In The Heat Of Passion - Unfinished by Sophie J Brain (top rated books of all time txt) 📖

Chapter Seven

Saturday 27th March – Nine Months later.

Tom paced up and down Chris’ parent’s lounge as he waited for him to get ready. What was he doing? Had he lost complete and utter control of all his sense? There was no other way he could explain what he was doing that evening.

How had Chris managed to talk him into it anyway? Surely he could have found a reasonable way of saying no? Tom wracked his brain once more to recall the actual conversation. Chris had laid out some very convincing arguments all of which Tom had been unable to refute.

This was why he was currently dressed and pressed while waiting for his friend so they could go to Michelle’s fiancé’s stag do. Yes someone, somewhere, was having a joke at his expense.

Oh God, why had he agreed to go? Chris had told him that Paul, the fellow in question, did not have many friends. Paul had insisted that Tom go as well to bulk up the numbers and besides Tom always seemed to be the life of the party.

Paul surely couldn’t know about Tom’s past with Michelle could he? If he did then perhaps it was all some sort of revenge.

He hadn’t had that much to do with Paul but they had met on several occasions at family gatherings and Tom had to admit he was a good bloke. He annoyingly attractive, smart, caring, and he seemed to make Chelle happy.

He was almost perfect for her, only almost mind, Tom was certain her whole heart wasn’t into it. He didn’t doubt that she loved him but there was something missing in her eyes.

Tom remembered every woman he slept with, he remembered their hair, their eyes, their shape, their height and just about everything there was to remember. The main thing he remembered, however, was how they looked afterwards. Most were sleepy; the others satisfied, but Chelle had been different to most.

She had had craving in her eyes, whenever they had finished she had looked at him and he had seen it in her eyes. A longing for more, she loved making love and she was passionate.

He would see it whenever he saw her, and he knew it hadn’t been there before. It was the kind of look that you got once the passion had been inflamed.

Now she was with Paul, and the glint had vanished. Tom didn’t doubt that they had made love, and he didn’t doubt that it had been satisfying, but he knew that something was missing. Chelle might not even realise it, but something was.

“Speech, speech!”

Michelle inwardly cringed as Tracy tapped at her glass. She didn’t want to make a speech; she wanted a nice, simple and quiet hen night. Unfortunately she worried that too much wine and vodka had been passed around for that, most of it she had drank herself. She put on a smile as she attempted to stand up, which confirmed her suspicions that it was time to move the party back to her house, and looked out at her friends. Tracy was there, of course, and a few odd school and work friends that she had wanted.

“Right, so, as you know, next week I am getting married” she started as the girls cheered. She shot an apologetic smile to the bar staff and continued. “No longer will I be Michelle Williams, I am going to be a wife, and isn’t he wonderful? He is so loving and kind and I know he loves me. I can’t wait to marry him.”

“Chelle, are you all right?” Tracy asked.

Michelle nodded, even though standing up had made her feel a little tipsy “I’m fine, fine, I just can’t wait for this wedding. Who would have guessed that it would have come around so soon and I love him so much, and I love you all so much, thank you for being part of my special day.”

“We love you Chelle” Helen, her work friend, shouted out “we wouldn’t miss it.”

Michelle nodded as she thought about the next week, suddenly her mind started listing what needed to be done so she shook her head. She didn’t want to think about tasks right then, she wanted to enjoy herself and think of her future husband.

“You all know I love him, don’t you?” Michelle asked, as he friends nodded enthusiastically she continued “I do, with all my heart, and this time next week I will be Michelle Robson.”

Everyone went quiet, all of her friends just looked at her with blank expressions. It took her alcohol fuelled mind a second to realise what she had done. She clasped her hand over her mouth and giggled “oh goodness, he isn’t Robson is he? Michelle Forster, I will be Michelle Forster, God what an idiot I am.”

She laughed again at her error and watched as everyone else joined in with her. God what a blunder and a half that had been, why had she said Robson? That was Tom’s surname and she hadn’t thought about him in months. Well that wasn’t strictly true but she hadn’t thought about him more than fleetingly in months. It was because she knew he was in Didcot, at her own fiancé’s stag do no less, such a thing would muddle her surely?

She was drunk; she was bound to get things muddled. Everyone did it. Surely it didn’t mean anything, it couldn’t mean anything she was due to marry someone else in a week.

She shook her head and looked at her friends, all of whom had an amused expression, with the exception of Tracy. Oh dear, Tracy knew, Michelle could see it in her face, Tracy was the only one who knew both Tom and Michelle well enough to work it out. Oh God, what would she say to her?

She let out an awkward laugh “come on gals, let’s move this back to mine.”

Together they finished their drinks and made their way back to Michelle’s house. Michelle made sure she kept at least two people between her and Tracy and all times. She knew that an interrogation would happen but at least she could do whatever possible to delay it.

As soon as they arrived at Michelle’s house, however, Tracy grabbed her arm and steered her into the kitchen, under the pretence of getting more drinks. Michelle stood next to the oven and sighed softly “Trace.”

“You slept with Tom didn’t you?” Tracy asked.

Michelle held her stomach, which had started to knot, and nodded “we saw each other for a few months, we never told anyone. I fell in love with him and it didn’t work out.”

“Was he seeing someone else?” Tracy asked.

“He said he wasn’t” Michelle replied.

“You don’t believe him?”

Michelle sighed, the annoying thing as that she did believe him. She had been stubborn, foolish and in pain. She hadn’t been thinking clearly, maybe if she had that she would have listened to him. Michelle shook her head, none of that mattered now, it was finished, there was nothing more to say.

“Chelle, do you still love him?” Tracy asked.

She paused before replied “I’m marrying Paul next week Trace, me and Tom are over.”

Tracy nodded “let’s go back.”

“So, what is your favourite thing about Michelle?”

Tom cringed as Paul actually thought about the question, which had been asked by some horrid work friend. Why would anyone need to think about it? There was no one thing about Michelle that made her perfect, but if Tom had had to have picked he would have said her wit. She had a truly sarcastic sense of humour.

“I think her smile” Paul answered.

“Oh, get lost mate” the work friend replied “she has great tits.”

Tom coughed “perhaps we should change the subject, her brother is here after all.”

The work friend, whose name Tom had quickly forgotten, grinned “he is at the bar, come on be honest, you must have noticed her tits.”

Tom looked at Paul, expecting him to step in and defend Michelle, instead he was laughing with another work friend. What kind of man let someone speak about their woman like that?

“I think I would rather change the conversation” Tom replied “Michelle is a good friend of mine.”

Paul nodded “let’s drop it now.”

Tom stood and excused himself as Chris arrived back from the bar. Tom walked to the notice board and started to read it, something to keep his mind off that blasted work friend.

Suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder, he turned and saw the friend in question.

“I’m sorry” the work friend replied “I didn’t know she was a friend of yours.” Tom nodded sharply but didn’t reply, he barely had time before the friend added “maybe I could be good friends with her too, do you think she would would be the kind to cheat on her husband? I’d love to know what it is like.”

Tom barely knew what he was doing, he grabbed hold of the man by his shirt and pushed him against the wall.

“Don’t you ever speak of her like that again” he shouted “she would never go near you, she is good and kind hearted. Don’t ever try to get your hands on her, she is too good for you.”

Everyone in the bar went quiet and Tom noticed the barman looking at him with annoyance. He let go of Paul’s friend and smiled softly “just a small disagreement, nothing to worry about, I’m going to get going” he turned to Chris “you stay, I want some time on my own.”

Chris nodded and Tom left the pub and started the short walk back to his parent’s house. He decided to take a longer way that usual to clear his mind, what had happened, how could he have acted like that? What if people worked out the truth about him and Michelle?

“Thomas?”

He turned around and saw Tracy “hi Trace, how have you been?”

“All right, I’m just walked home after Michelle’s hen do, you were at the stag right?”

“Yeah, it’s still going on, I left early” he paused “there an altercation.”

“Oh dear” Tracy laughed.

“One of Paul’s friends were making not very nice remarks about Michelle” Tom explained “I stepped in and probably went a bit too far.”

Something crossed over Tracy’s face and Tom realised that she knew. Chelle must have told her.

“Did you love her?” Tracy asked.

“I still love her” Tom replied.

Tracy nodded and bit her lip “I perhaps shouldn’t tell you this, but, well I think she might still love you too. Something was said today, I just thought you should know.”

“I see, thank you, are you all right on your own?”

Tracy smiled “yes, thanks for asking, I only live round the corner.”

Tom nodded “all right good, see you Tracy.”

She walked off, leaving him alone with his thoughts, if Michelle still loved him maybe there was hope. Maybe he could still win her back.

Chapter Eight

Michelle had never been one of those girls who would spend hours dreaming of her wedding day. She liked weddings as much as the next person but she always thought that when it was her wedding everything would just fall into place.

She had kept it all relatively simple, one bridesmaid, Tracy, limited guest list, basic catering. Everything was just how