Page 69 of Lie For Me

A cheer went up, and Sophie hitched up her dress and bolted for the air-conditioned bridal car while the guests, fanning themselves with the order of service, puffed and panted across the road to meander to the hotel.

Released from the formalities of the ceremony, men were loosening ties and shrugging out of jackets. Jack joined them, slipping his tie into his pocket, slinging his jacket over his shoulder and rolling up his shirt sleeves. Lucy took in how his dress shirt fitted snugly across his broad shoulders, and the light blue colour highlighted his forearms.

One of the feathers in her fascinator had glued itself to her damp forehead, and she batted at it to unstick it. She swatted it rather too hard, and the fascinator lurched to the side, yanking on her hair.

‘Ouch!’ she muttered, righting the fascinator and rubbing her scalp.

Jack, strolling along in front of her, turned to see what the noise was about. Lucy avoided his gaze in the hopes it would deter him from making more comments about her headwear. He slowed to walk beside her.

‘What’s up?’

‘Nothing,’ she said, forcing a cheery smile and ignoring the burning on her scalp where hairs had been ripped out at the root. ‘Just adjusting my fascinator.’

Jack rolled his eyes.

‘Your fashion sense fascinates me, that’s for sure.’

‘This is going to be a looonng day,’Lucy sighed, as they slugged along in the heat.

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The photographer, sweat beading on his forehead, clapped his hands again and shouted in a strained voice, ‘Please! Ladies and gentlemen, if I could please have the bride’s family….’

The guests were hot and unruly and kept drifting off into patches of shade. It took several minutes to set up for each shot, as people kept disappearing in search of missing family members and friends. Dave, having discharged the first part of his best man’s duties, was leaning against a tree, clutching a bottle of water and pouring most of it over his hair.

‘Thank god you’ve got a hat to shade your face in this sun,’ Jack said, poking at Lucy’s fascinator.

‘Ha bloody ha,’ Lucy mumbled, the heat sapping all energy from her.

She was shoeless once more, enjoying the relief of her toes in the soft grass.

The guests had gathered in the hotel gardens for photographs and drinks reception. The sun was high overhead and people were wilting in the heat. Georgia was holding a parasol over the bride to try to stop her make-up from sliding off, but everyone else was on their own.

The photographer was shooting the bride and groom posed on the side of the fountain, the honey-coloured hotel rising behind them. His assistant, a skinny, nervous girl clutching a piece of well-pawed, wilting paper, scuttled from group to group.

‘Excuse me, are you the bride’s family? Can we have the bride’s family, please?’ She wiped her damp fringe across her forehead. ‘Please don’t leave yet,’ she pleaded with guests, ‘we have more pictures to do!’

Waiting staff, in dark trousers, shirts and waistcoats, moved slowly between guests passing out glasses of champagne. Hot and sweaty, the guests drank greedily. Lucy wondered if anyone would still be able to see straight by the time they sat down to eat.

One hand on James, Valerie watched Heather and Lucy’s movements for the groom’s family photos. Heather was doing battle with Peter to get him to keep his shirt on.

The skinny assistant popped up in front of them, a line of sweat beading on her top lip, her glasses sliding down her nose. She pushed them up and looked at them hopefully. ‘Groom’s family?’

Lucy nodded, and the girl smiled with relief and beckoned them to follow her. Jack hung back.

‘You go,’ he said, pushing Lucy forward. In a low voice, he added, ‘You don’t want to look back on these photos in years to come and see your fake boyfriend in the shot.’

‘I don’t ever want to look at these photos ever again, they are pictures of people melting,’ Lucy said, grabbing Jack’s hand and hurrying towards her mother.

Valerie was beckoning them furiously, and Heather called out, ‘Please, hurry,’ as she wrestled with the wriggling child.

‘Valerie,’ Jack said smoothly as they stepped up, ‘I’m not sure I should be in these photos. It should just be family. I’ll wait over here.’

He tried to step away.

‘Nonsense, Jack,’ Valerie said, grasping his hand. ‘You may not be family right now, but I am sure it’s only a matter of time.’

She gestured for him to join them.

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