“Hey, are you okay?”
Snapped out of her ruminating thoughts, Carole realised Tom was giving her a concerned smile.
“I’m fine,” she said, and offered him a broad grin as she brought her attention back to the here and now. “Aren’t those flower arrangements beside the altar lovely?”
Conversation turned to admiring the floral displays and the pretty church. A few moments later, the appearance of the groom and his best man along with the vicar at the front of the church signalled the imminent start of the wedding ceremony.
As the chatter amongst the wedding guests quietened down, Carole’s mother caught her gaze from where she was sitting on the other side of her father, and Nina gave a nod of appreciation as she flicked her eyes in Tom’s direction.
He seems like a nice young man, her mother mouthed silently as she tilted her head in Tom’s direction.
Carole nodded in reply and thought to herself that Tom was certainly a far nicer young man than the awful Bradley Godfrey who her mother had wanted to pair her off with today. She couldn’t imagine sharing with Bradley the intimate story she’d shared with Tom on the drive here.
Sharing that unhappy tale with Tom had felt… incredibly comfortable and easy, she now realised.
Tom was a great listener, thoughtful and kind, and she’d appreciated his understanding tone and sympathetic expression while she talked.
The poor guy wouldn’t have expected her to start unloading her mortifying story on him while he was driving them both to the wedding. But knowing that the man’s eyes were necessarily focused on the road had made it easier to tell the story about Steven.
And now, when she finally encountered Steven today—which was, she knew, unavoidable—Tom would understand what had happened in the past and give her the little boost of confidence she’d need to get through it.
After that, she could forget all about Steven Weaver and enjoy the rest of the wedding.
At the front of the church, the vicar announced that the wedding ceremony was about to begin and asked the members of the congregation to stand for the bride. The organ music switched to theWedding Marchand Carole turned to see her cousin Zara walking down the aisle on her father’s arm.
She was a stunningly beautiful bride, her wedding dress a gorgeous ivory gown with a voluminous skirt and elegant lace-trimmed bodice, finished with a short spangle-encrusted veil. Carole couldn’t miss the breathless smile on her cousin’s face as she locked eyes with her groom.
When Carole saw her two nieces in their flower girl dresses, walking down the aisle behind Zara and looking thrilled to be part of the wedding party, her heart squeezed with love for them. Turning, she caught the look of pride on her sister Jane’s face as the girls passed by, clutching their flower bouquets in their little hands, and knew that the happy tears in Jane’s eyes were mirrored by her own.
Once the bride reached her groom and kissed her father before he stepped away to join Zara’s mother in the front pew, Carole’s nieces followed an older flower girl to the side of the altar where all three stood beaming out at the assembled congregation. Carole suppressed an amused laugh as her youngest niece twirled her dress, clearly loving the pretty outfit she was wearing.
“Are those your nieces?” Tom whispered as soft laughter rumbled around the wedding guests at the sight of the two little girls now twirling at the front of the church.
Carole nodded. “They’re cute and they know it.”
Beside her, Jane caught her daughters’ attention and wagged a finger at them both as the older flower girl told them to stand still. When the girls stopped twirling and the laughter died down in the church, the vicar stepped towards the bride and groom and gestured for the wedding guests to take their seats.
“We are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Zara and Anthony…”
As Carole sat down, the church doors were closed with a noisy thud, drawing her attention over her shoulder. Her gaze skimmed across the guests of the groom on the other side of the aisle, and she couldn’t help doing a double take when she saw the inevitable familiar face from long ago, a familiar face she knew to expect but which still took her by surprise.
Steven.
Although he was on the other side of the church, Carole couldn’t fail to recognise him, even after all these years.
He looked good. Annoyingly good. The passage of time had bestowed upon him the distinguished look of a man who’d entered his forties in full health and in robust fitness.
And yes, just as she’d speculated, she could see, even at this distance, the hints of silver threading through his dark hair and enhancing his looks even further.
Carole watched as Steven leaned towards the woman on his right, who whispered something in his ear, making him smile.
Carole turned away, not wanting to get caught staring at him, not wanting to bring that embarrassing indignity down on her head, and focused on what the vicar was saying at the front of the church. At her side, Tom gave her a curious look.
Everything okay?he mouthed silently.
She nodded and offered him a reassuring smile.
It was good that she’d caught sight of Steven already, while they were all seated here in the church. Better than him catchingher unawares later by popping up in front of her when she might not expect it.
