AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And then I remember York.
Of course. Things have already gone wrong with Joe.
I wake up unsettled by last night’s thought process and very, very aware that I’m on a wedding weekend in Cornwall, a million miles away from the person I desperately need to talk to. Joe.
Meanwhile Poppy is freaking out at the breakfast buffet.
‘I’ve forgotten the order of the shot list,’ she panics, her camera hanging from a strap around her neck. ‘Is it Alexis’s room for the getting-ready pictures or am I doing the groom and his groomsmen first? Argh.’
‘You always were disorganised,’ Mum points out, which doesn’t exactly help.
‘Bloody hell, Mum!’ Poppy’s face has fallen, her croissant left discarded on the table. ‘I’m going to mess this up, aren’t I? It’s my first ever wedding and I already can’t remember the schedule. What if I miss out on a really important part of the day and Alexis hates me forever and—’
‘Pop?’ Adam puts a reassuring hand on my sister’s shoulder. She visibly soothes under his calming touch. ‘It’s Alexis getting ready first and then you’re heading over to shoot the groomsmen midmorning.’
She stares at him curiously.
‘Thought it might be best to double check the list,’ Adam explains with a little shrug and a smile as he grabs a pain aux raisin. ‘You’ve got this,’ he tells Poppy. ‘I’ll be here the whole time and I’ve got the list on my phone so I can make sure you’re on track. Not that you’ll need me because you’re going to be brilliant.’
Mum is melting like candlewax at the breakfast table.
Even Dad looks quite impressed with lovely Adam’s adorable pep talk.
‘You’re my hero,’ Poppy says, chirpy self-belief restored, while Adam’s cheeks flush. ‘You’re right, of course. I am going to be brilliant.’
My sister stuffs the croissant back into her gob and grabs Adam by the arm. ‘Let’s do this.’
With Lila deposited at the kids’ club, where the arts and craft section makes the Tate Modern look a bit meh, I’m dressed and downstairs ready for the wedding. I’m also, apparently, no longer immune to the romance factor. Whereas before I’d smile distantly as the groom teared up on first sight of his bride-to-be, safe in the knowledge that all of this was not for me, today I find myself welling up too. My heart is a mess. I’ve told myself over and over that I don’t need a man, convinced that I’d made the most empowering decision and I had. But things change. I’ve changed. And Mum was right. What else do I have left to prove? The truth is I’m rattled by Joe not being here. I’m at one of the most gorgeous hotels I’ve ever been to, and everyone is in a great mood and I’m getting time to myself, but I miss him. I don’t just miss him. I need him. And I’ve realised it too late.
Somehow I manage to get through the wedding. Alexis looks utterly stunning in an ivory calf-length dress that has a wide neckline and little puff sleeves trimmed with pearls. Her new husband Chase looks every inch the all-American hunk and when I watch them take their first dance my heart melts. And then people are dancing and I rally. My daughter tucks into the wedding cake with such gusto that she has buttercream on her nose. By the time we’re on our third boogie together Lila is flagging, so I take her back to our room and get her settled. Lila’s in a bunk room attached to mine and after a few technical hitches, I get the hotel’s baby monitoring system working. Slipping the tablet — where I can see and hear Lila sleeping away in her room — into my bag, I potter back to the reception.
I find Adam propping up the bar, looking uncharacteristically morose.
‘What’s up?’
‘Weddings,’ he says, eyes cast down. ‘Weddings are up.’
‘No, no no,’ I reply. ‘We can’t have you feeling sorry for yourself as well. Weddings are supposed to be fun.’
Adam frowns at me. ‘It’s just that I’d quite like one of my own but the person I’m in love with sees me as a friend.’
I grab his hand eagerly.
‘You’re talking about …’
He gives me such a forlorn look that I want to bundle him up and put him in my pocket.
‘Poppy.’ He nods hopelessly.
‘OH MY GOD.’
‘I know, it’s pointless.’ He drops his gaze. ‘Utterly pointless. She’s, well, she’s everything, isn’t she? Funny and energetic and kind and stunning and I don’t know why I’m telling you this but I’ve had a few beers now and actually, Sophie, I’ve been in love with her forever.’
‘I know.’
‘You know? Is it that obvious?’
‘Well …’ I don’t want to make him feel worse, so I move swiftly on. ‘Have you talked to her?’
