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‘Umm?’ She raised her eyebrows. She knew where this was heading.
‘Can I ask why? You don’t believe in marriage?’
Taking a deep breath, she continued walking. She couldn’t just come out and tell him that she did, but she was always the bridesmaid and never the bride. She rolled her eyes at herself. No, that wasn’t true. She wasn’t even the bridesmaid. She was just never the bride. ‘I do. It’s my ex’s wedding in a couple of days. On the day of Ian’s retirement party, actually.’
‘Is this the same guy who put you forward for the first round of redundancies?’
She nodded. ‘Yep, it sure is.’
‘And you still have feelings for him, I’m guessing?’ He looked across at her, studying her face.
‘No, I don’t have feelings for him. I guess it’s more to do with the fact that we’d been together four years and we’d only broken up less than a year ago and yet in that time he’s found someone else, another colleague in fact, and they’re tying the knot.’
He whistled. ‘That is quick. And another colleague. Did you have a written clause in your contract that you could only ever date colleagues or something? Because if that’s the case, then maybe you were lucky to be made redundant? You know, every cloud has a silver lining and all that.’ He smiled.
‘Haha, very funny. No, at least two of my friends from work haven’t dated co-workers.’
‘Only two?’
She laughed. ‘Yes, now that you’ve pointed it out, only two. Hey, maybe there was a clause in the contract after all and I didn’t read the small print.’
‘The small print is very important. Many a time it catches people out.’ He chuckled.
Laughing, she shook her head. He’d done it again, made her laugh when she’d been thinking about all the things getting her down. ‘I guess you’re right, every cloud and all that.’
‘Yep, you won’t be forced to only date co-workers. The world is your oyster.’ He gave her a sideways look and grinned.
‘Ha.’ Her phone pinged and automatically she reached into her pocket to pull it out, frowning as she glanced at the screen.
‘Not good news?’
Holding her phone up, she grimaced. ‘I’m in a group chat with my friends from my old work and they keep posting about my ex’s upcoming wedding.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘You’re in a group chat about your ex’s wedding?’ He widened his eyes.
‘No. Yes.’ She held her hands up, palms forward. ‘It’s not quite as weird as it sounds. It’s a general group chat, but everyone else who is in the chat is going up to Edinburgh for the wedding, so they’re posting photos of what they’re going to wear and chatting about getting there, getting ready, and meeting up. That sort of thing.’
‘Oh. I suppose that’s not quite so strange as you being in a group dedicated to his wedding then.’
‘Haha, not weird at all. The excitement is high, though.’ She scrunched up her nose. ‘Sorry, that didn’t sound very nice. I’m happy for them. I really am. It’s just a bit, I don’t know, weird it being rubbed in my face.’
‘I can imagine. However much me and my ex are over, and I want her to be happy, I still wouldn’t want to attend her wedding, in real life or through photos.’
‘No, it’s not ideal.’ She looked out across the ocean. The water was calm, the sun’s rays dancing across its surface. ‘Still, they’re my friends and I have to accept I’ll hear about my ex’s wedding and his life if I’m still friends with them.’
‘That’s very true.’ He nodded.
She checked the time before slipping her phone back into her pocket. ‘I’d better get back to the bakery now.’
‘Okay. It’s been lovely to spend some more time with you.’ Pausing, he looked at her and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Hopefully, we can catch up again like this?’
Nodding, she grinned. ‘Yes, that would be nice. Oh, and remember dinner at the bakery tomorrow evening.’
‘Yep. I’ll be there. Will you thank Elsie for me?’
‘Of course. See you.’ Holding her hand up to wave, she turned and walked back up the beach, pausing at the bottom of the concrete steps up to the promenade above. Turning around, she looked across the sand at him just as he turned around too, their eyes locking. Feeling the warm wave of embarrassment flush across her face, she turned back and hurried up the stairs.
