Chapter 4

Evie was lying in bed watching shards of bright sunlight sneaking in around the curtains. It was eight o’clock in the morning and the weather forecaster had promised wall-to-wall sunshine today. Fingers crossed he’d got it right.

Because she was superstitious, Evie crossed her fingers and listened to the birds singing outside her window. Then she heard another door along the landing being opened. Floorboards creaked.

There was a tap at her door and she called out, “I’m awake.”

The door opened and Bonnie appeared; fair hair rumpled, she was wearing a white cotton dressing gown and looking puzzled.

“Morning, darling. I’m sure there’s something we’re meant to be doing today. Any ideas?”

“No.” Evie shook her head. “I’m just going to sleep-in. Maybe go shopping later. Any good films on at the cinema?”

Another door slammed, they heard footsteps in a hurry and Marina raced past her mother into the bedroom. Taking a flying leap onto the bed, she sang, “You’re getting married in the morning!”

“That’s it.” Bonnie heaved a sigh of relief. “I knew there was something.” She broke into a grin and came over to envelop Evie in a hug. “Here we are, can you believe it? Happening at last. Now, you stay there and we’ll bring you breakfast in bed.”

“Ooh yes, we’re going to spoil you rotten.” Marina bounced off the bed in her pajamas and flung back the curtains. “Don’t move a muscle! Well, unless you need to go for a wee.”

Evie lay back against her plumped-up pillows and listened to the two of them clattering downstairs.

Lucky, lucky me.

In just a few hours she would properly belong to the family she loved more than any other family in the world. Bonnie would become her mother-in-law, Marina her sister-in-law. Ray would become not only her father-in-law but the father she had never had.

And she would become Joel’s wife.

It was like a dream come true. Her life was about to become officially perfect. Gazing out of the window, Evie wondered how different things might have been if she hadn’t met the Barbers.

Her own family was about as small as it was possible to get. Growing up, it had just been herself and her mother, who couldn’t have been more different from Bonnie Barber if she’d tried. Evie had never known her father. Nor had she known much fun. In order to provide a decent standard of living, her mother had sacrificed her social life for financial security. Every spare hour had been spent working. Evie had learned not to make a nuisance of herself, or to expect much in the way of attention. Her childhood had been lonely, which was why getting to know Lara in her early teens had made such a difference. Because Lara’s home life was pretty miserable too. Their respective problems had cemented their friendship. In many ways, she’d had it easier; at least her mother was still alive. Nor did she have a father and stepmother who ganged up on her and appeared to resent her very existence. Evie knew her mother didn’t hate her; she just wasn’t her number one priority.

Like today. The wedding was due to start at twelve o’clock. And her mother, currently snowed under at the office, was driving down from Swindon for the ceremony. On the phone last night she’d explained that she could be a bit late getting there but that she’d definitely be at the church by twelve fifteen. “So I might miss a couple of hymns, but I’ll be there in time for the main bit.”

Evie hadn’t even attempted to protest. I mean, what more could any daughter expect? If her mother managed to stay for the first half of the reception it would be a bonus.

Was it any wonder she loved Bonnie and Ray?

From the foot of the stairs, Bonnie yelled up, “Toast and marmalade, darling? Or croissants and cherry jam?”

“Ooh, croissants please.”

“Mimosa?” This from Marina. “Or orange juice and champagne in separate glasses?”

“Separate glasses please.”

“Moët et Chandon or vintage Bollinger?” Marina paused. “Or lovely sparkly cava from the supermarket?”

Evie knew the proper stuff was being saved for the toasts at the reception. She grinned. “Cava.”

“Good girl, cor-rect answer! OK, just give us a few minutes…”

Imagine it, in a few hours she wouldn’t be a Beresford anymore. She’d become Evie Barber instead. One of the family. Oh my.

She’d first seen Joel in a nightclub in Bath, shortly after the Barbers had moved down from London. That had been fifteen years ago. She’d been nineteen, on the gawky side, never a member of the cool set. Whereas Joel, at twenty and without even trying, had been the epitome of cool. Handsome, charming, reckless, and impulsive, everyone had fallen under his spell and Evie had been content to watch from the sidelines. She didn’t mind that he didn’t notice her; Joel Barber was way out of her league.

But as time went on, their paths had continued to cross. Bath wasn’t a huge city and there were only so many clubs and bars. Eighteen months after that initial sighting, Joel was leaving a pub just as Evie was on her way in and he accidentally swung the glass door shut in her face. He’d apologized profusely, made sure she was OK, and insisted on taking the blame even though it had been as much her fault as his.

Which had been nice.

Then, a couple of years later, she had been jostled carrying a couple of drinks across a crowded bar and accidentally spilled one of them down the back of Joel’s shirt.

This time it had definitely been her fault and she had been the one to apologize but he’d been lovely about it, assuring her it didn’t matter a bit.

Another year or so after that, a friend of hers had started seeing a friend of Joel’s and their social circles had begun to intersect, then merge. He finally learned her name and treated her as a girl-who-was-a-friend. It felt fantastic, despite the fact that she’d far rather have been his girlfriend in the proper sense.

But Evie kept her true feelings hidden. That was her secret and hers alone. Joel was still out of her league. At least he wasn’t breaking her heart and leaving her in bits, like he was doing to the stream of pretty girls who passed through his life and did get involved with him.

And ended up regretting it.

Then an astonishing thing happened. At the age of twenty-nine Joel fell in love with an older woman who did the unthinkable and turned the tables on him in a spectacular fashion, losing interest and returning to her older richer lover.

Joel was devastated and hopelessly unprepared. For the first time in his entire charmed life he learned how it felt to be rejected. Many sniggered and reveled in his downfall but Evie’s heart went out to him. Joel repaid her sympathy by confiding in her and sharing his pain.

A fortnight later they ended up in bed together. It was a toss-up which of them was more surprised. But Joel told her he loved her, that he was turning over a new leaf, that she was the one for him. He was done with drama and high-maintenance females. It was time for a change.

Time for a change for him, a dream come true for Evie. They became a couple and miraculously turned out to be better suited than either of them had thought. Their different characters complemented each other. Evie wasn’t temperamental, attention-seeking, and overly dramatic. In short, she wasn’t hard work and Joel truly appreciated that. Their affection for each other was genuine.

And when he introduced her to his family, her joy was complete.

Ray and Bonnie were the most fabulous parents anyone could wish for, warm and welcoming and wonderful in every way. Meeting them had felt like skulking outside in the cold for years, then finally being invited into a gorgeous house with a fire roaring in the grate. For Evie it had been love at first sight. What more could she want?

And then, unbelievably, it got better.

Having made his money in London’s square mile and worked his socks off for twenty-five years, Ray had decided life was too short not to enjoy the rest of it. Upon moving the family down to Bath, he had set up MadAboutParties, a company providing party goods and costume items to buy or rent. With Ray and Bonnie at the helm, the business thrived and expanded. Then three years ago, a vacancy had arisen at just the right time. Evie, working as a secretary for a husband and wife team of relationship counselors, discovered her bosses were about to divorce each other. The atmosphere in the office grew icier and more uncomfortable by the day. When Bonnie said, “Sweetheart, why don’t you come and work for us?” Evie had jumped at the chance.

And thanked her lucky stars ever since. She truly loved her new job, helping in all aspects of running the business, both in the shop itself and on the Internet. Working with Ray and Bonnie had been a joy from day one.

***

The bedroom door swung open and Bonnie came in, a tray in her hands and a red rose held between her teeth.

“Right.” She laid the tray across Evie’s lap, took a bottle of water out of her cardigan pocket, filled a narrow vase with the contents, and placed the rose in it. “Ta dah! Now, you enjoy your breakfast while we run you a lovely bath. What time’s Kirsty getting here?”

“Ten fifteen.” Fabulously inept when it came to hair and makeup, Bonnie had hired a professional for the occasion; having Kirsty turn up to make the three of them look amazing was her treat.

For the next hour Evie relaxed, ate her breakfast, watched a bit of enjoyably trashy morning TV, then had a long, hot bath. This week she’d been staying here at the house, having given up her flat in Batheaston. Tonight she and Joel were booked into the Royal Crescent Hotel, then tomorrow she’d be moving into Joel’s super-smart flat in Bannerdown. But Bonnie had insisted she spend the last few days of singledom with them and she’d been happy to do so.

Another tap on the door. Marina, wrapped in a terry cloth robe after her own shower, said, “Do I put my bridesmaid’s dress on now, or is that supposed to happen after we’ve been tarted up?”

Evie hesitated; this wasn’t her field of expertise either. But the one thing she didn’t want happening was eye shadow or lipstick being spilled on their beautiful dresses. She said, “Let’s put them on afterward. Keep them nice.”

“You’re right.” Marina grimaced at the cherry jam stain on the lapel of her robe. “We don’t want to mess anything up.”

By ten fifteen the three of them were gathered expectantly in the living room in their dressing gowns, waiting for Kirsty to arrive.

“Ha, look at you.” Having helped himself to a glass of cava, Ray eyed them cheerily from the doorway. “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”

“Dad.” Marina pulled a face at him. “Bugger off.”

He beamed. “Well, I must say, that makeup girl was worth every penny. You all look sensational, like a bunch of beauty queens.”

“You should be a stand-up comedian.” Bonnie beckoned him over and took a sip from his glass.

“Kirsty’s late,” said Evie. “She should be here by now.”

“It’s the traffic. She’s just been a bit held up. Don’t you worry.” Bonnie’s tone was unruffled. “She’ll be on her way.”