Luke looked around the room. He knew Tonya and Martyn had gone for a walk in the floodlit grounds to get some fresh air, and both sets of parents had already said their goodbyes to everyone. No one, it appeared, seemed to be taking charge of this catastrophe.
He watched as Debbie struggled to get up, only to slide back onto the floor as she slipped on the trampled remnants of sandwiches and vol-au-vents. As she sat there in a miserable heap, he noticed her hand was bleeding. Why couldn’t anyone see her injury? Why were they all staring as if she were some strange exhibit in a zoo? Then some guy pulled his mobile from his back trouser pocket and aimed it at her, and something inside Luke snapped. He got to his feet and strode over to join them.
‘Right, enough,’ he said, pushing the would-be photographer out of the way and easing people back to clear a space around Debbie. With Fergus’s help he hauled her to her feet and found her a seat. Someone from the bar must have reported what had happened as a couple of uniformed staff appeared and started to clear up the mess. Luke checked the cut on her hand, which thankfully turned out to be nothing morethan a smear of ketchup. Debbie looked a sorry sight. Mascara ran down her cheeks, seeping into her make-up, her elaborate hairstyle had collapsed into an untidy mess around her face and she looked thoroughly miserable.
As the disco started up once more, the lights dimmed and couples took to the floor again. Kieran joined him. ‘Just to let you know the boss lady’s arrived,’ he warned. ‘She’s at the bar.’
Luke glanced over to where Cat stood talking to bar manager Matt Carson. Then with a nod, she left and headed over to them.
‘She’s all yours,’ Kieran said with a wink, making a quick getaway back to his table.
‘Great,’ Luke muttered under his breath, bracing himself as he watched Cat Trevelyan approach.
Chapter Six
Cat had been in Ship2Shore sharing an evening drink with Nathan when the call came through about an incident in the function suite.
‘Want me to come too?’ he asked. ‘In case there’s trouble?’
‘No. It’s minor. Someone has had too much to drink, knocked into a table and spilled food over the floor. Typical Matt, he never wants to take direct responsibility for anything. I bet this is another time waster,’ she said, draining the last of her Merlot, and slipping from the bar stool. ‘I’ll be back in ten.’
When she entered the function suite it looked as if Matt had already dealt with the problem. People were dancing and for a moment she couldn’t see anything was wrong.
Catching sight of her, Matt waved her over towards the bar.
‘I hope I’m not down here on a fool’s errand, Matt,’ she said as she reached him. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘Debbie Hanson was dancing, collided with another couple and crashed into one of the tables. Luckily there wasn’t a lot of food left but it’s still made a bit of a mess. I got onto housekeeping straight away.’
‘So why am I here?’
‘Well, she’s very drunk.’
‘And?’
‘Someone needs to get her home.’
‘Not our problem. It’s down to whoever she came with. They should be taking responsibility for her. Any idea who that is?’
‘Yes, Luke Carrack. He’s over there talking to Kieran Maddern.’
‘Luke and Debbie? Together? Are you serious?’
‘Yes, it was definitely him.’
Cat stood for a moment, unable to process the fact that Luke Carrack had brought Debbie Hanson to Tonya and Martyn’s evening party. That had to be the joke of the year, didn’t it? Or, maybe simply, another example of the soft-hearted knight in shining armour doing one of his good deeds, she thought with a snort of sarcasm. She closed her eyes and wondered why, no matter how she tried to avoid him, he always seemed to turn up in the most unexpected places.
‘Don’t worry, Matt, I’ll sort it,’ she said, moving away from the bar.
As she approached, both men saw her. Kieran said something to Luke and left. Luke stood his ground, watching her approach, a reassuring hand on Debbie’s shoulder. Slumped uncomfortably in the chair, her body twisted to one side, she looked an absolute mess. Cat knew she lived with her parents on the outskirts of Wadebridge, a thirty-minute drive away. Someone would need to take her home and that task, as far as she was concerned, fell fairly and squarely on Luke Carrack’s shoulders.
Ignoring him, she bent down to talk to the woman. ‘Debbie,’ she said, ‘how are you feeling?’
‘Horrible,’ Debbie mumbled and shook her head. ‘Really horrible.’ She raised her head to look at Cat with watery eyes, a miserable expression on her face.
‘Someone needs to take you home,’ she said softly, switching her gaze to Luke.
‘Me?’ He frowned. ‘Oh no, I don’t think so.’
