When she comes out a moment later, she’s back in her jeans with her shirt fully tucked in.
Tia hides her surprise. ‘Would you like to try on more?’
Athena looks at her. ‘Those ones are perfect. I’ll take all three. If you could ring me and let me know how much they are, I’ll pay you in full then.’ She finally pauses for breath. ‘Can they stay here until the wedding? That way they’ll be a complete secret.’
‘Of course.’ Tia’s picking her jaw up off the floor. ‘Anything else we can help with? Veils, shoes, accessories?’
‘I’ll come back for those.’ Athena was looking pale before, but as she looks around now her cheeks are chalky. ‘Do you have a loo?’
‘Of course, follow me.’ I sense she’s in a hurry, and I dash across the hall to the cloakroom as quickly as I can.
As we join Poppy in the office we can hear the sound of retching in the distance. I turn to Tia. ‘Remember the night I was sick in your handbag?’
Tia shakes her head. ‘That was one way to make sure we’d never forget our prom.’
When Athena comes back a few minutes later, if anything, she looks worse. She pulls a face. ‘It’s never the best idea to go wedding dress shopping with a hangover!’
Tia beams at her. ‘You did it in record time!’
Athena leans her shoulder on the door frame. ‘You have to be decisive, or it could take forever and you still wouldn’t be sure you’d got the right ones.’ She loops her bag over her shoulder. ‘Thanks for your help, I’ll see you soon.’
I dip into the fridge and hold a bottle in her direction. ‘Water?’
‘Thank you. This time I will.’
We stand and listen to the sound of the doorbell ringing as she leaves, then Tia says, ‘Don’t you love that Longchamp Le Pliage handbag she was carrying? There’s a sure sign of a woman who knows her own mind.’
I’m blinking as I try to catch up with what just happened. ‘When brides are all so different, no wonder anything can happen at weddings.’
Poppy pulls down the corners of her mouth. ‘As for her dash to the loo, take it from me– that wasn’t a hangover; that was morning sickness.’
‘Which won’t go any further, as we’re renown for our client confidentiality,’ Tia reminds us gently.
We’re putting the dresses into covers and sorting out the tickets when we hear the ting of the bell as the door opens again. Then Lando’s head appears round the corner.
Tia steps in. ‘Lando, anything we can help with?’
He’s staring round the empty room. ‘I’m looking for someone, but they’re obviously not here.’
We know better than to say who’s just walked out.
Tia says, ‘Better luck next time, Lando, but he’s already gone.’
Poppy says, ‘Your husband-for-the-summer is looking uncharacteristically peaky. Is everything okay there?’
I stiffen. ‘It was karaoke at the Hungry Shark last night. He’s probably just hungover too.’
Poppy frowns. ‘It’s more than that. He’s completely lost his sparkle.’
Tia grins. ‘So long as he finds it again before the St Aidan summer extravaganza! We need him fully shimmering for that day’s charm offensive.’ She leans towards the stack of Tupperware Poppy’s holding. ‘What’s in your boxes?’
Poppy laughs. ‘I thought you’d never ask. I’m here for an eleven o’clock cake tasting and I have new-style rocky road, cherry almond cake, rhubarb and custard crumble bars, and peanut and jelly bake.’
My eyes go wide as she opens the first lid and pushes the tin towards me. ‘You want us to try them too?’
She laughs. ‘Any new recipe, I like to get all the opinions I can.’
‘And this is why I love working in a wedding shop.’
