* * *
‘Seriously? Oh, that’s so cool!’ Tilly said, when I told her the plan Charlie and I had made about getting pictures of the wedding dresses. ‘It’ll be like having a trial run for my wedding photos!’
I smiled, unable to resist being warmed by her enthusiasm.
‘Do you think we could try that make-up look we’d decided on before, and see how it looks? I mean, I know it’s not the actual outfit I’ll be wearing, but it’s as close as I can get.’
‘Of course. That’s a great idea. We can link back to it in the post, and give it another boost. I have a few emails to answer. Would you mind choosing a look for me too? If I have a different one, then that’s two posts we can boost.’
‘Good plan.’ Tilly looked at me for a moment, studying me.
‘Sweetie.’ I laughed. ‘You know what I look like. You sit opposite me every day!’
She flapped her hands. ‘Oh, I know, I know, but I’ve never really pictured you in a wedding dress for some reason.’
‘Well, that makes two of us.’
That made her pause. ‘Really?’
‘Certainly not at the moment. Which reminds me, Alex is coming round later after his shift so I need to make sure all the wedding-y stuff is out of sight. I don’t want him thinking I’ve got ideas.’ Charlie’s comment about Alex and weddings was still lodged at the back of my brain.
‘He wouldn’t think that. You’ve only been going out a little while.’
‘No. Probably not. But still.’
She thought about it for a moment. ‘I do have a friend who’s kind of obsessed with weddings. She’s loving these posts, by the way. We’ve tried telling her it might not be such a great idea letting blokes see a tonne of wedding magazines piled up, but she says she’s not planning anything. She just loves looking at them.’
‘Then she should enjoy them. It’s harmless enough and they are lovely.’
‘See, I know that. And you know that. But men? Well, like you just said about making sure all of this is gone before Alex sees it. Innocent things can incite panic.’
‘True. Right. OK. I’m going to get back to these emails. If you can get all the stuff together for both looks, then we can make sure everything’s in place for when Charlie gets here. I don’t want to keep him too long. I’m sure he’s got better things to be doing. He just felt guilty for nodding off on the sofa, daft thing.’
‘I don’t think he’d have volunteered to do it if he objected that much, Libs.’
I looked up from my screen. ‘The only reason I’m even friends with Charlie is because he was forced into coming to look at my accounts! This wouldn’t be the first time he’d done something he felt he ought to or got coerced into doing.’
‘Libby. He’s six foot five and weighs about the same as a small tank. He’s hardly a pushover.’
I returned to my screen and opened the first email awaiting reply. ‘Physically no, but he’s a sweetheart. It doesn’t matter what size you are when you’re a softie.’
‘Oh, he can look after himself if he needs to, I’m sure. Right, let’s find you a kick-ass make-up look to go with your wedding dress.’
Tapping away at my keyboard, I laughed at Tilly’s phrasing and left her to it.
* * *
‘Perfect!’ Tilly stepped back from fluffing the veil and turned me to the mirror.
I didn’t say anything.
‘You’re supposed to be a bride. A happy bride. It’s not an arranged marriage to some stuffy Victorian banker.’
‘Sorry. Yes. It just feels a bit weird.’
Tilly began spinning around the room, reminding me of a Disney princess, and I was more than half expecting her to start singing and calling birds from the window. Eyeing the large seagull that had just landed on the rail of my balcony, I sincerely hoped not.
The doorbell chimed and I hiked up the dress, paranoid about damaging it as I made my way to answer it.
