‘Stars will twinkle through the section of glass roof at that end,’ said Flynn, pointing. ‘Chairs will be laid out in rows, here, here and here.’ He reminded Libby of a flight attendant, the way he manoeuvred his hands. ‘They will be married overlooking the grounds and the mountains.’
The elegance, panache and charm of the room had made an instant hit with Libby. She knew the competition winners were going to be blown away by it.
‘And this door leads through to the secret garden where winter cocktails can be served beneath the swaying lanterns.’ Flynn swung the door open to reveal the most beautiful hideaway. The grey slate floor led to a number of rustic pews and chairs scattered around, dressed with damson plush velvet cushions that complemented the mulberry harlequin Shetland throws, the palette of colours exquisite in the wintry space. A huge fire pit was positioned in the middle of the garden and a path of round flagstones led through a wooden archway to a stunning glasshouse, which would provide warmth along with a whimsical ambiance. There was also a small bar at the far end.
‘WOW! What an amazing place and space.’ Libby spun around, taking in the whole scene before her. ‘They are very lucky people,’ she said, walking up to the fire pit. ‘I can picture it now. Logs burning, drinking hot chocolate while roasting marshmallows. I think I need to get myself an invite to this wedding.’
‘As the wedding planner I think you’d be top of the list,’ replied Flynn with a warm smile. He pointed to something behind Libby and she turned around.
‘There she is!’ Julia was hurrying towards Libby and enveloped her in the biggest of hugs. ‘I can’t believe you’re here and we get to keep you for Christmas too!’
‘I know! Christmas with my favourite people.’
‘Eek!’ Julia gave a little squeal as she hugged Libby again. ‘And we must make sure we spend quality time together before you head off to New York. Huge congratulations on the new job, by the way. I can’t believe you’re leaving us … and selfishly I don’t want you to.’
‘Thank you and I know. It’s a little surreal that I was chosen from all the applicants. I honestly didn’t think I’d have a cat in hell’s chance.’
‘Of course you did. Your designs are amazing, your business is booming and everywhere I look on social media someone is wearing something of yours. I bet that that’s exactly what our competition winners think too, that they didn’t have a cat in hell’s chance. What do you think of this place?’ Julia swung her arms open. ‘It’s breathtaking, isn’t it.’
‘I think it’s utterly gorgeous and decorated to perfection. This is the place dream weddings are made of,’ Libby said, attempting to dismiss memories of the past from her mind. The last and only wedding she’d ever organised was her own. She had thought Daniel was her life, her soulmate. They’d spent many hours discussing their future, the type of house they were going to live in and how many children they wanted. They even imagined what their children would look like. Would they have curly hair and blue eyes like Libby or fair hair and brown eyes like Daniel? But during that time, Libby had begun to feel poorly. She was exhausted, often irritable and very emotional, and after several tests the consultant shared news she was not expecting. She was going through premature menopause. It wasn’t something that happened to everyone; in fact, it only happened to 0.01 per cent of the population. And unfortunately Libby was one of those people. Overcome with grief at the realisation she would not be able to have children, Libby had broken down. All she’d ever wanted was her own family. She had thought Daniel would stand by her but instead he’d ended things, abandoning her at the time she needed him most. He said he had no choice, that he wanted children of his own and that was something Libby could never give him.
Facing double heartache, Libby had turned to her family for support. Thankfully, they were there to catch her as she fell. It took her a long time to process the fact that she would never be able to carry her own child, while also dealing with Daniel’s abrupt disappearance from her life. Without Flynn and her dad it would have been near impossible to survive, let alone come out the other side stronger. They were by her side every step of the way, providing the love and support she so desperately needed. They held her while she sobbed, supported her while she raged at the injustice of it all, and—most importantly—they made her understand that it wasn’t the end for her. She had options for the future, including adoption, fostering or falling in love with someone who already had children. Libby knew she had so much love to give but what she feared most was meeting the man of her dreams and being rejected again simply because she couldn’t have children.
The date for Libby and Daniel’s wedding had been set for over a year and though he didn’t call it off on the wedding day itself – he had done it six months before – it still didn’t make it any easier when the day finally arrived. The weather had been perfect, the temperature a whopping twenty-five degrees. The dress had been hanging in Libby’s spare room as she didn’t know what to do with it, and she’d wandered in and stared at it for some time. It was quite simply a gown fit for a princess, with layers of ruffles that floated to the ground, a bateau neckline and a floral beaded bodice. At the time it had been Libby’s ideal dress.
Ironically, it was the same dress that had landed her her dream job in New York. She’d stored it in a suit carrier in the wardrobe in the spare bedroom for ten years and when she applied for the position, and the brief was ‘a modern-day take on Cinderella’, Libby had taken great pleasure in hacking the dress to pieces and redesigning the whole thing.
Julia must have noticed Libby’s smile had slipped and touched her arm. ‘We do appreciate you helping us out. We know—’
Libby interrupted. ‘Honestly, all that is a distant memory. It seems like it never really happened, and could you imagine if I had actually married Daniel?’ She rolled her eyes and laughed. ‘I, for one, am glad I didn’t. And believe me, I’m going to have fun organising this wedding.’
After giving Libby another quick hug, Julia smiled beatifically. ‘This secret garden was my idea and all the interior design was left to me. Probably because I always wanted a secret garden at my wedding and I want to be married on a winter’s day with the snowy mountains towering in the distance. I’ve had my wedding mapped out since I was a little girl—I even have a scrapbook with my own plans and designs. There are magazine cut-outs and everything.’ Julia laughed.
‘Really? That’s amazing! I’d love to take a look at that,’ enthused Libby.
‘I’ll dig it out. With this winter over soon, there’s no excuse for next year. I’m taking charge of your diary,’ Julia teased Flynn. ‘Wewillbe married next winter.’
‘And that’s you told.’ Libby jokingly pointed at Flynn before turning back to Julia. ‘If you’re free tonight, maybe you could bring your scrapbook over to the lodge and we can have a proper catch-up over a glass of wine.’
‘Lovely! Sounds like a plan,’ replied Julia.
‘You’re obviously invited too,’ added Libby, glancing at Flynn.
‘Girly chat and scrapbooks? I think I’ll leave the pair of you to it.’
‘What he means is that Drew and Fergus have organised a game of cards at the pub and given the choice—’
Flynn held his hands up. ‘I can neither confirm nor deny.’
Leaning towards Flynn, Julia kissed him on his cheek. ‘I need to get back to work but, just so you know, I saw Guy in the foyer when I arrived.’ Looking in Libby’s direction, she added, ‘He’s the film-maker you’ll be working with. He’s very easy on the eye, but can be a little aloof,’ she said mysteriously, giving Libby a look.
‘He’s not aloof,’ chipped in Flynn. ‘He’s just dedicated and wants to do a good job. It’s called being professional.’
‘Believe me, us women have a sixth sense about these things.’ She looked towards Libby for support. ‘There’s more going on in his life than meets the eye. In every interview I’ve seen him do recently there’s been a certain sadness behind the eyes.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, it’s probably the lighting,’ retorted Flynn.
‘I should be in for an interesting month,’ Libby said. ‘What’s his surname?’
