The Party Starts at Midnight

And though it cost her what remained of her shattered self-control Abby didn’t. She left Leo standing there in the folly after the toughest speech she’d ever had to make, and with every step she took away from him her vision blurred a little bit more and her heart broke into ever tinier pieces.

But she didn’t look back. She couldn’t. If she had, she’d have run back to him just as fast as she could, told him she’d made a horrendous mistake and embarked on the fling right then and there.

How she’d got through those awful five or so minutes without falling to her knees and begging him to reconsider his position on relationships she’d never know. But she’d done the right thing. She had. For once. Because she couldn’t change him, and he clearly had no intention of doing so himself. She’d come to believe she was right. Eventually. When she stopped hurting so badly.

Once clear of the folly she picked up speed and ran through the garden, narrowly avoiding Jake and the look of astonishment on his face as she streaked past, skirted round the marquee, along the walkway.

And it was only when she made it to the safety of her car, by this time all on its own in the field, that the adrenalin that had kept her going drained away, leaving her with nothing to do other than slump over the steering wheel and burst into tears.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

‘ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, LEO?’

At the sound of his brother’s voice somewhere above and in front of him, Leo froze for a second but he didn’t stop. ‘No, I’m not bloody all right,’ he said, gritting his teeth as he heaved on the skiff and with a groan and a creak it moved another foot down the ramp.

‘What on earth are you doing?’

‘What does it look like?’

‘It looks like you’re planning to take a boat out onto the lake,’ said Jake dryly, ‘but you can’t be doing that because if you were you’d have completely and utterly lost—your—mind.’

‘Then I’ve lost my mind.’

‘It’s half past one in the morning.’

‘I am aware of that.’

‘And you suddenly have the urge to go for a row?’

‘I need to think.’

‘Can’t you do that in the house?’

‘No, I can’t.’

‘Why, what’s up?’

Pretty much at the end of his tether with himself, Abby, everything, Leo shot up and glared at his brother. ‘Are you just going stand there asking pointless questions or are you going to help me?’

‘I’ll do better than help you,’ said Jake easily, clearly not fazed in the slightest by his lousy temper. ‘I’ll join you.’

‘That won’t be necessary.’

‘Well, that’s tough, because you’re obviously in a state, and I’m not letting you go out on that—’ he pointed to the lake ‘—in that—’ he pointed to the boat ‘—alone.’

Leo shrugged and braced himself for another heave. He didn’t have either the time or the inclination to argue. There was quite enough going on in his head as it was. ‘Fine,’ he muttered. ‘Whatever. Just help me get this sodding thing into the water.’

Jake strode forward, leaned down and pushed as Leo pulled and two minutes later the boat was afloat and carrying two black-tied passengers, one dark and scowling and pulling on the oars as if his life depended on it, the other just as dark, but concerned and wary as he leaned forwards, his elbows on his knees.

‘So are you going to tell me what this is all about?’ said Jake as they glided through the water towards the centre of the dark gloomy lake.

‘Nope.’

‘Oka-a-ay-y-y, then. I’ll consider myself just along for the ride.’

‘As long as you don’t speak,’ said Leo, gritting his teeth and feeling his muscles burn, ‘I don’t care what you do.’

Jake leaned back and made a point of inhaling deeply and looking around him interestedly, as if it were midday instead of midnight, but seemed to have taken the hint, thank goodness, because at long last he’d shut up.