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He kissed the top of her head. ‘Nothing will break us, I promise. I have a really great feeling about our future.’
‘I worry about Tara though. She’s obviously still really down about Jack breaking up with her. She was so sure he was going to pop the question, until he ditched her last week. It must be tough for her seeing how happy we are.’
‘She’ll be fine. The way I look at it, she’s your best mate, and she’ll be happy to share in our joy today.’
‘She’s so self-conscious about her size though. I think she’s beautiful, but she doesn’t see it. All she focuses on is her larger dress size.’ Alice adjusted the front of her own dress as it squeezed her middle.
‘You want me to have a word with Dave?’
Alice raised her head with a confused look. ‘What do you mean?’
Ben raised his eyebrows. ‘I could ask him if he’d … you know … size doesn’t bother him.’
Alice slapped his arm. ‘She doesn’t need us fixing her up with a sympathy shag, especially with someone like Dave.’
Alice hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but could see the hurt look in Ben’s eyes.
‘What’s wrong with Dave? He’s sound as a pound.’
Alice wrinkled her nose. ‘I know he’s your best friend, but he isn’t always … I just mean, I don’t want Tara to settle.’
‘He’s like a brother to me, and she could do a lot worse than Dave.’
‘I know, I know … listen, I don’t want to fall out over something so silly. I just think they’re too different. Tara is passionate about teaching, and she yearns to meet someone who will sweep her off her feet. Even you have to admit, Dave is no romantic lothario, is he?’
Ben shrugged begrudgingly. ‘I guess not. Didn’t stop you going out with him back in the day though, did it?’ He was grinning at her as he spoke, and she playfully slapped his arm again.
‘That was a long time ago, and it was a blind date. Besides, if I hadn’t met up with him that night, you never would have met me, and we wouldn’t be here now.’
‘He has a thing for schoolteachers, too, though I doubt he’ll ever find one as gorgeous as you.’
‘It’s not easy for her to meet new guys. If you think about it, the only men we tend to come into contact with are either teachers or parents. Not exactly a plentiful pool.’
‘Ha! You think it’s easier running a logistics company? Most of my clients are middle‑aged men with less hair than Dave!’
She smiled coquettishly. ‘Well, you don’t need to worry about that any more. God help you if I ever catch your eye wandering, Mr Goodman. As an experienced junior schoolteacher, I’m very handy with a pair of scissors.’ She made a point of staring at his crotch as she spoke.
He pressed his hands against her cheeks and pulled her in for a deep and meaningful kiss, sending tremors along her arms and legs.
‘I do believe we just had our first argument as husband and wife. Should I ask the chauffeur to pull over so we can have make-up sex?’
Alice couldn’t be sure if he was being serious or just teasing her again. His ability to make her laugh was what had first attracted her to him. Conventionally handsome, with dark hair and a brooding look that he could flip to at the drop of a hat, physically Ben was a fine specimen. Dave on the other hand had a large frame, with deep-set eyes and a rapidly decreasing hairline. The two had the ability to wind each other up, but when push came to shove, there was nothing one wouldn’t do for the other.
‘Make-up sex will have to wait until tonight, I’m afraid,’ she said, kissing him back. ‘I don’t want to do anything to mess up my hair before the photographs.’
He pressed the back of her hand to his lips. ‘Fair enough. Hey do you reckon our parents are behaving in the other car?’
Ben’s parents were staunch Christians who attended mass without fail every Sunday. Ben had once told her a story about how his mother had strapped a pair of tennis rackets to her feet so she could plough through a foot of snow to make it to the service. Alice’s mum on the other hand was far less religious, and rarely hid her opinions on outdated religious practices. It had been stressful having to break the news to her that they’d decided to get married in a church, especially given that neither Ben nor Alice were regular church attendees.
‘Hopefully they’re sitting in silence and enjoying the view,’ Alice said. ‘If Scott is with them, I’m sure he’ll make sure Mum bites her tongue.’
‘Hey, you could always set up Tara with Scott.’
Alice scrunched up her face. ‘I love my stepbrother and I love Tara, but I cannot see what they would have in common. Besides, Scott’s married to his cycling career. He’s never around long enough to maintain a relationship. When he’s back in Southampton he seems to spend all of his free time at the gym anyway.’
‘Yeah but he probably only does that so he isn’t trapped under the same roof as your mum. It amazes me that they still live together after all this time.’
‘It’s good for her having him around, even if that’s less and less these days. For him it offers a roof over his head when he’s in the city, and somewhere he can store all his stuff.’
‘I’m pretty sure I saw him crying when the vicar asked him to give you away. He definitely wiped something from the corner of his eye.’
‘Yeah? I’m pretty sure I saw Dave do the same thing when he realized he was giving you up.’
She chuckled at her own quip, but the joy was short-lived when she remembered they had yet to hear Dave’s best man speech. Dave wasn’t known for his tact, and although Alice had begged and pleaded with him to show her the final version, he’d refused. She’d insisted though that he keep it clean for the sake of Ben’s parents as well as her own feelings.
She accepted that she didn’t know everything from Ben’s past, and although the two of them had done the thing where they’d shared the names of previous partners, it hadn’t been something either had wanted to dwell on. It grated that Dave was privy to so much of Ben’s life prior to her arriving on the scene, and she now desperately hoped he wouldn’t parade all of the skeletons from Ben’s closet in front of her friends and family.
The first road sign for the hotel appeared ahead.Old Mill Lodge, on the edge of Hampshire’s New Forest, was a grand-looking building, so named because it was built on the site of a mill that had operated in the late nineteenth century. When the business had failed, an eccentric developer had bought the land with a view to building the finest mansion the area had seen; but a year after completion he had suffered a heart attack and the deeds had passed to his unscrupulous son, who had immediately sold it. Shortly after the Second World War, it had been turned into a fine manor hotel where wedding costs started from thirty thousand upwards.
‘You’ve gone quiet,’ Ben observed. ‘Are you okay?’
Pushing the fear from her mind, she snuggled into his shoulder contentedly. ‘With you by my side, I have everything I’ll ever need.’
THREE (#ulink_f1887ffe-11ce-53c3-9b42-879dfd9b80eb)
‘I promised I’d go easy on him,’ Dave said, his large arm brushing against Alice’s shoulder as he reached for the bottle of wine on the table between them. His jacket was now slung over the back of the chair, and he looked more like himself.
‘Thank you,’ Alice replied over the loud music already pumping out of the room next to them, grateful that Dave’s ribbing of Ben throughout the best man’s speech had been gentle. ‘It was a good speech.’
‘You should hear the first draft,’ he teased, a wide grin breaking across the stubble on his cheeks. ‘I should let you read a copy of it, so you get to see the man you’ve really married.’
She gave him a cursory stare, but found her own lips reflecting his smile. ‘I wonder what sort of speech Ben would write about you though, Dave.’
His expression changed to one of mock hurt. ‘Moi? Didn’t you know? I’m an angel. They broke the mould when they made me. Scout’s honour.’
Alice doubted very much that Dave had ever been in the Scouts. No matter how hard she tried to picture him in shorts and a woggle, she just couldn’t do it.
Now that the speeches were complete, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She’d even caught both of Ben’s parents chuckling as Dave had relayed stories of how the two of them had met, how Dave viewed himself as something of a Cupid for helping the happy couple connect, and had avoided all references to previous partners.
Dave’s hands had trembled as he’d read out his speech, but Ben had looked even more nervous, sipping his wine every sixty seconds or so, clearly dreading the potential grenades Dave could have dropped.
The hotel staff had kicked them out of the room just after five, as Dave’s speech had dragged on a little longer than expected, and Alice had taken the opportunity to change into her evening gown and freshen up. The honeymoon suite was everything she had hoped for. High ceilings, a four-poster bed and a balcony with a view of the lake and luscious green lawn where the photography session had taken place. Picture-perfect didn’t come close to describing it, but then she’d left nothing to chance, and had spent the majority of her free time in the last two years planning every minute detail. From the embossed ‘Save the Date’ cards, to the individual handheld dessert selection that had been served during the speeches, she had overseen every detail.
Today was her day, and nothing was going to spoil it.
She hadn’t seen Ben since the breakfast, but Dave had found her and promised the rest of the lads were looking after him, which probably meant they were drinking and exchanging banter where they couldn’t be overheard. The evening guests were now gathering in the suite ready for the evening disco and buffet, awaiting the newlyweds’ arrival and the cutting of the cake.
‘Are you having a good day?’ Dave asked, leaning closer again.
‘The best,’ she gushed.
‘I’m sorry I was late getting Ben to the church,’ he continued sombrely. ‘It’s absolutely my fault, and you shouldn’t blame him. It took us ages to find an open pub. The one I’d planned for us to go to was closed, and we had to drive around until we found one. Ben kept saying we should just forget about it, but I wanted him to have a proper send-off. I hope you can forgive me. The last thing I’d want is to spoil your big day.’
She patted his arm warmly. ‘It’s okay, Dave. No harm done.’
A sudden crash into the table was followed by a hand resting on Dave’s shoulder.
‘Hey mate,’ the owner of the hand slurred. ‘You got a cigarette I can steal?’
Dave looked annoyed at the interruption, but turned to face the man. ‘You don’t smoke, Abdul.’
‘Yeah, but I like one every now and again, when I’ve been drinking. Go on, don’t be tight.’
Dave shuffled the chair back and stood, reaching for the suit jacket draped over the arm. ‘Sure, I’ll come out and join you.’ He paused and turned back to Alice. ‘Have you two met? Alice, this is Abdul. Abdul, this is Ben’s better half.’
Alice hadn’t met Abdul before, but she’d heard Ben and Dave talking about him. From India originally, he had met the other two at university and they’d spent most of their time high as kites, before going their separate ways at graduation.
‘Hi,’ Alice waved.
‘Great day,’ Abdul replied. ‘Appreciate the invite.’
‘I’ll see you in a bit.’ Dave winked at Alice, before following Abdul away from the table and towards the hotel lobby.
A moment later, Alice’s mother plonked down in the chair Dave had vacated.
‘You’re supposed to be waiting for us in the hall, Mum,’ Alice said patiently.
‘Your dads would be so proud of you right now,’ her mum replied, her eyes welling instantly. ‘It’s been a lovely day so far.’
It had taken enough planning, but it felt good to have all that effort vindicated by someone who could be so judgemental.
‘Thank you, Mum. Are you okay?’
Her mum removed a tissue from the sleeve of her violet cardigan and dabbed the corner of her eyes. ‘I’m hanging in there. I wish both your dads could have been here to see you walk down the aisle. You looked like a princess from one of those stories we used to read to you as a child.’
Alice could feel the sting of tears and took a moment to compose herself. ‘Stop it, Mum, you’ll set me off.’
Her mum hugged her tightly. ‘I’m so proud of all you’ve achieved, Alice. I wanted you to know that.’
Alice eyed the large glass of wine tentatively poised in her mum’s hand; she always became more emotional under the influence.
‘Well I’m so glad I have you here to celebrate with,’ Alice said, squeezing her back.
She saw Ben stumbling towards the table before she heard him. ‘Here are my two favourite ladies,’ he said, planting a kiss on Alice’s lips.
She could smell the whisky on his breath; he looked happier than she’d ever seen him.
‘It’s time for us to make a grand entrance,’ he slurred. ‘You’d better take charge of the cake knife though.’
Alice had enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine, but she’d wanted to keep a clear head so she could commit every second of the day to memory.
‘How is my new son-in-law?’ her mum asked.
Ben leaned forwards and planted a kiss on his mother-in-law’s cheek. ‘Does this mean you’re happy with me calling you Mum at last?’
It had been a running joke between them since he’d first strolled into her parents’ kitchen and called her Mum. They’d only been dating for three months at the time, but he’d later revealed that he’d already known he would marry Alice one day. He was a determined individual, and when he set his sights on a goal, nothing would stop him achieving it. It’s why he now headed one of the largest logistics companies on the south coast, and why they lived in a six bedroom house in the affluent area of Chilworth. He wanted to fill the property with the sound of children’s laughter and had implied he’d like at least four children; Alice, though, would wait until they’d managed to conceive one before thinking about more.
Smiling and nodding as she moved through the sea of smiling faces in the suite, she tried not to think about how uncomfortable being the centre of attention made her feel.
Ben was holding her hand, as ever her rock, leading her through the crowd to the large table in the corner where the three-tiered cake stood, miniature marzipan figures of Alice and Ben on the top. The smallest layer was fruit cake, the middle a moist chocolate sponge and the bottom a jam and vanilla mix. Something for everyone.
Moving behind the table, Ben took her hand, and together they coiled their fingers around the cold knife handle and held it on the white icing, pausing and smiling at the cameras as the room erupted with bright flashes, startling them both. In her head she counted to ten, before she pushed down together with Ben, cutting through the light sponge as another wave of flashes erupted.
It was as close to perfect as she could have imagined.
The gathered guests applauded the moment, and as Alice posed with Ben, both beaming into the continued flashes of cameras and phones, she wished she could freeze the moment in time forever.
Tara was the first to come over and hug her, swiftly followed by Faye, who looked much happier than she had in the car. ‘We’ve got something for you,’ Tara said into her ear, just as a man in a shabby-looking brown suit approached Ben and began to say something into his ear. Alice didn’t recognize the man’s face; moustachioed, wrinkles bearing the passing of time, she was sure she’d never been introduced to him.
Before she could interrupt the two men though, Faye and Tara whisked her away to the opposite side of the room, and the two men disappeared behind the throng of guests.
‘Here you go,’ Tara said, handing over a small jewellery box.
Alice craned her neck to see whether she could catch a glimpse of Ben and the stranger, but it was no use.
‘Go on, open it,’ Faye encouraged. ‘We had it specially made.’
Alice unclasped the box and lifted the lid, gasping at the olive-coloured stone hanging from the silver chain.
‘It’s peridot,’ Tara explained, ‘the birthstone for the month of August.’
‘Peridot brings its wearer success, peace and good luck,’ Faye chimed in.
‘My birthday is in June, though,’ Alice said, confused, as she lifted the stone out, reading the encryption.
‘Today is the third of August,’ Tara continued, ‘and this stone represents the birth of your union with Ben.’
Alice held the gemstone up to the light and marvelled at the luminescent green colour, with just a hint of gold. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, returning it to the box and pulling her friends closer.
Suddenly Scott burst through the crowd of guests, skidding across the floor towards them, his face drained of blood. ‘Alice, you need to come with me quickly,’ he said.
The ball of worry that had been in the pit of her stomach all day suddenly sprang back to life. ‘What is it? What’s going on?’
Scott opened his mouth to speak, but no words emerged. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her with him, pushing through the guests to where Ben was standing at the cake.
‘This must be some kind of joke,’ Ben was saying, his cheeks red with anger.
The man in the brown suit said something that Alice couldn’t hear as the DJ restarted the disco music.
