But then, as one song segued into another, it wasn’t what was under his kilt that Niall had to worry about.
It was his heart.
‘Did you…?’ He gaped up at the ceiling as if that’s where the music was coming from, then back to Carli whose face told of her surprise.‘“Flame Trees?”’
She shook her head. Did he imagine it, or had she moved back from him a little, as if he’d orchestrated this song to be played to try and bring them closer together?
‘It wasn’t me, Cass. I promise.’
She shrugged. ‘Wasn’t me either. Eilidh and Cara borrowed my Spotify earlier to choose some songs, so there was a bit of something for everyone, but I didn’t tell them to play this song. I would never have told them to play it.’
‘Ah, Eilidh and Cara. Well, there’s the answer.’ Those thick-as-thieves sisters of his. Trying to rekindle their fire. That would be typical. Niall scanned the room for their crafty, smug faces, but they were nowhere to be seen.
He turned back to Carli and examined her askance. ‘Flame Trees’ had been her favourite song; she’d played it to him so many times, he knew all the words. They’d kissed to it, done other things to it. ‘An Aussie classic,’ she’d told him, and if you dated an Aussie, you should know it too. ‘Is that enshrined in law?’ he’d asked. And she’d told him it was Carli’s law.
‘You okay?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, yeah. Good.’ She stared out across the dance floor and he pulled her closer, tried to concentrate on finding the rhythm with her again. He wasn’t sure if she was okay, or ifhewas okay. The truth was this song tore him apart,the lyrics telling the tale of a man returning to his hometown and lamenting the changes, including the space left by an old flame. For Carli, when she’d introduced him to the song, it reminded her of Australia, the home that she missed. But for him, it would always be pain, losing her. An aching, an emptiness, like a long-excavated mine.
As they danced, Niall wondered if Carli felt his heart pounding through his shirt, beating out a 4/4 rhythm of regret in time with the music. How he wanted to close the distance between them and hold her like he’d imagined while listening to this song on his own. There couldn’t be a single person in this room who was feeling the feelings hewas from ‘Flame Trees’ and dancing with this woman. To be fair, it was unlikely anyone else here had ever heard this song.
‘So, um. You over your motion sickness now?’ Diverting to something mundane was possibly wise. ‘From the plane, that is, not this dance? I’m presuming that’s still ongoing.’
She smiled, grateful maybe, of the tension being broken with small talk.
‘So much better,’ she said, ‘although jet lag is trying to control me, but I’m pretending to my body that everything is normal, and it seems to believe me.’
Niall scrutinised her face for signs that she’d implied a double meaning. He could have said the same, except his body wasn’t believing that everything was normal at all, and it was nothing to do with jet lag. If you’d taken a blood sample from him and analysed it, it would come back with elevated levels of desire and longing for Carli Caselli. The only pretending he was doing was for the sake of decency at a family party where pensioners and children were present.
‘How’syourjet lag?’ Carli returned the question.
‘Och, fine, yeah,’ Niall lied. ‘I’m in control of the body Butler so far.’
‘The body Butler,’ she said. ‘I like that.’
Okay, that was it. Niall couldn’t keep up this dance/charade or whatever it was. He had to do something.
‘Would you like to go for a walk?’ he asked. ‘Watch the sunset or something cheesy like that?’
This won him a smile. ‘I could do with a little fresh air,’ she said, as the closing bars of the song played out. ‘It’s kind of stifling inside this marquee.’
‘Aye, it is. How about you meet me outside in a second. I have to get my jacket.’
‘I thought you Scotsmen were immune to the cold.’
‘It’s not for me. It’s for you. That wee cardigan thing you’ve got looks like it might have shrunk in the wash.’
Carli laughed. ‘It’s a shrug.’
Niall shrugged and smiled, hoping she got his non-verbal humour. ‘I’ll be two seconds, Cass. I promise. I won’t be leaving you out in the cold again.’
And he left Carli looking doubtful but knowing in his heart that he was telling the truth.
Chapter 8
Niall
EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO
