“I take it we’re talking about Patricia?”
“Who else?” I turned the pages until I found the offending article. “Look,” I said, holding it up.
Leo stopped what he was doing, his eyes widening as he scanned the page. “Is that us?” He wiped his hands on a tea towel and took the paper from me.
“In all our glory.”
He chuckled as he read. “She doesn’t give up, does she?”
“It would seem not.” I drank another mouthful of wine. “I’m going to have to talk to her. Again.” I considered my sister’s earlier advice. “Sal thinks I should be more forceful with her.”
“Maybe. Although I still think she’ll calm down at some point.” Leo smiled as he took another look at the announcement. “As over the top as this is, you can’t deny it’s a sweet thing to do.”
“Sweet?” I scoffed, unable to believe what I was hearing. “Leo, the woman’s gone mad. First those blooming collages, and now this. It’s like we’ve unleashed a monster.”
He let out another laugh, leaving me wishing I could share his amusement.
“I’ll give her a call,” I said. “Arrange to go and see her.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
I shook my head.
“Two against one?” Leo said, one eyebrow raised. “It might make a difference?”
Finally, I felt myself relax. “I appreciate the offer, but when it comes to Mum, you’re worse than me. At least I’m trying to put a stop to her. In your eyes the woman can’t do any wrong. Besides, there’s no point both of us taking time off work.” I decided to change the subject. “How did you get on today, by the way?”
“Good actually. They liked my ideas. They especially liked the quote, and they want me to start as soon as possible.”
“That’s brilliant.”
“I still need to thank Ed for recommending me.”
“They got your name through Dad?” I asked, surprised.
Leo nodded. “I can’t wait to get started. They’re a lovely old couple. And if anyone can give us any tips it’s them.”
“Tips? On what?”
Leo smiled. “After fifty years of wedded bliss, who better to advise on what makes a happy marriage?” He returned his attention to the paper. “This is a great photo.”
“Of you, yes.” I took the newspaper from him and stared at the image again. “I’ve ruined some pictures in my time, but this one beats them all. I mean look at me. Have you ever seen such an unnatural smile?”
Leo chuckled, his agreement obvious.
“It’s not funny,” I said. “If I can’t relax for a family snapshot, goodness knows how the wedding photos are going to turn out.”
Leo took the paper from my hand and placed it to one side. He pulled me into an embrace and kissed my forehead. “They’ll be perfect,” he said. He let go of me, picked up his knife, and got back to his chopping. “If not, we can always put them on the mantelpiece to keep children away from the fire.”
I laughed, unable to believe the man’s cheek. “Children, you say. Keep making jokes like that, mate, and we won’t be having any.”
Chapter 10
Twice I’d tried and failed to curb Mum’s zealous approach to my and Leo’s wedding. First, at the Cavendish family get-together, and then when she’d turned up with her mood boards. As I drove to my parents’ house ready to rein in her enthusiasm yet again, I told myself it was third time lucky. A picture of the newspaper announcement and accompanying photo popped into my head. At least Ihopedit was third time lucky.
“Well, well, well,” I said, smiling as I pulled up outside my childhood home. I usually parked on the drive behind Dad’s trusty Volvo, but Dad’s car wasn’t only missing, it had been replaced. Impressed that Mum’s perseverance had finally paid off, I stared at the gleaming metallic-red Mazda MX5. She’d dreamt of owning a sports car for as long as I could remember and while Dad had insisted something so frivolous was just a waste of money, it seemed Mum had, at last, got her wish.
I climbed out of my less than glamorous old runaround, pausing to check out the MX5’s luxury, cream leather interior as I made my way towards the house. “Very nice,” I said, easily envisaging Mum driving along country road after country road. Roof back and headscarf on, she’d look every inch the old-school Hollywood star. My smile grew as I realised I’d spent days worrying over nothing. It seemed Mum would be too busy enjoying her new toy to even think about interfering in my wedding plans.
