He bloody winked!
The music began and everyone on the dance floor linked hands in a circle. They skipped clockwise for eight steps, then back again for eight more and carried Juliette along with them. After this point, however, the wine had well and truly kicked in, and she descended into a fit of giggles as she tripped over her own feet and those belonging to Reid,andthe other dancers. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so much and the lightness she felt was almost alien to her. But, boy, did it feel good.
Shenowunderstood what Morag had meant about how handsome Reid was when he smiled. His eyes crinkled at the corners and he laughed with abandon, revealing a set of white but crooked teeth as he tried his best to twirl her in the right direction when she insisted on going in the wrong one. The feel of his strong and commanding hand at the small of her back was unfamiliar and strange, and when he locked his gaze on hers, she shivered at the intensity of his viridescent eyes. She hadn’t been pressed so close to a man for what may as well have been eons, and something about the way he held her, along with the sensation of his body next to hers, made guilt niggle at the back of her mind.
She was snapped from the moment when she realised most of the spectators were laughing at her ineptitude, but it was all good-natured… almost. In her periphery, she caught sight of Leanna. Her face was pursed into a mask of pure anger and disgust combined as she glared at her.Blimey, if looks could kill. But Juliette soon brushed it off and tried to concentrate on the fancy footwork.
‘You’re a good mover. Light as a feather too, which helps,’ Reid said into her ear as they bounded around the room.
‘Thank you, I think?’ She laughed.
‘It’s a compliment. I like a woman I can bend to my will.’ She widened her eyes, unsure how to take what he’d said. He scowled and continued, ‘God, I swear I meant on the dance floor, that’s all. I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean anything else by it.’
His demeanour had changed, but the dance seemed to go on forever, only in silence now, and at the end, the whole place erupted in applause and laughter. Juliette was patted on the back, hugged and congratulated over and over.
She glanced around to find Reid to thank him, but he was already at the bar. He gulped down the remainder of his drink and raised a hand in a kind of awkward half-salute. His handsome smile was now absent, and a distinct look of melancholy had replaced it. He paused briefly as if he was about to change his mind, but then walked out of the pub and into the night. For a moment, Juliette was saddened by his departure and felt an urge to check on him, but Caitlin grabbed her by the hand again and led her to the bar.
Once the impromptu ceilidh was over, the men replaced the tables and Juliette and Caitlin returned to their seats with a fresh bottle of wine that they were informed Reid had kindly paid for before leaving.
Caitlin placed her drink down and nudged Juliette with her shoulder. ‘Get you, Jules. You rare creature. Able to make Grumpy-erse-MacKinnon smile… no… no,laugheven.’
‘Yes, but he soon left. I must have totally embarrassed him with my inept dancing. I think I resembled one of the Teletubbies stomping around out there.’
Caitlin laughed and raised her glass. ‘Ah well, let’s be thankful for the minor miracle that occurred here tonight.’
Juliette followed suit. ‘I’ll drink to that! Oh, and I’ve decided to take the job at the museum.’
Caitlin squealed with delight. ‘Brilliant! Double celebration! And more nights out to look forward to!’
Joren’s voice came over the sound system again. ‘Ladies and gents, it’s my pleasure to announce the main act for tonight, all the way from Clachan Seil, Greg McBradden!’
Another wave of enthusiastic applause swept around the room as an incredibly handsome, dark-haired, bearded man took the space where the Ceilidh musicians had been earlier.
‘Evenin’ all,’ he said to the gathered crowd in his broad Scottish accent. ‘How yous all doing?’ A cheer of appreciation followed. ‘Right, well, I’m going to kick off tonight with a wee bit of The Proclaimers.’ Another even louder cheer ensued. ‘Aye, I thought yous would be happy with that.’ He laughed. ‘But hey, do me a favour and don’t bloody go singing along, eh? Bloody hate it when folks do that.’ He was grinning as he spoke, and Juliette guessed it must have been an inside joke as everyone laughed along with him. ‘So, this one’s called “I’m on My Way”.’
He began to play, and Juliette was impressed with the richness of his voice and his deft guitar playing. But she couldn’t help giggling when it came to the chorus and almost every single person began to sing along. Greg rolled his eyes and shook his head, but his grin remained in place as he sang.
As she listened, Juliette’s thoughts drifted back to her dance with Reid. Why had he left in such a hurry? Was her dancing so bad? He’d smiled down at her as they’d jigged around the floor and she’d been taken aback by the flutter in her stomach. Of course, she put it down to the nerves of dancing in front of all those people; what other possible reason could there have been?
* * *
As the pub emptied, Caitlin hugged Juliette goodbye and left. Juliette collected her coat, bag and bouquet, and bid goodnight to some of the people Caitlin had introduced her to but, embarrassingly, she couldn’t remember the names of.
‘He’s not interested, you know,’ came a voice from beside her.
Juliette swung round to find Leanna staring at her with the look of someone suffering from severe phantosmia.
Juliette frowned and straightened up, alcohol providing the bravado she wouldn’t normally feel. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘You should be. It’s quite sad, really, watching you throw yourself at him.’
Juliette rolled her eyes, her patience melting away. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘You think you can come up here with your posh accent and your prissy clothes, and you can act all helpless and then heroic and you’ll grab yourself a rich man. Well, it won’t work. Reid isn’t on the market.’
Juliette made an unladylike snorting sound. ‘You really have no clue about anything, do you? I’m not interested in Reid.’ She leaned closer and hissed, ‘And neither should you be. You’re married,remember?’
Leanna widened her eyes and opened her mouth to spit forth more venom, but Donny appeared beside her.
