Right As Rain (43 page)

‘He won't be there, Angela.' Kate's words were soft but there was no missing the certainty of her tone.

Angela's pain quickly turned to anger. After Nigel left she'd been determined not to hope for his return. As each month passed she'd grown to accept his decision to leave. But now the wall she'd carefully built around her fickle heart was quickly crumbling. Her mind leaped to the hope that he'd missed her and wanted her. Kate's hand pulled gently on her arm.

‘He's been back for a week. If he was going to patch things up he would've been on your doorstep straight away'

‘A week ... When did ... How ...?' Angela's head buzzed. The last seven days were a blur. ‘Well, I've been busy so

‘He could have phoned.'

‘How do you know he didn't?'

Angela tried to put a relaxed look on her face but there was no fooling Kate. She simply raised her eyebrows.

‘I don't care what he does, Kate, but we have a child. He'll want to see Claudia. He's still her father. ‘Angela's brain continued to whirl and her words tumbled out. ‘And maybe he did call and I missed it. I mean, this week really has been chaos. On top of dropping Claudia at pre-school and day care and dashing to work, Dad's been short a driver and suddenly being a part of Carmela's wedding plans has added a whole new ...' She stopped and put her hand to her head. ‘Oh no! He's going to be at the wedding, isn't he?'

Kate frowned. ‘Carmela never seriously thought he'd come. The invitation was just a courtesy.'

‘Yeah right!'

Carmela had been Nigel's first girlfriend back when they were all at school together. She'd been the one to discard him, but she was never really happy when he started going out with Angela.

‘So everyone knew he was back but me,' said Angela.'No wonder Carmela's gloating.'

‘She's not gloating. She feels bad, but she can't very well say he isn't welcome. We're all worried about you. How will you cope?'

Angela shrugged her shoulders. ‘Same way I always have.'

Kate reached an arm towards her but Angela backed away.

‘I don't want sympathy.'

‘Good, because you're not getting any' Kate snapped, dropping her arm. ‘I've given you all the sympathy you're going to get over Nigel. I'm concerned – that's different.'

Angela's head was still spinning.

And I've been your best friend forever, not just when it suits me.' Kate leaned close and said gently, ‘I care about you, Angel.'

Angel
. Aside from Angela's dad, Kate was the only person who ever used her nickname these days.

‘Will you be okay?' Kate asked.

‘Of course.' Angela wanted to believe this. She wanted to believe that she wasn't going to let Nigel destroy the life she'd been putting back together piece by painful piece since he left. But while saying it was one thing, she could now imagine an array of awkward moments in the next few days. ‘At least Nigel's not part of the wedding party. I guess I can be thankful for that.'

Kate pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose. ‘He will be playing though.'

‘Great,' Angela groaned. How was she going to keep her composure at the altar while Nigel's clarinet poured out a love song? She clenched her fists, digging her fingers into the palms of her hands, trying to come to her senses. She took a breath. ‘We'd better go back. I really do have to get home. Can't leave Claudia in Janice's clutches for too long, goodness knows what that woman has corrupted my little girl with already.'

‘Not before you've had a glass of bubbly,' said Kate, holding up the bottle. ‘Come on.'

As they wove their way back through the tables Angela hoped her expression hid the turmoil in her head.

At last!' Carmela's sharp eyes held hers a moment before sweeping on to Kate. ‘Time's getting on and we've still got lots to do.'

Angela sank into her chair as the cork popped from the bottle. A full glass was pushed in her direction and she took two quick gulps.

‘Now, girls, I do have to warn you about Tony's cousin. He likes to think he's a ladies' man.'

‘Does he?' Kate said.

‘He's a married man and his wife's due to have a baby any day so she can't fly. He's just as likely to think he can have a bit of a fling at the wedding and I don't want it to be with my friends.'

Kate gave a snort. ‘Just let him try.'

Angela took another swig. The fidelity of Tony's cousin was the least of her worries. The only man she'd ever truly wanted was Nigel and his desertion was burning in her like it was yesterday. If he'd been home for a week and not made contact, she couldn't hang on to the hope that he might come back to her.

The girls continued to talk about the wedding plans. The liquid soured in Angela's stomach as she thought of the weekend ahead. She wasn't going to make a fool of herself and chase after him, but how was she going to survive the wedding? As a bridesmaid she couldn't simply hide in a corner.

Kate poked her under the table. Angela looked up and Carmela was staring at her with an expectant look. She'd obviously said something to which Angela was supposed to respond.

But then Carmela's face softened. ‘You'll be able to manage him, Angela,' she said. ‘I'm sorry to do it to you, but I don't want to swap the guys around at this late stage. It's bad enough we've had to reprint the service booklet to take Christie's name out and put yours in. I know I can trust you to watch out for him.'

Angela swallowed the last of her drink. She was doing Carmela a favour by standing in for Christie, but the bride-to-be almost made it sound like she was to blame for the situation. Now her partner would be the groom's lecherous cousin and to top it off, Nigel would be witness to the whole debacle. She thought of her credit card and the dress she'd never wear again and wished, once more, that Christie had simply come back from overseas. It would have saved a lot of money and a lot of angst. Taking part in this wedding was the last thing Angela wanted right now.

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ISBN: 9781743644713

TITLE: RIGHT AS RAIN

First Australian Publication 2013

Copyright © 2013 TRICIA STRINGER

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilisation of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of the publisher:

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