Chapter Eighteen

The following week, Matt was buying lunch for him and Ryan in Hedworth High Street. He’d just come out of a sandwich shop with two pies when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

‘That’s far too fattening for a best man to eat,’ a voice rang out.

Matt turned to see Ryan’s wife, Sarah, smiling at him.

‘Not that there’s an ounce of fat on you anyway,’ she continued.

‘Hi Sarah,’ said Matt, returning the smile, but inside he was dying. Sarah was the last person he wanted to bump into. ‘Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?’

Sarah sighed. ‘Oh, you know, busy as usual. What with the wedding coming up and the girls so excited about being bridesmaids, I don’t have time to think.’

Matt nodded. ‘I’m really looking forward to it.’

Sarah laughed. ‘But you’re a man! You’re supposed to hate that type of thing.’

Matt shrugged. ‘I suppose I’m not your stereotypical man. I love a happy ending.’

‘You soppy sod.’ Sarah sighed. ‘I wish Ryan was the romantic kind. He hasn’t got an ounce of romance in him.’

At the mention of Ryan’s name, Matt’s guilt surfaced. Despite the goings on, it looked like Sarah hadn’t got a clue about Jess and the baby. He desperately wanted to tell Sarah as a friend but knew it wasn’t his place. Quickly, he changed the subject.

‘I just hope we can keep it secret,’ he said.

They walked side by side through the shoppers, chatting amicably. Soon they were at the entrance to the market.

‘Are you coming in?’ Matt asked as he held open the door, already dreading the scene if Jess caught sight of Ryan’s wife.

Sarah shook her head. ‘No, I’ll see Ryan later. Tell him he’d better be on time tonight, though. I’m tired of him coming home late.’ She smiled. ‘It’s no wonder there isn’t any excess weight on you, with all those miles you clocked up last week.’

The smile slipped from Matt’s face before he checked himself. So Ryan had been telling Sarah he’d been running with him, which meant that he’d probably been saying that for a while longer than he had admitted to. It could also mean that he was still saying it to hide the fact he was still seeing Jess. He would have to think of something to say to keep her from the truth.

But his silence spoke volumes, as did the blush creeping across his face. As the shoppers of Hedworth went about their daily business around them, Sarah stared at him.

Shit, thought Matt. Think of something to say …

Matt tried to laugh it off. ‘I think he’s taking this best man thing a little too seriously.’

Sarah’s eyes dropped to the floor for a moment and when she lifted them again, they were watery.

‘Matt, I’ve known you long enough now to know when you’re lying,’ she said. ‘You’re covering up for Ryan. What’s going on?’

‘I’d better get back.’ Matt jerked a thumb over his shoulder. ‘He’ll be wondering where I’ve got to.’

Sarah held onto his arm with a firm grip. ‘Is he playing around again?’

Matt gulped. ‘I – I don’t know what you mean.’

Sarah continued to stare at him, making him feel uncomfortable, as if she was trying to read his mind. All of a sudden, she let go of his arm.

‘Sorry,’ she said quietly. ‘I shouldn’t hassle you. It isn’t you at fault.’ Her eyes dropped to the floor for a moment. ‘Just tell me one thing. Exactly how many times did you not go running with him?’

‘I … I …’

‘It’s okay.’ She nodded. ‘I get the picture.’

While Matt was being grilled by Sarah and there was a lull in customers, Ryan took the opportunity to go and talk to his sisters. He wanted to know if either of them had any idea that he’d been messing around with Jess – Louise was such a gossip that Ryan knew if she was aware of it, everyone would know. He felt their fling had come to its natural conclusion – baby or no baby – and he was still planning on saying that the baby wasn’t his if anyone found out. How did he know for sure it was his, anyway? He’d only slept with her a few times.

So far, his running excuse had been a godsend, but since she’d told him she was pregnant, he’d tried to keep his distance. It would only take Matt getting wind of what had really happened and he’d be in deep trouble for using him again. Still, Matt being Matt – boring and dependable – gave him the perfect alibi. Sarah wouldn’t think anything of him coming home late if she thought he had been with Matt. It had been a stroke of genius.

‘What’s up with you?’ Ryan asked Louise as she served a customer and then gave a heavy sigh.

Louise sighed again. ‘Oh, I don’t know. I’m just sick of everything at the moment. I feel like my life is so boring.’

‘Tell me about it,’ Ryan agreed.

‘Don’t you sometimes wish you could just up sticks and move away, where no one knows you? Maybe start again?’

‘Yep, but it isn’t that easy.’

‘Oh, hark at you two, you’re always the same,’ Nicci butted in as she reached over for a bunch of bananas. ‘It’s enough to make me get out my violin. I wish you’d both cheer up.’

‘We can’t all be sunny and positive like you,’ Louise retorted.

‘Yeah,’ Ryan joined in, nudging her arm and making her drop one of the potatoes she was now packing into a bag. ‘Shut up, little Miss Sunshine.’

‘You never change,’ cried Nicci, retrieiving it as it rolled away. ‘Even when we were younger, you pair were always moaning about something or other. You should be thankful for what you’ve got.’

‘And you’re our younger sister, we should be lecturing you!’ said Louise. ‘Although I do agree with you, for once. I don’t know what’s wrong with me half of the time. I think I need a man.’

‘I thought you said you were through with men,’ Nicci retorted.

‘Oh, ha, ha. There’s only so much time I can spend in my own company without going loopy.’

‘Well, maybe Sam will start coming out with you again now Reece is back home permanently,’ said Ryan.

‘Permanently?’ Louise frowned. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

Ryan paused. ‘She never told you they fell out?’

‘No, she didn’t!’

‘Me neither,’ added Nicci.

‘He came home one Friday night and some fella turned up on the doorstep with flowers and that was that,’ Ryan explained. ‘He stayed in Sheffield for a while but now they’ve decided to give it another go. He moved back a couple of weeks ago. I can’t believe she hasn’t said anything.’

Louise was furious. All the time Sam was going on at her about getting a steady fella and Louise was feeling inferior because she couldn’t find one … but Sam hadn’t told her what had happened with Reece? And who had turned up with flowers – it must have been Dan Wilshaw. She’d wondered why his name had become off limits so quickly.

But what hurt the most was why the hell hadn’t Sam confided in her? They were supposed to be best friends.

‘And how do you know all this?’ she asked her brother.

Ryan didn’t have time to reply as he spotted Matt marching up the aisle towards them, his face like thunder.

‘Don’t tell me,’ Ryan grinned. ‘They’ve run out of vanilla slices.’

‘I want a word with you.’ Matt put down his food and for a moment, raised a clenched fist. Then he dropped it to his side quickly. Instead, he grabbed Ryan’s arm.

‘Let go of me!’ said Ryan.

‘Matt!’ Louise gasped and turned to look at Nicci. She too, was standing open-mouthed. It had looked as if Matt was going to thump Ryan. What on earth had got into him? ‘Matt,’ she repeated.

‘Keep an eye on the stall for a minute,’ he told her before storming off with Ryan.

‘What’s eating him?’ said Nicci. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen Matt lose his temper.’

In the staff room, Sam had heard all of Ryan’s conversation. In fact, she’d cringed through every word of it. While she waited for Louise to come and speak to her, she rubbed at her neck. Squashed into the corner of the back room, she sat on a stool, trying to balance her laptop on her knee.

‘Why didn’t you tell me that you and Reece had split up?’ Louise demanded as she barged in.

Sam closed her eyes momentarily and pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘Because I didn’t know if it was permanent,’ she replied.

‘So I’m not good enough to confide in now, is that it?’

‘Don’t be silly. I was just so ashamed over what happened with Dan Wilshaw and I didn’t want to talk about it.’

Louise looked like she was going to burst. ‘You split up with your husband but you don’t want to talk to me?’

‘Don’t make a big deal out of it,’ Sam pleaded. ‘It’s just a little raw right now, okay?’

‘No, it isn’t okay.’ Louise folded her arms. ‘Were you even going to tell me at some point?’

‘Of course.’ But Sam wouldn’t look at her.

‘Before or after you’d shacked up with Dan Wilshaw?’

Sam shut the laptop lid. It was clear Louise wasn’t going to let things drop. ‘I keep telling you, nothing happened between me and Dan.’

‘Did Reece find you in bed with him?’

‘No!’ Sam pushed the door closed with a kick. ‘And do you mind not airing all my dirty laundry in public?’

Louise didn’t seem to mind at all. ‘So what happened?’

‘Reece came home unannounced one Friday evening. The weekend before he’d told me he was planning on going to Germany for a few weeks.’

‘Germany!’

‘Yes, but he wasn’t going really. He was testing me to see if I would make a fuss about it.’

‘And you didn’t?’

Sam shook her head. ‘Because I was all messed up about Dan Wilshaw.’

‘And how did he come to be there?’

‘It’s not what you think. Me and Reece were chatting, trying to work things out when Dan knocked on the door.’

‘With a bouquet of flowers.’

‘With a bouquet of flowers.’ Sam looked annoyed that she knew so much. ‘I had no idea Dan was going to turn up either. But when Reece saw him, and the flowers, well, he flipped. I can’t say I blame him.’

‘Me neither,’ said Louise.

‘You see?’ Sam stood up. ‘That’s the reason I didn’t tell you. He’s back now, and we’re going to make a go of it, so I was hoping not to have this conversation.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I didn’t want to talk about how awful I felt, knowing I’d hurt Reece. I didn’t want to explain how I thought I’d effectively thrown my marriage down the drain, even though I hadn’t slept with Dan.’

Louise looked confused. ‘You didn’t sleep with Dan?’

‘No.’

Louise was shamefaced. ‘I just thought—’

‘You just thought I’m like you? Sleep with the first man that comes along to get some attention? Well, I’m not.’

‘Hey, that’s not fair!’

‘Isn’t it? Ask yourself the real reason I didn’t tell you about Reece leaving? It’s because you don’t care about anyone but yourself. You’re so wrapped up in Louise’s little world that you haven’t noticed how upset your best friend’s been.’

‘I—’

‘You’re so wrapped up in Louise’s little world that you also don’t see that something is eating at Charley and needs to be sorted.’

‘But–’

‘And the worst of it all?’ Sam found she couldn’t stop now that she’d started. ‘You’re so wrapped up in Louise’s little world that you wouldn’t even care if anyone else had a problem that they might want to talk about. All you want to do is talk about yourself.’

Frozen in shock, Louise stood for a moment after Sam had finished. Then she grabbed her coat and handbag.

‘I don’t have to listen to this,’ she said. ‘I’m going home. Tell the boss I have a headache.’

‘Yeah, right. Run away rather than face the music,’ Sam snapped.

Louise stormed out of the room.

‘Louise?’ Nicci, who was on her way in after hearing raised voices, looked up as she flew past her.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Everything!” Louise turned back and glared at her sister. ‘There seems to be an awful lot of secrets around here at the moment and that’s without this bloody wedding!’

‘What wedding?’ Nicci frowned. ‘Who’s getting married?’