Page 6 of Broken Beyond Repair

“Made you look,” Rosie teased, then turned to their friend. “How bad is Gertie, Syd?”

Sydney rolled her eyes.

“That bad?”

“It’s typical. I have time off for a road trip and she starts getting flaky. She’s starting to smell a bit musty, though that might be me.”

A stern voice rose above the crowd. “Is anyone the owner of a VW camper? You’re blocking the bridal car.”

Sydney’s eyes widened. “Oops, speak of the devil. Better move her — if she’ll move.”

“She better!” Rosie growled.

“See you at the reception.” Sydney placed another kiss on Rosie’s cheek. “Congrats by the way. You look sensational.”

Greg appeared beside Rosie to resume the photographs.

“You too, Greg,” Sydney added. “Congrats, I mean. You don’t look sensational.” Taking a step back she gave him the once-over. “You scrub up all right, though.”

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Thanks. So do you, surprisingly.” He lingered and whispered in her ear, “In case you hadn’t noticed, Sam’s here.”

Sydney pulled back and found herself nodding. Forcing a smile out, she retreated into the crowd with her heart pounding. It was Sam’s face that had been smiling back at her from the front of the church. She’d not recognised it in its current form.

“Hang on, Syd. Will and I need a lift,” James said, scooping Will up from the sidelines and running after her. “I also need to talk to you about my overwhelming generosity as your employer and how that cuts both ways.”

“No, James,” Sydney called back as she made her way along the path.

Two men in top hats and tails shot her disapproving looks from beside a vintage Austin drowning in white ribbon.

She flashed them a smile. “Sorry.”

Her apology was met with more disapproving looks.

God. Why was everyone so uptight around here?

Will stopped in his tracks, admiring Gertie. “Wow, she’s a stunner.”

“Do not be fooled by her attempts to woo you,” Sydney replied, opening a side door for him. “She may be radiant on the outside, but underneath she’s unreliable and she farts — a lot. If you don’t drive her for long periods, she gets grumpy, like she is now, when I need her most.”

Will jumped in the back, stroking the cream leather bench seat as he continued his assessment of Gertie’s insides. “I love those curtains. Are they Laura Ashley?”

“Yes, my mum made them.” Sydney smiled as she remembered picking out the material with her and feigning interest as she tried to explain how the sewing machine worked. Sydney was a hopeless case in that department; the only thing she could sew together was her fingertips.

James’s pleading eyes were waiting for her as she clambered into Gertie.

“Syd, please,” he begged, his tone turning so sickly it could make anyone vomit. “I need a favour.”

“Not from me you don’t. And not that,” Sydney emphasised.

“What?”

She shook her head as she jammed the key in the ignition. “Don’t act the innocent. That’s the voice you use every time you need me to take on a difficult client. You may be my boss, James, but you’re a boss who promised me some time off.”

“But you’re the best, Syd, and I need my best. It’s Beatrice Russell. You know…theBeatrice Russell!”

Will shot forward and leaned over the front bench seat. “You didn’t tell me it was her! Oh, I adore her.”

James brushed him back. “You and the rest of the world, my love.”