Page 94 of A Wedding in Tuscany

Sarah takes a flute off the bar and holds it up. ‘To the best rustic-chic wedding in Tuscany.’ We clink glasses and I take a sip?delicious but I’ll need to pace myself. There are photographs, then the celebrations?food, wine, dancing, the cake!?and at some point, I’m supposed to sign the paperwork.

‘Jae, where’s the celebrant? Aren’t I supposed to sign something to make it official?’

‘Lots of time for that. I invited him to stay. The more the merrier, right? Besides, we need to get you guys outside for pictures.’ She signals across the room to Alistair.

He heads over. ‘Are we about ready?’ he asks.

‘Definitely. You good to round up Josh and Jean-Luc?’

‘Aye, no problem.’ Before he goes, he takes her glass from her and has a sip. ‘Delicious. Should I bring a bottle down to the vineyard?

‘Ooh, great idea!’ says Sarah. She turns to the guy behind the bar and requests a bottle and some clean glasses, which Alistair takes from him.

‘Meet you outside in five minutes,’ he says, giving Jae a quick kiss.

‘Jaelee,’ says Sarah when he’s gone, ‘he is such a darling.’

‘Yeah, he is,’ she acknowledges.

‘And hot.’

They both snigger. ‘Yeah, he definitely is.’

‘I mean, I think Josh is, of course, but Alistair’s like a male model,’ says Sarah.

‘I brought that up one time and he laughed for a good solid minute. It’s a shame?he’d make a killing.’

As they continue talking about Alistair’s non-existent modelling career, I look over at Jean-Luc who’s in a lively conversation with Anders and Lou. He laughs, hand to chest, and I won’t say so to the others but he is the most handsome man in the room. Possibly in any room anywhere.

‘Okay,’ says Jae. ‘The appetisers should be out soon so I’m just going to check on the caterers. You two drink up and meet me at the bottom of the stairs, okay?’

Sarah salutes her and Jae makes a ‘that was weird’ face then strides off in her impossibly high heels. We watch her cross the space, smiling and stopping to say hello to everyone. Well, everyone except Cécile and Louis, who are on their own in the corner. Cécile?all tight-lipped and glowering?grasps a full glass of prosecco and Louis talks at her, a false smile plastered on his face, while she conspicuously ignores him. Poor Louis.

‘That was a beautiful ceremony,’ Sarah says. ‘I barely kept it together.’

I turn towards my sister. ‘Oh, my god, me too. I was listening?you know, really wanting to be in the moment, but there was also part of me that just wanted to get through it all without turning into a blubbering mess.’

‘Like Mum.’

‘She wasn’t that bad.’

‘Haven’t you noticed that she’s not here right now?’

I glance about. It’s not like there’s a cast of thousands up here in the loft?how did I miss that Mum is missing? ‘Oh, my god, you’re right. Where is she?’

‘She asked if she could freshen up in the apartment. She’s gone to redo her makeup.’

‘Aww, bless. That’s so sweet.’

‘I’d be down there with her if it weren’t for the funny parts?Natalie Imbruglia!’ she says chuckling. ‘Oh, god, how bad was that haircut? You looked like a twelve-year-old boy.’ She laughs now?at me.

‘You finished?’ I ask drily.

She stops laughing. ‘Come on,’ she says, downing the last sip of prosecco. ‘We should go?don’t want to piss Jaelee off.’ She takes my hand and we head towards the stairs. ‘Oh, and I loved the part of Jean-Luc’s vows?what he said about a home. That was really beautiful,’ she says.

‘It was,’ I say, as we pass Cécile and she narrows her eyes at me.

Tomorrow, after the festivities, when I’m properly alone with my husband for the first time, he will no doubt want to have that conversation. That dreaded conversation. I owe it to him, of course, to discuss it properly, to unpack and unpick why it’s causing me such torment. And I owe it to Jane?poor love.

But until then, I must shove aside all thoughts of where we’re going to live and simply relish every moment of my wedding. Well, except the witchy sister. If only I could shove her aside and right out the nearest window. Though I do have a contingency plan if she doesn’t play nicely.