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She spotted the oval-shaped diamond ring glittering on her sister’s finger – large, expensive and foreboding, like Aladdin’s lamp about to unleash its genie.
‘I’m engaged!’ Megan thrust her hand under Beth’s nose for closer inspection.
Beth was too shocked to admire the ring. She recoiled in shock, sending her smoothie flying. It landed straight down her front. And to think she’d been worried about the falafel staining.
She grabbed a handful of napkins, trying to absorb the worst of the spill. ‘Engaged? Engaged to be married?’
‘Well, of course engaged to be married.’ Megan rolled her eyes, sliding away from the spilt smoothie. None had landed on her, Beth noticed. Typical.
Beth binned the napkins. ‘Who to?’
Megan looked affronted. ‘What do you mean, who to? Who do you think? Zac, of course.’
‘Zac?’ Thankfully, Beth had no smoothie left to spill.
Megan tutted, disappointed. ‘Who else would I be getting married to?’
Beth refrained from comment.
‘Lovely, funny, talented, gorgeous Zac.’ Megan swooned a little, her acting attributes on full display. ‘Darling Zac, who’s kind… and adoring… and—’
‘Twenty-three.’
Megan sloshed her. ‘Don’t you start. I’m only ten years older. That’s hardly anything these days.’
‘Right.’
‘He’s very mature for his age and knows his own mind, and he’s clearly ready for commitment. Why else would he propose?’
But Beth was still trying to process the news.
‘And he’s as keen as I am.’ Megan’s smile returned. ‘The wedding’s this year.’
Time slowed.
‘This year?’ Beth tried not to panic. ‘When exactly this year?’
Megan glanced away. ‘June.’
‘June?’
‘The ninth.’
‘As in… just over two months’ time?’
‘That’s right.’ Megan admired her ring, glistening in the sunshine. ‘Isn’t it romantic?’
That was one word for it.
‘That’s very soon, Megan. Why the rush?’
Megan turned to her. ‘It’s the only gap we have in our schedules until next spring. I’m filming in Ireland from August for six months on that Netflix series, and Zac’s working on a film in Canada. We’re hardly going to see each other. It’s going to be hard enough being apart all that time as it is, we don’t want to wait another year before marrying… or coming off the pill.’
Beth nearly fell off the bench. ‘You want a baby?’
Megan looked coy. ‘Maybe… at some point. Fertility decreases in your thirties, so the sooner we start trying, the more chance we’ll have of success.’
Beth rubbed her temples. This was a lot to get her head around. An engagement, a wedding and baby talk all in one day. Then the penny dropped. ‘But you’ve just accepted a job abroad. Didn’t you say you’ll be gone for two months?’
