Page 83 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘She had hoped to come?although that meant flying into Florence last night and flying back out again tomorrow, which she was totally willing to do, but her mum’s not been well lately and now she’s in hospital. Mich didn’t want to leave London … just in case …’ I’m unable to say the rest of the thought aloud.

‘Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.’

‘Me too, and no matter how much I wish she were here, I’m glad she’s with her mum.’

‘Mmm, for sure.’ We’re both quiet for a moment, me thinking how fortunate I am that my parents are in good health?and here with me?but the mood has turned gloomy and I’m getting married in an hour. Lou must sense that a change of subject is needed because she claps her hands together and says, ‘So, are you getting excited?’

‘Absolutely,’ I say, taking her cue to move on from unhappy thoughts. ‘I get to marry Jean-Luc today!’

‘I’m so excited for you, Cat. And to think, I was there are the beginning?well, not the beginning beginning, but the second beginning, the Paris one.’

‘You were a very important part of that, Lou. You even captured our first kiss.’ Lou had snuck a photograph of us kissing after our date in Rome.

She shakes her head. ‘I still don’t know whether to be proud of that or embarrassed.’

‘No! I love that you did that.’ I place both hands over my heart. ‘Was it a little creepy? Who’s to say?’

‘Yeah, yeah …’ We dissolve into laughter.

‘Right?now, my hair.’ I stand and turn my head upside down, gathering my tresses loosely in one hand.

‘Oh, I’m distracting you. I’ll go help Jaelee.’

‘You’re not distracting me,’ I say, upside-down. ‘I like having you here.’ I right myself, then sit and take a hair tie from the dressing table to secure my loose ponytail. I look at Lou in the mirror. ‘Is it weird that mixed in with the excitement is this odd sort-of nervous surrealness?

‘Nope. Totally normal. At least, it was for me when I married Jackson.’ Bugger, we’ve gone from ailing parents to ex-husbands.

‘Sorry, Lou, we don’t have to talk about?’

‘I don’t mind, honestly. We were happy together back then so those are good memories. Just know, it’s going to be a blur. Before you know it, the guests will be leaving and you and Jean-Luc will collapse into bed exhausted. So savour it as much as you can. Try to remember the little moments.’

‘Thank you, Lou. I will.’ I tilt my head to the side. ‘You know, I’ve heard that before?the “no sex on the wedding night” thing, but it’s Jean-Luc, Lou, and he’s so sex?’

‘La la la,’ she cries out, clapping her hands over her ears.

I laugh. ‘All right, I won’t say anything more.’ She drops her hands and I go back to my hair, pinning locks from my ponytail into a pile of loose waves.

‘I will say this, though,’ she says, ‘my wedding day started at six in the morning, so that may have had something to do with it.’

‘Six?’

‘Yeah. There was me, my mum, three bridesmaids, a flower girl, and Jackson’s mum all getting ready at my parents’ house and we had to be at the church by eleven, so the hair and makeup people arrived at six-thirty. Then after the ceremony, it was the photos in the park, then the reception?and that went for hours. So, by the time we got to the hotel that night, I’d been in wedding mode for, like, fifteen hours.’

‘No wonder sex was the last thing on your mind.’

‘Right?’ She pauses, then adds, ‘We made up for it the next morning though.’ She bursts out laughing.

‘Lou!’ It’s the most lascivious comment I’ve ever heard her make and now I’m again laughing.

There’s a sharp double tap on the bedroom door, then Jaelee walks in. ‘Food’s under control.’ She plops down on the bed.

‘Thank you, Jae.’

‘No problem. And, by the way, you’re gonna love the menu.’

‘I have no doubt.’ I take a dab of styling product, rub it between my palms, and start pulling tendrils from my up-do to frame my face.

‘Especially, ’cause you raved about the food when we went there for dinner,’ she adds casually.