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‘Me too,’ Daisy replied, ‘so we agree on that too.’ She was about to continue with her next question when she paused, discovering she still needed further clarification on the previous point. ‘Just to check, how long do you think is “ridiculously long”?’

Theo shrugged a little, throwing her a quick glance as he continued to drive.

‘I don’t know. I think waiting for two years seems a long time. I guess I was thinking maybe next summer would work for the wedding.’

Daisy wrinkled her nose.

‘Summer is the busiest time of the year for me. And we’re probably going to want to take some time off afterwards to travel. I don’t know if I can risk closing down the business then. Certainly not for very long.’

‘Good point.’ Theo nodded in agreement. ‘So next spring or autumn?’

‘I’d be inclined to go for autumn,’ Daisy replied. ‘It’s normally quite good weather then. And I like autumn flowers.’

‘Perfect,’ he said. ‘Then I guess the first thing we need to start thinking about venues.’

‘And there’s no time like the present,’ Daisy grinned as she took out her phone and began to type away.

50

Since starting the business, Daisy had been careful with money in ways she had never been before. She always knew how much was in each account and what date all her regular bills came out. She paid her credit card off in full each month and assuming there were no sudden unexpected expenses with the boat, she was confident she could put aside a couple of hundred pounds a month towards the wedding fund, but as she opened up her first venue and clicked on their prices, it didn’t look like that type of money was going to go far.

‘That can’t be right. This place says it charges six grand to hire. And that’s without food or music or even chairs and tables,’ Daisy said.

‘Well, they say weddings are expensive,’ Theo replied. While it wasn’t the most helpful comment, it did set Daisy’s mind on a more practical line of thinking than just searching randomly for wedding venues and seeing what came up.

‘How much do people normally spend on a wedding?’ she said.

‘I don’t know, about ten grand?’ he replied.

‘Ten grand?’

Daisy’s eyes widened. A couple of hundred quid a month definitely wasn’t going to cut that. Did people really have ten grand lying around to spend on a wedding? Sure, she could understand how those in flamboyant marquees or country houses with five-course, sit-down dinners cost that, but she didn’t need anything that elaborate. Just a nice venue to have some photos done and a place to dance away the night.

‘I’m going to Google it. I want to see how much the average person spends,’ she said, convinced that Theo’s answer was way off the mark.

Yet Daisy had barely hit enter on the question when her stomach dropped out beneath her. ‘Twenty-five grand,’ she said. ‘The average UK wedding costs twenty-five grand. That’s ridiculous. I’d rather not get married than spend that amount of money.’

She had made the remark flippantly. In fact, she hadn’t even really thought about it, but when she glanced over at Theo, she noticed the way his face had pinched.

‘I guess it’s just the little things that add up,’ he said. ‘Venues, save-the-date cards, bridesmaid dresses.’

‘But I don’t want any of that stuff,’ Daisy said. ‘I just want you and me at the wedding.’

‘I don’t think it’s going to be quite that simple.’

‘Why not?’

‘Well, to start with, there are people we will have to invite. Go through your list.’

‘My list?’ Daisy said. ‘You already know it: Bex, Claire, Ian and Amelia, and a plus-one for Bex if she’s dating someone, then Mum and Nicholas.’

Those eyes widened. ‘That can’t be your entire guest list,’ he said. ‘There must be other people you want to invite. Yvonne, to start with.’

‘Fine, yes, you’re right. Maybe there are a couple of people on the lock, but that’s it. Why, who were you planning on inviting? I guess we’ll have to invite your parents and just wait and see if they come.’

At this, Theo’s brow furrowed. ‘Well, my cousins all invited me to their weddings, so I suspect they’ll expect an invitation. Aunts and uncles, my godparents, my parents’ close friends too. You know, I’ve always called quite a few people uncle and aunt, even if they’re not blood relatives. I’m sure they’ll be disappointed if they weren’t invited.’

Daisy wondered if Heather’s parents were included in that list, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, what she said was, ‘So you’re saying that this wedding is going to be 90 per cent a get-together of all your family with 10 per cent people I want there.’