Finding Katie

Chapter 26

Ben

Sarah rose before I reached them and came towards me, caught my hand and dragged me back towards the dancefloor. "Come dance with me, Ben."

"Sarah, I'd like to talk to you."

She guided one of my hands around her waist, grabbed my other and put hers on my shoulder, then grinned as she lead me into the rhythm of the music. The beat had picked up, but we could still talk without having to shout to each other.

"And I want to dance with my favourite brother. It's my wedding day, you're supposed to do what I say."

"Only brother," I stated as I took over leading and twirled her away from me. When I caught her again, I was grinning.

"You haven't forgotten," Sarah laughed when her hand was on my shoulder again.

"Seven years of lessons. It's imprinted on my spine." My mother had made all of us take dancing lessons as children and had somehow – to both Lisa's and Sarah's unfettered joy – convinced her aunt that dancing was an imperative life skill her niece would need.

"You're almost as good a dancer as Andrew was."

My steps faltered. "Sarah–"

"I know," she said, squeezing my hand and slowing our steps a little. "I understand. I think it's weird too. Wonderful, but weird."

It took a few moments of looking into her eyes before I could return her smile. I gently squeezed her hand back. "You look happy."

That made her laugh. "I am happy, Ben."

"Good. I am glad."

Sarah looked at her husband who was dancing with his mother, and her smile slipped a little. Not to the sadness that had been a constant in her expression for a long time after Andrew's death, but to contemplating. "When Andrew died..." She slowly shook her head as she looked at me again. "I didn't think I'd ever be so lucky again. That I would feel this way again."

"Michael's a good man."

Nodding, she glanced at him again, then back to me. "Do you think Andrew would have approved of him?"

"Yes." I replied without hesitation. I had no doubt that my brother had loved his wife, and I had never seen him as proud as when Andrew had been holding his newborn son. The fight against his addiction to heroin had just been harder than he'd had the strength for. "He would. Andrew would have been the first to tell you to bloody well get on with your life. He would have said that you and Charlie deserve this. And he'd be right."

Sarah's smile deepened. "I know. And you deserve it too, Ben." She gestured towards the tables with her head, and my eyes followed.

My chair beside Katie had been claimed by Alistair, but both his and Katie's attention were held by Martin, both of them laughing at whatever story Michael's uncle was telling them. It seemed to involve a lot of wide gestures.

For a second, my shoulders tensed at Alistair's arm over the back of Katie's chair, but I knew Alistair and despite his reputation as a cold-hearted bastard he would never poach on another man's territory. Nor could I blame him for wanting to talk to the most beautiful woman in the room.

"She's wonderful," Sarah said.

"She is."

"I like her better than Victoria."

"You didn't like Victoria," I pointed out. My ex-girlfriend had never felt as home with my family as Katie did, and Sarah catching Victoria red-handed with her lover in our flat hadn't helped matters.