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“Oh of course, she broke up with Ryan Webster didn’t she?”
“Yeah, some time ago. I thought I might ask Henry or James if they’d mind looking after her over the next couple of days. Do you think that’d be a huge mistake?”
“Are you asking me if one of them might make a move on her?”
“Kinda.”
“Then ask Henry, not James.”
He laughs. “Yeah, all right. Neal told me one of his friends has a crush on her.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. His name’s Simon and he’s a lawyer. Apparently he’s seen all her movies multiple times and he’s dying to meet her. He’s coming to the wedding tomorrow. He might not be her type, of course.”
“Maybe not, but it’s always nice to know when someone’s interested in you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He leans forward on the deckchair, so his lips aren’t far from mine. “You might be surprised to know there’s someone not so far away who’s very interested in you.”
I look up at the terrace. “Are you referring to the gardener who was working on the hostas?”
He chuckles and touches his nose to mine. “Actually someone a lot closer than that.”
I look up into his warm brown eyes. I knew he liked me. That he desired me. But Mae’s revelation about how he’s waited for me has completely spun me off my axis. I’d taken his calm, reserved manner as a lack of emotion, but now I know how wrong I was. She said,These guys worry about looking weak or being vulnerable, and I realize he was probably concerned about revealing how he feels about me because he didn’t want to come on too strong, and he wasn’t sure how I feel about him. We haven’t been dating long, after all.
But I think about the past nine months, how many times he’s been there on Finn’s treatment days, and how he’s hung around to see me to talk, so we can get to know each other, even though we weren’t officially dating.
We’ve been falling for each other since the moment we first met, and I just didn’t realize it.
“I love you,” I say.
His eyebrows lift, and he stares at me in surprise. “Oh,” he says.
My lips curve up. “I’m just saying. I don’t expect you to say it back. But I wanted you to know.”
His eyes are filled with affection and delight. Softly, he says, “I love you too.”
And he bends his head and kisses me, while the afternoon sunshine warms us through.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alex
I’m a tad nervous about the wedding rehearsal—not because of my part in it or because I’m worried that it won’t be well-organized, but because I’m conscious that my family might play up.
Following Missie’s advice, I have a chat with Henry and ask him if he’d do me a favor and look after Kait for me. “Unless you’ve got yourself another date,” I say.
“Nope,” is his reply, so I guess he and Juliette haven’t yet worked out their differences. Anyway, he’s happy to oblige, and when he sees Kait approach the luxury coaches that are taking us all to the church, he immediately strikes up a conversation, then asks her to sit next to him, and all the attention stops her from casting daggers at my father, who’s always ready for an excuse to get annoyed at her.
Our destination is a beautiful church called Old St. Paul’s. It’s wooden, constructed from New Zealand native timbers painted white, built in a Gothic revival style. Its exterior is modest, but it’s stunning on the inside, with large, colorful stained-glass windows, native timber columns, and embroidered furnishings. I like it because although it’s consecrated, it’s non-denominational, and any type of wedding can be held here, whether it’s religious, civil, or LGBTQIA+.
Damon and Belle are having an Anglican ceremony, which surprised me initially as Damon didn’t go to church when he was younger, but I knew that was to do with him losing his cousin when he was ten, and Belle has told me he’s rediscovered his faith since they got together.
My family isn’t religious, and we’ve never been to church other than to attend other people’s weddings and christenings, but Belle has embraced Damon’s faith, and the two of them have been attending church, and undertook a course in marriage preparation. This amused me when he first told me, and I teased him about it, but since then I’ve been thinking a lot about marriage, and I’ve come to admire them both for their dedication and commitment.
About fifty people are attending the rehearsal and the dinner tonight, but there’ll be around a hundred for the service and reception tomorrow—friends, family, and work colleagues arriving from all across New Zealand and Australia—and another hundred or so coming for the evening do. It’s a huge event, and privately not something I’d be interested in, but Damon and Belle seem to be loving all the funfair.
Damon and I are wearing matching medium-gray suits, not quite as smart as the dark-gray morning suits we’ve got for tomorrow, but still British-cut—formal and elegant. Missie’s wearing a beautiful pale-yellow dress that’s perfect for a summer wedding, and the sexiest pair of high-heeled sandals I’ve ever seen.
