Jake turns to his bride-to-be with an adoring smile that makes all of us melt. “She’ll be beautiful in whatever she wears.”
Nel’s responding blush is too cute.
“Of course she will,” Hen agrees.
“Oh, wedding dress shopping is just magical,” my mum muses wistfully. “The champagne, the dresses, the tiaras…” She’s in some sort of dream world and I smile at her. “And let me tell you, as a mother, there is nothing quite like seeing your daughter in a wedding dress for the first time.”
My eyes catch on Harry’s, the two of us sharing a wince before we look to Nel who stares at her still empty plate, her smile gone and the colour high on her cheeks as she swallows. I try to catch Mum’s eye, but she’s still spouting with a dreamy smile.
“You raise a little girl who loves dressing up and princesses, then you get to see her in that dream dress and be happy knowing she’s getting the day and the life she deserves. It’s all any parent wants, to see, their children happy and watching them fall in love and start their own family is one of life’s greatest joys.”
Oh, dear Lord. Stop, please stop. I watch as the first tear falls on Nel’s cheek and how Jake squeezes her shoulder in comfort. I see Harry watch his sister helplessly, with his own eyes glazing over, a sad look all over his face that breaks my heart. I see my mother, God bless her, open her mouth to keep going but I can’t let her.
“Mum,” I hiss, angrily. Maybe if I could have thought more quickly, I would have swiftly changed the subject rather than bring everyone’s attention to what was happening, but I just have to make her stop before either one of the siblings have a full-blown meltdown.
Mum looks at me, confused by my heated interruption, before looking across the table at poor Nel. Mum’s face drops, mortification written in the part of her lips and the crinkle of her eyes. “Oh, Nel, I’m so sorry.” Nel shakes her head as if to say the apology isn’t necessary, but she doesn’t say anything. “I shouldn’t have said anything, I wasn’t thinking,” Mum continues, and now she needs to stop apologising and bringing more attention to my poor sister-in-law.
“You know, I reckon you two should have a Christmas themed wedding,” Rhiannon saves the day, chirping happily, waving her fork between Jake and Nel.
I throw her a grateful look down the table and she winks at me as Jake laughs. “Why Christmas themed?”
“Well, you know, you guys got together at Christmas, and you got engaged around Christmas.” She shrugs.
“Maybe we should have had a Christmas themed wedding,” Harry says, after clearing his throat.
Mum still looks crushed; Dad gently squeezes her shoulder where his arm rests along the back of her chair. “Why would you two have a Christmas themed wedding?” he asks Harry.
“Because we met at Christmas,” Harry says like it’s obvious.
Mum and Dad both turn their heads to me. “We met Harry in October.” Mum frowns.
“Yeah,” I say slowly, scrunching my face up.
“You said you’d met him in the summer!”
“Yeah,” I repeat, even slower with my face screwed tighter.
“Wait, what?” Harry frowns at me across the table and I shrink slightly in my seat, noticing Jake’s frustratingly amused grin as everyone looks at me as though waiting for an explanation.
“Okay,” I sigh, defeated. “Look, I met Harry at Christmas, and I didn’t tell you about him because you two,” I gesture at my parents, “tend to get a little over…enthusedabout things and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure…Iwas as enthused as I knew you would be.”
“What do you mean over enthused?” Mum asks looking put out.
“What do you mean you weren’t sure?” Harry’s eyebrows pull together tighter, and I glare at Jake as he tries to hide his glee behind his fingers as he rests his chin in his hand.
“It was a strange meeting, and Harry was just so…different to other guys I’d introduced you to before. He took some…getting used to.” I wince at my own choice of words because it sounds worse than it is. I just needed time to work out how I felt about Harry, I mean, that’s normal, right?
“Getting used to?” Harry asks incredulous. “I knew I was going to marry you the first time I met you!”
“You did?” I ask, hand to heart and pouting over the cuteness of him.
“Even before that,” Jake pipes up. “He told me you were going to be his wife before he’d even said hello.”
“Aw, Harry,” Nel coos. “That’s so cute.”
My adorable husband actually blushes, a bright pink creeping up his high cheekbones and tainting his golden skin. “She was the most beautiful girl in the room,” he mumbles. “Still is.”
My insides do a little somersault and then settles at the pit of my stomach only to steep in my own anxiety. Harry says perfect things like that, but I’m still sat here worrying about how my tights are digging into the podge of my belly.What is wrong with me?The sounds our guests make at Harry are varied. All the women swoon and fuss while Jake and Luke scoff and tease. Lucas and Oscar make heaving sounds while my dad and Uncle Gordan chuckle. Harry bows his head and starts shovelling lasagne in his face to avoid saying anything else.
