Page 46 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘That is fortuitous, especially with your party being outdoors.’

‘Mum!’

‘My party is outdoors?’ asks Sarah.

‘Well, yes, it’s?’

‘Mum! Stop talking please,’ I say.

‘Why?’

‘Josh’s plans are a surprise.’

‘How was I supposed to know that? He never said.’ I am certain that Josh did say and I snort out an exasperated sigh.

Tonight, we’re meeting up with Lou and Anders?just us ‘young ones’, as Dad calls us. He and Mum are having a ‘quiet night in’. I really don’t want to know what that entails. Lou and Anders arrived in Tuscany just after lunchtime, taking the afternoon to get the lay of Montespertoli and settle into their pensione. I cannot wait to meet Anders properly?video calls aren’t quite the same thing?and I just know I’ll adore him. Anyone who can make our Lou happy is ‘good people’ in my book.

Jae has us booked in to a restaurant close to town?or, at least I hope she has. She may have inadvertently booked us in for indoor trampolining five towns away?she really must stop relying on Spanish to communicate with the Italians. We get it, Jae, they are both Latin languages. They’re similar, of course, but what she may have mistaken for ‘understanding’ when we were travelling through Italy a few years ago, may have only been polite confusion. There’s a big difference between ordering the wrong meal and planning the wrong wedding.

I take a quick shower?just a rinse, really, to refresh myself for dinner?and when I’m dried and wrapped up in my robe, I realise that Sarah must have had the same idea, as I hear the shower going at the other end of the apartment. Sometimes you just want to wash the day away, even if you did little more than walk the streets of a medieval city and try on wedding dresses.

I check the time. The guys will be back soon, along with Dad. I love that they included him in their outing today and he’ll have been in his element?Dad loves wine tasting. He takes it quite seriously and even mentioned that he’s been reading up?or is that ‘tasting up’??on Tuscan wines. He’s particularly excited about ‘Super Tuscans’. Sarah takes after Dad?she’s quite knowledgeable when it comes to wine, whereas I just know if I like something or not. That’s why she’s the one who led the meeting with the vintner yesterday while I just sipped and savoured and nodded whenever anyone asked me something.

I hope the guys have had as good a day as we have.

Speaking of … there’s the crunch on the gravel now. I’m contemplating what to wear for dinner when Jean-Luc comes into our room. He envelops me in a hug and kisses my neck, giving me shivers. ‘You smell delicious, chérie.’

‘Why, thank you. You smell like wine.’ He pulls away and smiles down at me cheekily.

‘Not too much, I hope. I was quite reserved.’

‘Oh yes?’

‘Oui. Your father, he is the expert and we …’ He commences a rather comical mime of swirling a glass, inhaling its bouquet, taking a sip, swishing it, then spitting. I giggle.

‘So, the whole day?’

‘Mmm … comme ci comme ça. Alistair was very responsible …’

‘Well, I should hope so, as he was driving.’

‘Exactement. But, for me, there was a little temptation at one of the wineries and …’ He purses his lips, then kisses the air. ‘Incroyable.’

‘Did you buy any?’

‘Ahh … oui. But just one case.’

‘What?’ I laugh and shake my head. No doubt my dad egged him on.

‘Your father also.’

‘Uh-huh, I thought so.’

‘But we do not have to take it. They will ship it to Paris.’ Oh, right, home?his home. I nod, giving him a weak smile. ‘And you? A successful day, non?’ I’d texted him from the car that we’d found a dress. ‘Can I see?’

He leans around me and starts unzipping the garment bag and I swat his hand. ‘Oi.’ He grins at me.

‘It will be a surprise, chérie. I promise. So, we are getting an Uber at what time?’ he asks, slipping his T-shirt over his head. He unzips his jeans and steps out of them, depositing both articles of clothing onto a nearby chair.