‘It certainly is. I love a good wedding and I believe Eleni has the uber-talented Libby Carter designing her dress.’ Elle put her hands on her heart. ‘Can you imagine? Eleni is going to look gorgeous.’
‘Eleni couldn’t believe it when Libby agreed. Apparently it was a dream come true.’
Libby Carter was a world-famous fashion designer and sister of Flynn Carter, the business tycoon who owned Starcross Manor and The Lakehouse restaurant.
‘Absolutely a dream.’
Elle’s invite to Eleni and Jack’s wedding was sitting proudly on the mantelpiece at home – it was less than three months away now. Eleni worked at Julia’s B&B in the village and Jack was a builder working in the family business. Eleni was also Mim’s daughter. They’d been estranged for a few years but everything between them now seemed back on track. Wilson was Jack’s best mate – and best man to boot, apparently. Elle smiled, remembering how Pippa hadn’t hidden her excitement when she’d discovered Elle’s invite to the wedding had those vital words written inside: ‘plus one’. Elle hadn’t asked her yet, but she knew Pippa was secretly hoping she would soon.
‘It should be a good knees-up,’ chipped in Pippa, listening in on the conversation.
‘Are you coming?’ Jenny asked.
Pippa peered up through her fringe and looked in Elle’s direction. ‘Nah, but I’ll be okay sitting at home by myself while you lot cha-cha slide over the dancefloor and drink copious amounts of alcohol. I can always watch reruns ofTake Me Out.’
Elle grinned at Pippa. ‘Shall I get my violin out?’
‘No, it’s fine!’ she replied. ‘Weddings are all the same – full of couples that talk about babies and stamp duty. Dull, dull, dull. And anyway, how many marriages actually last these days? I’ll be better off staying in by myself while you all go and have a good time.’
‘Pippa is anti-men at the moment,’ shared Elle, giving her friend a playful nudge with her elbow.
‘But is always up for a party,’ Pippa added.
Elle cleared her throat to smother a giggle and looked at Jenny. ‘Do you think that’s my cue to invite Pippa to the wedding as my plus one?’
‘I kind of get the impression Pippa wants to stay home alone,’ Jenny replied ruefully.
‘No, I’d love to come!’ Pippa’s eyes widened. ‘Are you asking me to be your plus one?’
‘Shall I put you out of your misery, Pippa Lawson? Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to Eleni and Jack’s wedding?’ she asked in her most formal, poshest voice.
Pippa gave her a wide grin then squealed.
‘Shhh, it’s a library!’ Elle whispered.
‘Sorry, sorry! Thank you! I thought you were never going to ask.’ Pippa threw her arms around Elle. ‘I’ll need an outfit, and a hat, and you never know, I might even catch the bouquet, but that may be a waste with no actual man on the scene. New shoes as well,’ she added. ‘And any excuse to buy a new handbag…’
‘And breathe,’ said Elle, laughing.
‘I’m going to leave you ladies to it. I’ll see you both soon.’ Jenny made her way to the exit and crossed paths with a man whose face looked vaguely familiar to Elle. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, trying to place him.
‘Good morning, Elle. Long time no see.’
‘Aiden!’ welcomed Elle, remembering the familiar face she’d met before on several work courses. ‘How lovely to see you. It’s Inverness Library you work at, isn’t it? What are you doing here?’
Suddenly Aiden looked worried. ‘That’s right, itwasInverness, but as of today I’m working here, at the Library on Love Heart Lane.’
Puzzled, Elle looked towards Pippa, who gave a discreet shrug.
‘Human Resources told me they’d sent you an email with all the paperwork. I’ve been transferred.’
Elle quickly tapped on the keyboard and pulled up her emails on the screen. There it was, the unread email from Human Resources. She quickly read it. ‘Oh my gosh, how have I missed that? I’m so sorry, this is probably not the welcome you were expecting but –’ she threw her arms open wide ‘– welcome to the Library on Love Heart Lane!’
‘Thank you,’ he replied. ‘How impressive is this place?’ He spun around and took in his surroundings. ‘Woah!’ He pointed to the window. The rain had eased off and the sun shone through, creating a most spectacular rainbow over Heartcross Mountain. ‘It’s stunning.’
‘I wholeheartedly agree,’ came Pippa’s reply. The smile on her face widened and Elle noted that she was looking at Aiden rather than the rainbow.
Elle cocked an eyebrow in her direction.
