Knowing Me Knowing You (50 page)

She opened the door and there was Joel in the midnight blue wedding suit she had chosen the material for. At the sight of him her heart jolted. Despite the scars from his attack he looked amazing and the way he smiled at her as she entered the room made her insides tighten.

‘
Kate, you look….stunning,
’
Joel spoke, his voice faltering.

‘
It’s the dress, not me. I like your suit, Hermione is a genius.
’

‘
No, it’s definitely you.
’

‘
Midnight blue was so the right choice for you.
’
Kate replied hurriedly, not wanting to acknowledge the charge in the room.

‘
You like it?
’
Joel asked, stretching out his arms to display the suit.

‘
Yes,
’
Kate answered, looking at him intently.

‘
It feels strange, being dressed up for my wedding.
’

‘
Yes,
’
Kate agreed.

‘
I’ve never done it before.
’

Kate nodded and tried to ignore the urge to cry. She had to hold it together, in a few hours the contest would be over and things could get back to normal. He would be better off with
Marina
, they had more in common,
they
could work the camera together and eat healthily.

‘
Sorry, that wasn’t meant to sound like it came out,
’
Joel said quickly.

‘
It’s OK, honestly,
’
Kate answered, giving a small cough and getting rid of the knot in her throat.

‘
I’m just getting carried away with the occasion; one look at the Love Dove will have me back to reality, well
televisual
reality anyway. Got to have steady nerves and a steady hand for the cake decorating,
’
Joel said, smiling at her.

‘
Yes and you mustn’t get so heavy-handed with the silver balls, they need to be in nice groups not large clumps,
’
Kate told him.

‘
Speaks the woman who knocked the head off the porcelain groom the other day.
’

‘
We’d better go or
Lynn
will be banging the door down,
’
Kate said, looking at her watch.

‘
OK, oh, here, don’t forget your bouquet,
’
Joel said, picking the flowers up from the table and handing them to her.

Their fingers brushed against each other and Kate grabbed onto the flowers as tightly as she could and headed for the door. She didn’t want to touch him anymore, it was agony knowing how close they had come to something special and how she had pushed it away.

‘
Come on, we don’t want to be late.
’
Kate called to him.

‘
One lager, one rum and coke,
’
Darren spoke as Joel and Kate joined him and Lynn at the bar.

‘
Have you seen the mutton dressed as lamb over there?
’
Lynn
asked, pointing in the direction of Kate and Joel’s rivals for the ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’ crown.

‘
God is that Sylvia?
’
Kate asked, craning her neck to see.

‘
Yes, in black with a horrendously low cut top that someone of her age just shouldn’t be allowed to own. She does look every inch the bride though….
Frankenstein’s
.
’

‘
The others look nice though,
’
Kate said, admiring the other contestants’ dresses.

‘
And so do you, and as for Joel! I have to hand it to Hermione, she got his measurements spot on, that suit fits him like a glove.
’

‘
She spent long enough measuring him I can tell you. Oh great,
’
Kate spoke, her voice dropping.

‘
What’s the matter?
’

‘
It’s
Marina
, barely dressed, heading this way,
’
Kate said and she
downed
her drink in one and put the glass back down on the bar.

‘
Hi Joel, hello Darren, lovely to meet you again,
’
Marina
spoke and she began kissing the two men on both cheeks, much to Lynn and Kate’s irritation.

‘
Hey
Marina
, I didn’t think you could make it until later,
’
Joel said, smiling at the blonde haired woman.

‘
Well the shoot finished early so I got ready and headed on down here. You look amazing in that suit,
’
Marina
said, gazing intently at Joel.

‘
He does
doesn’t
he! He’s getting married, to Kate; this is Kate, his bride,
’
Lynn
introduced, giving her a shove towards the pair.

‘
Oh Kate, I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced you to
Marina
have I?
Marina
this is Kate, my co-contestant for the show, Kate, this is
Marina
.
’

‘
Hello,
’
Kate said through tight lips.

Co-contestant! Was that all she was now? Yes, of course that was all she was because she had been stupid and she had passed up her chance of having the sexiest man alive. She was an idiot!

‘
Pleased to meet you,
’
Marina
answered.

‘
Wow! Look at you Kate, and Joel, what a smashing
couple
you make,
’
Colin Sykes spoke as he and Dawn appeared at the edge of the bar.

‘
Wow to you too Colin, nice shirt, I would never have thought canary yellow for your skin tone, but it really does complement it,
’
Lynn
remarked.

‘
Thank you, I think. Kate, could I have a quick word, before we all get too drunk and caught up in the occasion to be able to say anything sensible?
’
Colin asked with a smile.

Kate felt her heart sink. She knew exactly what he was going to ask her and it was the moment she had been dreading for the past few weeks.

‘
I won’t keep you from your groom for long I promise,
’
Colin said.

‘
Sure,
’
Kate replied and she handed her bouquet to
Lynn
and went to the corner of the room with the
Randall’s
partner.

‘
You know what I’m going to ask you don’t you? I know I said no pressure but there’s a course starting next month and I thought it would be good if you wanted to do it we could…..
’

‘
I’ve decided not to do the exam,
’
Kate said bluntly.

‘
Oh,
’
Colin said in a tone that was both surprised and disappointed.

‘
It isn’t what I want. It probably should be, but it isn’t, not right now.
’

‘
Has this got anything to do with Miranda?
’
Colin asked seriously.

‘
No, it hasn’t,
’
Kate answered truthfully.

‘
Well, I can’t pretend I’m not disappointed. I like you Kate, the other partners like you, your work is efficient and accurate and the clients have nothing but praise for you.
’

‘
That’s very kind of you to say but....,
’
Kate began, looking back nervously at Marina who had now linked her arm through Joel’s.

‘
It’s the truth Kate; you’re a very valued member of the team, highly regarded by all,
’
Colin assured her.

‘
And I regard you higher than anyone love.
’
a familiar loud booming voice spoke from behind them.

Kate turned around to see Frank Peterson beaming at her. He was wearing a tuxedo with a bright red cummerbund and matching bow tie, a fat Cuban cigar hanging from his mouth. She had never wanted to hug anyone more.

‘
Frank! How are you? How’s
Marion
?
’
Kate asked, smiling at her client.

‘
Of course I’m here, couldn’t miss your big night, plus I’ve put up some of the prize money. As for
Marion
she’s healing up fine, won’t be dancing for a while but she’s up and at them, in the ladies doing her make-up at the moment,
’
Frank informed.

‘
A woman’s prerogative,
’
Colin responded with a laugh.

‘
It certainly is. You wouldn’t mind if I stole five minutes with your girl would you?
’
Frank asked Colin as he put an arm around Kate.

‘
Not at all, I’d better see to drinks for the team before the show starts. We’ll speak another time Kate,
’
Colin spoke with an understanding smile.

‘
Yes, of course,
’
Kate replied.

‘
Trying to
chat
you up was he?
’
Frank asked her.

‘
No, of course not Frank!
’
Kate exclaimed with a laugh.

‘
Well I wouldn’t blame him, look at you girl, you look wonderful,
’
Frank said, admiring Kate’s dress.

‘
Thank you,
’
Kate answered.

‘
Right, well, I’ll cut to the chase because I know you’re just about to dash off and compete for that prize and we can’t keep TV land waiting can we?
’
Frank began.

‘
Quite right too,
’
Kate spoke, trying to concentrate on what Frank was saying and not stare at Marina who was leaning on Joel’s arm and pulling him into her.

‘
I want you,
’
Frank stated, his eyes bulging.

Kate just stared at him, wide-eyed and verging on terrified.

‘
I’m sorry Frank, I must have misheard you, what did you say?
’
Kate asked gingerly.

‘
I said I want you. I want to take you away from all this. I want you.....
’

‘
Oh dear,
’
Kate replied awkwardly.

‘
....as my right-hand man, well right-hand woman I should say. I’m getting on a bit Kate, losing that sharpness, I need someone to keep me on an even keel, organise me, tell me what to do,
’
Frank clarified.

‘
Oh, God, you mean a job; you want to offer me a job?
’
Kate said, relieved.

‘
Yes, I’ve been thinking about it for a while now but with
Marion
getting laid up it brought things to a head, made me consider the future. I don’t want to let go of the reins yet but my thirty five year old son still acts like he’s at university, you know, drinking, different girlfriend every week, he’s not ready to take the lead. So, I’m sticking with it for now, but I need help and I want you,
’
Frank repeated.

‘
Frank, I do Probate and Wills,
’
Kate reminded him.

‘
I know but you have a good head on your shoulders, intuition and common sense. I trust you. That’s all I need,
’
Frank assured her.

‘
But what would I do? I don’t know anything about finance, well not in the way you mean,
’
Kate told him, her concentration finally moving from
Marina
.

‘
I don’t want you to have anything to do with finance, that’s my area; you just need to know about me. I like things done a certain way, you know that, I need someone to coordinate appointments, organise meetings,
create
opportunities. An assistant if you like,
’
Frank explained.