Page 39 of Going Overboard

The hotel coffee bar looks like something you would see on Instagram and instantly wish you could go there – the kind of thing you see and forward to the person you love or your bestie. Well, I don’t need to, because Kelsey is here with me.

It’s all marble counters and rustic furniture that give the place a good mix of luxury and charm.

Everything is so ornate. Fresh-cut flowers sit in miniature vases on every table which is a really nice touch.

Over in the corner, there’s a man playing piano – a quick takeaway coffee back home is never going to hit the spot again.

I spot Kelsey at a table near the piano, legs crossed, looking really relaxed, sipping away at a massive cappuccino. She’s got one for me too – I assume.

I sit in the seat across from her.

‘Please tell me that’s your first cappuccino and not, like, your third,’ I tell her. ‘And that the other one is for me.’

‘Of course it is,’ she replies, raising her cup to me. ‘The pastries are to share too. They’re called sfogliatella – I may have already tried one. ’

‘It’s your wedding weekend, I’ll let you off,’ I reply with a smile. ‘This place is gorgeous.’

‘This whole place is unreal,’ she replies. ‘I don’t know if I want to marry Neil, or basically everything I eat and drink.’

‘I’d marry this,’ I say through a mouthful. ‘Perhaps Neil will share you.’

‘Perhaps,’ she replies.

I feel like she’s watching me – observing me, studying me… The kind of look only a best friend can get away with. The prying kind, that sees too much.

‘You seem happier today,’ she says, her voice hinting at a deeper meaning. ‘You seemed happy yesterday, but you seem really happy today.’

I shrug, trying to play it cool.

‘I guess I just am,’ I reply. ‘Really happy. I’m so excited for your wedding.’

‘Hmm.’ Her brows lift slightly – suspiciously I’d say.

‘Really. I’m excited for you,’ I say, meaning every word. ‘It’s going to be a beautiful day.’

‘I’ll accept that answer – for now,’ she says. ‘But I still think there’s something you’re not telling me.’

I take a long sip of cappuccino as I try to find the right words.

‘I’m really happy with Brody too,’ I tell her.

That makes her smile.

‘He seems like he makes you… lighter,’ she tells me.

‘He does,’ I reply. ‘He’s made all my silly problems seem, well, silly, like they don’t matter.’

It’s true too. And I thought I was going to stumble, being honest with Kelsey, but the words come out so easily. As easy as it feels to be with him.

Kelsey glances down at her coffee for a second, then back up at me. It’s time for me to read her mind now .

‘You’re nervous?’ I check.

She nods her head.

‘Is it that obvious?’ she replies.

‘Isn’t it always obvious, between the two of us?’ I point out.

‘True,’ she confirms. ‘It’s not that I’m worried about marrying Neil. That bit is the only thing I’m not nervous about. I just want the day to go well, you know? No disasters. No wardrobe malfunctions. No fallings-out…’

‘Well, we have Al, and he’s basically like having the world’s scariest doorman, so he’ll make sure no one scraps,’ I tell her. ‘And, you know, if anyone needs a car moving, and can’t find their keys, he’s on hand to do that too – by hand.’

‘I’d pay to see that,’ she replies. ‘That would make the day memorable.’

‘Remind yourself you said that when he’s shirtless, doing press-ups with Neil’s mum on his back,’ I joke – but that’s one of his party tricks, so I wouldn’t be surprised.

‘I should be careful what I wish for,’ she replies.

Kelsey gives me a grateful kind of laugh, but I can tell she’s still worrying so I reach across the table and take her hands in mine.

‘Listen,’ I say gently. ‘No matter what happens tomorrow – rain, bad food, trousers splitting, shirtless bodybuilders – none of it matters as much as what comes after. The wedding’s just a day. The marriage is the rest of your life. And it’s going to be perfect.’

‘Thanks, Jessa,’ she says, squeezing my hands. ‘You always know exactly what to say, to make me feel better.’

‘And you aways know what snacks to buy me,’ I reply. ‘Sfogliatella, you say?’

She nods.

‘I’m going to sneak a thousand home in my suitcase,’ I half-joke .

Kelsey lifts her cappuccino, clearly feeling more like herself again. ‘Just promise me something,’ she says.

‘Anything,’ I reply. ‘What can I do?’

‘No falling in the fountain,’ she jokes. ‘Just get through the wedding dry, like normal people, please?’

I laugh. I wasn’t expecting her to say that.

‘Kelsey, just for you, I will refrain from getting in the fountain – and even if I’ve got form for it, it’s okay, Brody will have my back,’ I promise her. ‘Do they even have one?’

‘I don’t know, but I do know you, and if there’s something to fall in, you’ll find it…’

‘I mean, yeah, you’re talking to the girl who tore a ligament while spectating PE,’ I remind her.

‘You loved that though – you got a note for weeks,’ she points out.

‘Yeah, it was almost worth spending the summer on crutches,’ I say. ‘At least I got to miss sports day.’

‘We’re so different sometimes,’ she says with a laugh. ‘But so similar too. You’re like the sister I never had.’

‘I never wanted a sister,’ I tell her. ‘I don’t know anyone with a sister who makes me feel like that is something I would want.

Having you is so much better. We’re not close because we’re related, we opt in, every day, to love and care for each other.

The best relationships are the ones we’re in because we want to be. ’

‘If they ever invent a wedding or a marriage kind of thing for best friends, I’m popping the question,’ she jokes.

‘Not if I ask you first,’ I reply.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Brody asks you something, before I get the chance to,’ she half teases. ‘He really likes you, you know. I know, I know, I’ve said it before, but I’ve never seen him like this before. ’

‘Really?’ I reply, all doe-eyed, because now that we’re sort of together, it really matters to me.

‘Yep,’ she replies. ‘I told you, that bad boy rep, it’s all just the press.

He’s a sweetheart and he’s just been looking for the right girl.

Nikki was never right for him. But you… you’re perfect.

The two of you are perfect together. It makes me so happy, to see you both, and it’s just going to make my wedding even better. It’s the only present I want.’

‘Oh, shall I return the expensive thing I bought from the list you sent around then, because…’

‘Don’t you dare,’ she replies with a grin.

‘I’m only teasing,’ I reply. ‘You can have both – seeing as though you’re my bestie.’

‘Maybe I’ll return the favour one day.’

‘You’ll be my bridesmaid and get with the best man?’ I say. ‘Neil might have something to say about that…’

‘Neil won’t mind at all,’ she replies. ‘Because my bet is that it will be Brody you’re marrying, and Neil will be the best man – and everything is coming together so well.’

‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ I tell her.

Obviously, she’s way, way in the future but, do you know what, I don’t hate the idea of it. Let her have her daydreams – I don’t think I’ll be far behind her with ones of my own.