finally, Loz and Davie began to say their goodnights, catching hands as they prepared to stroll off in the direction of Seadancer. ‘Seven o’clock, tomorrow!’ Loz called back. ‘See you then.’ No invitation for Lucas.

With reluctance, it seemed, Elle turned towards the Shady Lady. Charlie already had one arm occupied with Kayleigh, but he threw the other around Elle’s shoulders. Both Charlie and Kayleigh said things to Elle that Lucas couldn’t hear. Nor her response. But the trio kept on coming up the quay until they broke apart to cross the gangplank onto the Shady Lady. To pass into the saloon without acknowledging Lucas would necessitate them officially blanking him.

Incredulously, for a wild instant, he thought they would.

Then Elle stopped right in front of him. Close up, he could see from the glitter in her eyes and the hint of looseness in her movements that she and alcohol were no strangers this evening.

She regarded him solemnly. ‘I’ve decided I’m still speaking to you. I thought about going to live on Seadancer and pretending you didn’t exist, but I’m not going to.’

Lucas glanced at his brother, who was standing behind Elle, arms loosely about Kayleigh. Kayleigh was watching Elle, not Lucas.

He returned his attention to Elle. ‘Good. Any particular reason?’

Her hair blew into her face. She reached up and gathered it up into a blonde stream all over one shoulder. ‘I made my plans for living here and I’m not going to change them because you’ve been an arse,’ she explained amicably. ‘I suppose you thought you owed me a bit of payback, and even if you’re wrong, I can see that making me think that you were all loved up would be tempting. It’s like doing this, isn’t it?’ She thumbed her nose inelegantly. ‘Or saying “up yours”. No reason to it, no logic, it’s wrong, but you do it, because somehow it makes you feel better.’

Her brows arched. ‘It’s almost comforting to know that even Saint Lucas can fall prey to mean, small deceits.’ Looking pleased with her speech, she took a step towards the cabin door.

Then swung back. ‘But, if we’re going to be civilised, I don’t want to talk about this any more. You did your thing. We’re both over it. Let’s move on.’

‘Do I get to speak?’ he asked, mildly.

She tilted her head thoughtfully. ‘Do you really need to?’

‘Yes.’

With a sigh, she backtracked, flumping down on the seat beside him. ‘What?’

He turned his head to maintain eye contact. ‘I’m sorry.’

She stood up. ‘Good.’

Then she sat down again. ‘What’s the difference between a woman and a dog?’

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