“And it’s going to be a surprise.”
“A surprise when? On my wedding day?”
She wiggled her brows at me. “You’ll love it. I promise.”
The morning went by in a whirl of hair and makeup. Even though I’d seen her in it twice now, I still cried when Natalie came out in her dress. Grace had truly done gorgeous work. Even Pauline looked happy.
I gave Alfie a wave as I walked down the aisle, from the heat in his eyes I knew he loved my dress as much as I thought he would. Ice blue and off-the-shoulder, I felt prettier than I had in a while.
As for Riley, I’d never seen a groom look less nervous. He was sure of himself, sure ofher.Ryan looked smart in his suit, a miniature version of his dad. He was clean for once and I’d heard him say twice that he was ‘staying neat for his mum’s special day.’
I smiled wide as Natalie came down the aisle and like I promised myself, I pretended my father wasn’t there. She glowed, beaming a bridal smile at everyone as she walked. This was her fairytale ending and no one in the world deserved it more than her.
Alfie never took his eyes off me as they made their vows. I couldn’t look away either. I knew what he was thinking; next year this will be us.
The ballroom was a stunning blend of gold and white, each table displaying a gorgeous floral arrangement that had me wanting the number of the florist. I could learn a thing or two from them.
We posed for pictures in front of the swan sculptures and I made sure Sid received the credit, seeing as I’d spent most of their construction on my sick bed.
We made it through dinner, speeches and Alfie even let me dance a few of the slow dances. Keira never left the dancefloor and from a distance, I watched sparks fly between her and Sid. I wasn’t the only one watching. Damien sat nearby, his eyes neverleaving her but he didn’t look jealous. He lookedexcited. She might not admit it, but they were made for each other.
“Excuse me?” I looked up to see a stranger smiling at me. His hair was a darker shade of red than mine, his curls cut close. His eyes were a warm brown. “Are you Lola? The bride's sister?” I nodded and he stuck out a hand. “Hi, I’m Ethan. Grace’s Ethan. It’s great to meet you.”
I stared openmouthed for a moment before I pulled myself together. “Hi! Ethan, I’ve been wanting to meet you.”
“Same. I thought we should connect, swap some horror stories, maybe share some Tell-Taming-Tactics.” I laughed, my ribs protesting a little. He sat down, making himself comfortable. “I hear you built the swans. Gorgeous work.”
“Thanks.” I stared at him. I’d been making polite small talk with people I didn’t know very well all day, I wasn’t sure why I was suddenly stumped now. “I-I’m sorry, I have so many questions I think I’m a bit lost about where to start.”
Ethan gave me one of the warmest smiles I’d ever seen. “You’re wondering how I caught a Tell?”
“People wonder the same thing about me.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel like I was caught rather than I did the catching. It put a slight dent in my manliness but I got over it.” I followed his gaze to where Alfie and Grace were sitting side by side, having what looked like an actual conversation.
“How did you meet?”
“Work. Kind of like you I think, you were hired to work on his property, right? She hired me to set up the tech in her offices. She’s useless with that stuff and I told her so. She was ice cold when I met her, rude to her assistants, rude to everybody. I told her off for that too. Now she does favours for strangers and gets excited over a free bar. I think I’ve been a bad influence on her.”
“That sounds familiar.”
Ethan winked at me then stood abruptly. “Excuse me, this is our song.”
“You have a song?” Alfie and I didn’t have a song, maybe we needed to get one.
“Well, no.Ihave a song and she humours me.” He made his way over to them, dancing as he went. Grace turned red with embarrassment, hiding her face with her hands. Alfie looked faintly amused if a little nonplussed. They went off to dance, Ethan pulling moves that would make the Bee Gees blush.
Alfie came over and took up Ethan’s seat. “He’s a character, isn’t he? Wouldn’t have pegged him for Grace’s type.”
“What? A gorgeous redhead willing to make a fool of themselves in public as long as it makes their partner smile? Who would want someone like that?” I fluttered my eyes at him and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Fair point. You have been known to dress up as a ghostbuster on occasion.” He pulled my chair closer so he could wrap an arm around me. “How are you? Really?”
“I’m happy,” I assured him. “Really.”
Just then I noticed Keira and Sid kissing on the dancefloor. I raised an eyebrow as a moment later, Damien joined them and they left the ballroom together. Hopefully they were going to Damien's room and not Keira’s. I didn’t want to hear them through the walls.
“Lola?” Natalie came over, holding Ryan’s hand. “Would you mind taking Ryan to bed? It’s getting late.”
