Nick reached out and put his hand on Marcus’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You’re going to be a great husband,” he said quietly. “Because you’re a great friend. And that’s all this is: promising to be her best and most loyal friend, no matter what happens. That’s what your dad was to your mum, and look what a great husband and father he turned out to be.”
Marcus nodded and swallowed hard, and then turned and pulled Nick into a tight hug.
“Thanks for being here,” Marcus muttered over his shoulder. Nick nodded and sniffed. There was so much he hadn’t been here for, so much he’d missed. Soon he’d be gone again. But today he was here, standing beside the boy who’d been his friend since they were gangly, awkward teenagers. Who wasn’t a boy anymore but a man, so deeply in love it shone from his every pore.
Something moved in his peripheral vision, and he pulled away from Marcus to see Carly standing five feet away, watching them with a bouquet of pale pink roses clutched tightly in one hand. His breath caught in his chest at the sight of her. Christ, she was beautiful. Every day, in anything, even in a hideous hotel T-shirt covered in clip art horses, but especially in that dress. The thin teal fabric gathered in delicate folds at her waist and spilled around her feet, which were bare and visible where the cloth was slit halfway up one thigh. It tied at the back of her neck, revealing her strong shoulders and the freckles on her chest. And her hair, so bright and boldly red against the green dress, was perfectly Carly: pinned up in a twist but with curls escaping, bobbing in the breeze. Beautiful, barely controlled chaos.
He had a sudden vision of the first time he’d seen that dress, spilling out of the suitcase he’d thought was his, the suitcase she’d yanked away from him as she yelled at him in the hotel lobby. He’d found her utterly maddening then, a human hand grenade that exploded whenever he got near it. A hand grenade that loathed him. And now … well, he still found her maddening. But he knew her now, andfuck, he was falling for her. And she loathed him all over again.
He stared at her, willing her to say something to him, but her face was completely impassive. He was about to speak when Leanne and Heather’s mum appeared behind her, Linda in a navy blue gown and Leanne in a periwinkle dress that came to her knees. Linda looked slightly uncomfortable wearing a gown without shoes; Leanne looked perfectly at home barefoot on the sand.
“Alice drilled us on the order of operations,” Leanne said to Marcus, her eyes twinkling. “So I think you and I should get a wriggle on. And Nicholas, you better be ready, or Sergeant Alice will have your head.”
Nick gave her a close-mouthed smile, and then looked over at Carly, who didn’t even give him that. But she did walk forward and stand beside him. He offered her his arm, and Nick and Leanne started processing down the sand, and she waited until the last possible moment to take it, touching him so lightly he could barely feel it as they walked down the beach and towards Alice.
“You look beautiful,” he murmured, against his better judgment.
Her hand stiffened on his forearm, and he saw her clench her jaw.
“Don’t.” Her voice was hard and cold as steel.
They arrived at the rows of chairs, and he nodded at Izzy and the handful of dancers he recognized from his time at the ANB school. Carly’s eyes were fixed straight ahead, and the second they reached the end of the aisle, she removed her hand from his arm so quickly that Nick saw Alice’s eyebrows shoot up her forehead. Carly took her place on Alice’s left side, and Nick stepped to the right, and they both turned to face up the aisle as Marcus and Leanne appeared, arm in arm.
By the time Marcus made it halfway down the aisle, both his and Leanne’s eyes were shining with unshed tears, and as Marcus helped his mother carefully into her chair in the front row, Nick pulled out a tissue and handed it over. Marcus gave his face a quick wipe, then pocketed the tissue and turned to face the surf club as all the guests stood to watch Heather walk towards them.
Nick tried to keep his eyes on the bride, who looked lovely, but he couldn’t keep his gaze from drifting towards Carly. While everyone else was distracted, watching Heather or snapping discreet photos of her with their phones, he drank in Carly’s profile. The swell of her lips, the sharp cut of her cheekbone. The long straight line of her neck, such a contrast with the curved, swaying strands of hair that had escaped her bun. Her eyes were sparkling with tears, and as Heather walked the final steps down the aisle, he watched as she blinked them away into the sand. He wanted to hand her a tissue, but he didn’t think he could bear the way she’d look at him if he tried.
Heather hugged her mother, who sat down next to Leanne and squeezed the other woman’s hand with a quick, sniffling smile. Then Heather stepped forward and turned to face Marcus, her face glowing with love and nerves and excitement.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly.
“Hi yourself,” he replied, and she giggled.
“Dearly beloved,” Alice said, as the guests sat down, “we are gathered here today, on this beautiful beach, to celebrate this beautiful couple and their beautiful love. To honor their commitment to each other and to the life they’ve built together.”
Nick glanced across at Carly, whose jaw was clenched again, and whose eyes were full of tears. He looked down at her hands, which were gripping her bouquet so tightly that her fingertips had gone white. She looked like she was barely holding it together, and all he wanted in that moment was to pull her into his arms and stroke her hair the way he’d done yesterday morning. But he couldn’t do that, becausehewas the reason she was barely holding it together.
Alice’s remarks were moving but short and to the point, and before long it was time for Heather and Marcus to exchange rings. Nick handed over Heather’s ring and watched as Marcus slid it onto her finger, fumbling with nerves on the first try but managing it on the second. Carly’s fingers trembled as she handed Marcus’s ring to Heather. But Heather’s hands were steady, and when the ring was on, she grinned up at Marcus—and before Alice could say anything, she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.
“Woah, woah, woah, I have to say the thing!” Alice protested as the crowd laughed and clapped and whooped.
Heather broke the kiss and gave Alice a sheepish shrug. “Sorry,” she said unconvincingly. “Couldn’t wait.”
The guests laughed again, and Alice cleared her throat pointedly. “Let’s try that again. By the power vested in me by the state of New South Wales, I now declare you married. You may now kiss the—Oi!”
Before she’d even finished, Marcus had thrown his arms around Heather and kissed her deeply, and the guests jumped to their feet and applauded. Nick glanced over and saw that even Carly was smiling now, although he could also see the places where the tears had left streaks in her makeup.
“Please join us all back at Marcus and Heather’s place for drinks, dinner, and dancing,” Alice called over the commotion, and she closed her binder with a grin.
“So much for Heather’s precise plan,” she rolled her eyes, and Nick chuckled. “All those spreadsheets and then in the crucial moment she blows her cue? Ah, well, shall we?”
She gestured at the aisle, where Marcus and Heather were already making their way back up the beach.
Nick nodded, then looked over to Carly, hoping for another excuse to touch her and walk with her, but she was already deep in conversation with Linda and studiously avoiding his gaze. He watched her for a moment, hoping she’d turn around, then realized it was hopeless. With a sigh, he started back up the beach alone.
Chapter 23
