Page 15 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

Belle nodded in agreement. Lucy had arrived in Cranbridge only the previous summer but had fallen in love with the editor of the local newspaper, Tom, and they too seemed blissfully happy.

‘So what do you think, Belle?’ asked Lucy, with a gleam in her eye. ‘Once we’ve found someone for Molly, it’ll be time to set you up with your very own Beast!’

Belle rolled her eyes. ‘A Beauty and the Beast joke? Really?’ she said. ‘And I thought we were friends.’

Her mother’s choice of name for her daughter was a source of constant irritation for Belle. Growing up had been a nightmare with the teasing from her classmates at school.

‘Sorry,’ said Lucy, putting her arm around Belle and giving her a squeeze. ‘Blame all this glorious fresh air. It won’t happen again, I promise.’

Lucy certainly had a point about the day. The air was still and the sky was a vivid blue, which brought out the yellowing leaves on the trees nearby even more so.

‘Besides, that wasn’t love, if you remember,’ Belle told them. ‘The Beast was a multimillionaire with a castle and a huge library, so Belle was just making a sensible life choice.’

Her friends shook their heads and sighed, but they were used to her cynical attitude towards romance.

‘You do realise that we haven’t met up for a proper catch-up for at least a fortnight,’ said Molly. ‘We need to sort that out.’

As they all nodded their heads in agreement, Belle thought that it was funny how quickly life changed. When Amber had first arrived a year ago, there had been no problem in meeting up every Friday night for girls’ night. But by the time Lucy had moved to Cranbridge in the spring, things had already begun to change. Amber had fallen in love with Josh and, as well as working late, was beginning to spend more time with him in the evenings. Then Lucy had started going out with Tom and, with Molly working hard on the social media for the paper, they had hardly had a night in for weeks.

‘She’s right,’ said Lucy, with a firm nod. ‘We need to get something in the diaries before we all get booked up again. How about next Friday?’

‘What’s wrong with this Friday?’ asked Amber.

‘It’s Uncle Mick’s birthday party, remember?’ said Belle.

‘Oooh yes,’ said Molly. ‘A fancy-dress party!’

‘Maybe you can come as a bride,’ said Belle, giving Amber a wink.

Amber looked down at the ring on her finger. ‘I still can’t believe it,’ she said. ‘Isn’t it funny how life can change so rapidly? One minute I’m in New York, lonely and miserable. The next, I’m living in Cranbridge and getting married to the man I love.’

‘Well, it would be a pretty awful thing to be getting married to someone you didn’t love,’ drawled Belle.

‘I thought you said you were never falling in love,’ said Lucy, raising an eyebrow at her.

‘And I stand by that statement,’ said Belle. ‘I’ll leave all that to you three.’

Molly shook her head. ‘Don’t include me in that,’ she said. ‘I’ve had enough of men for the time being.’

‘Gary was an idiot and you’re so much better off without him,’ said Lucy.

‘I know,’ said Molly. ‘But I do miss dating someone, especially with the cold months coming up. You know, someone to snuggle up with in front of a warm fireplace.’

‘Gary would have to be pretty careful around me near a fireplace,’ said Belle with a grimace. ‘I’d be very tempted to roast his chestnuts on an open fire.’

They all laughed. Molly’s ex-boyfriend had been truly hideous.

‘So you’ve not made any tentative plans yet?’ said Lucy, turning to look at Amber.

‘Not much so far,’ said Amber. ‘It’s definitely going to be next summer. This winter is too busy and I like the idea of an outside wedding reception. Beyond that, we really don’t mind. Except we want to get married in St Barnabus’s, of course.’

St Barnabus was the tiny church at the other end of Cranbridge.

‘But there was one thing I wanted to ask,’ said Amber, looking nervous but excited. ‘As you know, I don’t have any sisters, so I was wondering whether the three of you would mind being my bridesmaids?’

‘Mind?’ said Lucy, grinning. ‘Why would we mind?’

‘We’d love to!’ said Molly, laughing in delight, as she reached forward to give Amber a hug.