Page 12 of Best Laid Plans

He’d seen countless weddings and endless processions of bridesmaids, but none of them had made him feel the way he felt now as the organist began to play and Lucy began to walk down the aisle with her smile carefully in place.

She’d always tried to pretend she was a tomboy, keeping her hair short and wispy, and preferring to live in T-shirts and jeans, but today, nothing could hide her femininity.

Her pastel, off-the-shoulders dress and the soft pink lilies in her arms highlighted the paleness of her hair, the honey gold tints in her skin, the pink lushness of her lips. She had never looked lovelier.

Except perhaps… that one night on a shadowy veranda, when she’d turned to him with tears in her eyes…

He willed her to look at him. Just one glance would do. For old friendship’s sake. He wanted eye contact, needed to send her one smile, longed for one tiny link with her.

Come on, look this way, Lucy.

She smiled at the people in the congregation, at her particular friends, at Jake, but her gaze didn’t flicker any further to the right. It was clear she did not want to see Will.

Or perhaps, she simply felt no need.

CHAPTER SIX

IT HAD been an utterly perfect wedding.

Lucy’s eyes were distinctly misty as she watched Mattie and Jake dance the bridal waltz. They looked so amazingly happy together and so deeply in love. She was sure everyone watching them felt misty-eyed too.

The beautiful ceremony had been followed by a happy procession across Willowbank’s main street to the marquee where the reception was held. Champagne flowed, a string quartet played glorious music and the guests were served delectable food.

Jake’s speech was heartfelt and touching and Will’s toast was appropriately witty, although he went embarrassingly over the top with his praise for the bridesmaids. Lucy had felt her face flame when curious eyes swung in her direction and the cutting of the cake had been a welcome distraction.

Everyone broke into spontaneous cheering for Mattie and Jake, and Lucy was thrilled. The wedding couldn’t have been happier.

She was relieved that she’d survived, without making a fool of herself. Which had mostly meant avoiding Will – a tall order given that her eyes had developed a habit of sneaking in his direction whenever she thought he wasn’t looking. She’d tried so hard to ignore him, but she’d always thought he was the best looking guy ever.

She could still remember the day she’d first met him as a schoolboy down by Willow Creek, crouched at the edge of the water.

Even viewing him from behind, he’d been beautiful.

He’d taken his shirt off and he’d been squatting, reaching down, panning for gold in the water. Sunlight breaking through overhead trees had lent an extra sheen to his dark brown hair and to the smooth golden-brown skin on his back.

Lucy hadn’t been able to help staring. His shoulders were wide, his hips narrow, his limbs long – the build of a swimmer.

Now, so many years later, he was even more irresistible in his dark formal evening attire. Lucy kept finding things she needed to check out – the manly jut of his jaw above the crisp collar and black tie, the neat line of his dark hair across the back of his neck, the stunning breadth of his shoulders in the stylish suit jacket…

Sigh…

Despite the wedding’s perfection, the evening had been a huge strain and she was worn out.

She’d kicked off her high heeled shoes and they were now stowed under the table. She was thinking rather fondly about the end of the night when she could head for home. It would be so nice to greet her dogs, then to curl up in bed with a glass of water and a headache tablet.

Tom leaned towards her. ‘Lucy, it’s our turn to dance.’

She winced. ‘Is it really?’

Tom was already on his feet. ‘Come on. Gina and Will are already up. You know the wedding party is expected to take a twirl on the dance floor.’

Damn. She’d forgotten about that. She suppressed a sigh as she fished beneath the table for her shoes.Ouch. They pinched as she squeezed back into them.

She looked over at the dance floor and saw that Tom was right. Gina was already dancing with Will and for no reason that made sense, her silly heart began to trip and stumble.

‘Lead the way,’ she told Tom resolutely, slipping her arm through his. Thank heavens he was a reliable old friend. At least she could dance with Tom till the cows came home without being attacked by dangerous palpitations.

Unfortunately, Tom didn’t seem to be quite so enamoured with her as his dancing partner. At the end of the bracket, other couples joined them on the dance floor and Tom leaned close to her ear. ‘Would you mind if I asked Gina for a dance?’

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