‘I’d rather it wasn’t a late night though, so promise me you’ll do everything you can to get this mess sorted out as quickly as possible.’
‘I promise. But it’s not really up to me, is it? It’s up to Adele.’
A second after I’d said goodbye to Lucy, Jasper phoned.
‘Hey you. How’re things?’ I asked. I was trying to sound friendly and cool, instead of the quivering blob of excitement just hearing his voice seemed to turn me into, but I’m not sure that was what he heard.
‘Erin? Is that you?’
‘Erm. You called me, so yes.’
‘Oh. It didn’t sound like you. I’m just calling to let you know I’ve seen Marcus. He came to my parents’ house at lunchtime, so there wasn’t anything I could do to stop him from seeing my face.’
‘But it’s such a lovely face why would you…? Oh, I see. He didn’t know, did he?’
‘Nope. I’ve been avoiding him, remember?’
‘Yes. So … how did he take it?’
‘Let’s just say he wasn’t impressed. And, oh joy of joys, he said the words every man wants to hear. That I’ll have to wear make up if it still looks like this on their wedding day, because Adele won’t want me in her wedding photos looking battered and bruised.’
‘Sorry about that. Again. But there is a plus side.’
‘Is there? What, exactly?’
‘He said there’ll be a wedding. And wedding photos. So yay!’
‘Nope. As soon as he’d said that, he added, “But there might not be a wedding, so it may be a moot point.” Then Mum and Dad asked why there wouldn’t be a wedding, and all hell broke loose. Mum told him he was being ridiculous to worry because everyone could see how much Adele loved him. Then Dad said that some women could make us men believe anything, and that if he had doubts, that was a sign he should call it off, because no one wants to see him go through another divorce. You can imagine how well that went down. Then Marcus defended Adele, as did Mum, and Dad tried to drag me into it. I said it was nothing to do with me. To which Marcus replied that I was the best man and part of that role was to ensure their wedding was the happiest day of their lives. I wasn’t in the best of moods, and I told him that he and Adele were adults and that maybe they should both start behaving like it. So, I think there may be a vacancy for the role of best man.’
‘Oh no! Was it really that bad?’
‘Worse.’
‘But … you’re still the best man, right?’
He huffed out a sigh. ‘I don’t know. I think so. Marcus did eventually calm down, and all four of us sat and discussed everything over lunch, but Dad aired his views rather strongly, and I think Marcus may have more doubts now than he did yesterday.’
‘Perfect. That’s just what we need. Oh well. At least there’s no chance of Adele’s wedding dress ending up in Shanghai.’
‘What?’
I laughed. ‘It doesn’t matter. Just something Lucy said. I’ve asked Adele to come here this evening, along with Noelle and Lucy, so I’m hoping we can put this question of whether there will or won’t be a wedding to bed by tonight. Do you think you could have another word with Marcus? Perhaps just the two of you. Or … do you know Sam Worth, or Alec Richman?’
‘Erm. No. But Dad does. He’s also an electrician. I’m back here working with him in his business. He knows Alec Richman because they’ve worked on several builds together. And Dad and Mum both know Sam Worth from the sailing club. Plus, Dad loves bikes. Motorbikes, not bicycles, in case you’re wondering. He’s often been to Sam’s showroom looking at bikes.’ He chuckled. ‘Mum won’t let him have one. She says he’s too old to be messing about on those things. Why did you ask if I knew them?’
‘Well, what’s the saying about strength in numbers? I can’t remember. It doesn’t matter. All I was thinking is that maybe, if you got together with Sam and Alec, they might help you to persuade Marcus to make up his mind.’
‘It’s worth a try.’
‘Great. I’ll get Lucy to get Sam to call you, and I’ll ask Noelle to ask Alec to do so too. Assuming you don’t mind me giving them your number.’
‘I don’t mind at all. What time are you planning to go to bed tonight?’
The question took me by surprise. I wasn’t sure if he was asking if I expected it to be a late night because we’d all be drinking and chatting. Or whether he was asking for some other reason.
Before I could respond he added, ‘I was asking because I thought we could catch up later – by phone – and see if we’d been successful.’
‘Oh I see. Yes. That’s a good idea. What time do you plan to go to bed?’
