They retired from the wedding entirely at midnight, after far too much champagne and not enough food and when the dance floor started rocking gently under their feet even when they weren’t dancing. Jayden retrieved Darren from the dance floor and the clutches of Lillian’s sister, who had flirted incessantly with him all night, and Paul drunkenly bade them ‘Merry Christmas!’ as they said their goodbyes. Ruby laughed, said she’d see to her brother, and wished them good night.
Darren was very drunk, the pills probably heightening the effect of the booze, and a faint prickle of concern started up in the back of Jayden’s mind as he steered him into and out of the lift, into the hotel room, and onto the bed—and then it faded, when Darren caught his tie, pulled him down for a messy and slack kis
