Flynn briefly closed his eyes. ‘I can’t believe this is happening … and different heights, did you say?’
‘Miranda towers over David. This may be a little disappointing but we are going to have to work with it the best we can.’ Libby looked hopefully towards Guy. ‘With Guy’s skills, maybe we can film something a bit more abstract that gives them the promised video of their day but could also be repurposed as promotional material. What do you think?’
‘We could make it more of a professional video showing what Starcross Manor has to offer with its unique wedding planning services. Put a different spin on it,’ Guy chipped in, building on Libby’s idea.
‘But … this competition has been advertised across all our social media channels, and people will be waiting to see the wedding of the century. I can’t post a colourless Christmas Eve wedding with no festive touches whatsoever. This was meant to entice future brides and grooms, not scare them away.’
‘I know the main point of the competition was to publicise this wedding and use it for marketing purposes but there are other options,’ said Julia.
‘Such as?’ enquired Flynn, winding his hand around in a circle to hurry Julia in sharing her thoughts.
‘Stage a pretend wedding for the promotional stuff. It doesn’t have to be a real wedding. Just enough for Guy to put a video together while we have him at Starcross Manor.’
‘But where I am going to get a pretend bride and groom from, and what chance is there that they’ll be available for filming as and when we need them just before Christmas? There also needs to be chemistry between them and they have to look good together. That’s a big ask on short notice.’
‘You could hire a couple of models or actors from an agency and tell them exactly the look you want,’ Libby chipped in. ‘That might work.’
For a moment, Flynn was quiet, mulling over the suggestion. Before he could say anything, Julia put down her mug and began flapping her hands in his direction. There was a huge smile painted across her face. ‘When I suggested Libby would be the perfect planner for this job…’
‘So it wasyoursuggestion,’ said Libby.
‘You don’t think Flynn comes up with all the good ideas himself, do you?’ she teased.
‘Oi, I am here, you know!’ remarked Flynn, pretending to look hurt.
But Julia was no longer looking at Flynn; she was staring at Libby and Guy. ‘Stand up, the pair of you,’ she said, gesturing towards them both.
Perplexed, Libby and Guy looked at each other before standing up.
‘Your perfect couple is right here! Libby is gorgeous and Guy extremely handsome. The height difference is perfect and just look at them together. Why hire models when you have these two? Libby can pick any dress from the studio and, with Guy kitted out in a kilt, you have your textbook couple. We can dress The Grand Hall, even ask the villagers to come up for a glass of wine and mingle as pretend guests. We would get some wonderful footage, I’m sure of it. The community of Heartcross will probably be eager to get on board and help us out. I bet Florrie would be happy to do the flowers and Rona the cake. Surely it’s a no-brainer?’ The enthusiasm in Julia’s voice was evident to everyone.
Flynn’s beam widened but Libby noticed the smile had slipped from Guy’s face.
Standing up, Flynn planted a kiss on Julia’s lips. ‘You’re a genius. This is a brilliant suggestion.’ He turned to face Libby and Guy. ‘Julia’s right, you would be perfect for the promotion video. You pair look like you’re made for each other! This would really help us out. What do you think?’
Flynn was unaware of the slight tension that was radiating from Guy but it hadn’t escaped Libby. Flynn looked at them earnestly, waiting for an answer. ‘Libby?’
Hesitantly, she suggested, ‘It might be fun to dress up and drink champagne and be on the arm of a handsome man.’ She smiled towards Guy but he’d already picked up his camera and was walking towards the door.
‘Sorry, I can’t’ was all he uttered before the door shut behind him.
‘What’s just happened here?’ Flynn asked, looking at Libby.
‘I’m not quite sure,’ she replied, but she knew something had triggered Guy.
‘I thought it was an excellent idea. You pair just look so natural together and the photos would have been perfect for our promotion. But it was only a suggestion. I’ll go after him. Something has clearly upset him,’ Flynn said, getting up to follow Guy.
‘No, I’ll go. Leave it with me,’ Libby replied, speedily leaving the office to chase down Guy.
* * *
Driven by frustration, Guy strode across the grounds of Starcross Manor, the snow muffling his frustrated strides. He felt angry and betrayed by the recent events in his life and it hurt. In fact, at times it hurt so much it would take his breath away. At the moment, everywhere he turned, it was all about weddings. It was hard enough filming a wedding, with what was going on in his personal life, and now they wanted him to play the pretend groom? Absolutely not!
He knew his behaviour must have looked a little erratic but he couldn’t help the way he was feeling. It was as if he had been stabbed in the heart. He needed to keep his emotional walls high and strong, because he could never face going through anything like this again. The easiest thing would be to cut himself off from everyone in his past, but he knew that wasn’t possible because of Holly. They were still her family too.
As he opened the front door of the lodge, Holly ran into his arms. She squealed in delight as he hoisted her onto his back, and wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘I do love you,’ he murmured, knowing he would never let his little girl down as his own family had let him down.
‘I love you too, Daddy.’
