‘Just psyching you up. All part of my assistantly duties.’
‘Assistantly?’
‘Yep.’
‘Nutcase.’ He grinned, then grabbed me in for a quick hug and dropped a fleeting kiss on the top of my head. Letting go, he put the car into gear and pulled smoothly away, heading towards Tilly’s parents’ place to start with some early morning getting-ready shots.
We pulled up outside the address and Charlie was out and opening my door before I’d finished undoing my seat belt.
‘That’s all right. Just start getting your stuff out. I’ll be there in a minute.’
He merely held out his hand in response. Which I took and thereby made a more elegant exit than I would have alone. Charlie didn’t let go of my hand as I stood, closer to him now.
‘Thanks for doing this, Libs. I really appreciate it.’
‘It’s my pleasure, really. I think you’re wonderful for offering to do it for them anyway – you have no idea how much it meant to them. Tilly didn’t stop talking about you for a week. Frankly, I was sick of hearing about you by the end. I was kind of glad you’d had to go back to New York again.’
I tilted my head back up to meet his eyes and winked.
Charlie gave me an even look, bent quickly and placed a kiss on my forehead before taking the straw hat I was holding and plonking it down on my head. I shoved my hand up and pushed the brim back in order to see him.
He was smiling now. ‘Like I said, thanks. Now, are you ready to be a packhorse?’ he asked, leading me to the boot, which was full of camera gear.
I made an ee-yore sound.
He looked round at me.
I shrugged. ‘I don’t really know what noise a pack horse makes. It was the best I could do.’
He looked at me like he didn’t know what to say, but I saw a flash of something in his eyes. My smile faded a moment.
‘Is everything all right?’
Charlie looked away, back at the range of the stuff in the boot. ‘Absolutely. Come on, let’s get going.’
* * *
It wasn’t hard to get the bridesmaids to smile for Charlie as they attended to their preparations. It was, however, a little harder for him to get the candid shots that Tilly and Sam were so keen on, due to the fact the women kept throwing glances his way. One particularly enamoured cousin began talking about some photos she’d seen where the bridal party were in their underwear – beautiful, tasteful black and white shots, that she was sure Tilly would love. I had a feeling that the benefit would be more for the cousin than Tilly as they were all laced into corsets and this particular bridesmaid certainly looked amazing in it, from the flash I’d seen earlier as she swooshed past, her robe left open and her cover-girl figure perfectly suited to the style.
I sneaked a glance at Charlie, trying to think of something to say to diffuse any feeling of awkwardness, knowing he’d be going as red as a signal beacon right about now. But he wasn’t red at all. He merely transitioned over the suggestion by making others, giving directions and laughing at little jokes the girls were making as they flirted outrageously with him. It was as if he’d become someone else for the day. My stomach flipped a little as I suddenly realised I was hoping this new aspect of Charlie was fleeting. The fact that he was a little shy was one of the many things I loved about Charlie. It made him… him. I never wanted him to be uncomfortable, of course I didn’t. But it was endearing that he wasn’t always all super smooth. It was… refreshing. But today he was taking it all in his stride. And, for some reason, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about it.
My phone buzzed in the pocket of my dress and I pulled it out.
?? I know you probably don’t want to hear from me, but I just wanted to say again I’m sorry how things went. I never meant to hurt you. I really hope everything goes well for Tilly today. Take care, Alex x
From what I had managed to find out, Charlie and Alex were still a little tense with each other but I truly hoped they’d sort that out in time, and that meant I’d probably end up having to see Alex again at some point. But that still didn’t mean I was ready to forgive him quite yet.
I shoved the phone back in my pocket, shook the thought from my head and, refocusing, wandered over to where Charlie stood. He sensed me standing there and gave a ‘two seconds’ signal. The camera rolled off a few more frames and he turned to me, leaving the girls to their own devices for a few minutes.
‘All right?’ I asked.
‘Girls!’ a voice called up the stairs. ‘The flowers are here! Come and see!’
Four bridesmaids and one bride rushed towards the door. Charlie hooked an arm out and scooped me out of the way before I got mown down in the melee. He put the camera down and perched on the edge of a bedroom chair.
‘You seem to have all this in hand. I’m not sure you need me at all. Quite the charmer under all that, it would seem,’ I teased.
His head snapped up. ‘It’s all bravado, believe me. Don’t you dare leave!’ I was slightly relieved to see that the Charlie we all knew and loved was still there. ‘I’m just trying to get the shots.’
