Page 38 of A Winter Wedding Adventure (Adventure Weddings #2)

T minus twenty minutes.

Half of the pews were full already and other guests were milling around, kissing friends and acquaintances on the cheek and probably doing exactly what they would have done at this wedding, if it had been at a bog-standard church wherever Joe had grown up.

Kira had to admit, though, that a bog-standard church was not Alessandra’s style, and this way, the wedding took place on neutral ground.

The placid priest was speaking to Rav, Hugh and a very twitchy Joe in the corner by the gold icon.

Thankfully, the holy father had dispensed with all of the possible funny hats he could have pulled out of his vestry, although he was wearing a robe with festive red panels and gold detailing.

After having so much trouble deciding on her own outfit, Kira had to admit the priest was rocking his with very little apparent self-consciousness.

Recorded orchestral music subtly bolstered the mood from the four tiny Bluetooth speakers placed around the church. It wasn’t a string quartet, but Sophie had known the perfect volume to set to enable comfortable conversation. More wedding magic Kira had yet to learn.

Everything was calm and organised, as serene as the spray of dusky-pink roses in the bower. Kira was shitting herself.

There had to be something she’d forgotten.

There was still time to tactlessly ask Grandma how her dead husband was doing.

Her phone might ring in the middle of the ceremony, even though she never had it set on anything other than vibrate because she couldn’t stand all the pinging and beeps.

She might accidentally stand in Rhys’s line of sight while he tried to capture the big moment – or worse, sneeze right when they said ‘I do.’

Her nose was itchy.

The only redeeming feature of her stress levels was that they were drowning out any residual concern she had about seeing Christian.

She’d built the encounter up in her mind to apocalyptic proportions, but in comparison to what Joe and Alessandra had been through over the past few days, what was a twinge of hurt pride?

In comparison to what Kira had experienced over the past few days…

Deciding to ask Sophie if there were more last-minute jobs, she stomped to the back of the chapel, clenching and unclenching her fists. Sophie looked up, her expression carefully neutral and kind, looking poised and perfect from her chignon to her brand-name tablet and stylus.

If she hadn’t seen Sophie soaked and bedraggled and officiating the world’s most moving wedding ceremony with mud in her hair back in September, Kira wouldn’t have liked her so much.

But Sophie – and especially Ginny – had welcomed her on board with nothing but friendly and frank acceptance, even when she’d been resistant to the change and wary of… everything about this situation.

It didn’t mean they’d be happy if Kira screwed up.

‘Is there anything—?’ Her gaze snagged on the altar and she thought of something to do. ‘The candles. We haven’t lit the candles.’

‘Thanks,’ Sophie said. ‘And Kira?’

Kira skidded to a stop and turned.

‘No matter how things go, it’s too late to worry now. And remember, we’re all here to share the load.’

‘I don’t know how you guys do this over and over again,’ Kira grumbled. Snatching the lighter she’d seen under the lectern, she started with the pillar candles, releasing the subtle fragrances of rose and honey.

The scent of honey brought a smile to her lips.

A hint of spice and fresh citrus and she’d imagine Mattia behind her.

He’d be here soon, with Alessandra. Perhaps she should have been bracing herself for the emotional onslaught of hearing him sing, especially given the strange mood she was already in, but she let her mind wander pleasantly instead.

Which was why she wasn’t prepared when a voice from her distant past sounded behind her.

‘Kira.’

She froze, which was a little awkward, given she was leaning over the altar to light a candle right up the back.

Twelve years. It was more than a third of her life. She was most definitely an adult now, with a rational perspective on life. She was a rock climbing instructor, she’d summited two 6,000ers in Nepal and led countless adventure tours.

But hearing that voice made her nineteen again – the tomboy misfit who soaked up every drop of affection her inadequate friend-turned-lover gave her. A friend she never should have believed she was in love with.

‘Kira, the candle!’ Sophie’s choked cry broke through her foggy thoughts and she looked down – and yelped.

Flailing for the nearest piece of cloth, she grabbed the linen under the big old Bible and slapped frantically at her stomach, registering the bite of pain.

The unassuming priest must have had superhuman speed, because he appeared in a heartbeat with a fire extinguisher.

A puff of white powder exploded over her torso, raining down on the altar and filling the front of the church with chemical fog.

After one more blast for good measure, the priest stepped back to assess his handiwork.

‘That could have been very bad,’ he said emphatically.

Spluttering, Kira swiped at her chin, noticing the fine, white powder residue all over herself. This was very bad.

‘Kira! Can I?—?’

She whirled around, hearing Christian’s voice much closer. He drew back when he saw her face – or perhaps it was in reaction to her current state.

‘Wow, it’s been a long time.’

Kira gritted her teeth. Did he mean good ‘wow’ or bad ‘wow’? What kind of reaction was ‘wow’ anyway? The wedding was due to start and she’d just set herself on fire. This was no time for ‘wow’.

‘It really has,’ she said woodenly.

‘It’s good to see you.’

A few days ago, she might have given a snarky retort, something like It obviously wasn’t good to see me in a fucking wedding dress! But all she wanted was for Alessandra’s nuptials to get underway – and to fix her latest mishap.

‘Maybe at the reception we could… catch up?’

She gave him a withering look. ‘Let’s not,’ she said with a laugh. ‘I need to go get cleaned up.’

That was that. She’d seen him again. And she’d felt more standing in the Christmas market while Mattia shared the tiniest glimpse of his soul.

Sophie bustled up to them, nudging the trigger-happy priest with the fire extinguisher and Kira’s gawping ex-fiancé out of the way. ‘Are you okay? Let me see.’

Kira turned to allow Sophie to assess the damage. ‘I’m so sorry, Sophie. I did warn you I’m not cut out for weddings, although I didn’t expect I’d nearly burn down the church.’

Her eyes flickered to where Christian was retreating to the back of the chapel to stand with a tall woman in a pencil-straight dress. At least with the perspective of the continual disasters, she was barely even curious about his girlfriend.

‘My shirt is ruined. And maybe the wedding.’

Sophie snorted a laugh, obviously assuming she was joking. ‘We’ll get this cleaned up. It’s not the first fire I’ve had to put out before a wedding. I promise we’ve had our share of mishaps over the years,’ she said ruefully. ‘I’ll call this one “Fire and Ice” in the file.’

‘More like crash and burn?’ Kira muttered. ‘That’s just my pride. Oh, and my wardrobe, apparently. I literally have nothing else to wear.’

‘That’s easily solved. Here’s the key to the van. There are wet wipes in the centre console and you can grab something out of my suitcase to wear. It might be a little loose on you, but better that than the other way around.’

Kira took in Sophie’s fine, wrap-around dress with a doubtful look. ‘It’s more the style that concerns me.’

‘You can pull it off. Just wait until you see Andreas in a tie.’

Kira’s eyes widened. ‘You didn’t? He’s going to wear a tie?’

‘I told him it was a gesture of respect for the couple. It’ll probably last about ten minutes and then he’ll say he made the gesture and they should be happy now.’

‘Sounds like Andreas.’ Holding up the key, she said, ‘Thanks for this. I’ll be as quick as I can.’

Thoughts crowding in, she was distracted as she picked her way to the car park in her presentable patent leather court shoes – highly inappropriate for the weather.

The minivan was there, the snow cleared from the windscreen and the tyres, since Andreas had been using it to ferry guests around the valley.

The vehicle reminded her of the drive from Salzburg – and the way Mattia’s eyes had gone round at the sight of her rather tatty old T-shirt bra. The weirdo.

Knowing she’d see him in a few minutes loosened the tightness in her chest. No matter what regrets she had about this week, she refused to count her time with Mattia among them, even though she was certain a lecture from Reshma was on its way when they got back to the UK.

After scrubbing her face and hands with enough wet wipes to give her the scent of a freshly changed baby bum, she found a single top amongst Sophie’s extensive collection of dresses – why she’d brought so many dresses for a short wedding emergency, Kira couldn’t tell.

She’d just whipped her ruined blouse over her head when she heard a shout from outside the van.

‘Kira!’

What a day for her pride.

Shoving Sophie’s top on, she peered out to see Andreas waving at her from where he sat at the front of a sleigh decorated with pine garlands and bells and pulled by two real reindeer.

Alessandra’s reindeer. She couldn’t contain a gleeful laugh – and a shared eye-roll with Rhys, who stood to one side capturing the moment with the livestock.

‘Kira!’ Andreas called out again. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about Christian? We’ve known each other for twelve years!’

Jumping down from the van and slamming the door closed, she yelled back, ‘I wanted your respect! And I didn’t want you to think I was a pathetic woman who’d put on a white dress and wait in a church for a guy who wasn’t coming!

’ She glanced at Alessandra, where she was wrapped up in the back of the sleigh with Carla.

‘Not that you’re pathetic, or that Joe will leave you at the altar. Someone just tell me to shut up!’

Andreas obliged. ‘Shut up! You aren’t that pathetic woman. You’ve never been, since I’ve known you.’

She wanted to protest that she must have been pathetic back at the beginning, when the hurt was still fresh, but it didn’t seem to matter. He was right. She wasn’t that woman.

Coming to stand by the sleigh, she lifted her chin. ‘Are you saying you won’t tease me rotten about the fact that I nearly got married?’

He shot her a smile. ‘No, but we all did stupid things when we were young. Now I know you’re human too. And sometimes…’ He gave an eloquent shrug. ‘Sometimes, humans need another human.’

She groaned. ‘Sometimes, I think marriage is some kind of pyramid scheme. When you get engaged, you have to match everybody else up to prove you’re doing the right thing.’ With another wince in Alessandra’s direction, Kira added, ‘No offence.’

The bride leaned forward graciously. ‘I’m only sorry I expended my energy matchmaking the wrong people.’

Kira’s face heated. ‘Don’t you all have a wedding to get to? Those reindeer must be getting cold.’

One of the animals obligingly stamped a hoof.

‘We’ll talk later,’ Andreas said. It was a threat.

‘I’m not joining your pyramid scheme,’ she insisted, shooing them in the direction of the church. The reindeer snorted as their handler urged them off again, turning to cross the road into the field where the church sat under a cushion of snow.

‘He likes you!’ Andreas called over his shoulder. ‘He told me.’

‘That boy blabs!’ she shot back, ignoring the buzz of heat through her middle. He wasn’t for her and she had to remember that for another eighteen hours to make it out unscathed. ‘It’s just a crush. He’ll get over it.’

‘What if it’s not?’

Kira didn’t want to wonder about what she and Mattia could mean to each other if they weren’t walking away tomorrow. They would walk away. There was no other sensible course of action.

By the time she trudged back to the church, Alessandra’s parents were fussing over her. But Kira was lost in her own thoughts about mistakes and commitment and desire. Shaking herself, she hurried up the steps, shoved open the door of the church – and came to an abrupt stop.

Every eye was on her. Pachelbel’s Canon was playing through the speakers. And Mattia stood near the altar, giving her a lopsided smile.