‘Is it a money thing?’
‘What? No. It’s just not the simple wedding I want.’
‘At least the menu’s sorted.’
‘Thank goodness for small mercies.’
‘So who’s coming from your side?’
‘My friend Flo, Joy of course, some friends from uni and a few guests I’ve had to stay.’
‘You’ve invited B&B guests?’
‘It’s not as though I’ve got any family to invite.’ Kate looked downcast, but Sarah struggled to be sympathetic. Couldn’t she see how lucky she was planning a wedding in the first place?
‘Top up?’
‘Why not?’
Sarah carried the bottle of wine through to the living room and topped up their glasses.
‘Sorry for going all Bridezilla on you,’ said Kate. ‘How are things going with you?’
‘They’ve been better.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘First off, someone stole five scones from the kitchen. Everyone thought I was in the wrong trying to find out who the culprit was.’
Kate sniggered behind her hand. ‘Scones?’
Sarah smirked. ‘I know, not my finest hour. I was upset by something else and blew the scone debacle out of proportion. Mind you, I stand by the principle. Nobody should steal anything. But that was just the start. I pissed off Hattie by being rude to the Saturday girls, but you should have seen their faces, they looked guilty as hell.’
‘OK…’
‘Then my mother shows up in town and made a fool out of me in front of all my colleagues. You had a lucky escape, she wanted to stay here.’
‘Oh, you should have said. It would have been nice to meet your mum.’
‘Trust me, you’re lucky you didn’t have to. If you do ever have the misfortune of meeting her, you’ll thank me for keeping her away.’
‘She sounds intriguing. So is it your mum that’s put you in a bad mood?’
‘I’m not in a… fine, OK, so I’m feeling a little grumpy, though you’re a fine one to talk, sitting here all glum. Anyway, it’s not just Mum. There’s also Felix…’
‘What about Felix?’
Sarah blushed and took a sip of her wine. ‘I thought we were becoming friends. We were getting close, you know?’
‘Close like friends, or close like something more?’
‘I thought it was something more, but I was wrong. He’s a liar and a cheat.’
‘What happened?’
‘I saw him hugging some girl, then one night I followed him when he said he was going to the pub, but he wasn’t. He was meetingher.’
‘Have you asked him about it? There could be an innocent explanation.’
