‘I haven’t been to a wedding for ages,’ Heidi directed at her. ‘It’s so unusual to have five bridesmaids. Fletcher was telling me about your gang-of-six friendship from school-days. Amazing that the bond has lasted over the years.’
‘We work at it,’ Tammy said, thinking female friendship probably wasn’t high on the list of Heidi Bergman’s priorities. Notching up male conquests would be more her style. Or was she being bitchy out of sheer jealousy?
‘I imagine you’re much in demand for advice with two of the gang pregnant,’ Fletcher remarked.
‘Oh? Have you already had a baby, Tamalyn?’ Heidi leapt in, her fantastic eyes alight with curious interest.
For one vicious moment, Tammy was tempted to drop the bombshell of her pregnancy to Fletcher in both their faces but there was no dignity in that.
‘No. I’m a midwife,’ she answered, hating the blonde’s use of her full name. It had been special to him. Not anymore, she told herself savagely.
‘A very caring one,’ Fletcher said in a soft reminiscent tone that totally gutted her. ‘I’m glad Celine has you as her friend.’
‘Yes, it must be a relief to you that I’m on hand for her,’ Tammy shot at him, her eyes steeled to reject any shred of caring from him. ‘She can hardly lean on an absent brother.’
‘I’m sure Andrew provides all the male support Celine needs,’ he swiftly asserted.
‘Amazing, isn’t it? They actually feel confident enough of each other’s love to start a family.’
Tammy knew her tongue was running away from any sense of discretion, but she wanted to rip into him, wanted to challenge his cynical sense of values because her instincts were screaming that he was her man, her mate, and she hated the power he had to make her feel this.
‘No comment?’ she ran on, her eyes fiercely challenging his. ‘Do you think she’s having a baby too soon? That the commitment hasn’t been tested long enough yet?’
‘What is this?’ Angelo broke in, disturbed by the charged air of conflict and not relating to the argument at all. ‘Marriage is for family,’ he stated with conviction. ‘Babies cannot come too soon.’
Obviously not for the Andretti family.
Which was marvellous for Lucy.
Realising she had overstepped what was acceptable to Angelo, Tammy switched on an appeasing smile, turning to him and taking his arm again, squeezing it companionably. ‘My sentiments exactly,’ she declared. ‘I love babies.’
‘Ah! It will be good for Lucy, too, you being a midwife,’ he said with beaming satisfaction.
‘She can call me any time,’ Tammy avowed, then lifted her smile to Fletcher. ‘Silly of me to bring up an old difference of opinion. Do go on and dance.’ She even managed to extend the smile to Heidi. ‘Have a good time.’
‘Thank you.’ The golden blonde tugged Fletcher’s arm, eager to get him away from the little purple shrew who had stolen his attention. ‘Come on. The dance floor is getting crowded.’
He gave Tammy a searing look that said there was unfinished business between them, then moved to oblige his partner.
It was just his arrogance that was pricked, Tammy told herself, heading off in the opposite direction with Angelo in tow. He wouldn’t like being cut off from making any reply to an argument. Not that it was of any real importance to him. And no doubt the sexy blonde would ease whatever niggling frustration had been raised in that brief encounter.
‘You’ve had a previous relationship with Fletcher Stanton?’ Angelo inquired as he escorted her over to the table where the cake was being cut.
Tammy instantly shied from getting into that painful subject. ‘He was my partner at Celine’s wedding where he expressed the opinion that his sister was marrying too young.’ She shrugged off the incident, ruefully adding, ‘I’m afraid he and I got into an argument about it. Sorry, Angelo. I shouldn’t have touched on it again.’
‘I felt there was more,’ he remarked, slanting her a searching look. ‘A connection…’
She tried to laugh it off, airily pointing out, ‘He’s with another woman.’
‘That’s true,’ he agreed. ‘But I think he wants to be with you, Tammy.’
She huffed with mock impatience. ‘Now how can you say that? Heidi Bergman is an absolute stunner.’
‘Mmm…’ He grinned. ‘Super show-piece. But he did not feel for her. All his focus was on you.’
‘Well, I don’t know why.’ She shook her head, denying any interest, though her mind was churning with the possibility that Angelo could be right. Hope was a terribly treacherous thing.
‘I bet he will seek you out before the night is over.’
She frowned. ‘I’m with you, Angelo.’ The decision to demonstrate to Fletcher that she wasn’t available was still good common sense. She shouldn’t let herself be swayed from it by Angelo’s observations.
He laughed. ‘I’m happy for you to use me as you like, Tammy, but the vibes don’t lie. I got the impression you were under his skin and he was under yours, big-time. I won’t be offended if you go off with him. I have a lot of family friends here to catch up with.’
They’d reached the cake table, and he gave her a cheery, confidential wink as he left her to her bridesmaid’s duty, heading off to the courtyard for the ready company of other guests who had moved out to the cooler night air.
A waitress held out a tray loaded with finger slices of wedding cake wrapped in white paper serviettes. ‘This one’s ready to go.’
‘Thank you.’
Tammy sucked in a deep breath as she took the tray, trying to soothe hopelessly frayed nerves. Her heart was torn with wanting to believe Angelo and knowing no good could come from spending more time with Fletcher. If he had wanted to resume a relationship with her, he wouldn’t have brought Heidi Bergman with him. That was clear-cut evidence of where he stood.
She didn’t need this turbulent ambivalence.
If Fletcher did seek her out for some private togetherness, she would tell him she was pregnant with his child.
That would certainly be make-or-break time.
CHAPTER NINE
WITH all the official wedding business done, it was well and truly party time. The DJ played a great selection of dance music, and Tammy heartily wished Angelo didn’t have two left feet. She loved dancing, always had. Ballet, tap, contemporary jazz, ballroom—she’d had lessons in them all throughout her childhood and adolescence—lessons in every activity—swimming, tennis, even golf—whatever kept her occupied away from home and her mother’s social orbit.