Chapter 36

Cal met up with Tilly at the school gates.

“Janice smiled at me in the corridor today.”

“That’s nothing.” Tilly smirked. “She stopped me in the toilets at break and told me you’re cute.”

Cal looked horrified. “Cute? That’s terrible! How dare she call me cute? Yesterday she said I was cool! How can anybody be cool and cute?”

“Don’t knock it. She fancies you.”

“Now you’re starting to scare me.”

Daringly, Tilly said, “Don’t you fancy Janice?”

“No, I do not.” Cal spoke with feeling as he slung his schoolbag over his bony shoulder. He paused. “So what are you up to now?”

“Me? Just waiting for Janice. I fancy her even if you don’t.”

He broke into a grin that definitely managed to be cool and cute. “Want some help learning your lines?”

Thanks to Janice, word about Cal’s attributes had evidently spread; girls streaming past them were glancing at him with renewed interest. Flushed with pride, Tilly said, “OK.”

Cal shook his head. “Sorry, not enough enthusiasm. Not nearly enough.”

“You mean you’d do that for me?” Clutching his arm, Tilly widened her eyes and gave him a look of incredulous delight. “Oh my God, really? That is so fantastic. Thank you, thank you, I can’t believe this is happening to me!”

“Much better.” Cal’s gaze was locked on hers, his amusement unconcealed. Two Year-10 girls going past nudged each other.

“That’s him, the one Janice was going on about,” hissed the darker haired of the two.

“Hmm, she’s right, you know. Definitely something about him.”

“See?” Tilly teased, when they were gone. “There’s definitely something about you.”

Cal’s eyes twinkled. “Has to be better than cute.”

***

The wedding ceremony was proceeding without a hitch. Beautiful blonde Sophie had arrived bang on time, her sleek ivory dress uncreased and her smile dazzling. Nick, paunchier than the last time Nadia had seen him, was looking uncharacteristically smart and had remembered to peel the price stickers off the soles of his new shoes for the kneeling bit. Everyone had sung along, more or less in tune, to the jolly hymns. Nobody had burst in at the crucial moment to object to the ceremony taking place.

Nadia marveled that outside, the rest of Clifton was carrying on as usual. It was one o’clock on a Saturday afternoon and people were shopping, drinking in bars, taking their children to the playground, and filling their cars with petrol. Yet here inside the church, Nick and Sophie were plighting their troth, promising to love and honor each other in sickness and in health until death did them part.

Extraordinary, thought Nadia, when so many marriages these days didn’t even last as long as the guarantee on a washing machine. Gullible, that was the only word to describe people who got married and actually expected to live happily ever after. And it cost thousands to hold a wedding like this, talk about money down the drain, why did people bother?

“Stop sniffing,” Laurie murmured out of the corner of his mouth. “Oh no, not again,” he added, glancing at Nadia and passing her the handkerchief from his top pocket.

Cursing her inability to cry without sniffing—well, she could cry without sniffing, but her nose would run in a most unattractive manner—Nadia wiped her eyes and dabbed at her mascara. Why, why did this always have to happen to her?

“You big wuss,” Laurie whispered, squeezing her arm.

It was the triumph of hope over bitter experience, she knew that now. Combined with the look of naked adoration on Nick’s ruddy face as he’d gazed into Sophie’s eyes and slipped the platinum ring on her slender finger. It was the unwavering inner belief that, OK, other people’s marriages might not work, but theirs would. When you loved each other this much, nothing could go wrong…

“You may kiss the bride,” proclaimed the vicar.

“Whmmph.” Nadia muffled the sob by burying her face in Laurie’s hankie. She couldn’t help it; Nick and Sophie were in love. Nick, normally so bawdy and cynical, looked as if he might be on the verge of tears himself. This was all he wanted in the world. Oh bugger, and now her mascara really was starting to run.

“We could do this.” Laurie’s mouth was millimeters from her ear.

A shiver zipped down Nadia’s spine. “Do what?”

“This. The whole church bit. All you have to do is say yes.”

Nadia gazed straight ahead at Nick and Sophie ecstatically kissing each other. She couldn’t breathe.

“I want to marry you,” Laurie went on.

Talk about shameless, thought Nadia. He was taking advantage of her while she was in a vulnerable state.

“I mean it.” Laurie squeezed her hand. “You wouldn’t regret it, I promise.”

The organ was striking up; Nick and Sophie were no longer kissing, just grinning idiotically at each other like a couple of… well, newlyweds.

That could be us, Nadia thought.

Aloud she said, “Have you ever thought about becoming a door-to-door salesman?”

When the service was over, the bride and groom led the exit from the church. The people in the front pews peeled off row by row, following them outside into the blazing sunshine. Nadia and Laurie, five pews back, left their seats when the time came and made their way down the aisle.

Nadia admired the posies of white rosebuds and stephanotis attached to the ends of each of the pews. Spotting a woman in an ornate orange hat the size of a satellite dish, she wondered how much it had cost—anything more than a fiver, basically, and the woman had been had. Oh, but there in the row behind her was someone with far better taste, a tall redhead wearing a knee-length old-gold silk jacket over a peachy-yellow dress of the same material. The colors were stunning together, complementing the girl’s auburn hair perfectly, and her amber necklace exactly matched her shoes. Now that was the way to make a good impression on—

Oh, good grief. As she’d been thinking nice things about the redhead’s way with accessories, Nadia’s attention had wandered idly to her companion. Now she faltered, utterly poleaxed to discover that it was Jay.

How? How could he be here? How?

“What?” said Laurie.

“Nothing.”

The redhead was chattering away in a vivacious fashion. Next to her, Jay nodded and smiled as if agreeing with whatever she’d just said. Then his gaze shifted and came to rest on Nadia. He nodded again briefly, this time in acknowledgement, then carried on listening to the redhead at his side.

He’d spent the last hour sitting two pews behind her. No wonder he wasn’t as shocked to see her as she was to see him. Nadia really hoped he hadn’t heard her sobbing embarrassingly into her hankie.

Laurie, following her line of vision, said, “Hey, look who’s here!” Grinning, he waved at Jay. “How did this happen? You didn’t invite him along, did you?”

“Of course I didn’t invite him.” Feeling hot all over, Nadia realized too late that Laurie had been teasing.

“Losing your sense of humor.” He gave her a playful nudge. “It’s OK, I’ve figured it out. That’s one of the girls he was with at the Alpha Bar the other night.”

Nadia’s stomach did a clumsy double back-flip. “And?”

“Well, she must be one of Sophie’s friends. She was out for her bachelorette party.”

***

The reception was being held at the Holborn Hotel, famed for its views over the suspension bridge. It was a really nice hotel, rather posh, quite grown-up.

Nadia, in contrast, wasn’t feeling nice at all. What’s more, she was having a hard time behaving like a grown-up. Everyone else was mingling in the hotel garden, drinking champagne and socializing in time-honored weddingy fashion. On the surface, this was what Nadia was doing too. But inwardly she longed to stick out her foot next time Redheaded Girl wandered past, and trip her up.

It wasn’t logical, but it was happening anyway. She couldn’t help it; Redheaded Girl was annoying her intensely. The way she threw back her head and laughed whenever Jay said something even remotely amusing. The way she kept picking invisible bits of fluff off the lapels of his jacket. And as for the way she ran her tongue over her lips before speaking, well, that was the most irritating mannerism of all. Talk about obvious. Any woman doing that porn-star-in-training thing with her tongue absolutely deserved to be tripped up.

“Nadia! Brilliant to see you again. You’re looking fantastic!” Nadia found herself enveloped in a bear hug that quashed all the air out of her lungs. Nick had never known his own strength.

But he was right, Nadia thought with a trace of smugness; for once, she was looking fantastic. The dark blue spaghetti-strapped top Clare had bought last week went brilliantly with her own indigo-and-silver long floaty skirt from Monsoon. For once her hair had done as it was told. Miraculously, even her high-heeled sandals were comfortable enough for her not to be longing to kick them off.

She just hoped Nick wasn’t the only person here who’d noticed how completely gorgeous she was looking today.

“You too,” Nadia told him. “And now you’re married! I can’t believe it.” Over Nick’s sturdy shoulder she watched Jay refilling Redheaded Girl’s glass. He was wearing a dark gray suit, a purply-blue shirt, and a tie that was—oops, quick, look away.

“You’ll be next.” Beaming all over his face, Nick said, “When Laurie told me the two of you were back together—”

“We aren’t back together,” Nadia interjected. Bloody hell, what had Laurie been telling him?

“I didn’t say that.” Next to her, Laurie shook his head. “I didn’t. I just said we were seeing each other again. In a purely platonic way. Until I can persuade Nadia to change her mind.”

“He did. Absolutely right.” Nick nodded vigorously. “That’s what he told me. But you will change your mind, won’t you?” He clutched Nadia’s hands. “Give him another chance? I know he’s an ugly bugger, but he’s not so bad, deep down. Go on, give him the benefit of the doubt. If you two tie the knot we’ll be able to have married-couples dinner parties like proper grown-ups. With matching cutlery, the works.”

“That’s a great reason to get married.” Nadia nodded thoughtfully. “Thanks, I’ll bear it in mind.”

Leaning in for another clumsy kiss, Nick whispered, “He really does love you, you know.”

This was definitely a case of the confetti talking. Under normal circumstances, Nick would be more likely to dance in Swan Lake on stage at Covent Garden than discuss—yeeugh—love. He clearly wasn’t himself today. Spotting Sophie’s mother heading their way, Nadia said, “Your mother-in-law’s coming over.”

“Jean!” Letting go of Nadia, Nick said cheerfully, “You won’t believe this, but I actually like my mother-in-law. Weird or what?”