Free Gypsy Wedding by Kate Lace Page A

face flared bright red. To hide her embarrassment she necked the rest of her drink and leapt to her feet. ‘Gotta go.’
    Jordan reached up from where he was sitting and caught her hand. ‘Don’t go, not yet.’
    Vicky jerked her hand out of his grasp as another jolt of desire surged through her so strongly she felt quite shaken. ‘Let me go. I’m late. I’m going to be missed.’ She grabbed her high heels off the grass and fled. ‘Thanks for the drink,’ she called over her shoulder and she caught sight of Jordan staring after her, looking utterly bewildered. As she ran she wondered if he’d felt the electricity too.
    It was only a couple of minutes later that she arrived back at the hotel. She glanced at her watch. She’d only been gone about twenty minutes. Surely no one would have noticed. She sidled back into the hotel through the door by which she’d made her escape and from there to the main function room. As she entered the noise level that hit her was ear-splitting. She stood by the door taking in the scene. Shania wasn’t to be seen. And shit, neither was Liam. Oh God , she thought in a panic, he hasn’t gone looking for me, has he?
    Trying to look casual, Vicky edged round the room, sticking by the wall, until she was standing behind a big gaggle of mothers. Maybe she could pretend that she’d been there all along. As the seconds ticked past she began to relax; the longer that Liam himself was out of the room, the longer she could pretend she had been back in it. And although she hated that she was about to lie to him, it was only a little white lie. What harm was there in going to meet Kelly down by the river?
    Except, she knew that it wasn’t really such a little white lie. It was, in fact, a great big fib because she hadn’t just met Kelly, had she? And worse was the fact that she couldn’t ignore how she’d felt on both the occasions when Jordan and she had touched.
    One of the mothers sitting just in front of her turned.
    ‘Were your ears burning just then, Vicky darlin’?’
    Vicky felt her whole face burning – never mind her ears. Shit, what had they been saying about her? Her heart rate soared as her guilty conscience kicked in. She shook her head. ‘No, should they have been?’ She waited in anguish for the answer.
    ‘We was just sayin’ that it’s got to be you next, sweetie. How long have you and Liam been engaged?’
    Vicky nearly keeled over as the relief swept through her. Oh, dear God, was that all they’d been gossiping about? She mumbled something about the fact that it had been around two years and then made her excuses to escape. As she moved away from the mothers, Liam came crashing back through the main door.
    ‘There you are,’ he said as he caught up with her. ‘Where on earth have you been?’
    ‘Been?’
    ‘You disappeared.’
    Feigning a total lack of understanding, Vicky shrugged. ‘Oh, I did pop to the Ladies.’
    ‘For quarter of an hour?’
    A flash of inspiration struck her. ‘But I splashed water on my dress when I was washing my hands. It took a while to dry. Look, it left a mark.’
    As she pointed out the still-damp place she could see the doubt clear from Liam’s face. So, her big fat fib had just been accepted.
    Liam, happy that he’d found his bride-to-be, returned to the bar and Vicky found herself a quiet corner so she could think about Liam, her future and Jordan, and try to get her head round all the complexities that had suddenly cropped up.
    Suddenly life had just become a whole lot less simple.

4
     
    ‘Don’t you go doing anything that your mum wouldn’t approve of,’ said Johnnie as he dropped his daughter off a few hundred yards away from the gates of the college.
    ‘Dad, as if I would.’
    ‘I know, but this isn’t like school.’
    Vicky smiled at her father. Like he knew, bless him. He’d left any sort of education when he was only twelve. ‘I know, Dad, and don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I won’t let you