Page 66 of Italy and Forever

Frustrated – with him and also herself – she stomped over and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. ‘Thank you – for last night.’

He raised a halting hand to her hair, brushing his fingertips lightly over the tangled strands, and it went a long way to soothing her, whether that was what he intended or not. ‘No need to thank me.’

‘I’ll see you later.’

‘Why is it so hard to say “no” at a breakfast buffet?’ Ginny mused to herself as she filled her plate with cheese and a couple of slices of sourdough bread, a boiled egg and a piece of apricot cake.

‘I thought it was hard for you to say “no” in general,’ a voice from behind her said drily.

She whirled around to find Sophie clutching a cup of tea, picking her way among the tables.

‘Oh, hey. How’d you sleep?’

Ginny juggled her towering plate and the cup of coffee that had been her first priority on arriving in the breakfast room and took a seat opposite Sophie.

‘Fine. I was looking for you, actually.’

‘Oh?’ She hoped Sophie hadn’t looked for her in her room earlier. ‘Everything on schedule for your parents arriving? Do you need me to run interference? Do your parents get on with Andreas’s?’

Her shrug was eloquent. ‘They don’t get on like a house on fire, but it’s not Meet the Parents either. My folks don’t travel much, so I’m glad Kira could go and collect them from Innsbruck this morning.’

‘They don’t travel much? Where did you and Tash come from?’

‘No idea,’ Sophie replied with a smile. ‘But I wanted to check on you. You seem… not quite yourself.’

‘In what way? I’m the same as I always was.’ Except that statement felt like such a big lie, she had to back it up with a smile that was probably cheesy despite her best efforts to stay cool. ‘I’ve got a great speech planned for the reception.’

A speech that felt a little sentimental and empty, now she thought about it.

Sophie gave her an amused smile. ‘I knew you’d be the best bridesmaid.’

‘I was worried about what Willard would say in the best-man speech, but actually, he might do a good job. He was really nice about all the wedding stuff yesterday at the climbing park. Maybe I saw a little of what Reshma sees in him.’

‘What? Reshma and Willard? You’re kidding.’

Ginny’s gaze snapped up to Sophie’s. ‘Yeah, haven’t you⁠—?’

‘I’m being sarcastic,’ Sophie cut her off. ‘We all know about Reshma and Will, although I’m not game enough to ask her for details. Are you?’

‘Definitely not,’ Ginny replied. ‘But I didn’t expect Reshma to be hiding such a bombshell secret about her divorce. You think you know someone, right?’

‘Yeah,’ Sophie replied with a shrug. ‘You think you know someone really well and then they start sneaking around the corridors during your wedding week.’

28

Ginny froze, bread halfway to her mouth. ‘Uh…’

‘This is where you say, “It’s not what you think,” and we both know you’re lying and then you break down and tell me everything. We can skip the protest. Pregnant women have a sixth sense about these things.’

Ginny’s mind raced, searching for possible excuses. It was certainly true that she was reluctant to contradict a pregnant bride.

‘Fine, there’s no sixth sense,’ Sophie admitted, ‘but there’s no use denying it. I saw you unlocking your room in quite a state this morning and you have beard burn on your neck.’

Ginny’s hand lifted of its own accord to her neck, making the raw skin sting. Her face flamed. ‘It’s just casual, a wedding fling,’ she blurted out. ‘My dating ban still stands.’

Sophie’s shoulders slowly drooped as she studied her friend. ‘We were all hoping your dating ban would be spectacularly broken. That’s why Kira suggested it. Sometimes you have to take a step back when you’re looking for something – and find it right under your nose.’

Ginny thought of the months of awkwardness between her and Rhys with an inkling of a concerning truth, but she was too raw from the conversation they’d had last night to confront it.