8
The wedding ceremonywas beautiful from start to finish. From the hymns to the vows to the thoughtful remarks from the vicar as he blessed the happy couple, Carole found her eyes welling up more than once during the proceedings.
As she watched the bride and groom kiss each other and then walk hand-in-hand back down the aisle to begin their married life together, Carole’s tears fell in earnest.
“Damn it, my mascara’s ruined!” she laughed, dabbing a hanky to her eyes as everyone got to their feet to follow the happy couple outside.
“Same here,” Jane commiserated, as she too wiped at her cheeks. “The ceremony was so lovely, and Zara looks amazing.”
“She is a beautiful bride,” Nina added, digging more tissues from her bag. “It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a wedding ceremony so much. The vicar’s words were very moving.”
“All the women will be racing to the toilets when we arrive at the hotel so we can fix our faces before the reception starts,” Carole said. “Jane, do I look completely hideous with mascara running everywhere?”
Jane scrutinised her face and shook her head. “You’re okay. Nothing that a bit of eyeliner won’t fix.”
“Thank goodness.”
Carole blew out a breath of relief. After spending ages on her make-up this morning, the last thing she wanted was to look like a panda, especially if there was any risk of encountering Steven face-to-face before she had time to repair her painstaking cosmetic handiwork.
“Come on, Tom, give me your arm,” Carole said as they all shuffled out of the pew. “Keep me upright in these heels while we’re navigating this old church floor.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Tom said with a grin as he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. He leaned a little closer as they fell into step behind the guests now moving towards the church doors and lowered his voice. “Any sign of your ex so far?”
Carole nodded. “I saw him just as the wedding ceremony began. His pew filed out before ours did, so he’s probably outside already.”
“Noted. Visual sighting of the enemy confirmed and all systems at the ready.”
Carole laughed as they walked out of the church and into the summer sunshine. “It’s the perfect day for a wedding. Zara must be so thrilled the weather is being kind.”
On the front steps of the church, the bride and groom were being corralled by the photographer along with the bridesmaids and flower girls. While a batch of photographs were snapped, the wedding guests chattered to one another as they edged their way around the posing bridal party and made their way towards the church gates.
Carole’s sister and brother-in-law stayed behind to supervise their daughters during the photo-shoot, and Carole and Tom followed her parents along the church path to the street beyond. As they lingered on the pathway waiting for the bottleneck to clear through the church gates, Carole scanned the faces of the guests milling around her.
On the other side of the wrought iron fence, she caught sight of Steven Weaver, already walking along the pavement amongst a clutch of other guests making their way towards their cars. She let go of the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding, relieved that Steven had departed the church grounds and there was now no risk of running into him before she’d had time to repair her make-up after her waterworks during the ceremony.
“Is that the guy? Steven, your ex?”
Carole turned to see Tom looking in the direction she’d just been staring in, his gaze following Steven as he walked away.
“That’s him,” Carole said. “How did you guess?”
“Your eyes latched onto him like tractor beams,” he said, his lips lifting with humour.
“It’s strange to see him after all these years,” she conceded. “And to be honest, I really don’t want to bump into him while I’ve still got tear-tracks down my make-up after blubbing my eyes out in the church.”
Tom laughed. “You look fine. I’d tell you if you didn’t. Remember, I’m your emotional support wingman today.”
“Emotional supportandstructural support,” she said with a laugh as her treacherous high heel caught on an uneven paving stone beneath her feet, causing her to grip tighter on Tom’s arm to stop her wobbling.
“I’m happy to be of service,” Tom grinned.
Carole’s gaze flicked back to where Steven was now vanishing into the distance amongst the other wedding guests returning to their cars. She caught sight of the woman at Steven’s side, the woman who was an old friend of the groom and who had brought Steven as her plus-one.
At this distance, it wasn’t easy to make out much detail, but the woman looked around Carole’s age, maybe a year or two older at most, and wore a silver-grey sheath dress and her hair in an up do with tumbling curls falling around her shoulders. Theshoes the woman wore looked just as lethal as Carole’s, yet she seemed to be walking in them with no hazardous effects.
Carole couldn’t help hating her just a little bit for that.
The couple disappeared into the distance along with the rest of the departing crowd just as Carole and Tom finally squeezed through the bottleneck of guests at the church gates. After waving her parents off, they turned in the direction of Tom’s parked car.
