Ally Blake - Blind Dates and Other Disasters - The Wedding Wish

Jacob was determined not to give Ben the satisfaction of knowing that his comments were surprisingly hitting the mark. He was actually feeling pangs of something akin to jealousy.

‘Was there something else I could help you with?’

Ben looked to the ceiling for inspiration. ‘Nope.’

‘I can find work for you if you’re bored. I don’t think my blinds have been cleaned in the years I’ve been gone.’

Ben looked at his watch. ‘Sorry, Link. I’ll be late for squash with my new friend.’

He stood and ambled back to the door before looking back with an easy grin. ‘Just think, if Holly had not been run down by that oaf in the street the other week and been so turned off by him as to go on this husband hunt of hers, I would be eating lunch alone in my office right now. You’ve got to love the girl!’

‘Who’s an oaf?’ Jacob called out but Ben had already gone.

So, Holly had been turned off by the ‘oaf’ in the street, had she? Jacob fumed. He grabbed a stick of gum and chewed it furiously as he swung sharply back and forth in his office chair.

No wonder she had begged him not to tell Beth they had met before. Turned off! She had been practically undressing him with her eyes that first morning, he was certain of it. The little fraud. She deserved to be found out for twisting that incident to suit her.

Unless she really had found him repellent from their first meeting. Every time he had seen her since she had been edgy and had made it clear she would rather be anywhere than in his presence. And she had flung the ‘not her type’ line in his face with convincing vigour.

All the better for him if that was the end of it. No use wasting time struggling to bat down his growing attraction to the woman if he held no appeal for her in the first place.

And then he stopped, mid swing, his feet planted firmly on the carpeted floor, and his hands grabbed his desk as he realised what Ben had unwittingly revealed. The one detail that made all of the above possibilities irrelevant.

He was the reason behind Holly’s whole husband hunt.

‘That’s great Holly! What a coup,’ Beth said over the phone later that night. ‘And you’ll love Ana.’

‘Please tell me you can come.’

‘Of course. Unless the baby makes other plans we’ll be there with bells on.’

‘Bells will not be necessary. Evening wear will be fine.’

Holly sat on her bed in her shortie pyjamas and thick socks, assuming the lotus position. She held the cordless phone to her ear, and rocked her neck back and forth easing out the niggling Monday-itis tensions.

‘Ben tells me you cancelled on two of your hopefuls on the weekend.’

‘Hmm. I needed a break.’

‘Really? No other reason? No one take your fancy yet from the hundreds Ben has supplied?’

Holly heard the doubt in Beth’s voice loud and clear. ‘No one.’

‘Not even Jacob?’

‘Beth—’

‘Come on, Holly. If it weren’t for Ben I would grab the man with both hands and not let him go. He’s the catch to end all catches.’

‘You would not. He’s so not your type.’ ‘Then whose is he?’

Holly let that one slide. ‘And besides I feel like a movie star doing the talk show circuit. I need to come up with some new material before even I am bored with my funny stories.’ After one final stretch Holly flopped backwards, her arms and legs spread diagonally across the bed.

‘As long as this plan of yours has not fizzled out,’ Beth said.

‘I promise there has been no fizzling.’

‘Good, because I had already decided that my matron of honour dress was going to be bright red, backless and very sparkly. Besides I did up a current star chart and you are primed for a liaison in July. In fact you are so primed you are about to burst. Maybe tarots would help—’

‘No! I draw the line at tarot cards.’

Beth sighed. ‘Fine. What are you doing tonight? Watching TV?’

Alone? Holly felt the inference come through loud and clear. She glanced at the silent TV at the end of her bed. ‘If it weren’t for your Ben we would still be a pair of old spinsters who loved to do nothing more at night than watch Pride and Prejudice and eat home-made caramel popcorn.’

‘That was fun, though, wasn’t it?’

‘The most fun ever. But then Ben found you, and loved you and showed both of us how much better our nights couldbe.’

Holly sighed. She rolled over and scrunched herself into a warm little ball, with the phone cradled under her head. ‘I’ve seen Pride and Prejudice enough times for one woman. You don’t know how lucky you are, Beth. To have someone so decent and strong and dependable.’

Beth laughed. ‘You make Ben sound like a St Bernard!’

Better a St Bernard than a Rottweiler , she thought as images of Jacob Lincoln with his dark hair, clear sharp eyes and his overwhelming personality bombarded her subconscious.

‘Someone like Ben would drive you around the bend,’ Beth said.

‘Hardly—’

‘For example, he keeps his socks, underpants and hankies in the same dresser drawer. You have a separate drawer for each and organise them by colour and fabric with seasonal adjustments.’

‘How will I ever be able to look at Ben again without thinking about his underwear?’

‘Seriously, though, one day you will meet the man for you. A man who puts honey in everything he cooks. A man who will be happy to let you name your first-born son Maximus as you have always wanted, God help the poor child.’

‘I don’t see what is so wrong with the name Maximus. It’s a powerful and masculine name—’

‘Will you stop kidding around and listen to me?’

Duly chastised, Holly shut up and paid attention.

‘What I am saying is the perfect man for you is out there. But believe me he will be nothing like Ben. That’s nothing against my husband. You drive him around the bend just the same.’

‘Thanks.’

And Holly knew then that, though her friends would always be there with a shoulder to lean on, it would in all likelihood fall to her to find someone to love.

AT LUNCHTIME on Tuesday Holly escorted Lydia to the Lunar restaurant to meet Anabella for their first chat about her upcoming engagement party. Holly had spoken to Ana on the phone that morning and had found her bright and excited and was very much looking forward to meeting her.

Holly ordered her usual lemon, lime, and bitters with a touch of honey and Lydia ordered a pink lemonade spider with double whipped cream and chocolate topping.

Soon after Jacob Lincoln slid his impressive suit-clad frame onto the leather bench opposite her.

‘Jacob! What on earth are you doing here?’

Why? Why are you here? Holly screamed inside her head. Wasn’t I perfectly clear? Did you not promise to leave the party to me? Without interference? Without walking in here unheralded, smiling at me like that, like a naughty little boy who knows his mother would never yell at him as long as he flashed those adorable dimples.

Knowing she had been staring far too long, Holly glanced furtively at Lydia, and was glad to see she was being blithely ignored. In fact, as Lydia lowered her lipstick to her attaché case and smoothed her newly glossed lips together her wide eyes never left Jacob for a moment.

‘I beg you not to throw that drink in my face, Holly,’ Jacob said. He sent her an enigmatic smile, as though he knew something she didn’t. ‘New suit. And Anabella sends her apologies but she suddenly had to go out of town … for a week.’

Holly had to pull herself together. Lydia was now watching the two of them very carefully. ‘I spoke to her only this morning and she didn’t say a thing.’