Page 89 of It's All Sun and Games

It’s Auntie Irene (who isn’t actually my auntie) and her husband, Kelvin, who for some reason the title of uncle never quite caught on for.

‘Hello,’ I say brightly.

‘Oh, darling, I still can’t get over how amazing this place is,’ Mum coos.

‘Can Andrea make me some of that pasta, the one that looks like ears, with the bacon?’ Dad adds.

I laugh.

‘Yeah, well, you have to sit at a table and actually order it,’ I remind him. ‘But I’m sure he will.’

‘We were all going out for a bite to eat and I thought, well, my daughter has a restaurant, so we’ve got to go there,’ Mum tells me. ‘Plus, your Auntie Irene really wants to see your engagement ring. Go on, show her.’

I smile as I oblige, holding out my left hand, so that Auntie Irene can see my ring.

Yes, it is actually my ring now and, yes, finally, we are actually engaged. For real, for no one’s benefit but our own.

‘Oh, Robin, it’s beautiful,’ Auntie Irene says. ‘So beautiful. I bet it’s worth a bob or two.’

‘She’s not selling it, so don’t get any ideas,’ Kelvin jokes. ‘Now, come on, I’ve heard a lot about this ear pasta. Let’s get sat down. The sooner we sit down, the sooner we can order, the sooner we can eat.’

I know, ear pasta doesn’t sound delicious at all – that’s not actually what it’s called – but, trust me, what he is referring to is incredible.

‘We had better get to our table,’ Mum tells me. ‘But do send Andrea out to say hello, won’t you? We’d love to see him.’

‘I will,’ I tell her with a smile.

‘Ooh, my daughter, the restaurateur,’ she says giddily. ‘I’m still pinching myself.’

The four of them head off to their table which, luckily, isn’t next to ours.

‘Sorry about that,’ I say. ‘Where were we?’

‘Aww, they’re dead proud of you,’ Priya points out. ‘It’s cute.’

‘It’s… intense,’ I reply. ‘But really nice.’

I love that my parents love it here, and Tom comes all the time, on dates, or with his friends. The only thing they love more than this place is Andrea – I mean, how could they not love him? Sometimes I feel like they love him more than they love me, it’s that intense (but not really). I think they’re all just happy that I’m happy – and that they get free pizza whenever they come here.

‘I still can’t believe you’re getting married,’ she says. ‘Not that you’re not marriable.’

‘Thanks,’ I say with a chuckle. ‘I can’t believe it either.’

‘And in Italy, no less,’ she adds.

‘Well, after Andrea’s sister’s wedding – which was honestly just so amazing – I am sold on the idea,’ I reply. ‘I think I knew I wanted to get married in Italy before I even knew that Andrea would marry me.’

‘I can’t wait,’ she says. ‘Really, I can’t.’

‘Oh, did I tell you we’ve invited Rick and his wife?’ I say, shaking my head in disbelief.

‘No!’ she replies.

‘Yep,’ I say with a smile. ‘Well, he and Andrea play on the same five-a-side football team, which is, yeah, strange. But, after we all got on so well at the wedding, we’ve just kept in touch. As funny as it sounds, now that he’s not my boss, he’s actually quite fun to be around – don’t tell him I said that.’

‘Oh, I would never want to give him the ego boost,’ she replies.

Did I ever think I would get a big Italian summer wedding of my own? Absolutely not. Now that I’m planning one, am I the happiest I’ve ever been? Absolutely.

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