‘Oh, that’s right.’ It clicks into place. I didn’t really take to her at the time, but that might have been because the whole evening was awful. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be friendly to anyone.
‘The restaurant was short-staffed that night so I stepped in,’ she adds. ‘One of your party didn’t show up. I’m guessing that was you, Seth.’ She turns to him with a pretend-stern expression on her face. A smirk lying beneath it.
That’s a bit overly friendly. Using his first name without Seth even introducing himself.
Sienna tuts and holds out her hand for him to shake. ‘Standing up the bride-to-be? We can’t have that.’
I turn to Seth to see his expression, but instead of being bemused by Sienna’s forward behaviour, he shakes his head with a flirty smile. A smile he normally reserves for me.
‘Sienna?’ He says her name as though he’s just found the holy grail. An exhalation – part question, part answer. ‘Sienna!’ he repeats, this time with more lightness. ‘No way. It is you! You dyed your hair.’ Seth steps forward and I watch in dismay as the two of them hug. I’m not the jealous type. I always believe there’s no point being in a relationship with someone if there’s no trust. But this fizz of chemistry between them is really pissing me off. Especially as this is supposed to be our wedding tour.
I realise that instead of Seth and I having a loved-up afternoon, I’m about to compete with this stunning woman for his attention. Iwrack my brains to think of a good enough excuse to cancel on the spot, but my mind comes up empty. Anything I said would make me look jealous and petty. Insecure. Which, at this precise moment, would be right. I tell myself not to be so silly. This isn’t like me.
‘Can’t believe you’re getting married,’ she says to him before giving me a smile that’s verging on patronising.
The subtext of that sentence is that she can’t believe he’s getting married to me.
‘Alice,’ Seth turns to me. ‘Sienna and I go way back. Her parents live just up the road from Brook Cottage.’
‘Do you remember that time we went drunk-paddling in the stream in your garden and woke up your parents?’ Sienna touches his shoulder and laughs.
‘Don’t remind me. Dad still hasn’t forgiven us for opening his precious bottle of Macallan whisky.’
‘Oh no, does that mean I’m banned from the cottage?’ she asks, a twinkle in her blue eyes.
‘Actually, Seth and I are going to be moving into Brook Cottage after the wedding,’ I say, hoping I don’t sound too territorial, but realising I probably do.
‘Oh, nice.’ She turns back to him. ‘I hope you’ve updated the plumbing.’
‘Two years ago. Complete overhaul.’ Seth gives her two thumbs up which is quite dorky and out of character for him. Is he nervous?
‘So, we’re really excited to look round the hotel,’ I say, trying to steer the conversation away from their shared history and back to our wedding day. I throw in my warmest smile. I can’t let this woman get to me. I need to pretend she’s my new best friend.
‘Of course!’ she exclaims. ‘You’re going to love it. I’ll walk you through what your special day could be like. Come this way. We’ll get you both a drink first.’
The afternoon passes painfully slowly while Sienna gives us a tour of the hotel along with constant references to her and Seth’s shared history. Despite my best intentions to be relaxed and friendly, I’m finding it really difficult to stay upbeat. Sienna’s shameless flirting is wearing on my nerves.
The rough gist of the tour is the choice between a stunning wood-panelled hall inside the hotel, or a rustic barn next door to the main building. Sienna explains about the various catering packages, and shows us examples of the different suites available for us and our guests. Instead of giving the hotel all my attention as I’d planned, I barely take in any of the details. Anyway, there’s no point. I’ve already made up my mind that we won’t be having our reception here. Especially after Sienna reassures us that she’ll be on hand throughout our special day to ensure everything runs smoothly. Yes, I’m sure she will.
I’m wondering if she and Seth were just friends, or if there was ever something more to their relationship. My jaw aches from fake-smiling and I’m getting the beginnings of a tension headache.
Finally, we return to the foyer where, instead of the professional handshake she started with, she leans in to kiss us on the cheek in turn, lingering longer on Seth.
‘Now that you’re moving back down, you better keep in touch,’ she says to him. ‘I’m in Lymington now, so not too far away.’
‘Definitely,’ Seth replies.
‘Are you still on the same number?’ she asks him.
You’ve got to be kidding me. I restrain the eye roll that’s trying to force its way out.
‘Yes, same number,’ Seth replies.
‘Great.’ She beams.
I give a wan smile, desperate to leave now.
Finally, Seth and I leave Sienna to the rest of her day and make our way back outside. The sun has dipped behind the trees and the airis cold enough to steal our breath. The valet has already fetched Seth’s car and I slip gratefully into the passenger seat, massaging my temples.
