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‘Darling, there you are!’ Aunt Sylvia clacks down a stone staircase, a paper-doily of a handbag on her arm, more frills than human. ‘Thank goodness! I was beginning to think you turned him down.’

‘He came with a money-back guarantee.’

‘Wonderful!’ Sylvia air kisses me, then thrusts a paper bouquet into my hands. ‘Aren’t these pretty? When Freddy said he was buying youfakeflowers, I nearly hit him. But these are handmade paper roses, cut from the pages of Jayne Eyre. You see the typewriting on them?’

‘Wow,’ I say. ‘They’re amazing –’

‘Quickly now! We need to make you a beautiful bride.’ Sylvia has the same fire in her eyes I’ve seen before a mid-season sale. ‘Everyone is mingling on the King’s Gallery, but there’s a fine line between enjoying champagne and singing at the top of your lungs. Let’s get you ready before everyone starts the Oasis songs.’

CHAPTER73

After hair, makeup and a lot of champagne, Aunty Sylvia and Aunt Caro escort me to the King’s Gallery with a tight grip on each of my arms.

‘You don’t need to hold me so tight,’ I tell them. ‘I’m not going to run away. Well. Probably not.’

My halter-neck gown flows like silky, white water, my dark hair is pinned with emeralds and my silver shoes click magically on hardwood. All in all, I feel like a queen. Which is very fitting for the King’s Gallery.

My family, friends and the Big Voice team sit on fabric-covered chairs, smiling and clapping beside a glass tower of historic books.

Freddy waits at the end of the flower-lined aisle, dressed in a black tuxedo. For once, he’s not posed to show off his expensive watch. He turns and winks at me. I wink back.

‘Katerina, you’re like a daughter to me,’ says Aunty Sylvia. ‘And since your father is … well, absent, Caro and I wondered, may we walk you down the aisle?’

My eyes fill with tears and for a moment I can’t answer.

‘I’m ever so sorry, darling.’ Aunty Sylvia looks concerned. ‘I didn’t mean to –’

‘Don’t apologise,’ I sniff. ‘I’d love you to walk me down the aisle. It’s a yes. A big yes. In fact, I might need both of you holding me up so I don’t fall.’

‘Good girl,’ says Aunty Sylvia. ‘And it’s excellent to practise, this saying yes business. You’ll be needing that soon.’

CHAPTER74

A good brand can be summed up in three words.

Disney is cosy, family, fairy-tale.

Tiffany’s is classy, romantic and timeless.

And the Friedman-Stark brand is joyful, quirky and just a little bit magic.

As a marketing expert, Freddy believes in brand consistency. Which is why he says his wedding vows with a delighted smile on his face, the love-of-his-life on his arm and a signed contract in his pocket.

Freddy’s wedding vows are twelve simple words that sum up everything he needs to tell Kat in one sentence. A fantastic bit of copy, if Freddy says so himself.

Freddy doesn’t mind admitting he agonised over the vows. Comparatively, flying over black truffles from Ireland, hiring a fleet of silver-service waiting staff and booking the British Library as a private wedding venue was easy. He finally got the words on paper, eyes bloodshot, around 1 am. Then he scrawled a note for Tim:Pay our writers more in future – it’s a bloody hard job.’

What are those twelve words? You’ll have to subscribe to Freddy’s mailing list to find out. But suffice it to say, they made Kat and everyone in the audience tear up. Well, everyone except Duncan, who Freddy suspected was playing Minecraft.

So far, Freddy would give the wedding nine out of ten. It loses a point because Kat disagreed with him whilst exchanging wedding bands. It was Freddy’s fault. He made the mistake of saying, ‘Okay, Ms Friedman. Time to become Mrs Stark.’

He never should have said that.

Kat, of course, declined to take his name. Then Freddy panicked and made an ungentlemanly comment about not wanting to change his stationery. But Kat’s hard stare brought him back on track and he agreed to become the Friedman-Starks.

On reflection, Freddy should have dropped a name change agreement into the contract. Kat wouldn’t have noticed. No one reads contracts properly.

Luckily, the wedding breakfast was a total triumph.

Freddy themed the meal around classic literature, with aGreat Gatsby-inspiredchampagne tower, aMoby Dickseafood platter andJane Eyre’swedding feast of roast meats, cakes and wine. All total wins.

Now to marriage and happily ever after.

Freddy is no longer a lone wolf. He is a joint partner in one of the world’s most visionary brands. And he’s rather hoping that Kat never asks for her money back.