Love at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea - Jane Linfoot Page 0,68

this recurring obsession he has with damned floors?

He’s eyeing me. ‘It’s a great party venue that’s endlessly photogenic. See, I was taking notice – that was what you told me to look for, wasn’t it?’ He has me there. ‘And best of all, Merwyn’s here.’ As he goes over to where Merwyn is lying on a velvet throw on the sofa, Merwyn’s little tail bumps against the cushions. ‘Every venue needs a dog like Merwyn.’

There are difficult clients. And then there are impossible ones like Nic. And I can’t quite believe this is happening. ‘There’s only one problem.’ I hate to be the one to break it to him. ‘This isn’t actually a venue.’

Nic’s frowning. ‘As if I’d let a little thing like that stand in my way. Pixie deserves the best, and this is it.’

If this had been a venue I’d visited with Ben, I’d have moved heaven and earth to get married here. But weddings are a specialist market. There are reasons why venues command hugely inflated prices. Stag weekends can be heavy duty, but a castle rammed with rampaging wedding guests who’ve been drinking all day would make a handful of stags look like a picnic.

I turn to Ivy. ‘Have you ever considered hosting weddings here?’

Ivy gives a shrug. ‘Bill looked into getting a license a while ago.’ She pulls a face. ‘But after his hard-to-please guests at Christmas he’s discounted weddings altogether.’

I completely understand. ‘They’re not something you dip in and out of.’

Nic’s hands are deep in the pockets of his windcheater and his jaw is jutting. ‘I’ve considered every venue in the county, none of the others come close to this.’

I moan inwardly, then make my tone bright and light. ‘But, Nic, if the owner isn’t willing, it isn’t even an option.’

He gives a sniff. ‘I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t so important. Please, please, please, Milla – you have to make it happen.’

I’m opening and closing my mouth. ‘B—b—b—but …’

‘So I’ll leave it with you?’ He raises an eyebrow.

I let out a wail of protest. ‘But you said you were on this until it was sorted!’

He sends me a grin over his shoulder. ‘You have a wonderful way of working your magic, Milla. See what you can do for us here.’

And as he strides through the door and we hear the front door slam behind him, all Ivy and I can do is blink at each other.

Chapter 19

The next Thursday.

At Cockle Shell Castle, in the distillery.

Ice buckets and recipes for success.

As the week goes on, I’m wishing I’d never taken Nic anywhere near the castle and I’m also kicking myself for ever having my bright idea for the hens. If I’d suggested a spa experience at the Harbourside Hotel they’d still have had a great time and life for the rest of us would have been so much less fraught.

Without getting too tied up with the details, Ivy asks her partner Bill if he’s up for a wedding at the castle, and Bill comes straight back with the answer: ‘Hell, no.’

Then Nic sends me a message reminding me that money’s no object. But rather than tempting Bill to reconsider, that makes him shut down even more.

Which leads us all the way to the design-your-own-cocktail evening a week later in the coach house gin distillery at the castle, where it’s less a case of ‘shake your pompoms, it’s Thursday’, and more ‘put your flak jackets on, anything could blow up here’.

I’m standing with Poppy by the Star Shower gin table, my compromise medium-heeled boots tapping on the polished concrete floor, hoping the new denim midi Ivy helped me pick from the slightly reduced section at Fat Face isn’t too casual. As we build our first cocktail we’re gazing up at the high sloping ceiling and the hewn stone walls and leafing through the prettiest recipe card suggestions on the table, waiting to move on to the boards of chopped herbs and fruit-filled garnish bowls.

Behind us, the distillery is rammed not only with brides and grooms, but with the entire staff of Brides by the Sea too. Lily and her other half, Kip, are just arriving, Jess and Bart just popped a bottle of champagne over by the copper cauldrons in the corner, and Holly and Rory are both in Cockle Shell Castle aprons offering suggestions to the more hesitant couples. Even Casper Jonston’s turned up to tout for business for his wedding cars.

Poppy drops the spoon back in the ice bucket and turns to