Page 72 of Italy and Forever

‘We’re lucky it’s not the height of summer, or we’d be waking her at four,’ Toni said with a wince.

‘Sunrise isn’t until nearly seven-thirty-ish anyway,’ Kira pointed out.

‘I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be before sunrise or before it gets light,’ Ginny said apologetically. ‘There’d be no point in it at all if we didn’t get it right. But we have lots to do, so we might as well wake her and get on with it.’ She raised her cow-bell.

But when they were standing at the door, they all hesitated.

‘Oh, fine!’ Kira said, lifting her spoon and slamming it onto her saucepan with a clang. ‘Wa-a-a-ake u-u-u-up!’ Clang.

Ginny shook the cow-bell, glad she’d bought the souvenir the day before in Klausen so she had something to make noise that wasn’t quite as offensive as kitchen items.

A door down the hall opened first, Sophie’s brother-in-law frowning darkly.

‘Sorry!’ Ginny mouthed. ‘We’re waking the bride. It’s tradition.’

‘You’re waking my children!’

‘I was already awake!’ she heard Eliza insist.

A twinge of alarm made her glance down the hall to her own door just as it opened to reveal Rhys looking tousled and sleepy. Zipping across the hall, she yanked the door closed before anyone saw.

When she turned back, Sophie’s door was open, but it wasn’t the excited bride in the doorway, it was Andreas, in his underwear, his hair wild.

Ginny swore, clapping a hand over her eyes. It was a rough wedding if it was 6.29 in the morning and she was already breaking out the ‘f’ word.

‘What are you all doing here?’ he asked.

‘Uh, it’s the waking of the bride or something like that,’ Ginny explained, still shielding her eyes as she hurried over. ‘Brautwecken,’ she said, pronouncing the word carefully. ‘Your sister told me about it. It’s supposed to stop the evil spirits creeping in at dawn.’

‘Brautwecken,’ he corrected her pronunciation with a huff, then grumbled something under his breath, that included the word ‘Caro’ in a less-than-complimentary tone. ‘I notice she didn’t come herself.’

‘Perhaps it also helps the grumpy spirits creep out at dawn,’ Ginny quipped.

‘What are you doing here?’ Kira countered. ‘And put some clothes on. You’re scandalising Ginny.’

Sophie appeared in the entryway behind Andreas, rubbing her eyes. ‘What’s going—?’ She froze. ‘Andreas!’ Her tone was sharp. ‘You were supposed to go to your parents’ place! Shit, it’s our wedding day and you’re still here!’

‘Don’t look at her!’ Ginny ordered, yanking on his arm to pull him into the corridor, then dropping it again when she remembered he wasn’t wearing much.

‘It’s a bit too late for that now,’ Andreas growled. ‘It’s not going to ruin the wedding.’

‘You’d better get some clothes on and go,’ Sophie said with a sigh.

He was still grumbling as he stalked back into the room, grabbed a pair of jeans that were over the back of a chair and started pulling them on.

Ginny stepped back and leaned on the wall to wait, sharing a concerned look with Toni.

‘I am sorry, Schatz,’ she heard Andreas say. ‘Is it really so important to you?’

‘It’s what we agreed,’ Sophie replied, her tone pained. ‘I thought we were doing things properly. All your traditions and all of mine.’

‘We are doing things properly. I just didn’t realise⁠—’

‘You realise now. I’ll see you soon, okay?’

He appeared at the door, his brow dramatically folded, but he turned back to press a kiss to her hair, dipping his head to her mouth and slipping his arms around her waist. Sophie seemed mollified when he reluctantly pulled away, giving her a final kiss on the cheek.

Kira followed him down the hall, giving him a swipe on the arm. ‘It’s 6.32 and you’ve already pissed her off?’