Page 160 of Lovers' Dance

Matt chewed his lower lip, undecided. “Are you home, Madi?”

“Where else would I be?” she said, then giggled. “Gosh, you funny.”

Matt frowned. Forget the dropping of necessary verbs in her sentences. She sounded utterly inebriated. “I’ll be there as soon as possible. Is Dante there?”

“Yes, he’s been here since Thursday night. Why?” she asked, snickering.

“Please put him on the phone, poppet.”

“Can’t. He’s busy.”

Matt’s jaw tightened as he took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “I’ll be there shortly. Go drink some water, then lie down.”

“What? Matt, you know you cray-cray, right?” she said, then burst out laughing.

“Go lie down, poppet. See you soon.” Matt hung up the call and stared at his mobile for a moment.

“Is everything all right?” Nathan asked in concern.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he replied then looked over at them. “I’ve got to go. Bella, your presence has been requested, and seeing as Nathan drove me here—”

“Of course, I’ll drive,” she said, tucking her notebook, pen and mobile into her bag. “Nate, darling, get the bill, and I’ll see you at home tonight.”

Matt stood up, calling his office to notify his secretary he was taking the rest of the day off.

While it rang he heard a put out Nathan say, “I want to come, too. It’s preposterous and, frankly, insulting that my fiancée and best friend are willing to ditch me.”

“Don’t you have to get back to the office?” Matt countered, then turned his attention to the call he was making. “Rachel, cancel my meetings for the rest of the day…Yes, I know I’m supposed to be speaking to the energy minister…Adam can handle it…Rachel, just cancel my meetings.”

He hung up and held an arm out to Bella.

Nathan was on his feet, impatiently gesturing to their waiter. “Why do I have to go back to work when the both of you are taking the afternoon off?” he groused like a petulant child, never mind he was thirty-seven years old. “Why does Madi want to see Bella but not me? That’s rude, Matt. I’m coming, too.”

“Nathan.” Bella folded her arms and gave him an unamused stare. “Pay the bill and go back to work. Didn’t you tell me this morning you had an important staff meeting to attend?”

Nathan pulled his wallet out and glowered at the waiter as he handed him the bill, then pulled the requisite amount out with a generous tip before shooing the man away. “If Matt can cancel a meeting with the energy minister, I can bloody well cancel a staff meeting. Why don’t you want me to accompany you? A man can become suspicious when his best friend and fiancée don’t seem to want him around. Is that what you want, Bella? To make me suspicious?”

Bella gave him an incredulous look, then let out a peal of laughter. “How ridiculous you are sometimes, my darling Nate.” She took Matt’s arm and grinned up at him. “Is he allowed to tag along, Matt?”

Matt didn’t care one way or the other, he simply wanted to get to Greenwich as quickly as possible. “Yes, yes, let’s go.”

The three of them hurried out of the restaurant. Matt’s worry was full-blown. He never should have agreed to stay away from her these past few days. What was he thinking? It was obvious from what she’d said this was an emotional time for her. And he had left her to it. Deserted her. Bloody hell. What sort of man was he?

They decided to leave as they’d arrived, Nathan and Matt together and Bella following in her sleek Bentley.

“Who are you texting?” Nathan asked as they began the battle of traffic through Central London. “Is it Madison? You seem concerned, Matt. Is she all right?”

Matt finished typing the text and raised his head to glance at his friend. “It’s Natalia.”

“Your niece?” Nathan looked confused as they hit lights and he checked his rear view mirror to make sure Bella was behind them. “Why?”

“Madi said I was cray-cray and, for the life of me, I have no idea what it means,” he explained.

Nathan shrugged and offered his take on it. “Maybe it’s something to do with crayfish?”

“Highly unlikely. God. Can’t you drive faster, Nathan? An old age pensioner can walk faster than this snail’s pace we’re going at.”

Nathan didn’t bother replying.

---