Ellie laughed as she plucked out some of the dead leaves. ‘We’ll see, she might kill me when she sees it. It’s been a while since I did an arrangement as big as this.’
At the end she smiled triumphantly, and, honestly, she had the right to. She’d done a spectacular job – even if she did think so herself.
The majority of the peonies and roses were gathered in the heart-shaped centre, fanned by large tropical leaves that only highlighted the contrasting delicate pinks in the centre. To add more colour, and balance out the green, she’d added a waterfall of lush, vibrant pink-toned flowers, and dotted a few around the outer leaves of the heart to draw it all together.
‘A bit of sugar water. Some bougainvillea, some hibiscus, a few leaves… and voila, a bridal bouquet fit for a Hollywood star. Plus, I’ve enough to bulk up the bridesmaids’ posies – I had to steal some of the roses from theirs for the bride.’ She turnedto Alex, the bouquet clutched to her chest as she fluttered her lashes dramatically. ‘How does it look?’
He didn’t react as she’d thought he would, just looked at her with a yearning she’d have thought impossible a few weeks ago. ‘Beautiful,’ he said. ‘Just like you.’
Heat flooded her face, and she turned away and inspected the bouquet with a more critical eye. ‘Well, it’s nothing compared to what my mum or nanna could have made. I haven’t been able to save all of the flowers, but I’ve made sure the best roses and peonies take centre stage in the bridal bouquet. I’m not sure how long they’ll last though.’ She picked up a can of hairspray from the counter and began liberally spraying the flowers. ‘This will help. But they’ll need to get as many photos done as quickly as possible while they still look good. Can you tell the photographer, and ask for a bride ETA?’
‘You’re amazing, you know that, right?’
She swallowed, unsure of what to say or if she could cope with any more emotional drama right now. She gave a dismissive shrug. ‘Fake it until you make it, right? My motto in life.’
A muscle in his jaw flexed and his brows knitted together with displeasure. ‘You’re wrong.’
‘What?’ The vehemence in his voice startled her.
‘You’re wrong. You’re not fake. You’re beautiful, resourceful, funny and most of all kind. You don’t need to pretend you’re fine when you’re not – you can just be yourself. I know who you are, and you’re perfect.’
Wobbling on her heel, she took a step back, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. She opened her mouth to speak, but a male shriek from the doorway startled them.
Joseph and Richie stood in the doorway. Well, Joseph mainly, as Richie appeared to be passing through on his way to the garden, phone in hand as always.
‘LADY! You are anartist.Thank you, you beautiful angel! Thank you!’ Joseph exclaimed in a rapid fire of gasps and screams. ‘Come, you gorgeous, beautiful, talented lady! Come, come!’
‘Oh… okay,’ said Ellie, shaking her head as if awakening from a dream. The wedding planner rushed her out of the room as if she were the president, but she glanced back at Alex before she left. ‘We’ll talk later, okay? Like, hold that thought.’
Alex grinned, obvious relief relaxing the tension in his shoulders, and he gave her a salute. ‘I sure will!’
The wedding planner pulled her out of the kitchen, his heels clattering on the marble like castanets as he continued shouting, ‘Come, you beautiful lady! Come! Show them how magnificent you are!’
The wedding ceremony decorations were beautiful, and pink… very pink. But Ellie admired Savannah’s commitment to the theme.
Liam waited beneath a baby-pink gazebo on the pristine beach. As well as the pink silk draped over it to create shade, the wedding arch was also decorated with more hastily draped garden foliage and tropical flowers. Ellie was relieved and proud that they looked so good. After sorting out the bouquets, Joseph had quickly set her to work on the rest of the flower arrangements. Again, most of the delicate peonies and roses hadn’t survived transport, but there were just enough to keep the bride’s original theme alive.
She had to admire Joseph’s ingenuity; he’d called the new themefusionand it actually worked. When the guests arrived on the beach, they all commented on the unique aestheticand stunning arch and Joseph answered with the wisdom of a prophet, ‘Fusion, darling.’
The wedding planner, who’d she’d become quite friendly with over the course of the morning – probably because he still called herbeautiful ladyevery five minutes in his gorgeous Bahamian accent – had whispered to her, ‘Use enough swagger and people will believe anything!’
Didn’t she know it. Her whole relationship with Alex was based on her ability to swagger, and to lie. And not just to Alex’s family; she was beginning to lie to herself, beginning to think there might be a future for herself and Alex if only she had the courage to grab it.
She was on dangerous ground, but she wasn’t sure whether it was better to run and hide, or give in and allow herself to fall.
She peeked at Alex, sitting beside her on the front row of the white-draped chairs with pink bows. The tropical breeze lightly fluttered through his dark hair, and as if sensing her looking, he turned towards her and smiled softly.
They stared at each other quietly, the sound of the ocean the only whisper in the space between them.
She couldn’t bear it. Had he really meant what he’d said earlier? That she was perfect?
‘Liam looks nervous,’ she said, for want of anything better to say.
Alex glanced at Liam, who thankfully did look nervous – he kept adjusting and readjusting the peony on his white linen suit.
‘He’s going to destroy it if he carries on fiddling with it,’ she whispered.
To her surprise, Alex stood up, walked over to his brother and rested both palms on his shoulders. He then murmured something quietly to him. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but by Liam’s immediately relaxed shoulders and deep inhale ofcalming breath she knew he’d said the right thing, whatever it was.
