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‘Lovely,’ Diane said, accepting. ‘Thank you, Matt.’
At least someone had some manners, unlike his sister-in-law, who frowned and said, ‘I hope it’s chilled?’
‘It was,’ Matt replied, extending the tray. ‘But I’ve been out here a while waiting.’
The dig was lost on her, and she walked off towards the hotel.
He turned to his half-brother. ‘Chris? A glass of bubbly to celebrate your son’s wedding?’
Chris shot him a look and followed his wife inside the hotel. ‘Hardly.’
Charming.
Behind him, the passengers in the second taxi emerged and were stretching their legs.
Matt headed over to greet Zac’s grandfather. ‘Champagne, Bobby?’
‘Don’t mind if I do,’ he said, accepting a glass. ‘It’s a special occasion, after all. Cheers!’ From the red tinge to his cheeks, Matt suspected it wasn’t the man’s first today.
Matt’s next stop was to greet Will and Lily, who were unloading the taxi. Their daughter, Poppy, danced over and met him halfway. ‘Hello, Uncle Matt!’ she said in her sing-song voice. ‘I’m so excited about the wedding. Can I have some champagne?’
‘No!’ chorused Will and Lily in unison.
Matt shrugged. ‘Sorry, kiddo.’ He watched her skip off and join her grandparents.
When he offered Will and Lily the tray of drinks, Will shook his head. ‘Maybe later, once we’ve settled in.’ He turned and smiled at his wife. ‘Unless you’d like some, darling?’
‘Oooo, yes, please.’ She accepted a glass and took a long swig.
Matt raised an eyebrow. ‘Thirsty?’
She waited until Will was out of earshot. ‘If you’d spent four hours stuck on a train with your family, you’d need a drink, too.’
Matt grinned. ‘I hear you. Here, have another.’
She downed the contents and took another one. ‘Our little secret,’ she said, placing a finger over her lips.
‘I won’t breathe a word,’ he whispered, counting down the hours until he could get obliterated, too.
Another taxi pulled into the forecourt. This time his mum and sister emerged, both smiling and seemingly a lot more excited about the upcoming event than the other half of his family.
He went over. ‘You have no idea how good it is to see you.’
Leah grinned. ‘That bad, eh?’ She was wearing a top embossed with the slogan ‘Grooms-woman Extraordinaire’.
‘It’s on a par with root canal surgery.’
Leah laughed. ‘Fear not, brother. The cavalry have arrived. From now on, all will be well, and if not,’ she said, accepting the offer of a champagne flute, ‘then we’ll get stinking drunk and drown our sorrows in alcohol.’
‘You’re not drinking already, Leah? It’s barely five o’clock.’ Susan Hardy shook her head disapprovingly.
Leah rolled her eyes. ‘It’s a wedding, Mum. Of course I’m drinking.’ She turned to Matt. ‘Have the bride and groom arrived?’
‘Yes, thank god. Chris and the rest of the family are here, too. We’re having pre-dinner drinks in the bar from six thirty.’
Leah looked disgusted. ‘Dinner? Like a formal meal? What about strippers, and raucous drinking, and tying the groom to a lamp post?’
‘Buffet and karaoke, I’m afraid. Unless you want to join the hens, and then it’s a disco in the barn.’
