Page 141 of My Kind of Happy

Laura moved from Hamish’s arms to give me a hug. ‘Thanks, Fearne, and thanks for all the work you’ve done so far, it’s far more beautiful than I could possibly have imagined.’

‘You know what I’m thinking?’ Hamish began cautiously. ‘The Evergreens is big enough to hold a lot more guests than thirty. How about we extend the numbers? That way we could invite all your dad’s friends.’

‘He’d love that.’ Laura’s eyes sparkled at her fiancé and she turned to me. ‘But is it doable at this late stage?’

I looked at Gina, whose eyes, shining with tears, were locked on Dexter’s. They smiled at each other.

‘It’s fine with us,’ Dexter confirmed.

‘It’s your day,’ I reminded Laura. ‘You have to do what makes you happy.’

She wrapped her arm around Hamish’s waist. ‘If Dad’s happy, we’re happy.’

‘And if you’re happy, I’m happy.’ And I meant it; in the grand scheme of things, doubling or even trebling the number of guests wasn’t out of the question. The major decisions had been made; we’d just need more of everything.

‘Hog!’ Annabel piped up suddenly.

My first thought was her family. I glanced towards the side gate expecting to see a tribe of Hoggs on the approach.

‘This is top secret but Dad’s talking to a man about a hog-roast business,’ she said in a stage whisper. ‘Easier than a barbeque.’

‘Oh?’ I felt a pang of sadness that Sam hadn’t told me this himself, but it was great news, both for him and potentially for us.

‘Having tasted Sam’s special rub, I think getting him to do a hog roast sounds a great idea.’

‘Seconded.’ Rosie sighed happily. ‘I was imagining flipping burgers for crowds in this heat. If we could hand over that part to someone else, it would be amazing.’

Annabel hugged herself. ‘He’s going to love this.’

‘I hope so, Annabel, but I’ll talk to Sam about it. I think it will be more professional coming from me,’ I said casually, trying to conceal my thrill at having a legitimate excuse to get in touch.

Laura and Hamish winked at me; I don’t think I managed it.