The Wedding Engagement

Chapter Fifteen

Liv glanced over her shoulder, trying to catch Arran’s eye in the row of seats behind her. He was across the vehicle, next to Maya and Sam. It seemed as if he was avoiding her gaze.

She turned back and smiled at Brodie, who was next to her, Ben on his other side. She’d tried to engineer the situation to sit next to Arran, but he’d hung back when everyone had climbed into Nico’s sister’s car, and the two of them had gotten separated.

Looking over at Brodie chatting with Ben, Liv took in the way Brodie kept glancing away and smiling whenever Ben made consistent eye contact.

“Okay,” Nico called from the driver’s seat. “Toilet break.”

Elise looked across at him from the passenger seat. “Again? We’re only half an hour away now. Can’t you hold it in, like a big boy?”

“Nope,” Nico replied, pulling into the rest stop. “I had that coffee, remember?”

Elise shook her head. “I think you need to get your prostate checked.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that an offer?”

Elise muttered something under her breath.

Nico parked and everyone clambered out, some heading for the facilities and some stretching their legs. Arran legged it with Nico and Ben to the loo before Liv had a chance to engage him in conversation.

She went over to Brodie and bumped his shoulder. “Hey.”

He smiled. “Hey yourself.”

“So. Brodie. This guy you like…” She glanced around, double-checking that Sam and Maya were still out of earshot and confirming that they were indeed still canoodling between the large supply of windshield wiper fluid and the bank of trashy “news”-papers. Elise was in the shop perusing the healthy snack aisle.

She turned back to Brodie. “He wouldn’t happen to be a dark-haired-with-a-tinge-of-silver, blue-eyed, handsome chap named Ben, would he?”

A smile tugged at his face as he scuffed his foot on the ground. “Maybe.”

“Aha!” she said loudly, before catching herself and glancing around furtively. “I knew it. All those puppy-dog-eyed looks you were giving him.” She fanned herself with her hand. “Swoon.”

Brodie laughed. “Shh. Maya and Sam’ll hear.”

“So what if they do?” she replied with a shrug. “In fact, we should tell them, because they’ll be able to get you guys set up.”

He shook his head. “I’d rather wait. I want to suss out Ben a bit more first; he’s only just broken up with Derek, so I don’t want to be too full on.”

“No worries.” She tapped the side of her nose. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“By the way,” he said, shooting her a smile. “What’s the deal with Arran? Whenever I’ve met him before, he’s been dead chatty. But today, he’s kind of giving out these ‘fuck off’ vibes.”

She pursed her lips. “I don’t know. But you’re right, he is acting pretty out of character. I feel like he’s avoiding me.”

Brodie glanced toward the shop. “Have you had an argument?”

“No. Not that I can remember, anyway,” she said, a dragging sensation in her chest. “He started being aloof after we went for afternoon tea, and at first I wondered if I’d said something to upset him, because I did get a bit tipsy. But I honestly can’t remember anything untoward.”

The others came out of the rest stop, so they started heading back to the car as they chatted. “Why don’t you ask him?” Brodie said.

He took her hand to help her into the car, and as she lifted her gaze it meshed with Arran’s across the car park, sending a bolt of electricity into her chest. “If I can get him to have an actual conversation with me, then I will.”

—

The “cottage” was in fact a stunning, modern, detached house right by the water, and the living room wall was entirely made of glass so they could look out over Loch Portree.

“Nice one, Nico,” Liv said as she gazed at the scene. The water was flat and calm in the still air, with the lush green of the opposite bank reflected perfectly on the surface.

“What can I say?” Nico answered from the kitchen. “I’ve got the contacts.”

She glanced across the open-plan area, where the five guys were bustling around the kitchen, preparing dinner for everyone. Sam had insisted because he said it was in order to counteract the cliché of the men sitting on their arses while the women prepared dinner. Then the three women had been “forced” to sit and have a glass of wine while the blokes got on with it. Liv had, of course, made the obligatory Five Guys joke and asked if the five of them were making burgers and fries. It had resulted in much groaning and eye-rolling, which really was rather rude when it was a top-quality quip.

Elise had planned the sustenance to her signature nth degree, not only booking the meal out the following evening but arranging for a shopping delivery shortly after their arrival.

“It’s a shame your sister was too heavily pregnant to come,” Elise said to Maya.

“I know,” Maya replied. “But I figured you were off duty and wouldn’t be keen on delivering any babies.”

Elise sipped her wine. “God, no. I’ve not delivered a baby in years. Not much call for that in general practice.”

“How’s work going?” Maya asked.

“Okay,” Elise said. “But I’m still only doing one day a week at your dad’s surgery because Mum can’t handle more than a day looking after Jack. It’s tough for her with her joints. That’s why I arranged to leave him with Harry’s sister in Edinburgh this weekend.”

“What about a nursery place?” Liv asked. “Then you could work a bit more.”

Elise hesitated. “I’m a bit reluctant for that yet. I know it’s silly, but I don’t feel like I’m ready to leave him with strangers. I’m sure I’d feel differently if Harry were still around.”

A prickle of cold ran down Liv’s spine. Every decision in Elise’s life was tainted by Harry’s death, and there was no escaping it. His sister was too far away to be of regular assistance, and his parents had been a lot older than everyone else’s—both having sadly passed away a couple of years before Harry himself. “I understand. I wish I could help, but it’s no use when I work full-time.” A thought popped into her head. “Unless I could take him at the weekend, for you to do out-of-hours shifts like Maya’s dad does?”

Elise smiled. “That’s very kind. But I’m trying to keep work in-hours for now. Plus I can’t have you giving up your weekends for me. You work hard and need the time to relax. Especially when you’re already helping with other childcare.” Elise darted a meaningful glance over to where Arran was busy with the others in the kitchen.

A heavy weight hung in Liv’s chest. “I haven’t been doing much of that lately.”

Her gaze settled on Arran as he smiled at something Nico said. Her eyes seemed to get stuck on his handsome face and she had trouble prizing them away. Then he glanced over and caught her staring, and she dragged her eyes off him to furiously study a random vase across the room.

“Okay, ladies,” Nico called. “Dinner is served.”

Brodie and Ben had the table set, and Nico and Sam were putting down plates of spaghetti and meatballs at each place, as Arran poured wine into all the glasses.

Maya led them over to the table. “Well, gentlemen. This is rather fabulous. I’m thinking it should be a weekly event, yes?”

Elise nodded as they took their seats. “Every Friday night we get dinner cooked for us by the men? Sounds good to me.”

Nico settled into the seat opposite Elise. “Dr. Kowalski, I would be delighted to give you the pleasure of my company every weekend.”

Liv was sure Elise’s cheeks colored a little as she shot him a withering look.

Somewhat predictably, Arran had positioned himself at the other side of the large table and Liv was no longer able to hold on to the vain hope that things were normal between them. What have I done to upset him?

Brodie leaned in from beside her to whisper in her ear. “Arran’s definitely being off with me, and I get the feeling it’s because of you.”

She turned her head toward him, her pulse picking up. “Me?”

“Yep,” he murmured into her ear.

Liv concentrated on keeping her voice low. “Why do you think that?”

“Because my experiment has worked.”

She frowned at him. “What experiment?”

“The one where I sit next to you and whisper in your ear. He’s giving me the evil eye.”

Liv’s heart thudded as she briefly raised her eyes and clocked Arran watching them, though he glanced away and nodded at what Sam was saying when she caught him. “I don’t understand.”

“I do. Did you tell him we went out?”

“Yeah, but he’s just a friend,” she said, watching Arran surreptitiously as she spoke and trying to ignore how hot he looked with his hair pulled up into a small topknot. “Why would he mind?”

“He’s clearly jealous. Does he know we decided to just be mates?”

“Yes.” Hold on, did they discuss that part? “No, wait…I can’t remember if I specifically told him that bit.”

Brodie leaned away, a knowing look in his eyes and a smile playing on his face.

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you enjoying this?”

“Kind of,” he said. “I seem to have a penchant in this friendship group for creating unnecessary jealousy. I think I like it.” He lifted his wineglass and sipped, pinkie sticking out and lips pursed as if he was an evil villain. Liv couldn’t help but laugh, and when she chanced another quick glance at Arran, he was watching them again, his face set in a frown.

She brought her eyes down to pay attention to her food, taking a mouthful. “Mmm, this is delicious.”

Brodie nodded. “Nico said his mum’s Italian? It’s her recipe.”

“Yeah, she’s an amazing cook.”

“Anyway. Stop changing the subject. Do you like Arran?”

Her mouth went dry, so she lifted her wineglass to take a sip. “Course I do. We’re friends.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

She took another mouthful, staying silent as she chewed and weighed up her response. She kept her voice low. “Yeah. I like him. But it’s complicated.”

“Perhaps it doesn’t have to be,” he said softly.

Emotion pricked at her eyes and constricted her throat as she considered Arran back together with Jess. Why did the idea hurt so much, when she’d managed to cope with the reality of his being with her in the past? She blinked hard, then gave Brodie a weak smile, unable to get any words out.

Brodie touched the back of her hand with a reassuring smile, glancing at Arran briefly, before topping up their wineglasses.