‘You made it,’ he said as Julie’s friend and second bridesmaid Niamh took the bride’s attention by handing her her bouquet and fussing over her veil to make sure it fell across her shoulders just so.
‘I did,’ said Maya.
‘More luck than judgement, am I right?’
‘Dad, not today…’
And without even looking at him again, she picked up her own posy of flowers and joined Niamh before the bridal partymade their way into the church, Julie on her father’s arm, the two bridesmaids leading the way.
Maya nodded to Seth, the groom as she and Niamh reached the altar. He looked nervous, but he had nothing to worry about; her sister was as in love with him as he was with her. And when it was time for the bride’s entrance, Maya couldn’t take her eyes off her sister as she made her way down the aisle to the strains of ‘Ave Maria’.
The ceremony began and Maya, despite her happiness for her sister, couldn’t help the knot in her stomach that reminded her she’d once thought she had a happy ever after; she’d once stood up in front of family and friends and vowed to love a man for the rest of her life. Over time, however, since Isaac was born and their lives settled into the familiarity that came with a marriage, Conrad had soon forgotten that they were in a partnership, two equal parts to a whole.
Nigel approved of Seth, Julie’s husband-to-be, but he’d never gelled with Conrad. It didn’t help that Maya and Conrad had got together at a time when Maya and her father weren’t even speaking, but it was more than that. Some thought of Conrad as a pillar of the community simply because he was a police detective and that position was one of authority. It commanded respect but he’d never earned Nigel’s and he’d soon lost Maya’s a few years into their marriage when she began to learn that behind the front was a bully, a man with an arrogance who always looked out for number one.
The photographs seemed to take forever after the ceremony but Julie enjoyed every second and the celebrations continued back at the Anderson family home, a vast and beautiful property in the Dorset countryside and the place where the girls felt closest to their late mother.
The food and drinks circulated at the informal reception the bride and groom had opted for with canapés rather than a sit-down meal. Julie and Seth had chosen not to have any speeches either, something Maya was grateful for so that she didn’t have to endure her dad talking about their family as if they had no issues at all, as if everything in the Anderson clan was hunky dory without any stress whatsoever. Sometimes the Anderson family dynamics felt like a car crash, with her dad ushering people away, commandingNothing to see here.
Finally came the part of the celebrations that saw Julie and Seth truly let go and relax – the dancing. The room known fondly as the games room in the house became party central. The space was vast, had originally been two rooms knocked into one and now had walnut floorboards, a pool table with the same wooden build, a bar. The oversized sofas in slate grey had been pushed from their position to against the walls to make way for the temporary dance floor and entertainment, the enormous rugs rolled up and put out of the way for the night, some of the breakable ornaments stowed elsewhere for safekeeping.
Maya accompanied Julie to the bathroom yet again – it wasn’t easy to navigate going for a pee with an enormous dress on and required help every time. Everyone was in high spirits and the girls giggled on their way back from the bathroom when they found Rod, one of Seth’s closest friends, going into a broom closet instead of the outside door so he could escape for a cigarette – the house was so big, it was easy to get lost in or take a wrong turn.
‘Don’t let Issy see you with that,’ Maya scolded him. When he put a finger to his lips, she laughed and turned back the way she was going but her smile soon disappeared when her father came in the opposite direction. They’d exchanged few words so far today and she was happy to keep it that way.
Their dad was a striking man; with silver-fox hair, he was tall and commanded a presence, something that worked well in the world of law for him, but something she’d never found easy.
Julie gave their dad a hug and raced off to join her guests.
‘You look beautiful, Maya.’ He kissed her on each cheek. He’d never been one to let a façade slip, not when there were so many guests milling around.
‘Thank you.’ She could manage politeness. ‘Julie and Seth are going to be so happy,’ she said, steering the focus to safer ground.
‘They are. And your mother would be so proud. Of both of you.’
Their mother would be, but what about him? She sometimes wondered how hard he had to work to maintain that tough shell or whether it came naturally to show little emotion, especially where his eldest daughter was concerned. She was tired of trying to work him out. She’d been trying to do that ever since her mother died.
‘I’d better go and join Julie,’ she said. ‘She wants me to dance.’
‘Of course. Off you go.’ He nodded in her direction, much like she was a business colleague rather than his eldest daughter.
Maya danced with her sister, their family and friends, expending all her pent-up energy. Conrad had always detested this part of a wedding or any social gathering. He hated dancing and because he’d expected her to stay by his side, she’d rarely got to enjoy it either. But tonight, Maya couldn’t get enough.
It was only when Seth came and claimed his bride for the interruption of a couple of slow dances to let people take a breath and enjoy more canapés that Maya stopped long enough for her troubles to come knocking in her mind yet again.
She plucked a glass of champagne from a passing tray and stood back to watch Julie and Seth, a couple who were in this together and who had each other’s backs in a way she and Conrad never had. And despite their divorce being finalised just over six weeks ago, Maya felt like she couldn’t move tenpaces without turning round to find Conrad standing right there behind her. It was suffocating. And she’d had enough.
She needed Conrad to get the message once and for all that she and him were 100 per cent, totally over.
Except how she was going to do that, she had no idea.
3
Noah hadn’t expected to start with the Whistlestop River Air Ambulance for another couple of days, but they were down one critical care paramedic on the blue team and so today he’d been thrown in at the deep end.
Perhaps he should be used to it. It seemed to be the way his life was panning out lately. One minute he had a live-in girlfriend, Tahlia; he resided in a swish high-rise in London; he spent his days carefree and enjoying life; and the next… well, everything had changed. His sister Cassie died, leaving him as the guardian of her then seven-month-old daughter Eva, and Eva’s arrival in his life had started a cascade of other changes. He’d had to let go of his apartment when Tahlia left him because she couldn’t handle the situation he had found himself in – or, in her words, ‘been lumbered with’. They were words he wouldn’t forgive or forget easily. Eva hadn’t fitted in with Tahlia’s picture of how her life would one day turn out and although some days he missed her being around, if that was her attitude, it had been better to split up now rather than further down the line.
The breakdown of his relationship meant that Noah was left with crippling mortgage payments for one, childcare feeswere much in the same price bracket as the cost of having his apartment, and his shift pattern was unforgiving when it came to personal commitments. Noah had had to find a solution, and fast, and so he’d left the familiarity of his previous air ambulance crew and moved from city to country, something he’d never thought was on the cards. Now, home took the form of a converted signal box cottage – thankfully mortgage free – surrounded by peace and tranquillity instead of bright lights and noise. And there wouldn’t be a sexy woman waking him up in the night for the foreseeable future either. Instead, he’d likely be up at least once in the night or more likely a few times with Eva, who was taking as long as he was to get used to their new way of life.
