Thea clutched her teacup a little harder. How the hell did Kitty know who she was talking about? “Yes! That’s it. Such an old-fashioned name.”
Kitty shook her head slowly. “Felix Walsh.”
“Sorry?”
“The man with the restaurant. It must be Felix Walsh. Fair-haired? Slippery looking?”
“Expensive looking, more like. How do you know him?” Thea’s gut fizzed. If he sued her for the damage to his car and clothes, she could use some dirt on him. As leverage.
Kitty sighed. “Let’s just say he was responsible for mine and Josh’s first fight.”
Thea blinked. “You guys fight? I’ve never even seen you get irritated with each other. The two of you are always so happy.”
Kitty’s eyebrows shot skyward. “Well, he wasn’t happy the night we met Felix Walsh.”
“What? Why?”
“Hewas the onewho let it slip about Daniel and Tabitha getting cosy while she was still engaged to Josh.”
A burn sizzled in Thea’s chest. Tabitha, her brother’s former fiancé, had cheated on him. Thea had helped put him back together after they broke up. Josh never knew who Tabitha had slept with until last Christmas when it came out at a dinner party. He’d eventually confessed to Thea that it’d been Daniel Cunningham, owner of The Five Bob. The news hadn’t surprised her. Even though Daniel was about to get married, losing his terrible reputation as a womaniser would take him years.
Josh had eventually reconciled himself to the situation. He and Daniel had come to some sort of truce for the sake of Kitty and then Daniel’s fiancé, Amber, who had become close friends. That was the trouble with living in such a tiny village. Holding grudges wasn’t practical.
Thankfully, Tabitha was long gone. Josh was blissfully happy, and Daniel had become a paragon of virtue since getting together with Amber, sponsoring a large kitten adoption centre at the sanctuary. DC’s Kitten Cabin had become Small Oak’s flagship fundraiser.
“But that wasn’tyourfault. Why did the two of you fight?”
“Josh blamed me for dragging him to the party. Tabitha was there, remember? It was bound to end in disaster.”
Thea’s lips formed an O shape, and she nodded. “Now I remember. So, Felix Walsh dropped the bombshell? I knew Josh was furious, but I thought he got over it quickly.”
“Oh, he did.” Kitty grinned and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “I have my charms, you know. But it was a shitty thing for Felix to do. He upset a lot of people that night, and all to get his own way.”
The skin on the back of Thea’s neck prickled a little. “What do you mean?”
“He was determined to get Amber to leave the pub and work for him. He wanted to put a wedge between her and Daniel. I think that’s why Daniel proposed. Amber leaving would have destroyed him.”
If Thea disliked Felix before, now she was on the verge of thoroughly despising him. According to Kitty, he’d swung a wrecking ball through at least four lives, and it was only through luck and decent friendships that things had all worked out in the end.
Thea frowned. “Well, he obviously doesn’t know I’m Josh’s sister. If he did, he’d have been laying prostate on the floor of the school hall, begging for forgiveness.”
Kitty smiled. “First, I couldn’t imagine Felix Walsh apologising for anything. Second, I think you mean prostrate.”
“Pardon?”
“You know, lying face down on the floor. I assume you didn’t mean to liken him to part of the male reproductive system.”
“Yes. Though I could think of one part of the male reproductive system that describes him nicely.”
Kitty giggled, standing to stretch her back out. “Well, at least Felix’s actions didn’t do any lasting damage. It’s weird to think that we all kind of get on now. It’s been a wild nine months.”
Thea gestured to Kitty’s ample baby bump. “For some more than others. It’s hard to believe Daniel’s getting married.”
“I know, right? He’s asked Josh to be his best man.”
Thea almost snorted out the sip of cold tea she’d just taken. “Seriously?” Tabitha aside, there was no love lost between Josh and Daniel. They’d both vied for Kitty’s affections last summer, causing her brother a lot of misery. “Did Josh agree?”
“You know your brother. In the interests of world peace, he’d never say no.”
