Dan gave her hands a quick squeeze and before turning to go, called to Anna. 'You owe me a dance, Anna. Don't leave before I get it.'
When the door closed and it was quiet again, Anna dropped her handbag with a thud on the tile and met Lizzie's reflection in the mirror.
'Thanks,' she said with sad eyes.
'Will you be okay? I'd better go.'
Anna sighed, finding some strength. 'I'll be fine.'
'Good. Dancing helps, you know. With the broken heart thing. Especially disco.'
Anna laughed, finally.
'And so does Middle Point. With the broken heart thing, I mean. Think about it.'
Anna hesitated, then reached out to rest her hand on Lizzie's arm, gave it a firm squeeze. 'Thanks for this. I really appreciate it.'
'You'll be okay, I know you will.'
Anna nodded, crossed her arms under her breasts. 'About Dan.'
Lizzie nibbled at her lip. 'What about him?'
'You don't need me to tell you, do you, how he feels about you?'
Lizzie didn't know what to say. In the middle of what she was going through, Anna was thinking of Dan's happiness. And a woman she'd met twice and barely knew. Lizzie decided her first hunch about Anna had been right. She could really get to like this woman.
Anna smiled and held a hand to her heart. 'Dan is truly one of the best guys I know. Please believe that I've wanted nothing more than for him to find the happiness he deserves. And he's found it, Lizzie. I hope he's the one to make you happy, I really do.'
Lizzie couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around Anna and held her tight.
An hour later, Lizzie had face ache from smiling. Watching Ry and Julia pose and walk along the beach for their wedding photos had her beaming with happiness for them. Now, the official wedding party was back up at the pub and the reception was officially underway, which meant Lizzie's bridesmaid duties were almost over. She loved the way The Market had turned out, decorated like a Hawaiian luau. Paper lanterns lit with tiny globes hung from the white canvas market umbrellas, each shading tables and chairs. The waiting staff, all young men, were clad in brightly coloured boardshorts and white singlet tops, plastic floral leis about their necks. They were also decorated with handsome smiles and deep tans, which didn't go unnoticed by the guests of female and gay persuasion.
Everyone seemed relaxed. Except Lizzie. She was still teetering on the edge of a nervous explosion and she blamed Dan totally. They'd been circling each other like sharks for the whole evening and Lizzie wondered how all this crushing tension would resolve itself. It had to resolve itself or she feared she might burst into flames.
She sank back against the sandstone wall of the pub and looked around, realising there was one thing she could be proud of. Chilled champagne tickled her tongue and the laughter and happy sounds of the crowd wafted over her. Her staff had really come through with the look of the venue and she was so proud of them. The Market looked exactly like a perfect location for future beachside weddings. Her mind began to click into overtime and she made a mental note.
Joe sidled up next to her, nudging her with his shoulder. 'Nice work, Mosquito.'
She nudged him right back with her hip. 'Thanks, Stinkface.'
He glanced around the party, trying to appear vague and slightly disinterested. 'Did you find the crying woman? Is she okay?'
Lizzie shot him a teasing look. 'You mean a big-time Sydney investigative journalist like yourself, who practically noticed her shoe size, didn't actually find out her name? Your game is slipping, Joe.'
He didn't rise to the bait, which Lizzie found curious. Joe's voice dropped to serious. 'So, is she all right?'
Lizzie considered the question. She didn't know Anna very well, barely at all, but she had a feeling about her. 'She will be,' Lizzie said, nodding. 'Perhaps you can find out yourself when you ask her to dance later.'
Joe almost snorted his champagne. 'When I what?'
'When you dance with her. For a very good reason, which I can't go into right now, she needs to have fun tonight. Frankly, so do you. You've been a misery guts since you came back to Middle Point. And while I totally understand why, I think you are in desperate need of some no-strings-attached fun.'
Joe stared at her for a moment, looked as if he might be considering it, then slowly shook his head. 'Nope, not me Mosquito. I don't need to dance. And anyway, I'm not really in the headspace to make small talk with a woman.' Even as he was talking to his sister, he scanned the crowd.
Lizzie blew out a breath. 'For God's sake, Joe. I'm not suggesting you launch into a discussion about the size of the Federal deficit. It's just dancing. Do it for me, if not for yourself.'
He looked down at her suspiciously. 'Okay. For you.'
'Thanks. Of course, I understand what a burden it is to have to dance with Anna.'
Joe's eyes flicked back to his sister. 'That's her name? Anna?'
Lizzie simply nodded and enjoyed seeing her brother shift entirely out of his comfort zone. The little sister in her liked that a whole lot.
Joe took another sip of his champagne. 'Okay, I'll find her and ask her to dance. Later. Hey, I should have said, but I didn't. You look pretty good in that dress, Lizzie.'
Her mouth dropped open in shock. Two compliments from Stinkface? He was mellowing in his old age. 'Thanks Joe.'
'Julia seems happy as a pig in the proverbial.' They glanced over to the bride and groom, who were moving between groups of friends, giving and receiving kisses and congratulations. 'Ry does, too.'
'You're not going to say something cynical here to ruin this moment, are you?' Lizzie sighed. 'Don't turn into the journalist you, Joe. I want to enjoy this moment. Look at them, and how happy they are. No matter what happens after this, they've had today.'
Joe nudged her gently with his elbow. 'What about you? You want all this one day?'
Lizzie shot him a sideways look. 'Now you're being sentimental instead of cynical?'
'I don't know if cynical sits well on me anymore.' Joe shrugged his shoulders. 'Hell, maybe I'm just older and wiser. I think being back here in Middle Point, in my reduced circumstances if you will, has done something to me. It feels like I've shifted gears or something. This place gets under your skin, strips away your bullshit, don't you reckon?'
'Yeah, I do. Funny that it's taken so many years for you to understand that.'
Joe turned to look at his sister with serious eyes. 'And I've realised something, since I've been back here. Watching you. Where's your shot at all this, Lizzie?'
She swallowed. 'My shot?'
'You deserve to have a slice of this action, more than anyone I know. If you happen to find it, it's knock-your-socks-off, the best thing in the world. If you're lucky and you get it right, the person you marry becomes your reason for getting up every morning and your reason for going to bed every night.'
Lizzie tried to blink away fresh tears. She realised this was probably the most honest conversation she'd ever had with Joe. They'd never had deep and meaningfuls with each other, either as children or as adults, despite all the loss they'd shared. Their way of coping with disease and disappointment and death was by not talking about them. Maybe that's where Lizzie had learned that particular skill.
'You had it and look what happened to you.'
'Just because I got it wrong, Lizzie, and our mother got it spectacularly wrong, doesn't mean you will. You deserve your chance.'
Lizzie wiped a tear, linked her arm through Joe's, and rested her head against his arm. 'Who the hell are you and what have you done with my brother?'
He chuckled. 'Look at everyone here. I think that despite our differences, deep down, people are all the same. Don't we all want the happy-ever-after ending to be real?'
Her gaze, uncannily and automatically, found Dan. He was sitting at a table, across from Barbra and Harri. The flicker of candlelight danced across his face, and his dazzling smile was turned up full-bore to flirt with the two grand dames. As if he could sense her, he turned. Everyone and everything around Lizzie seemed to blur and all she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears. A teasing breeze cooled her burning cheeks and she could smell coffee. She watched him, shivered as he became aware of her attention, and she slowly let her eyes drift from his eyes to his mouth and down to his chest.
He stood up, so tall he had to crouch down under the market umbrella, and then he walked towards her, so handsome in that dinner shirt, his long-limbed stride commanding every bit of her attention.
Joe took his cue. 'I'll go find Anna.'
Then Dan was next to her, inches away. 'Lizzie,' he murmured, leaning in to press his lips to her cheek.
'Dan,' she said, shivering, clasping her hands together so they didn't reach out to him. She wasn't sure what they might do.
His eyes roamed over her and every single nerve ending in her body felt on the verge of exploding. 'That dress. Not bad.' He lifted a hand slowly and stroked her blonde hair, his fingers dancing across the top of her ear as he liked to do. 'You look unbelievable.' His voice was low and gruff.