Page 14 of A Winter Wedding Adventure (Adventure Weddings #2)

Kira would have much preferred to be trapped literally between a rock and a hard place.

The groom’s talkative mother was relating in some detail her recent group tour on the Camino de Santiago.

Rav’s curious looks warned her not to stray from her current conversational partner, so she was stuck racking her brain for polite responses when she knew nothing about the topic, but Nadine assumed she knew every turn and waymarker.

Dessert was finally over and Kira only needed to hold out for another few minutes, she guessed, before she could escape back to her room and hope Ginny didn’t ask too many questions. She’d got through an excruciating dinner. Another few minutes wouldn’t kill her.

‘In the first half, it rained and rained all day – my God. Luckily, they don’t advertise this route as a walk in the park, because it was such a challenge, we weren’t certain we wanted to go on. But you must have done the route a hundred times, in your job!’

Between the squeeze in her chest at how out of place she felt, the panic about Rav letting slip something she’d rather the wedding party – and especially Ginny – didn’t know, and the lingering tenderness Mattia had inflicted on her, Kira wasn’t sure she wanted to go on either.

Thinking of a response was almost impossible.

‘Erm, I’ve never done it actually.’

‘You haven’t ? Oh my! You absolutely must! Such a challenge, and so spiritual.’

‘My spiritual challenges involve a helmet and ropes and vertical camping. I’m not really a pilgrimage type.’

Nadine’s expression suggested Kira had punched her in the face. Shit, she hadn’t meant to insult anybody. People outside the climbing community rarely appreciated the scale of the challenges. How she wished she could escape this dinner and climb something instead.

‘I mean, the Camino is great, if that’s what you?—’

‘Kira!’ Ginny’s slightly panicked voice rose over the sound of Kira digging herself into a very deep hole. ‘We were just talking about confetti.’

She suspected her confused grimace wasn’t helping the situation, but her game face was slipping. ‘That’s just littering. Why is it even a thing?’

Complete silence greeted that statement. Kira should just wander farther into this valley until she found an actually isolated cabin, and spend the rest of her days there. It would be better than attending any more weddings. Better for everyone.

‘It’s Italian tradition,’ the bride eventually spluttered.

‘Well, in that case…’ Kira didn’t quite manage to keep her sarcastic comment under her breath.

‘Um, we have biodegradable confetti. Don’t worry,’ Ginny said with a laugh that no one would believe was natural. ‘We’re all glad the old tradition of rice was adapted so it’s not dangerous for pigeons.’

More silence. By the look on her face, Ginny would hyperventilate in about ten seconds.

‘These traditions really need to be updated sometimes. Like that garter one, where the groom takes it off with his teeth. Urgh.’ Kira shuddered, only to notice Ginny’s face going from white to red. ‘Oh God, you’re not planning to do that one, are you?’

‘It symbolises… fertility,’ Alessandra said, her expression pinched with dismay.

Crawling out of her skin at this table of people from another planet, Kira struggled to sit still, her gaze darting around the room – and finding Mattia, his eyes trained on her. Warmth rushed up her chest, but it squeezed too, knowing she shouldn’t be feeling anything when she looked at him.

‘At least Kira will be lucky for the wedding,’ Ginny said, shooting her a tight look that clearly said Shut the fuck up, now . ‘She’s our “something blue”.’

‘Lucky, hmmm,’ was all Alessandra could manage in reply. ‘Who else wants hot chocolate? Maybe we can go sit by the fire,’ she suggested suddenly, her voice strained. ‘I’ll have mine with vodka.’

That was Kira’s cue to get the hell out of there.

* * *

Dinner and dessert were delicious, but interminable when Mattia’s thoughts were torn between guilt about Carla, and curiosity about Kira – as well as those cupboard fantasies that wouldn’t go away When Alessandra proposed moving to the den, Mattia paused in indecision, Carla’s eyes hanging off him as though she were actually holding his arm, when Kira quietly excused herself and headed for the door.

‘Ehm, I need to get my… sweater,’ he mumbled, making for the exit after her.

Closing the wooden door to the dining room behind him, he scoured the hallway for signs of her, just catching the swish of her slippers and creak of the floorboards.

He was hurrying after her, determined to find out what had upset her – because he was certain she was upset – when the door behind him opened.

‘Matty, can we talk for a minute?’

Hearing his nickname in her voice sent a wash of memories through him – stricken ones from the end of their relationship as well as deep, immersive ones from the beginning. Maybe Kira had a point: it was better never to let anyone close enough to hurt.

‘Sure,’ he said, making no move to take the conversation to a more comfortable location.

‘How have you been?’ Carla began.

He paused for barely a moment, before his experiences of the past two days galvanised something inside him and he spoke more openly than he’d expected. ‘We’ve had all dinner to talk, Carla. What do you really want to say to me?’

He already knew, as much as he’d been telling himself he didn’t.

‘Did you notice anything… different tonight?’

‘Yes, I did. I appreciate the effort you went to.’

She seemed to take his stiff words as encouragement. ‘I understand now, that I wasn’t fair to you, and I’m really sorry.’

He sent a forlorn glance along the hall. ‘I accept the apology.’

‘You do?’

Her delighted expression unnerved him. ‘I’m sorry too. Most people wouldn’t even hear those sounds.’

She took a step closer and he resisted the urge to move an equal distance away. ‘But you can,’ she said gently, her gaze growing soft. ‘I shouldn’t have let something like that come between us. I know you’re sensitive and I love that. I shouldn’t have taken it personally.’

He paused, waiting for relief to flood him at her words. The hurts, the worries about whether he’d ever find someone he could be himself with could all go away again. He could go back to the way things were before.

Except, that didn’t work.

‘It’s okay, Carla. You can let it go.’ He hoped she would.

‘We’re still friends, right?’

An uneasy prickle crept up his neck. ‘Mmph,’ he agreed non-committally.

With a dull thud, his heels hit the skirting board and he realised he’d backed himself up as far as he could go, but Carla was still coming closer, her brown eyes luminous in the gentle lighting. Ohhhh no .

He experienced a flash of something warm as she approached, an echo of intimacy that tugged at him. His conversation with Kira from that morning was fresh in his memory. Friends, lovers, soulmates, blowing off steam. Her straightforward conversation and expressive lips. Mattia couldn’t do this.

He slipped out from where she’d caged him against the wall and ran an agitated hand through his curls. ‘I’m really sorry,’ was all he said. He needed to find Kira and ask her why she’d been upset – and hear her claims that she wasn’t upset and gently wheedle her until she told him.

‘Matty, wait!’ Carla called after him when he made for the corner where he’d last heard Kira. ‘Is that all you’re going to say?’

‘Ehm… Right now? Yes. I have to—’ He stumbled as he whirled around to make his escape.

Safely out of Carla’s sight, he took a panting breath. Kira was nowhere to be seen and he didn’t know which one was her room – or whether she’d tolerate him knocking on her door. Whether he could do any good even if she did.

He was dreaming if he imagined Kira Watling needed anything from him. But it was a rather pleasant dream.

* * *

‘You certainly know how to make an exit!’

Kira barely lifted her head from her pillow to acknowledge Ginny’s wry comment when her colleague returned to their room an hour later.

Kira had already had a quick shower, brushed her teeth and slipped into her tracksuit; she was an expert at efficient use of a bathroom.

Now she lay sprawled on her bed with her earbuds in, watching climbing videos on YouTube to forget about the entire rotten day.

Of course Ginny wouldn’t let her. She perched on the edge of Kira’s single.

Kira knew Ginny would never tell her off with strong words, but her gentle disappointment would be worse, which was why she was surprised when Ginny’s actual words were, ‘The thing with the garter really should be retired, even if it symbolises fertility.’ She shot Kira a cheeky smile.

‘It’s not really symbolism. It’s a pretty clear allusion to sex.’

Ginny snorted. ‘In some places, they nail a pair of the bride’s shoes to a tree to “stop her running away”.’

‘Urgh, seriously?’ Kira sneaked a glance at Ginny, trying to work out if her colleague truly wasn’t mad at her. ‘I am sorry I said that stuff out loud in front of the bride, though. And Joe’s mother is going to hate me for eternity.’

‘Maybe not quite eternity,’ Ginny responded, which did nothing to ease Kira’s mind. ‘But it’s okay. I know this is hard for you and I also know you’re trying.’

Just not succeeding. But she was stupidly touched by Ginny’s understanding. She’d thought the advice about not getting emotionally involved had been entirely unnecessary, but she seemed to react to everything emotionally right now.

‘I hope they put an extra shot of vodka in Alessandra’s hot chocolate,’ she mumbled.

Ginny laughed, but then moved onto the other subject Kira would rather have avoided. ‘That was an interesting coincidence, that you know one of the groomsmen. Is he a real dick?’

‘He’s fine,’ she said carefully. ‘A nice guy – at least he was in school.’ It was the truth. All Rav had done was witness her lowest moment.

‘Apparently, the group of them – Joe and the groomsmen – met at university in Exeter.’

The University of Exeter. Kira pressed her lips together and hoped Ginny would change the subject. She wasn’t the same person she’d been when she’d seen Rav last, and it wasn’t only her blue hair.

Ginny moved to her bed and slipped out of her court shoes, peeling her stocking socks off. ‘The opera singer is a sweetie,’ she commented, looking away from Kira as she tugged the tie from her curly hair.

Kira progressed from pressing her lips together to grinding her teeth.

‘I didn’t expect him to be tall and handsome. No wonder the bridesmaid regrets letting him slip through her fingers. Oh, and you’ll never guess what I saw!’

‘I don’t particularly want to guess,’ Kira said.

‘It’s working! Throwing them together! I think maybe I would enjoy a side business in matchmaking.’

‘What do you mean by, “It’s working”?’

‘I saw them together in the hallway, talking intently – standing really close.’

Kira hated the taste of acid in her mouth and the way Ginny’s words made her want to throw something and yell at Carla that she hadn’t appreciated him.

‘If it’s worked so quickly, I don’t think you can give your spurious matchmaking attempts much credit. They must have both regretted breaking up.’ She refused to be miserable about that fact.

Ginny scrunched her nose at Kira. ‘Don’t quote facts at me. I’m a hopeless romantic and I think it would be wonderful if the bride’s friends found their way back to each other.’

‘Does this mean we don’t have to worry about Alessandra’s matchmaking request any more?’

‘I suppose I could ask the staff if they slept tog?—’

‘Ginny! No!’

‘Maybe you could ask him how it’s going, since you seem to have got on okay.’

Kira’s stomach swooped. ‘Do you really think that means I have an “in” with the opera singer?’ she asked, hoping Ginny didn’t notice her voice wobbling.

‘Good point. But until we’re certain they’re back together, I think we need to keep setting them up. Surely there’ll be opportunities tomorrow on the glacier tour. Maybe we can strand them in a gondola alone.’

‘These gondolas are big enough for thirty people,’ Kira pointed out grumpily.

‘I’m sure we’ll think of something. Maybe a snowball fight, where they’ll clear the snow off each other and then stare, obviously thinking about kissing. I wish someone would matchmake me . I always have to go out and ask people to date me.’

‘I think most people don’t matchmake because they respect the free will of the couple involved,’ Kira grumbled. ‘There is a chance they don’t want to be pushed together.’

‘It’s harmless,’ Ginny insisted.

‘Have you ever had a long-term boyfriend – with a messy break-up?’ Kira asked with a sigh.

‘Depends what you mean by long-term. Six months I managed once, but I scared him off as usual. Why do you ask?’

‘It’s just complicated when there’s a break-up involved – pride and hurt feelings. I wouldn’t want it to explode at the wrong time during the wedding.’

‘Past relationships are like a bomb?’ Ginny joked, but Kira wasn’t laughing. She hoped old break-ups weren’t bombs that could still explode at any time. Then Ginny asked the worst possible question. ‘You’ve experienced this? A big break-up?’

Kira froze, the awfulness of that moment washing over her again as though it had happened yesterday.

If she wanted to explain to Ginny, now was the time.

After twelve years, countless summits and crags and a life rebuilt on her own terms, it shouldn’t have bothered her.

She’d told Mattia they both needed to face their problems, but she didn’t want to face hers.

‘Of course not,’ she replied as smoothly as she could, letting her head fall to the too-soft pillow and starting another video on her phone.

Ginny thankfully let the subject drop.