A Surprise Christmas Wedding - Phillipa Ashley Page 0,31
their gatherings, had gone.
Trevor licked his hand, as if he sensed Jay’s worries.
‘Trouble is, Trev,’ Jay said, stroking the dog’s head, ‘I’m not sure he’ll ever come back.’
Chapter Nine
Five weeks to the wedding
Lottie wasn’t normally superstitious, but couldn’t help thinking Friday the thirteenth wasn’t the best day for Keegan and Connor to give their verdict on the festive décor and finalise the menus and wine list.
She’d been on edge all morning, wondering how they’d react to the ballroom – and how she’d react to being so close to Connor again, while having to bottle up her emotions under a veneer of cheerful professionalism.
By the time she’d spotted their car, she was worked up so much, her stomach was like a ball of twine. However, Connor stayed in the car to take a call, leaving Lottie to escort Keegan up to the ballroom alone. The huge space was now decorated for Christmas, with the tree already festooned in their colour scheme. Lottie had to admit it looked sensational but would Keegan agree?
Keegan had inspected the nine-foot Nordmann fir that Jay had delivered to the ballroom, along with the other trees, the previous day but it was now resplendent in its finery.
‘This is wonderful.’ She turned to Lottie, beaming. ‘It’s just how I imagined it. You’re very talented.’
Lottie gave a huge inner sigh of relief and smiled. ‘Thank you, but I can’t claim all the credit. The whole team worked on it.’
‘Well, I think it’s awesome that it’s been decorated especially for us.’
Lottie was delighted that the tree had arrived inside the ballroom, without any mishaps. Beforehand, she’d worked alongside Jay’s team and a freelance interior decorator to remove any furniture or objects that might be damaged.
It had been a delicate and time-consuming operation. Worth every moment, though, because Keegan’s theme of rich jewel colours looked fabulous. The glass baubles and tinsel in amethyst, sapphire, emerald and ruby were rich and warm, and perfectly in keeping with the dark oak panelling and tapestries.
‘I’m pleased you love it.’ Lottie actually was happy. No matter who her couple were, she couldn’t help be proud of what her colleagues had achieved.
‘It’s going to match my dress perfectly. I’m wearing a cranberry velvet cloak over a cream silk dress. I’ll show you on my phone, if you like.’
‘Lovely!’ Lottie determined to show as much enthusiasm as possible. She was good at hiding her true feelings, having had a lot of practice since Steph had been ill, and knew she was going to need all of that skill now.
Keegan whipped out her phone and showed Lottie a picture of the designer dress. It really was beautiful and she could easily imagine how stunning it would look on Keegan’s slender frame.
‘It’s gorgeous,’ Lottie said, not letting her mask slip.
‘Thanks. I went to London to choose it. It’s being altered for me and the designer is coming up here especially to do a fitting.’
‘Fabulous.’ Lottie kept smiling. ‘That reminds me. Our florist has asked if she can meet you for a chat about your flowers? Obviously, time is of the essence and she’d like to discuss things here at Firholme so you can get the best idea of how the arrangements will look.’
‘I can probably come back tomorrow.’
‘That’s fine. We can all meet together if you like? In the café before it opens?’
‘No problem. Connor won’t be needed. I want to show the florist my dress and he can’t see it before the day, now can he?’ She smirked. ‘That would be bad luck.’
‘Of course.’ Lottie realised that with all the subterfuge she was going to be seeing a lot more of her bridal couple than she normally would but at least Connor wouldn’t be around the next day.
A moment later, Lottie’s spirits lifted when Jay walked in with a large box full of holly and mistletoe, which would be used to create swags and vases of seasonal greenery.
‘This is Jay, our estates manager,’ she said brightly. ‘He’s responsible for the tree.’
‘Not only me,’ Jay said, placing the box on the tiles. ‘There’s a team of us.’
‘Well, congratulations to you all. It looks great,’ Keegan said, looking into the box. ‘Is that mistletoe? I’ve not seen any of the English variety for real before. Is it from Firholme?’
‘Yes, it’s been gathered on the estate. This came from some of the conifers and hawthorn.’
Keegan picked out a bunch from the box and looked up. ‘Oh, Connor! There you are. Come over here and see this!’