She had to ask.
She waited until Meg and Aaliyah were distracted by a discussion about whether or not to get another bottle of red or start in on the cocktails, and leaned in so that only Tess would hear. ‘Soooo, there are just the four of us, but Tom has at least fifteen friends here?’ Seventeen actually. She’d just counted them all twice. ‘And tonight we’re all at the same restaurant?’
‘Yup.’ Tess took a big slurp of wine. ‘I know what you’re going to say. Tom and I shouldn’t see each other before the wedding. But it’s fine. It’s still three and a half days away. It’s only the night before that you shouldn’t see each other. And it’s a small island and they’re a big group so they didn’t have a lot of restaurant options this evening. And they’re over there and we’re here, so technically we aren’t in exactly the same place.’
That had not been what Lily wanted to say. What she wanted to say wasBut Matt’s here. Why is he here? Why didn’t you tell me he’d be here? And what’s he doing here? Since when is he one of Tom’s best friends?To be fair, seventeen friends wasn’t atinyinner friendship circle. But still. Matt was Tom’s fiancée’s cousin. Not his friend. So why had Tom invited him on his pre-wedding holiday? She’d thought Matt would just do a one-nighter for the wedding, and probably spend the rest of his time out here on Paros, at his aunt’s house. And why did he look so bloody good? How come the several grey hairs and extra pounds it looked like he’d gained over the past eight years suited him so well? Lily was pretty sure the last eight years hadn’t treated her so kindly on the looks front.
‘Very true.’ She kept her head pointed in Tess’s direction while continuing to swivel her eyes under cover of her sunglasses in Matt’s direction. Hooray for the still-bright sun. And finally he’d just glanced again in her direction. He’d definitely noticed her. Definitely. He’d looked over towards her for just a couple of seconds too long and then shifted his position slightly so that he was facing almost entirely away from her.
Okay, well, fine.Fine. Really. Fine.She was thirty-three years old andwaybeyond being pathetic about seeing an ex, eventheex. Also, she was good at acting. She was going to act now. She absolutely was going to be fine. She wasn’t going to pass out from her now-galloping heart. She wasn’t going to give in to temptation and wipe her suddenly clammy hands on her dress. She wasn’t going to choke again. She was going to ignore him and enjoy this beautiful evening in a great local restaurant next to a stunning beach with her three best friends. ‘I just, yep, no, nothing.’
‘I think we should try a couple of cocktails.’ Aaliyah pointed halfway down the drinks menu. ‘This honeydew ouzo one looks amazing.’ This week was the first time she’d ever left her three kids for even a single night, and she was so keen to let her hair down she’d be looking like Rapunzel soon.
‘You think Tom and I shouldn’t see each other atallthis week, don’t you?’ said Tess, like Aaliyah hadn’t spoken. Finally there was an upside to Tess’s extreme all-things-wedding-related obsession. Normally she was far too eagle-eyed where her friends were concerned, but right now – unless it impacted on the wedding in some way – she’d never notice that Lily didn’t give a flying anything about whether or not Tess and Tom saw each other butdidcare hugely about whether she and Matt were going to have to speak.
‘No.’ Lily shook her head, still with half an eye on Matt, who was chatting and laughing with a few of the other men now, definitely not looking at her any more.Howcould he look so bloody carefree? Was he not affected by having seen her? He’d totally registered that she was here. ‘I think it’s fine. I mean, as you say, we’re in different parts of the terrace. And the tradition’s only about the night before. And it’s only a tradition. It doesn’t matter. But if you’re worried, we could move to a different restaurant when we’ve finished these drinks. Since we haven’t ordered yet.’ Lily didn’t need to feel selfish about suggesting that; Tess would probably genuinely feel less anxious if they did move.
‘Yes, maybe weshouldmove. We don’t want anything to ruin your wedding.’ Meg was big on superstition. She’d thrown salt over her shoulder at dinner the night before and ruined the stuffed aubergines of a woman at the next table.
Tess’s face crumpled a little and Lily immediately felt terrible. She shouldn’t have suggested that they move. She should just grow up and deal with Matt being here. She’d known that she’d see him at the wedding. This was just a few days early.
Thank God for her dark glasses.
‘No,’ she said, ‘I don’t know why I said that. It’stotallyfine us all being here.Obviously. Let’s order some of those ouzo cocktails. Look, it says the ouzo’s produced on the island. We have to try it.’
‘Actually, yes, I think you’re right,’ Meg said. ‘Arguably we’re really quite separate, and it’s nearly four days until the wedding. I’m sure it’s only the night before and the morning of the actual day that count. It would be a big hassle to move.’
Tess looked over at Tom and said, ‘It does feel a bit weird being in the same restaurant but not speaking to each other, actually. And we’re supposed to be having separate holidays. Why don’t we go and find somewhere else?’
‘Are yousureyou want to?’ Lily asked. ‘Not because you’re worried about seeing him because it’stotallyfine you seeing each other, I’m sure.’
‘Thank you, lovely Lily. Yes, I am sure. Shall we explain to the waiter and book a table here for tomorrow evening instead? So that we don’t look rude, and also I love the look of the menu.’ Tess looked at the three of them expectantly.
‘Good plan,’ Lily said, while Aaliyah clapped the drinks menu closed quite forcefully and Meg sighed a little bit too loudly. ‘So I’ll explain then.’
‘Thanks.’ Tess stood up and began to gather her things up while Aaliyah rolled her eyes and Lily tried really hard to ignore her. Tesswasat the higher maintenance end of the bride-to-be range but alotof people got a bit tense before their weddings and it was totally understandable.
Forty-five minutes later, they were all seated in a very nice little restaurant – the third one they’d schlepped inside since leaving the original one because Tess hadn’t thought the ambiences of the others were quite right (Aaliyah had told Lily and Meg quite loudly that the only bad ambience was Tess’s sodding fussiness) and without the sea views (Aaliyah had saidOh my Godwhen Tess had raised that issue, and Lily had pointed out to Tess that live music and a table in a gorgeous little white-painted courtyard surrounded by bright flowers made up for the sea and they were going to see the sea again tomorrow, all day, and Tess had eventually seen sense) – and they had a cocktail each and they were all happy again.
Lily snuck a quick look at her watch. Yep, they’d been here for long enough. It wouldn’t look suspicious if she mentioned Tom and his friends, as long as she edged the conversation round to them in a natural way. Shereallywanted to know what Matt was doing here. Well, apart from the obvious, going to the wedding on Friday and apparently attending Tom’s stag holiday first. For her sanity, she needed to know what the men’s plans were this week and whether she was likely to bump into Matt at all and have to talk to him.
And whether he’d met anyone else since his divorce.
‘And that is why,’ Meg said after averylong monologue, which Lily hadn’t totally listened to because she’d been thinking about Matt, ‘my ideal man is a farmer.’ Bingo. The ideal opening to work the conversation round.
Lily swallowed her olive and said, ‘Maybe one of Tom’s friends is a farmer. He seems to have quite a lot of friends with him.’
‘Oh God. Do you think I should have asked more people to come early?’ Tess said. ‘Or he should have asked fewer? Do you think we should have had the same number?’ Dammit. Lily just wanted to know about Matt, not get sucked into more has-the-wedding-been-planned-perfectly chat.
‘No. It doesn’t bloody matter how many people you have with you on your pre-wedding holiday. Most people don’t have pre-wedding holidays at all.’ Aaliyah waved at the nearest waiter and pointed at their glasses. ‘Same again all round. Thank yousomuch.’
‘You had your lovely massive hen night, didn’t you?’ Meg said. They’d had to organise a spa day and afternoon tea for Tess in London, which had cost everyone a fortune. It had been even more expensive for Lily, because Tess had wanted a vegan afternoon tea but had worried that vegan cake often tasted vinegary, and since she hadn’t wanted to put on any weight pre-wedding had asked the others to sample several for her. Meg lived in Edinburgh now and could only make it down to London for a couple of the tastings, and Aaliyah had told Lily that no way was she eating cake every Saturday for six weeks when she’d workedsohard to get rid of her third-baby weight, so in the end Lily had done a series of vegan afternoon teas with different friends, which had been very nice but hadn’t done her bank balance or waistline many favours.
‘Itwasa lovely hen night,’ Lily said.
‘Yes, it was.’ Tess nodded. ‘Thank you all so much. Wonderful best friends and bridesmaids.’ She held out her arms and they all leaned in for a hug. ‘Are we sure, though, that it doesn’t seem weird that Tom’s brought so many more friends?’
‘Yes. Because he didn’t have a stag when you had your hen.’ Lilyreallywanted to ask about Matt but they needed to get off this topic or, going by last night, when Tess had suddenly started obsessing very vocally and at length about the wedding flowers, Aaliyah might snap and yell at her. And Meg, who was as keen to find a man as Lily was to remain single, might start looking wistful again, because she was sure she wasnevergoing to get married. And, actually, Lilywashappy to remain single and it really didn’t matter to her why Matt was here and if shedidhave to speak to him that would be fine, she’d deal with it like the mature adult she was, so there was no need for her to ask anything about him. ‘Shall we order our food? This spicy squid starter looks amazing.’
