“Is it bad if I am?” Caroline whispered back—equally loudly. “Tell him it’s none of his business.”
The phone was passed again. Josh leaned against the kitchen counter as he waited to see whom he’d talk to next.
“Caroline may have had a glass or two of champagne,” his mother said. There was a pause. “Maybe three or four.”
“I’ll be there in half an hour,” Josh said through a grin.
He dug a couple of bin liners out from under the sink and headed for the stairs. If Caroline was drunk, this was something he wanted to see. He glanced into the living room to find his dad had, thankfully, put his pants back on. He took two more steps before he backtracked. His father was lying on his back on the couch reading a romance novel.
“You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you?” Josh asked with resignation.
“Go away. I’m doing research.”
“Research?”
His father scowled at him. “These
books are full of how women expect men to behave. I’m getting ideas for winning your mother back. Now go away.”
Josh shook his head and climbed the stairs. Once in Caroline’s room, he set about putting her clothes in the bags. She hadn’t been specific about what clothes she wanted to burn, so Josh loaded up everything expect the two dresses he liked and one set of lavender lingerie that he thought was cute. Then he went back downstairs, fished Caroline’s phone out of the kitchen drawer and called the only cab in town to take him to the castle.
When the doorbell rang, everyone expected it to be Josh. Which, now that Caroline thought about it, was stupid, because Josh had a key.
“There’s a guy at the door who isn’t Josh,” Heather said with some confusion.
Caroline elbowed her way past the women to find herself face to face with fake Josh. “What are you doing here?”
She was aiming for prim, but her words didn’t come out properly. They were slightly slow and took a long time to form in her mouth. She felt like she was chewing the words rather than speaking them.
“I’m looking for you,” Danny said. “We need to talk about the wedding.”
“Why would I talk about the wedding with you?”
“I thought as a wedding present I’d offer to sing at the reception.”
“I know you,” Helen said. “You’re that boy who thinks he’s Josh.”
“I make a living being Josh,” Danny pointed out.
“Can you sing?” Jean demanded.
“He’s actually very good,” Caroline said. “He sang in my garden the other night.”
Danny beamed at her.
“It’s nine o’clock on a Friday night. Don’t you think it’s a bit late to come offering to sing?” Heather said.
“I’m on American time,” he informed them, and the women nodded as though that made perfect sense.
“If you’re going to sing at the wedding, we should hear you to make sure you’re good enough,” Shona said.
“I can do that.” Danny straightened his tie.
“I’m not supposed to let him in the house. He’s a stalker.” She winced. “Sorry, Danny.”
“No offence taken.”
“What about the marquee?” Helen said.