Someone Like You(55)

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.