Page 221 of Private Lives

‘She looks incredible, doesn’t she?’ said Anna, without a trace of envy or bitterness, feelings that had somehow seemed irrelevant once she had got to Villa Sole.

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and from where I’m standing, she comes a poor second.’

‘Don’t be nice to me just because you feel sorry for me,’ she teased.

‘You’re beautiful and smart,’ replied Matt quietly.

‘Tell that to Andy,’ she said, without any resentment.

Matt hesitated.

‘The truth of it is that some men just can’t handle women like you, Anna.’

She turned to him with a mock frown.

‘Be gentle with me,’ she said, her expression softening.

‘You know, I spoke to my dad the other night,’ Matt continued. ‘He told me why he left my mother, a very smart and clever lady if ever there was one. The thing about the other woman, the one he left my mother for, wasn’t that he liked her more. He just preferred the way she made him feel.’

‘Is that supposed to make me feel better about being rejected by the groom? Because it’s working.’

Matt touched her arm.

‘W

hat I’m trying to say is if the groom couldn’t see that he had the prize in his hands, then he doesn’t deserve to win it. Now go on, go and speak to her. Tell her you’re happy for her, even if it’s not true.’

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and gently pushed her forward.

‘Big sis!’ cried Sophie dramatically, stretching her arms out to Anna.

‘It’s going to be a beautiful wedding, Soph,’ said Anna, kissing her on the cheek.

Sophie glanced across at Andy.

‘So you give us your blessing?’ she said anxiously.

Anna nodded. Over the past year, she had built her sister up into some sort of wicked fairy-tale queen, but standing here, she just looked like an insecure six-year-old again, desperate for her big sister’s approval, all her pretensions stripped away.

‘I’m happy for you, Soph,’ said Anna. ‘I really am.’

She wasn’t sure she would ever be entirely comfortable with the way it had happened – there had been too many tears, too much history between them – but she could see how much it meant to Sophie, so she was determined to rise above it, to let her little sister have her perfect day. Growing up, the two of them had been as thick as thieves; they had shared secrets, almost spoken a secret language. And maybe in time, they would get that back, maybe the wound could heal completely, who knew? But for today, Anna was happy to put a brave face on it – for her sister.

‘Andy loves you,’ she said. ‘That’s all that matters. And you’re a far better match than he and I ever were.’

Sophie nodded, her eyes sparkling.

‘Thank you,’ she mouthed.

Anna squeezed her arm.

‘Be happy, okay?’

Sophie produced a handkerchief from her cleavage and dabbed at her eyes.

‘Anyway,’ she sniffed, ‘is it true you were going to bring Sam Charles to the wedding?’

‘How did you know?’