A Home In Sunset Bay. Rebecca Pugh

his eyes appraised her.

      Mia glanced down at herself with a shy smile. ‘Oh, thank you. Do you think so? I wasn’t sure what to go for. There were so many choices.’

      ‘Oh, I definitely think so.’ A sly smirk played at the corner of Cal’s mouth as his eyes finally returned to her face. ‘You look different.’

      Mia laughed. It was true – she did look different, probably because she didn’t usually wear as much make-up as she was wearing tonight, and her long brown hair was normally shoved up into a ponytail for work. Tonight, she’d decided to curl it, the ringlets bouncing about on her shoulders every time she moved. She’d taken care with her make-up, too, choosing a specific shimmery shade of green to match her dress, and going along with the eye-flick that Pollyanna had put into play. She was happy with the dress she’d chosen. It wasn’t patterned, but had a sweetheart neckline, capped sleeves and flared out around her legs, reaching just below her thigh. There was a lot of leg on show but she’d felt comforted when she’d seen the length of Pollyanna’s dress, which reached mid-thigh. ‘You look fantastic. I love your hair.’ She giggled as she looked at it again. ‘It actually suits you.’

      Cal laughed heartily and smoothed it back. ‘You think? Well, I might have to style it like this more often.’ His eyes twinkled as he looked at her with amusement, and Mia forced herself to hold his stare. ‘You fancy a dance later?’

      ‘Sure.’ She shrugged, but inside her heart was beating a crazy rhythm.

      ‘I’ll hold you to that, and don’t try disappearing on me, because I’ll come and find you. That’s a promise.’ He cocked the mouth of the beer bottle towards her with a naughty look in his eye, then hopped down from the stool and pushed through the throngs of party guests.

      Mia realised she’d been holding her breath when Pollyanna returned to her side and nudged her playfully in the ribs. ‘Enjoying yourself?’

      Mia swallowed and nodded quickly. ‘Yes, definitely.’ She swigged down a mouthful of beer and forced herself back into the moment, forcing her gaze away from where she’d last seen Cal.

      ‘Go and enjoy yourself, I’ll take over here.’

      Mia smiled gratefully and decided to go and chat to some of the guests. It was a party after all. She passed by numerous people, and grinned at the enthusiasm they’d shown. It could have been a complete flop, but thankfully these people, who had known and loved Grandma Dolly just like she did, had taken to the idea with more excitement than she could have hoped for. The dresses were all eye-catching numbers, hairstyles which had her marvelling, and she loved each and every one of them for making the effort.

      Much later on, once the party really was in full swing and the majority of guests had decided that it was time to get their groove on, Mia was in the toilets with Pollyanna.

      ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed,’ Pollyanna said as she refreshed her lipstick in front of the mirror, ‘but Cal has been watching you all night.’ She popped the lid back on and turned to Mia with a mischievous glint in her eye. ‘I’m guessing that you hadn’t noticed?’

      Mia laughed, a little too loudly, and shook her head. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. How could a man who has Hannah on his arm be paying any attention to me?’ She fixed Pollyanna with a questioning look, eyebrows raised. ‘Besides, if that were true, then he’d have been bored out of his mind watching me.’

      Pollyanna tutted and shook her head. ‘You disappoint me, Mia. He’s obviously fond of you.’

      ‘And I’m fond of him, too, but as a friend. So, no more silly ideas, all right, young lady?’

      With a pout, Pollyanna shrugged. ‘I’m just stating the obvious.’

      ‘And I’m just letting you know that you’re seeing things that aren’t there.’ The uninvited flashback of Cal’s eyes roaming up and down her body when she’d served him a beer crept into her mind. ‘And things that will never be there either. He’s just a flirt. He flirts with everyone, haven’t you noticed?’

      ‘He doesn’t flirt with Hannah,’ Pollyanna said quietly.

      Mia frowned. ‘Well, he doesn’t need to really, does he? He’s got Hannah.’ A shard of jealousy shot through her. ‘Anyway, enough of this,’ she ordered as she waved away the conversation, hopefully forgotten about with the hand movement. ‘Let’s get back out there.’

      They re-entered the diner to a scene that would have brought tears to Grandma Dolly’s eyes. Everybody was dancing. Everybody. In fact, there wasn’t a single person who was standing still on the sidelines. Right there in the diner, it was like a musical was taking place. Mia was awestruck by the sight of it, but didn’t have too long to watch because Pollyanna tugged her into the middle of the chaos.

      A few beers having loosened her up, Mia went wild, swinging the layers of her dress from side to side, laughing and clapping to the beat. It was insane, but a rush of exhilaration took her over. Amid the throngs of moving, jiving bodies, she threw out her best dance moves and didn’t care whether anybody was watching her or not. Cal was a little way through the wiggling bodies, but when he made eye contact with her Mia felt her heart rate pick up speed immediately. He locked eyes and, assured that Hannah was dancing with someone else, began to push his way through the bodies towards her. Mia couldn’t help the smile that began to spread across her lips when he arrived in front of her. She caught a glimpse of Pollyanna over his shoulder, winking naughtily, but ignored her and looked back at him.

      ‘Told you I’d come and find you,’ Cal whispered as he leant forward, his breath dancing across her shoulder. ‘Shall we dance?’

      Mia nodded and they moved to the music, surrounded by the other dancing guests, the music drowning out every thought that she normally would have had about dancing with someone else’s boyfriend. But Hannah knew that they were friends and Mia didn’t see how it was a problem. Hannah was dancing with Marco, after all, and she didn’t seem too bothered by the lack of Cal’s presence, so Mia went with it and laughed as Cal spun her around and then lowered her to the ground, her body safely balanced in his arms. He swung her back up and grinned as their faces were inches apart.

      Mia felt breathless. She stared back at him, feeling his rapid breath against her face and tried to catch her own. ‘Nice moves,’ she murmured, glad of his arms holding her, steadying her. She suddenly felt dizzy, but wasn’t sure whether it was to do with being up this close with him or the beers she’d drunk beforehand. Perhaps a mixture of both. She was so hot, and with the bodies that were surrounding them both, the temperature was getting hotter with every second that passed. Cal raised his eyebrows challengingly at her. ‘Giving up so soon?’

      She smirked back. ‘No chance.’