Page 40 of One More Time

‘Not now, Charlie.’ She wasn’t going to hash out the grievances of her marriage at her best friend’s wedding.

‘Damn it, Grace, you make me feel like I can never do anything right, no matter how hard I try.’

She shot him a narrow-eyed, sharp glance. ‘I said not now, Charlie. Please.’

He threw his hands in the air. ‘Then when, Grace?’

‘Later.’

Charlie shot to his feet. ‘I’m going to get another drink.’

‘Yeah, you do that,’ she replied drily. ‘Just try not to get too plastered. I really don’t want a repeat of the wedding rehearsal.’

He scowled, the hurt written all over his face. ‘You know that wasn’t my fault, Grace.’

‘It was both your faults, Charlie,’ she huffed.

‘Think what you like. I’m done trying to convince you otherwise.’ He stomped away in the direction of the bar.

Then, before she could ponder it any longer, Rodger appeared at her side. ‘Looks like it’s our time to shine, Grace.’ He held out his hand and she allowed him to help her to her feet.

‘I’ve got to warn you, Rodger, I have two left feet at the moment, with these two rascals.’ She patted where her twins were tucked up.

Rodger smiled as he carefully led her to the dance floor. ‘I can handle you stepping on my toes, Grace.’

Placing a hand at her waist, his other hand enfolded her fingers as if she were made of the finest of glass. They swayed around the dance floor and although Rodger appeared to be enjoying the moment, Grace felt her anxiety accelerate. When she caught Alison Burrows’ eye, Rodger’s wife smiled from her perch at the bar, but it wasn’t genuine or warm. As for Charlie, he would be watching from some dark corner, his fist and jaw clenched tightly.

Then Grace saw Jenny, grinning and radiant, and decided to allow herself this moment, for her friend’s sake. She took note of the way Rodger held her hand so tenderly, but couldn’t help but wish it were Charlie’s instead. Suddenly, with hot tears threatening, she was forced to close her eyes for the briefest of moments. It only took a few seconds to appear calm and collected on the outside. Lucky she’d had so much practice pretending everything was fine.

None too soon, other dancers began to join them, relieving Grace of her duty. She forced a smile up at Rodger. ‘I’m going to go and put my feet up.’

Rodger released her and quirked the faintest glimmer of a smile. ‘Okay, Grace.’

At the end of the evening, Charlie was swaying on his feet, so Grace drove home. Not a word was spoken between them on the drive, when they arrived home, or when she made her way upstairs to go to bed. If she said anything to him right now, it would be in anger, and she didn’t want to go there. Not again.

After tossing and turning for what felt like ages, she finally fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.

A sudden wave of nausea pulled her to the surface of her dream, and an excruciating pain slammed her back into reality. Her hands instinctively came to her belly. Dizziness assaulted her as she tried to sit up.

Oh god no. Was she losing her babies?

Rolling to her side, she reached for Charlie in the darkness. ‘Charlie. Are you awake?’ She quickly realised that, as usual, he wasn’t even there.

Manoeuvring her feet over the side of the bed, she tried to stand up, but a buckling agony had her crumbling back to the mattress.

The stabbing pains were becoming more piercing, fiercer. Something was horribly wrong. Grabbing the phone from her bedside, she dialled for an ambulance as she fought to take deep breaths as crippling spasms rippled through her.

‘Charlie!’ she cried out, once, twice, three times.

What felt like forever later, flashing red lights approached then flicked over the walls of the bedroom.

Charlie appeared at last, looking bewildered. ‘What’s happening?’ Blinking into the lights spiralling around the room, he finally noticed Grace was hunched over the side of the bed. ‘Oh my god, Grace, are you okay?’ He rushed to her and dropped to his knees.

Grace panted through the pain. ‘Something’s terribly wrong. I called out for you.’ Smudges of dirt streaked his face, and he reeked of alcohol. ‘Where in the hell were you?’

His expression pinched and he cast his gaze to the floor.

‘For heaven’s sake, go and let the paramedics in,’ she cried out as a contraction gripped her insides.