‘You’re free to go,’ he said, causing Mason’s eyebrows to rise halfway up his smooth forehead. ‘Bride called and said it’s all been a mix-up, that you’re supposed to be here – friend of a friend. Or something like that.’
Thank goodness for that. Being carted off to Maidstone police station would have eaten up the time he’d much rather spend checking on Alice. He stood up and gave the lanky guard an enquiringWhat happens now?kind of look. The man just shrugged and stepped aside so Ben could pass from the inner office, through the reception area and out a narrow door that led onto the courtyard. Before his feet hit the cobbles, he was already running in the direction of the barn.
When he got there, he pushed through the door and looked around, trying to work out who the best person to speak to was, but he couldn’t see anyone who looked like they might be attending a wedding rehearsal, only a couple of staff in burgundy waistcoats with the castle’s logo stitched on them. ‘Where’s the bridal party? I need to talk to the bride.’
‘Gone to the hospital with her sister and the groom,’ one of them replied. ‘Rehearsal’s cancelled.’
Ben swore softly under his breath. Still, it wasn’t an impossible hurdle. Adrenaline began to flow in his blood again, and he realised instead of feeling drained from the drama of the evening, he was feeling pumped, ready to face anything. ‘Which hospital have they gone to? Maidstone?’ It was the nearest big town, so the logical choice.
The woman shook her head. ‘I think they said somewhere in Bromley, the Princess something …’
‘Thanks!’ he said, then turned and jogged out the barn. He began running in the direction of the castle entrance, where the bus stop was situated, keeping up a gentle pace, but by the time he’d passed the stone bridge that led onto the castle island, jogging became striding, then he eventually slowed to a halt.
What are you doing?
Running on automatic like an idiot, that was what. He’d done what he’d set out to do. He’d brought her home. And he’d seen her run into the groom’s arms with his own eyes. The fact the guy hadn’t cancelled the rehearsal before now confirmed he hadn’t given up hope she’d come back to him. And now she had.
With Ben’s help.
He didn’t know if he was a saint or an idiot.
But whatever he was, it was time to take a step back, let those who had a right to be with her in the hospital. He had to stop running around acting as if Lili belonged to him.
Chapter Fifty-Four
The day of the wedding.
JUSTIN AND I got married in the long gallery of Hadsborough Castle on a dark and stormy afternoon. Inside it was warm, the space made magical by the glow of a hundred candles. We exchanged our vows in front of the fireplace as our closest friends and family looked on, and I put all thoughts of the turbulent months leading up to that day away. This was our fresh start. From now on, everything was going to be perfect.
The day passed in a blur of confetti, laughter and camera shutter clicks. Every single photograph taken that day, even the candid ones taken by friends and family, showed us smiling or touching each other, gazing adoringly into each other’s eyes.
There’d been a complete transformation in Justin the morning after Octavia had her … accident … and fell from the balcony. He’d brought me breakfast in bed and had promised he’d find a way to restore my violin to her former glory. He even called her ‘Octavia’, which showed how devastated he was at how things had turned out.
The next two weeks had been idyllic. He’d showered me with gifts, romantic messages, more flowers than I knew what to do with. All those things were nice, but what really helped me heal from the trauma of that night was the way he spoke to me.All the criticism, the little digs and hints that I was doing things wrong or had let him down, had stopped. All he could tell me was how much he adored me. I was firmly back on my pedestal, and my poor thirsty heart sucked up every scrap of love and affection he threw my way.
He hadn’t said as much, but I guessed it was his way of saying sorry for what happened that night, of showing me how hard he was going to try to be the perfect husband. It was one mistake, I reasoned to myself. Okay, a pretty big one, but I wasn’t guiltless – Ihadstayed out too late, and I should have been firmer about the strippers.
My parents were bursting with pride as I walked down the aisle. I don’t think Mum stopped dabbing the corner of her eyes with a tissue all day. And even Lo played nice, being polite to Justin. I appreciated that because I knew she was doing it for me, and I hoped any rift between us was now healed.
When the wedding breakfast was over, it was time for the speeches. Justin stood up, looking very dashing in his morning suit, and smiled at the sixty or so guests gathered in the gallery. ‘I knew right from the very first moment I laid eyes on Olivia that she was the one,’ he said, shooting an adoring glance my way. ‘I knew she was special, like no one else I’d ever met, and I knew if I didn’t do everything in my power to make her mine, I was the biggest idiot in the world.’
A flutter passed through the audience as every woman there sighed in unison. I looked up at Justin, and my heart swelled. I’d promised to love him, to cherish him, to care for him in every way possible, and when he looked at me the way he was looking at me right then, it made me want to live up to every word,to sacrifice everything for him, because that was what love was, wasn’t it? Losing yourself in someone else until you couldn’t see where you ended and they began.
We cut our gloriously lavish cake and danced our first dance to one of Justin’s favourite songs by The Police,and when the end of the night finally came, the master of ceremonies gathered everyone together so I could throw my bouquet – which Lo caught, much to her surprise. Justin and I laughed and smiled as confetti showered over us and headed for a glossy limo. I hardly noticed the hollering and cheering as the car pulled away, glad at last to be alone with him, so we really could start our fairy tale together, just as he’d promised me.
When we arrived at a luxury hotel a short distance away, deep in the Kent countryside, we were treated like royalty. Staff bowed and scraped, met our every need in hushed tones, and finally, we were alone in the massive bridal suite, a bottle of champagne on ice and rose petals strewn about the floor and over the bed.
I turned to Justin, smiling. ‘Shall I open it?’
I expected him to come over, wrap his arms around me and begin kissing my neck. However, he didn’t answer me. He didn’t smile or even look at me. Instead, he turned and headed into the bathroom, and seconds later, I heard the shower.
Okay …
I considered getting out of my wedding dress, which was now feeling a little tight, and the lace around my neck was chafing, but in the last couple of weeks, Justin and I had whispered late at night about our shared fantasy about how this night would go, how we’d slowly undress each other. I’d imagined him walking over to me,a sexy smile on his face, and then painstakingly undoing the covered buttons at the back of my dress, kissing my spine until he reached the curve of my back and slid it from my hips before I got to work on taking his tie off, undoing his shirt, and spreading my palms beneath the cotton.
I sat down on the end of the bed, crossing my legs to arrange my skirt pleasingly, leaning back a little so I could use my arms to keep myself from slumping onto the mattress. I was tired, but it wouldn’t be long now. If our fantasy came true, it would be worth the wait.
So I sat there, and I waited, and I waited.
