I look around, realise I need to take charge and clap my hands. ‘Okay, spur-of-the-moment decision: extra guests, please gather at the bottom of the steps, you can watch from the sand.’
I slip up the steps and slide in next to Orla who is flapping her hands in front of her face and muttering, ‘What the feck are we going to do now?’
Sienna hisses at her, ‘Don’t look at Song and me. You’re the ones with the huge family who refused to stay away.’
Poppy often says emotions run high at weddings, and I know it’s down to me to diffuse this.
‘How about I grab some jugs of cocktails from Jaggers and raid the Little Cornish Kitchen for cakes while you’re getting married?’
Opal squeezes my hand. ‘Thank you. Whatever it takes, we’ll pay you back!’
I hurry back down the steps to Lando and Tia. ‘I’m off for supplies. Things were getting pretty heated up there.’
Tia pats my arm. ‘I know them from the fittings; Song and Sienna are the fiery ones. If it gets out of hand, I know where the extinguishers are.’
Song calls down, ‘If they do gluten-free versions, they’d be good too.’
I grab my phone, call Clemmie from the Little Cornish Kitchen, and my luck comes in when she picks up on the second ring.
‘We’ve got sixty unexpected extra guests at a beach hut wedding. Can you do us some instant bake boxes to collect?’
I put my thumbs up to Tia as Clemmie replies with a resounding ‘yes’. ‘We’re in. She’s going to bring them out to the harbourside for us.’
Lando’s already set off along the beach at a jog. ‘I’ve got my card and I know Jaggers’ barman. My car’s close by, we’ll load up and drive back along the lane.’
By the time we reach Jaggers’ terrace, Lando hasn’t even broken out into a sweat but my lungs are burning. We go in and he turns to me. ‘How about five large mojito jugs and a hundred paper cups?’
I swipe the perspiration off my forehead. ‘Great, we’ll get the boxes of pastries while they’re mixing them.’
As we’re crossing the car park looking for Clemmie’s trademark red hair, Lando looks upwards. ‘Did you remember the specials?’
I nod, then despair. ‘A lot of people have dietary requirements. There’s no need to roll your eyes.’
Lando’s still staring up. ‘I’m not. I’m checking the clouds.’
I’m confident on this. ‘We’ve been glued to the forecast; it’s going to stay dry all afternoon.’
He purses his lips. ‘Not according to the sky. At a calculated guess, it’ll be hammering down within the hour.’
I sink against the nearest lamp post. ‘Please don’t say that.’ The thought of sixty soaking wet people on the beach, or– even worse– cramming onto the verandah and breaking it, leads me to let out a whimper.
Lando pulls down the corners of his mouth. ‘Whatever you think, I’m not doing this deliberately. It won’t be a storm, but it’ll be the kind of rain where you’re pleased you’ve brought your umbrella.’
I raise my eyebrows. ‘And how many of our impromptu guests were carrying those?’ There’s only one thing for it. ‘We’ll get the boxes from Clemmie then I’ll see if my favourite Cat’s Protection shop can help us out.’
As Lando inches his Golf into a parking space along the lane by Windflowers a short time later, we’re not only loaded with food and drink, we’ve also got a large basketful of pre-loved umbrellas. We leap out and run to the back of the car; Lando lifts the boot lid; we both dive in and grab the same stack of cake boxes.
For a second we both tug, then I say clearly, ‘I’ve got this, Lando.’
There’s a moment of stony silence then he says. ‘Leave these to me.’
I grit my teeth. ‘No, really. These are mine!’
He glowers down at me. ‘I thought we agreed to keep our differences out of the workplace?’
I’m about to tell him to let go before we drop the damned things when it hits me: if he’s scrapping over confectionary in the middle of a wedding, he really must hate me. But I don’t have to sink to his level. I gently transfer the weight of the boxes to him. ‘You take these; I’ll get the umbrellas, then we can both come back for the mojitos.’
As we turn to the beach hut, we see the two happy couples coming out onto the verandah, hand in hand, waving their rings and their glasses of fizz while the crowd on the beach cheer.
