‘Not until you come out.’
‘I just want to be on my own.’
‘Well, that’s tough,’ he muttered, rattling the door vigorously, ‘because I feel like company.’
She heard a thump and another curse and then the door flew open and crashed against the cubicle wall.
Helen jumped in shock and the best man leaned broad shoulders against the door frame and gave her a smile of smug satisfaction.
‘Hi, there. I’m Oliver.’
She looked at the door and back at him, a smile touching her lips despite her misery. ‘Not Rambo?’
He grinned and rubbed his shoulder ruefully. ‘Fortunately these doors aren’t very robust otherwise you’d be giving me a lift to hospital now. It always looks so easy in the movies.’
She breathed in and out slowly, unable to believe that he was standing in the doorway of the cubicle. ‘This is the ladies’ toilet.’
He didn’t shift. ‘Then the sooner you come out of there, the less likely I am to be arrested.’
She stared at him bleakly, her face pinched and pale. ‘Look, it’s sweet of you to bother but I’m fine, honestly…’
‘Sure you are.’ He smiled a smile that undoubtedly had women falling for him in droves. ‘Which is why you chose to lock yourself in the toilet for the entire reception. The food was bad, but not that bad.’
She chewed her lip. ‘I can’t believe anyone missed me.’
‘Well, I did.’ His voice was a lazy drawl. ‘And I may never forgive you for missing my speech. I was funny. I would have made you laugh.’
Despite her misery, she had to smile. ‘You did make me laugh. I heard you from the corridor.’
He nodded and then lifted a hand, sliding it over her cheek and tilting her face towards him. ‘He isn’t worth it, you know.’ His tone was soft and his eyes were speculative. ‘Whatever he did to you, you had a lucky escape. And now you can slap my face and tell me to mind my own business.’
His hand was warm and strong and instead of slapping him she felt a strange desire to throw herself on that broad chest and sob her heart out. But then his words registered and her features froze.
‘I suppose everyone is gossiping.’
‘No.’ He shook his head and lifted a hand in a gesture of denial. ‘In fact, Bryony refused to tell me anything. But it’s pretty obvious to me that it was the wedding that was causing you major problems. My guess is you were planning one of your own.’
She stared at him in disbelief. ‘Are you psychic?’
‘No.’ His tone was gentle. ‘I’m a doctor. And I could see that the ceremony was agony for you. Am I right?’
Her eyes filled and she gritted her teeth. ‘I really don’t want to talk about it.’ Her voice was thick with tears and she gave an impatient sigh that was almost a sob. ‘I know I’m being pathetic but I can’t seem to help it and I’d rather do it in private.’
‘You’re not being pathetic. On the contrary, I think you’re being very brave.’
‘Brave?’
She was falling apart in front of him and he thought she was being brave?
‘Very.’ He shrugged. ‘Coming to Bryony’s wedding when you didn’t really want to.’
‘I did want to. I
love Bryony, it’s just that…’ Helen fumbled for a tissue and blew her nose. ‘Sorry—I’m going to be OK. I just need some time on my own.’
‘That’s the last thing you need.’ He glanced at the door and gave a rueful smile. ‘We should get out of here. Sooner or later someone else is going to join us in here and then I think it could get a little bit embarrassing.’
‘You go—I’ll be fine.’