‘The hotel was fine; it was the wedding coordinator who messed things up.’ I hold my pizza slice out to Laurence. He picks off the mushrooms and dumps them on to his slice while I remove his artichoke hearts and put them on to mine.
Laurence gives me a quizzical look and I go on to tell him about Sienna Doyle, the stunning wedding coordinator who just so happens to be Seth’s ex-girlfriend. And how she spent the whole tour flirting with him while he reciprocated.
‘Oh shit,’ Laurence says, giving me a sympathetic look and topping up my wine.
‘That about sums it up.’ I take a huge bite of pizza and chew morosely. ‘I mean, I know it wasn’t Seth’s fault she was there, but he didn’t have to flirt back.’
‘No. Sure. Maybe he was just being friendly. He would have been surprised to see her. It might have been awkward for him.’
‘Trust me, the only person feeling awkward in that situation was me. If that had been one of my exes, he would have gone ballistic.’
‘Haven’t you had the “exes” chat yet?’ Laurence asks.
‘Of course. But Sienna was never mentioned until today.’
‘Oh.’
I reach for a second pizza slice and we both chew in silence for a moment.
‘Maybe you need to have another talk to Seth,’ Laurence suggests. ‘Get him to put your mind at rest.’
‘Maybe ... but I don’t want him to think I’m jealous.’
‘Fine, but if you don’t say anything, then he won’t realise he made you feel bad.’
I slump down into the sofa. ‘I wouldn’t even know how to bring it up without coming across all possessive and paranoid.’
‘Alice, you’re marrying the guy. If you can’t talk to him ...’ Laurence raises an eyebrow.
I bristle at the suggestion that my relationship with Seth is anything other than perfect. ‘Of course I can talk to him! It’s just a weird situation, that’s all.’
‘And what about him not turning up to Elizabeth’s anniversary dinner?’
‘Who told you that?’ I frown.
‘I ran into Lizzie at the post office a couple of days ago.’
Internally, I curse living in a small town, even though I love it really. ‘Elizabeth got annoyed with me when Seth didn’t show up atthe dinner last week. I apologised. But it’s not like we arranged it on purpose. He couldn’t help his meeting running late, could he?’
‘No, but it was a special occasion for them. If there was a possibility of him not making it, maybe he should have let you know.’
‘Don’t you give me a hard time about it too. I thought you’d be on my side.’ I glower at him, hurt that he’s siding with my sister.
He gives me a rueful grin. ‘Sorry, you’re right. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.’
I sigh. ‘No. I’m sorry for snapping. I think it must be pre-wedding jitters. I never thought I’d be one of those brides-to-be who gets all uptight and stressed. But, actually, it wasn’t just me Elizabeth was moody with – she was annoyed with Graham too. They were trying to pretend they weren’t fighting, but it was so obvious. Such an awkward atmosphere. Although I guess that could have been triggered by Seth’s no-show.’
Laurence presses his lips together.
‘What’s that look for?’ I ask.
‘Nothing.’
I narrow my eyes and sip my wine.
‘Okay, look,’ Laurence says. ‘I don’t think they were arguing about Seth not coming to the dinner.’
‘You don’t think?’
