‘How lovely! Please say thank you to him.’ After placing the tray in front of her, my mum started pouring the champagne, then passed me a glass. ‘Don’t you love how weddings bring out the best in people?’
* * *
I’d always been sensible. A black-and-white kind of girl. The girl who got her homework in on time, who was back from nights out at a most sensible hour – well, mostly. Perhaps it was unsurprising that my hen night wound up early, my pissed friends heading off to a bar, leaving Lizzie and me alone in the street together.
‘You sure you’re OK?’ She’d definitely picked up on something.
‘Of course I am. You should go with the others,’ I said.
‘And leave you on your own? I don’t think so,’ she said indignantly.
‘Honestly.’ I smiled at her. ‘I think I’m going to head back to the flat.’
Lizzie stared at me for a moment. ‘This is weird.’ Then she hugged me. ‘But OK. If that’s what you want.’
As she tottered off after the others, I pulled off my veil and made my way back to the flat. Letting myself in, for once I had the place to myself. I went over to the windows, pushed them open and stood there.
Adam was somewhere out there. I sighed. What was going on with me? Restless, I put some music on. But I couldn’t help thinking that the Universe had been sending me a sign. It made no difference that I didn’t believe in signs – this wasn’t like anything I’d experienced before. From the moment my eyes locked with Adam’s, there was no going back.
Pulling myself together, I told myself what any person would have – that I was being ridiculous. I was in love with Gareth. Sure, he wasn’t perfect, but who is? And we were getting married in six days. I felt a flicker of panic, then put it down to last minute jitters. I mean, everyone got them, didn’t they?
* * *
By the time Gareth got home the next day, Adam had faded into the background of my mind – at least, that was what I told myself. As Gareth kissed me, his breath was beery. But he’d been on his stag weekend, I reminded myself, trying to respond, ignoring the fact that like my heart, my body just wasn’t feeling it.
I remember that week. It was exactly as you would have expected it to be in the run-up to a big, carefully planned wedding. While Mum flapped around with seating plans and last minutes tweaks to the catering, I had the week off work in order to help her.
When the wedding had dominated my thoughts for months, now that it was almost here, I couldn’t believe I was questioning it. Was I making a mistake? Was Adam a sign? Now, it seems more than purely coincidence when I bumped into Adam again, the evening after my hen party.
On my way back from my parents’ house, I stopped at the local shop to pick up some wine. As I opened the door and walked in, he was coming out.
‘Hi.’ He looked surprised. ‘Tilly, isn’t it?’ In blue jeans and a white T-shirt, he was every bit as hot as I remembered.
I felt my cheeks grow warm as I nodded. ‘Hi.’ I paused. ‘I never thanked you for the champagne last night. It was really nice of you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ His eyes appraised me. ‘How’s your head today?’
‘Fine,’ I said honestly. ‘No hangover whatsoever – which is more than I can say for my sister.’ I’d had a call from a very sorry-for-herself Lizzie on my way here.
He looked amused. ‘I guess that’s how hen parties go – not that I’ve ever been to one.’ He paused. ‘You must be counting down the days.’
‘I am. It’s hard to believe it’s almost here,’ I admitted, suddenly uncomfortable. But at that moment, I didn’t want to think about my wedding. I was curious to know more about Adam. ‘Do you live around here? It’s just I’ve never seen you before.’ Realising how lame it sounded, I went on. ‘I mean, it’s a small town. And I’ve lived around here most of my life.’
‘My place is about five minutes away.’ He nodded in the direction of the park.
I frowned. When it was so close to where Gareth and I lived, I wondered how it had taken until now for our paths to cross.
‘I moved here a couple of weeks ago,’ he explained. ‘I ended a long-term relationship. It felt like the right time for a change of scene.’ He stepped back to let another customer into the shop.
‘Do you think you’ll stay?’ I was making small talk, anything to keep him from walking away.
‘For now.’ He smiled. ‘So you grew up here?’
I nodded. ‘Near here. In a village – a couple of miles away. I moved into town a couple of years ago – with my fiancé.’ As I spoke, I was conscious it sounded like I’d never done anything, or been anywhere. But the truth was, I hadn’t.
‘Cool.’ He stood there. ‘Well, I should probably let you get on.’ He hesitated. ‘It was really nice to see you again.’
I stood there, smiling. ‘You too.’ I was still standing there as he turned and walked away. That was when it hit me. It didn’t matter how wrong this was, so close to my wedding, I didn’t want him to go. But what could I do? Swallowing my disappointment, I went into the shop and bought a bottle of wine.
