Page 50 of A Wedding in Tuscany

I place my hand over hers and lean closer. ‘Cat, it’s wonderful, I promise. And you and Jean-Luc are close friends as well as lovers. That makes all the difference.’ She nods and I sense she wants to drop it, so I do. I finish making my tea and head out to the balcony, aware that by discussing Cat’s issue, I’ve avoided a deeper probe into my angst about turning forty. Again.

My birthday will come regardless, as I have yet to develop the ability to stop the march of time. Besides, Lindsey and Nick are arriving today, so why not focus on that?

‘Welcome to our castle,’ I say with outstretched arms.

‘Impressive. You’ve been here less than a week and you’ve already bought a castle.’ Lindsey?her sense of humour’s so dry, it’s desiccated. She falls into my arms, hugging me tightly.

‘Hey, Sez,’ says Nick, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

‘Come on, I want to show you the view,’ I say, beckoning them to follow me. ‘How are you guys feeling?’ I ask, leading the way through the apartment to the balcony.

‘Yeah, not too bad,’ says Nick. ‘We slept on the plane.’

‘Well, you did,’ Lins chides her husband. ‘Whoa,’ she says, taking in the view.

‘Right?’

‘This is gorgeous. Our room at the Airbnb has a view of the road.’

‘Hey, guys. Welcome to our castle.’ Josh joins us on the balcony and he and Nick shake hands, man-style. He kisses Lindsey’s cheek.

‘You perpetuating Sarah’s delusion, or are you two selling up in Sydney and moving here?’ she asks.

‘A little of both,’ Josh replies.

‘It’s pretty spectacular,’ says Nick, leaning over the balcony. ‘And it’s a winery too, right?’

‘Yep,’ I reply. ‘And it’s good, the wine.’

‘Well, yeah … I mean, Italy …’ Nick says and we all murmur in agreement. ‘So, we still on for today?’

‘Yep,’ replies Josh. ‘As soon as the others get here, we’re splitting up?men and women.’

‘Can’t wait! It’s been ages since I’ve been to a buck’s do!’ says Nick, his eyes lit with playful glee.

‘Cool your jets, babe,’ says Lins. ‘It’s daytime and you’re wearing purple. Doubt it’s going to be anything like the ones you’ve been to back home.’

Nick shrugs, but Lins is right?no whisky bar, no strip club, no paint ball then a whisky bar and a strip club. The day that Josh and Alistair have planned starts with a soccer match?hence the purple. It’s the team colour, apparently. Definitely not my cup of tea?kill me before making me watch a live soccer match, or a televised one for that matter?but Jean-Luc will like it.

Our girls’ day out will be much more fun. Jae and I arranged it as a surprise for Cat. ‘Hello!’ Speak of the devil. She comes out to the balcony and greets Lins with a hug and accepts a kiss on the cheek from Nick.

‘Looking as gorgeous as ever, Cat,’ says Nick.

‘Thank you!’ she beams at him. ‘I’m so glad you two are here.’

‘Thanks for letting us gate crash your wedding,’ says Lins.

‘You’re not gate crashing. You’re family,’ Cat replies and my heart nearly bursts at seeing my two best friends sharing a moment. ‘You got in last night, right?’

‘Yeah, around nine local time,’ says Lins. ‘But I totally crashed. It was hard to force my eyes open this morning.’

‘Being out in the sunshine helps,’ says Nick. ‘And the woman whose place we’re staying at?I swear she must be about ninety?anyway, she made us these full-on coffees this morning?like rocket fuel. They definitely helped.’

Lins stifles a yawn. ‘Sorry! I will rally, I promise.’ I wrap an arm around her in a side hug.

Jean-Luc joins us, his longish hair damp from the shower. ‘Bonjour, everyone.’ I make the introductions, and Nick shakes his hand and congratulates him with a hearty (i.e. manly) pat on the back. Lins gets a kiss on each cheek and throws me a quick look that says, ‘Ooh la la.’ I suppose if I didn’t think of Jean-Luc like a brother, I’d consider him hot too. But I do?the brother thing, not the hot thing.

‘Hello!’ Jaelee’s voice echoes through the halls of the apartment. She and Alistair have picked up Lou and Anders and now we are ten. As soon as our parents arrive, we will be off. There’s animated chatter and greetings, and Lins introduces herself and Nick to the newcomers. Cat seems excited about the day, chatting and smiling. She’s doing a damned good job of hiding her uncertainty about the marital living situation even though I suspect it’s bubbling below the surface. But by the time Mum and Dad arrive and we sort ourselves into two different vehicles?six men and six women?Cat is practically giddy.