‘If nothing else, the next few weeks should be entertaining. Let’s hope I can pull off all the wedding planning.’
‘I think you’re going to do a pretty amazing job.’
‘You can keep the compliments coming,’ she replied. ‘Now, where do you think the best place is to set up the recording equipment? Every moment of the happy couple’s journey needs to be captured.’
Guy looked around the room then pointed. ‘That raised area will be perfect. The camera will capture it all and I can sit there, out of the way.’
‘Tea and coffee are over there, toilets that way and—’
‘Never mind tea and coffee, look at all that fizz! I’ve seen some wine racks in my life but nothing as full as that one.’
‘No drinking on the job, but maybe after we’ve got through the first day we should sample a small one.’
‘Sounds like a plan.’
‘And where is adorable Holly today?’ asked Libby.
‘Still asleep and being looked after by my mother,’ he replied, but then he steered the conversation in a totally different direction. ‘Flynn said something about a schedule he’d put together and that I was to ask you for a copy. Have you seen it?’
‘Yes, he’s left it by the computer. It’s just here.’
The schedule had made Libby’s life easier. Certain tasks needed to be done by certain dates—the dress, the groom’s attire, bridesmaids, flowers, cake, menu, room décor et cetera—and it was all outlined and ready to be accomplished.
‘That all seems simple,’ Guy said once he’d finished reading. Cocking his head as if hearing something, he pointed towards the door. ‘I can hear voices. Here we go.’ He pressed a button on the video recorder and gave Libby an encouraging smile. ‘Break a leg!’ he mouthed.
Libby suddenly felt nervous as the door opened and in walked Lisa the receptionist, holding the file with all the information on the winning couple.
‘Libby! Lovely to see you! Let me introduce you to our competition winners.’
Lisa’s eyebrows rose and her eyes widened as she stared at Libby in a way that was clearly meant to signal something, but Libby wasn’t sure what Lisa was trying to tell her. Libby narrowed her eyes but couldn’t grasp what she was missing until the winning couple walked through the door.
‘Here comes the bride!’ sang Lisa, gesturing towards the door. ‘And of course, the groom. Let me introduce you to Miranda and David.’
Libby painted on her biggest welcoming smile, her eyes firmly fixed on the couple in front of her. She extended her hand to the tallest woman she’d ever seen—and she’d worked with a lot of models in her time. At a guess, Miranda was over six feet tall, her heels adding even more inches, and she was entirely in black—from her heels to her clothes to her make-up and her jet-black hair, which fell to the bottom of her spine. Libby looked up—and up—to meet the bride’s gaze and shook her hand. ‘I’m Libby, pleased to meet you.’
‘Me as well. And this is my gorgeous husband-to-be, David.’
Even with Cuban heels David was five foot three at best and he was dressed in jeans with a black shirt and neon green tie. It crossed Libby’s mind that they looked as though they had just rolled in from a fancy dress party from the night before. Their attire reminded her of a pair of villains in a cartoon. She gathered herself quickly and hoped the look of surprise wasn’t written all over her face. Daring to look over in Guy’s direction she saw he was filming every second as planned.
‘Hello, David, lovely to meet you. Are you good?’ she asked.
‘I am,’ he replied, his deep voice taking Libby by surprise, again.
Miranda had a huge smile on her face as she clasped David’s hands in hers. ‘We can’t quite believe that we’ve won the competition.’
Libby knew she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and that the couple standing in front of her might be very much in love, but were they really right for the publicity that Flynn had hoped to create for Starcross Manor? She was sure he had been hoping for a model-like couple who wouldn’t look out of place on the front of a bridal magazine.
‘And you’re the woman who is going to make all our wedding plans come true,’ added Miranda.
‘I’ll do my very best,’ replied Libby, still smiling. ‘Let me introduce you to Guy. Guy will be recording every step of your journey for your very own wedding keepsake video.’
Guy stood up from behind the camera and shook both of their hands. ‘Congratulations!’ he said. ‘It must be a dream come true for you both.’
‘Oh it is,’ enthused Miranda. ‘I told David I was going to enter us in the competition and he said we didn’t have a cat in hell’s chance, didn’t you, David?’
‘I did.’
‘But I told him you had to be in it to win it and that’s what we did!’ Miranda clapped her hands together like a performing seal, and Guy beat a hasty retreat behind the camera.
