Love at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea - Jane Linfoot Page 0,49
readjust …’ he nods towards my chest then lowers his voice even more ‘Flash that lot at Nigel’s elderly uncles and they may just expire on the spot.’
It’s only when I look downwards that I realise quite how much boob got away with the dive to save the chocolate pudding. ‘Shit!’ I slam my hand over my mouth to catch my groan, readjust my bra, slap down my tit tape and feel my cheeks burning.
Nic dips forward again and this time he snatches up the nappy bag drifting across the floor, and hands that to me too. ‘Also yours? Be good, I’ll see you in a bit.’
I’m talking out of the corner of my mouth. ‘Not if I see you first.’ Believe me, after the amount of cleavage I’ve just forced into his face, I’ll be keeping well away.
He gives a low chuckle in my ear. ‘Head bridesmaid and best man are joined at the hip for the day, I thought you’d know that?’ A moment later he’s across the aisle back in his seat, and then the registrars are at the bit where they declare them man and wife and tell Nigel to kiss the bride.
And then, damn me, Nic’s right again, because next thing I know, he’s behind me steering me over to join Nigel and Cally so we can all huddle in and sign the marriage register.
As he pulls out a chair for me, his eyes narrow. ‘So why the bag? You do know we’re throwing confetti not nappy sacks?’
I’m hissing at him and beaming at Holly’s lens all at the same time. ‘Of course, I know, I’m a wedding expert.’ Except, having sent a runaway chocolate pudding bowling into the ceremony, I’m maybe less of a hot shot than I should be. Which just means I’ve got to concentrate even harder at getting things right for the rest of the day. Especially if Nic’s here watching my every move.
Chapter 14
Even later on Saturday.
The Waterfront Marina Hotel.
Beach huts and queen’s speeches.
It’s the start of a very long day, but somehow we get through it. First there’s a champagne reception with canapes that runs seamlessly alongside approximately a thousand photo opportunities. The high point is the confetti tunnel of white rose petals down by the jetties, when the sun comes out and turns the water so glittery behind the multi-coloured boats that it’s got more sparkle than the champagne.
We’re actually so busy rushing around that for the first couple of hours Cally avoiding alcohol isn’t an issue. Due to the wind, I’m constantly on call holding her dress in place and rearranging escaping clumps of her hair-do. Meanwhile Nic’s away organising the groomsmen to round up the guests needed for the pictures, so until we assemble for the banquet, I barely see him. And once we move through to the oak-lined banqueting hall with the snowy white cloths and glittering silverware, the seating plan means I’m between Cally and Nigel’s dad, while Nic’s at the other end of the table between Nigel and Patricia. So I make it through the whole day and hardly see Nic at all.
The six-course meal and waiters with orders to keep everyone’s glasses full is a challenge. But, luckily, I love oysters enough to eat my plate and Cally’s too. I manage to whip her seafood vol-au-vent out of the way before she retches, and a quick substitution with a chocolate pudding concealed in a ramekin dish gets her back on track again.
With all the iced water Cally’s sipping we’d overlooked how often she was going to need to pee, but nipping out when you want is a bride’s privilege and every half hour ties in nicely with my drinks disposal system. Luckily my bag is big enough to hold some plastic pint glasses I come across in the corridor on the way to the loos, and I dump the fizz into those under cover of the long white damask tablecloths. So long as I don’t jump about too much on the way to the Ladies, it’s job done.
The meal goes on for what feels like forever, but after the cheese, sweets, and coffee we roll straight through to the speeches, with Nigel’s dad kicking off to welcome everyone, then Nigel who talks about how he fell for Cally the first time he saw her at a salsa class when he first went to work in New York, then Nic has everyone in stitches with stories about sailing mishaps he and Nigel had.