An Unwanted Guest(12)
In fact, she’s a bit surprised. At home they have so little time for each other, but they are not deliberately neglectful of each other, merely too busy. Something’s changed, and she doesn’t know what it is.
‘I have a lot on my mind,’ he says a bit defensively.
‘Do you want to tell me about it?’ she asks. He looks at her, as if considering what to tell her. It makes her feel uneasy. Maybe there’s a problem she’s not aware of.
‘It’s just work,’ he says, ‘but I’d rather not talk about work this weekend.’
‘Fine,’ she agrees, taking another sip of wine and giving him a tentative smile. ‘We came up here to relax and enjoy ourselves, after all.’ She tries to set her uneasiness aside.
She has a nice surprise in store for him that will take his mind off whatever’s bothering him.
Chapter Six
LAUREN WATCHES THE guests at the other tables with interest. She has always been curious about people, observing them, trying to figure out what makes them tick. Studying what they do. Why does that woman Riley, at the table with Gwen and David, seem so on edge, for instance? She keeps scanning the room as if expecting someone to steal her dinner.
Ian has slipped his foot out of his shoe and now he’s touching her leg under the table with his socked toe.
‘Are you flirting with me?’ she asks coyly, her attention drawn back to the man sitting across from her. He’s terribly appealing but she’s never been able to focus on just one thing for long. Her quick mind darts all over the place. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to mind. He’s almost as interested in their fellow guests as she is.
‘What’s up with that Riley?’ Lauren asks him in a quiet voice.
‘I don’t know. She looks like she’s escaped from detox or something,’ Ian says, his voice a whisper.
Lauren shifts her attention now to the attorney, who’s talking to Gwen. She’s been observing his body language throughout the meal. Something has changed. He’s sitting back now, stiffly, as if someone has said something he doesn’t like. Just a little while ago, he was leaning in towards the pretty Gwen, smiling at her, tilting his head to one side, like a male bird looking for a mate. Perhaps Riley just told him to fuck off.
She lets her gaze travel to the corner, where the engaged couple is dining. She narrows her eyes. She’d taken a rather instant dislike to Dana while they were having cocktails in the lobby. Perhaps it was simply because of her rather intimidating beauty. Perhaps it was the way she ostentatiously waved that diamond ring around. She didn’t exactly stick it under anyone’s nose and say, This is my engagement ring, isn’t it gorgeous? But she was constantly fluttering her perfectly manicured hands around, just begging people to notice it. The large diamond glittered when she smoothed her hair, when she picked up her champagne glass; her eyes sparkled when she looked at her fiancé. Everything about her was shiny and bright. She has a bright, shiny life, Lauren thinks. Then she directs her attention to the man to whom she’s engaged.
What does she think of him? She thinks he is someone who collects bright, shiny things.
She moves on to the woman who must be Candice White, dining alone at a table for two, pretending to read a magazine. But really, she’s staring at David, the attorney, who is positioned so that he is unaware of it. Lauren wonders why Candice is staring at David. Perhaps she finds him attractive. He certainly is attractive – anyone can see that. Well, good luck to her, Lauren thinks; he’s obviously interested in the younger, more fetching Gwen.
Now Candice has turned her attention away from David and she’s staring rather hard at Dana and Matthew. They are a good-looking couple, but something registers on her face – as if she recognizes Dana from somewhere. Or maybe it’s Matthew she recognizes; Lauren can’t be sure. But it seems now as if her interest is divided equally between the shiny young couple and the understated attorney.
The writer herself is rather austere looking. Dark hair pulled back from her face in a tight ponytail. Strong bones. No-nonsense skirt and sweater, equally no-nonsense glasses. She looks like she might make a competent nurse. The only flourish is a pretty scarf around her neck. Not unattractive but getting on. Maybe pushing forty. Lauren wonders idly about the book she’s writing.
It’s so pleasant here, Lauren thinks, in this enchanting dining room, with the lights low and the wind howling outside, slamming at the windows, like something wanting to get in.
Dana takes another sip of the excellent wine, tears her gaze away from Matthew for a moment, and looks around the dining room. How surprising life can be.
She’s just thinking what a small world it is, when suddenly there is a loud, ominous crash.
Dana jumps a little in her seat. She notices everybody else raising their eyes from their meals, startled.
Bradley, replacing dishes over by the buffet table, smiles and says, ‘Don’t worry – that’s just the sound of snow sliding off the roof.’
‘Goodness,’ Dana says, laughing a little, a little too loudly, ‘it sounds like someone fell off the roof!’
‘Doesn’t it?’ Bradley agrees.
Riley has the alcohol to thank for being able to keep herself together. She knows she made a bit of a spectacle of herself in the lounge, knocking back wine and champagne like a sailor. But she’s a journalist; she can hold her drink. And she’s been self-medicating more than she’d care to admit these last few years, since she started going to the ugly, dangerous parts of the world.