“How are you feeling, champ?” Dan asked, sitting down on the end of Daisy’s bed.
She couldn’t really answer that she felt nothing, although that was how she felt. Instead she used a word she’d seen other people use on wedding shows likeMarried at First Sight. “Good. I feel very zen,” she said.
There was a tap at the door and Daisy checked the time. It was ten minutes until the ceremony. Swallowing, she walked toward it, heart pounding at the thought that it might be Tom. She imagined him standing there, just on the other side, wondered whether she’d have time for a whispered apology. Whether he was even coming at all.
She pulled open the door, a rush of disappointment filling her as she took in Clara standing on the other side.No. That was an awful way for Daisy to feel upon the sight of her best friend, particularly when... She leaned forward to really check, but yes, Clara was beaming. Pushing the door open farther, Daisy jumped as she took in the woman standing next to her.
“Well, let us in then,” Clara said, reaching for Leisha’s hand, and Daisy flung a hand to her face because it didn’t make any sense.
“How do you look evenbetterthan your photos,” she blurted out, and Leisha laughed, her eyes creasing. Leisha had sleek, shiny long black hair and bright blue eyes that sparkled. She was dressed in a pinstripe suit that she’d surely had tailor-made and her smile was huge, showing perfect straight white teeth.
“Stop it,” Leisha said in a soft American accent. “I’m fresh off a red-eye and I look like shit. Butyouon the other hand look stunning. It’s so good to meet you.” She leaned in, hugging Daisy. Daisy rested her head on Leisha’s shoulder, locking eyes with Clara. “Oh my God,” she mouthed at her, as she took in the rich scent of some floral perfume that was quite possibly casting a spell over her. Clara winked at Daisy, while she waited for her own hug.
“Big day. How are you feeling?” she asked, and Daisy sort of wished people would stop asking her that, even though she understood it was the most natural question of all.
“She’s feelingzen,” Dan replied with a hint of sarcasm. Daisy didn’t get it. He hadn’t reacted like that when she’d said it.
Just as the door was closing behind Clara, it stopped, and a voice sounded out from behind it.
“Ready for a photo?” it said, and the hairs on Daisy’s arms stood on end as the door slowly opened again, revealing Tom standing on the other side. He’d come. Despite everything, he had shown up.
A lump immediately formed in Daisy’s throat as she took him in, there in the doorway dressed in the smart jeans she’d picked out for him, coupled with a white shirt and navy tie. His usually messy hair was slicked down so that the only messy part was a curl behind each ear and somehow, that single sighting of Tom had grabbed Daisy’s zen from her chest and pulled it from her throat, revealing her true feelings beneath it all. She was absolutely terrified. Suddenly she felt like she might burst into tears and she had no idea why seeing him had done that to her.
He was staring at her now, his jaw slightly open, covered in a light stubble. His eyes didn’t leave her face.
“You look...” He swallowed, pausing and then nodding hard. “Sorry. You look amazing.”
He held his camera up and immediately started to take photos which startled Daisy so much she took a step back, reaching for Clara.
“Thank you,” she muttered, her heart racing. “Can I have one sec?” she asked, pulling Clara into the bathroom as everyone else exchanged glances that Daisy chose not to worry about.
“You okay?” she asked.
“You’ve been reverse catfished,” she said, blurting out the first thing that came to her head. She needed to avoid thinking about her own swirling feelings. She was getting married any minute!
Clara grinned. “I know! She’s incredible, right?”
“She is. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t supportive because I just didn’t believe her.”
Clara reached up and pushed a wave of hair away from Daisy’s face. “Of course you didn’t. You have a complete inability to trust people and it makes sense as to why, but if anyone can prove otherwise, I think it’s Leisha. Some peoplecanbe trusted, Daise.”
Her mind immediately jumped to the man on the other side of the door instead of the man out in the garden, waiting for her at the end of the aisle. But God, it was stupid anyway. Tom had Sophie. He had the woman he wanted. It wasn’t like Daisy had a choice here, between Tom and Zack. Tom wasn’t an option.
“You’re right,” Daisy said. “I can trust Zack.” She nodded.
Something flashed across Clara’s face, the way it always did, and Daisy waited for what she might say about him. How careful she’d have to be, given what day it was.
“Good,” she muttered, eventually. “But I meant something else. I meant you can trustyourself. Whatever it is you’re thinking and feeling in there,” she said, resting her finger on Daisy’s chest. “You can trust it. Your gut is never wrong.”
Daisy shook her head. “I’m not sure I have a gut,” she said, remembering that one moment in the pool. What Woolf had said inOrlando.
“I hate to be a dick, but I sort of need to walk my sister down the aisle,” Dan shouted from the other side of the door.
Daisy pulled her eyes from Clara’s face. “Coming,” she said. “Thank you,” she mouthed at Clara, who nodded once, slowly.
“Okay,” Daisy said firmly, opening the bathroom door. “Let’s go get married.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
