I notice she gives Mike a meaningful look and I have a fleeting worry that somehow they know about the Lady Cordelia thing. But surely she wouldn’t have joked about her if she knew. Mike doesn’t know about my real job anyway.
“Seriously, what’s with the hair?” Cara asks, once we’ve passed a quiz sheet to our team and set off for the loo. “You didn’t tell me you were going for such a drastic change.”
“It was requested by a bride,” I inform her quietly, making sure Jen hasn’t tagged along without us noticing.
“She asked you to dye your hair ginger?”
“Yes.”
“Because?”
“Her other bridesmaids are redheads and she’s brunette and she thought it would be good in the photos if all the bridesmaids were matching and she stood out.” I push open the door to the toilets. “Yay, no queue!”
“Hang on.” Cara laughs, going into the cubicle next to me. “She asked you to dye your hair ginger to blend in more with the other bridesmaids so she could stand out. Because it isn’t enough that she will be in, oh, I don’t know, awhite wedding dress?”
“I don’t think it looks that bad.”
“That ismadness.”
“Trust me, it’s not the craziest demand I’ve had this week.”
“Your job is nuts,” Cara says, when we’re washing our hands.“But I have to say, it’s truly entertaining. I feel sorry for all our friends who have no idea about these crazy tales. Was I as out of control as these brides when I was getting married?”
“No, you were perfect.”
She grins. “Do you say that to all your brides?”
“Only my favorites,” I say, going to open the door.
“Sophie, wait,” she says, lurking near the hand dryer. “Before we go back out there, I need to tell you something.”
“Is everything OK?” I ask.
“I’m just going to say it.” She takes a deep breath, looking pained, then blurts out, “Daniel’s coming here tonight. Aiden invited him.”
“What?” I lean on the basin, feeling a bit light-headed. “He’s coming here? Tonight?”
“Yeah.”
I stare at her in horror. “Is Francesca coming?”
“No, she’s staying home with the puppy.”
“Thepuppy?” I whimper, mortified to find my eyes filling with tears. “They have apuppy?”
“I bet it’s ugly.”
“No puppy is ugly.”
“I bet Daniel’s is.”
“Oh, God.”
She watches me, her expression tense, full of sympathy. “Are you OK?”
Pull yourself together, Sophie. Don’t be pathetic.
“Yeah. I’m… I should have… I mean, it’s all the university group so of course he’s coming. Why didn’t I consider this?”
