We hurry downstairs but they’re not there.
‘Outside?’ JJ suggests.
‘Maybe,’ I reply.
We head out but there’s no sign of them. Actually…
‘That’s Cordelia, running into the gardens,’ I say. ‘I’ll go after her.’
‘What about Jake?’ JJ replies.
‘I’m pretty sure Jake hates me,’ I say with a sigh. ‘I’ll go find Cordelia, sort that mess out first, then…’
My voice trails off as I realise Arty Morgan is standing there with a breakfast basket.
‘I thought I’d bring wedding morning breakfast,’ he says. ‘But perhaps now isn’t the best time. We’ll speak later.’
He leaves us to it.
‘We really need to start making everyone wear a bell,’ I say.
JJ laughs, just a little.
‘Go, find Cordelia, I’ll look for Andy, tell him to come back here and talk to you – I won’t say a word to him, I swear.’
‘Thanks,’ I reply. ‘We can sort this, right?’
‘Of course we can,’ she replies. ‘Meet you back here.’
‘Okay.’
And with that we head off on our separate missions. Me to find Cordelia, her to find Andy, and Jake… God knows what I’m going to do about Jake. I just hope I haven’t messed things up with Arty for him, because that really would be unforgivable.
32
You know how, in the movies, the key scenes always take place in epic places? Well, the gardens here at Rosewood are looking especially perfect today – hopefully making them the perfect place for me to make sure Cordelia and Andy get their happy ending. And me too – but I’m choosing my battles carefully.
Everything out here is painfully serene. The lawns are clipped to perfection. The gravel paths curve gently between flower beds like they’re guiding you to beautiful thing after beautiful thing. Roses climb trellises in pretty pinks and dreamy creams, petals drifting lazily onto the gravel, almost as if the universe has decided today is a day for romance and nothing else. It would be a real shame to ruin such immaculate vibes with chaos and arguments and a failed wedding day.
I walk without really thinking about where I’m going, my shoes crunching softly against the path. I know Cordelia is here somewhere. I saw her running this way, but where?
I stop near a low stone wall overlooking the lower gardens and grip it with both hands as I catch my breath – if I survive today, which is the goal, I really need to get fitter, because it’s embarrassing that a little pre-wedding drama is tiring me out. Then again, I haven’t got much sleep these last couple of nights.
There’s a real clarity in huffing and puffing my way through these gardens though because I’m a woman on a mission to put things right, and what that tells me is that I am definitely not in love with Andy. I want him to marry Cordelia. I think they’ll be so happy together if they can smooth all of this out. The end of their relationship has fallen into my lap and I can either save the day or put the final nail in myself. I could go after Andy instead, back up everything JJ told him, talk about what bad news Cordelia is… but I don’t want to. I don’t want him. I want to save the day.
Eventually I find Cordelia, near the far edge of the gardens, hiding behind a hedge.
She’s sitting on a low stone wall, shoulders curled inward, crying into her hands.
‘Oh,’ she says when she sees me. ‘Of course it’s you.’
‘Hi,’ I say weakly.
She rubs at her eyes almost angrily.
‘Did you come to tell me you’ve won?’ she asks. ‘Because I’m assuming it was you who told Andy everything – I thought you understood, that we were friends. That was until he mentioned something about you being in love with him, then it all clicked into place. You’re sabotaging me. Well, well done, you’ve succeeded.’
She gives me a slow sarcastic clap.
