It’s out before I can stop it. ‘What?’ From the way my eyes are popping, I’m entirely giving away that my customer service skills are zero. After Mr and Mr Claus, two grooms shouldn’t come as a surprise. I make up for it by racking my brains to remember their names. ‘W-w-w-well, great. That’s brilliant, T-travis and T-taylor. You two are going to make a lovely couple.’
I’m standing back, mentally patting myself on the back for the way I picked myself up there, when I hear a ripple of laughter. Small at first. Then it rises to a room full of hearty guffaws. From the way Poppy’s smile is splitting her face in two, there has to be something not right.
‘Two lovely guys are tying the knot. Which explains why there are so many groomsmen. What’s so funny?’
Travis takes pity on me first. ‘Weareboth getting married – just not to each other.’
I’m bemused. ‘Keep going.’
Taylor joins in. ‘Travis and I are twin brothers. And we’re getting married to twin sisters.
‘Double trouble,’ Ken chimes in.
Obviously not happy to be outdone by an elf, so does Gary. ‘Two for the price of one.’ He grins. ‘Like all your Christmases coming at once.’
‘Right.’ Twins marrying twins. If I’d done every combination, I doubt I’d have got to that. Ever.
Although, just for a second I get a stab. Not that I get flashbacks a lot. But when I do they’re as clear as if they happened yesterday. Playing weddings with Freya. Not that we did it often. We were way more likely to be shipwrecked, or dressage instructors, with our little brothers as horses. Or on safari using a cut up dustbin for a jeep. She was the strong one, the wild outdoor one, always the one who decided. But on the days when we wore those long dresses handed down from our cousins and paraded around with tea towel veils, we always promised each other when we grew up we’d get married on the same day. Which just goes to prove how little we knew about real life. And how much we were taking the future for granted.
Lucky that one of us is on the ball here instead of drifting off. Poppy’s already back by her hanging rail. ‘So, all the alterations have been done, boys. We’re using the bigger fitting rooms down here today. I hope no one’s put on too much weight the last couple of weeks.
As fast as Poppy locates the name tags, I’m handing out the suits. Once everyone’s safely tucked behind the fitting room curtains, she comes over and hisses into my ear.
‘So Jules’s big secret is that he wears coloured contact lenses.’ Her tone is dramatic.
‘Sothat’swhy his eyes look like he got them enhanced on Photoshop?’ I’ve heard of them, I’ve just never met anyone who was a regular user. ‘And why he looked so lopsided with one missing?’ And all this time I assumed it was because he was extraordinary. Not just the spots, then. He’s less superhuman in all departments.
Poppy nods. ‘I found out by accident when I woke him up one night when he was staying in a camper van at the farm. He’d taken them out to sleep.’
‘But otherwise people don’t talk about it?’
‘It’s St Aidan’s best kept secret.’ She grins. ‘If anyone mentions his startling eyes, he claims it’s all down to his mum’s blueberry smoothies. She smiles. ‘Mesmerising blue eyes are a great way of holding people’s attention when he’s taking pictures. And women love them too – mostly.’
I suspect she’s pulling a face because he had a crush on her a while ago, but she knocked him back. ‘Like Jess, you mean?’
‘Jess is ninety per cent immune. But she still has a soft spot for Jules. Although she gets very cross when he won’t do as he’s told.’
As the fitting room curtain moves and the first guy comes out Poppy moves to enthuse.
‘Hey, transformation, or what, Brett?’
He runs his fingers through not much hair. ‘Once my new haircut’s grown a bit, it’ll be perfect.’
I nod as he grins at his reflection in the huge White Room mirror. ‘Grey tweed. That’s very easy on the eye.’ Especially on a hottie like Brett.
As the line of hunky guys files out, they’re all looking stunning in their own way. But the sad thing is, although I can appreciate the lookers, none of them raise even a tiny flutter. Not that getting Luc back would ever happen. I’m resigned to that. But even this far down the line, I’m still a million miles away from moving on. And anyone reminding me of my lift shaft tummy at Home Brew Cottage the other night, forget it. Because I have. That didn’t count for anything at all.
Refolding ten suits, sliding them into their smart Brides by the Sea travelling covers, sorting the payments, I can see why Poppy needs an extra pair of hands. It’s the best part of an hour later by the time the guys file out past the Christmas tree.
‘Have a fabulous day on the 15th,’ Poppy calls after them, as we stand together waving.
After yesterday I can’t help musing. A double wedding in the most upmarket venue in the county? What the hell kind of nightmare would that be for a photographer? Even Superman Jules will have his work cut out with that one. In skiing terms, it makes my two-person ceremony on the beach seem like the nursery slopes. But on the upside, it’s not something I’ll ever have to worry about. After Nate and Becky, I’ll be full speed back to quiches, casseroles and my easy life. And for me, it can’t come soon enough.
Chapter 11
Thursday 7th December
At Brides by the Sea: Gobstoppers and disappointments
