there was a Christmas-morning quality to his excitement.
At the top table, the best man rose to his feet and dinged a glass with a spoon to attract everyone’s attention.
‘Speeches,’ said Paul. ‘I’ll wait until they’re over.’ He sounded as if he’d quite like them to be over in the next five minutes. ‘Then I’ll head off.’
He was as good as his word. Half an hour later, when the speeches had been concluded and the dancing was about to begin again in earnest, he made his excuses to Gareth and Steph. Finally, he shook Zack’s hand and kissed Ellie on the cheek.
‘Am I glad they put me at your table.’
‘Drive carefully.’ She hugged him in return. How amazing that he was doing this.
‘I will.’
When he’d left the marquee, one of Steph’s friends on the other side of the table said, ‘Wow, old people don’t hang about, do they!’
Tara, next to her, said, ‘They can’t afford to. Why waste time when you might be about to die?’ She turned to Zack. ‘You’ll have to tell us what happens. We need to know if there’s a happy ending.’
‘We will.’ Zack rested his arm across the back of Ellie’s chair and tilted his head. ‘Well? Are we getting out onto that dance floor now?’
‘Oh yes, we definitely are.’ But the wine was taking its toll; Ellie needed the loo. She pushed back her chair and said, ‘Just give me two minutes.’
Outside the marquee, the trees glittered with twinkle lights and the air was fresh and cool. Ellie made her way across to the house. The downstairs loo was occupied so she waited in the hallway for it to become free. There were people chatting in the kitchen. Idly half-listening, she recognized Mya’s voice, then realized they were discussing her and began to pay attention.
‘I mean, she’s nice and everything. I really like her. But the twins told me they’re sleeping in separate rooms! Now, is it just me or is that weird?’
‘Her husband died, though.’ Ellie didn’t recognize the second voice and the door was only slightly ajar; another of Steph’s girlfriends, presumably. ‘Maybe it’s something to do with that.’
‘Yes, except I’ve been watching them. They look like they’re crazy about each other,’ said Mya, ‘but he hasn’t actually kissed her. Not once, not on the lips. And you have to admit, that is seriously weird.’
The cloakroom door was unlocked and Gareth’s mother emerged. She smiled at Ellie in that way women always smile at whoever’s next in line for the loo.
A minute later, Ellie pulled the flush and washed her hands. It was a beautiful cloakroom, spacious and decorated in silver and white, with a black and white diamond-patterned marble floor and a Venetian mirror above the sink.
And Jamie, reflected in the mirror, wearing his pale gray Superdry polo shirt and pink board shorts.
Ellie wasn’t surprised to see him. She’d made him appear. Jamie was her conjured-up creation, from his messy sea-salted hair and the smell of his aftershave all the way down to the skinny legs and the dusting of sand on his tanned bare feet.
‘It’s a wedding.’ Jamie gestured at himself. ‘If you’re going to bring me here, shouldn’t I be wearing something a bit smarter than this?’
‘You don’t like suits. And you’re not leaving the loo either. Now listen, what do you think? Should I kiss Zack or shouldn’t I?’
‘Do you want to?’
‘Of course I want to! I’m just worried I might not be able to stop! What if it turns into a cartoon and my mouth won’t let go and he has to wrench me off his face like a sink plunger?’
Jamie looked thoughtful. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’
‘No!’ She definitely wasn’t having that.
‘So what’s brought this on, all of a sudden?’
Ellie exhaled. ‘Paul and Geraldine. He isn’t wasting time because they’re in their sixties and who knows how long they have left? But look at us.’ She could feel her heart thudding away like a bass speaker. ‘How long do any of us have left? I could die tomorrow. So that’s it, I’m just going to go ahead. If it all goes horribly wrong, you can have a good laugh about it later. You can come with me on the bus of shame back to London.’
‘Hey, remember how we met?’
He was giving her a playful look. Of course Ellie remembered; how could she forget? They’d each been with their own group of friends at a club in Piccadilly. Having spotted her looking at Jamie, her