Page 46 of A Winter Wedding Adventure (Adventure Weddings #2)

The guides at Great Heart were dropping like flies. In another life, Toni might have called it the happiest time. But, like everything else in this life – her life – it was bittersweet to watch her friends find committed relationships and take their first steps as a couple. It was busy too.

Toni had to tear herself away from her scheduling challenges on the computer.

It was a Monday evening, her day to close up the gym, as it shut early.

Although the big hall felt strange when it was completely empty, she enjoyed the quiet rhythm of the work and the fact that she had the flexibility to do it, now her parents were happy to help out with childcare.

Although the merger between Great Heart and I Do had begun as a worrying development that threatened her job, she now found she had more work than she could easily complete and was earning more from the extra hours as well.

The adventure tour business had picked up a little as the merger had led to more general marketing and Toni found herself a jack-of-all-trades, a job she enjoyed, but there were days when she wished she didn’t have so many balls in the air.

‘Bye, Toni! See you on Wednesday!’ Kira called as she burst out of the changing rooms, her hair still damp.

She was doubtless rushing off to Woking, where Mattia had found an apartment, although he seemed to be in Weymouth just as often.

Reshma had even nabbed him to sing at a handful of upcoming weddings.

For a pair who should have been an odd couple, they had one of the most harmonious relationships Toni had ever seen.

Sophie and Andreas enjoyed their bickering, but Kira and Mattia were soulmates.

While Toni was still widowed, the object of pity. She wouldn’t change anything, because she had Cillian, just turned nine years old, but sometimes, it chafed.

She was still reeling from everything she hadn’t understood about Kira’s past, but at least Kira’s future now appeared bright. Toni had never had the luxury of keeping secrets. She would always be the one who had lost her husband in tragic circumstances while she was pregnant with their child.

After disinfecting the rental shoes and tidying the ropes, she went to shut down her computer as the last glow of daylight faded from the sky outside.

But she paused when she noticed that a message from Gabi had dropped in.

If her old friends were starting out on a new journey and leaving her behind, at least this wedding merger had brought her one good thing: her online friendship with Gabi, the florist I Do regularly used for weddings on the Italian island of Elba.

Toni had never even spoken to Gabi on the phone, let alone met her in real life, but they’d started exchanging messages last summer, when Toni had ordered the flowers for an I Do wedding.

Gabi was chatty and friendly and Toni had enjoyed the fact that this new online acquaintance didn’t know her tragic history.

Another Elba wedding was coming up in three months and Toni had been more than happy to work with Gabi again and take some of the pressure off Sophie, the lucky one who would actually go to the wedding on the sun-drenched island in August.

She sat down to read the message:

Ciao Toni

Sophie was in touch with me today, but she sent three emails that all contradicted each other and she even got the date of the August wedding wrong. I asked if she was okay and of course she said yes, but it was strange.

Anyway, can you make sure for me that everything is okay with her? She said maybe she will hire me to help with some tours as well.

Oh, and there was something funny I thought you’d like: I took a group on a foraging tour today and there was a plant I didn’t know the name of in English. We say ‘lassana’ in Italian. When I got back, I looked it up and it sounds horrible! NIPPLEWORT.

Baci e abbracci

Gabi x

Toni pulled her chair out to reply straight away. Gabi always had something interesting to say about the plants on Elba or the flowers she was working with.

Ciao Gabi

That’s kind of you to be concerned about Sophie. I’ll check on her. She’s probably just busy. She should be planning her own wedding, you know. She’s sickeningly in love with my friend Andreas.

Nipplewort sounds like a disease! Maybe it’s lucky you didn’t know the name in English. But a foraging tour sounds fun. Is that another one of your many offerings for tourists? How do I book on??

Toni x

She clicked ‘send’, ruefully imagining if she truly did book herself a holiday and turn up on Gabi’s doorstep.

A week on an island with a girlfriend drinking wine and going on walks sounded too good to be true.

She hadn’t even mentioned Cillian to Gabi, although that omission was beginning to feel less natural as they exchanged messages more often.

But these jokes and the glimpse into Gabi’s life on the island were one of the few things she had for herself.

An answer popped up almost immediately:

No need to book. If you ever make it here, you’ll have a personal tour guide and a free room, if you don’t mind a rustic place full of orchids and snorkelling equipment.

God, it sounded like a dream.

The door to the meeting-room behind her banged open and she stood to hide the computer screen, as though someone might catch her daydreaming about a holiday. She turned to find a bleary-eyed Sophie emerging, and a prickle of worry crept over her skin.

‘Sophie! What’s up? Why are you still here?’

She rubbed a hand over her eyes. ‘I just got so incredibly tired after my last meeting. I thought I’d better just close my eyes for a few minutes before I drive back, but it was more like an hour. Sorry I scared you.’

Suspicion rose in Toni’s mind. ‘Sophie, are you…?’

Sophie locked her gaze on Toni’s, her expression tight and wary, and that was enough of an answer for the moment. Toni nodded, reaching a hand out to squeeze Sophie’s, saying nothing even as the enormity of what might be happening settled in her stomach.

Andreas… Oh dear. The situation would be complicated.

Sophie’s gaze fell absently on the computer screen. ‘Oh, you’re messaging Gabi Orzati. He’s so sweet,’ she mumbled. ‘Anyway, I should get on the road.’ She managed a smile at Toni. ‘Tomorrow’s another day – another wedding to plan.’