Page 110 of Be More Lucy

Lucy. He hoped he’d misjudged the Claudio situation. He’d made Lucy promise to talk to him if she ever thought he was with someone else. He ought to give her a similar opportunity to explain about Claudio - and Harry, for that matter. He looked around the marquee, but there was no sign of her.

‘Mark?’ Caroline was staring at him.

‘Sorry, I was miles away.’

‘What’s worrying you, honey?’

‘Oh, this and that.’ My whole life being turned upside down. The woman I love having a new partner and possibly even cheating on him. You coming on to me again. He didn’t want to be drawn into discussing any of those topics with Caroline.

But she wasn’t going to be fobbed off that easily. ‘You can tell me. We could go into the house where it’s quieter.’ She leaned over and whispered in his ear. ‘We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.’

That was precisely what he didn’t want. ‘Sorry. I need to talk to my girlfriend about something,’ he said, getting up.

‘Girlfriend? I thought you’d split up with Hannah. That’s what my spies told me.’

‘I’m back with Lucy. Em’s friend.’Why did you say that? If she sees Lucy with Claudio, she’ll want to comfort you or, worse still, confront Lucy.He would have to find Lucy now to warn her, if nothing else.

Caroline looked suspiciously at him. ‘I’ll keep your seat warm for you just in case she’s unavailable.’

59

Lucy was standing at the kitchen island with Nancy, helping her cut up the wedding cake.

‘One thing is baffling me, Nancy. How did you know you’d need a wedding cake today?’

Nancy leaned over to her conspiratorially. ‘I had my suspicions when Em was keen to get her wedding dress here as soon as possible. Then I spotted her looking at fur stoles on a wedding blog a few weeks ago. You don’t need one of those for a summer wedding. So I bought an extra large Christmas cake with plain white icing, just in case. I’d already ordered the custom bride and groom topper. Then, when I saw you all sneaking out first thing this morning, with Em wearing her wedding dress, I got it prepped and hid it at the back of the pantry.’

‘Nothing gets past you.’

‘No,’ Nancy laughed. ‘You’ll find when you turn 60, everyone thinks you’re deaf and blind. It’s incredibly annoying, but sometimes it can be quite useful.’ She looked towards the back door as it opened.

‘Mark, darling.’

‘Mother dearest.’

Lucy’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. She looked around and gave him her best smile. ‘Hi, Mark. Come to help?’

‘Actually, I need to have a word with you.’

Promising, but he looked serious.Don’t get your hopes up.

‘I can finish this,’ Nancy offered. ‘My study is empty if you want somewhere private.’

‘Thanks.’ Mark still seemed apprehensive. ‘It’s this way,’ he said to Lucy as he headed into the hallway.

‘What can I do for you?’ Lucy asked, shutting the study door behind her. Mark was sitting on the edge of Nancy’s desk. He avoided making eye contact. He looked so fed up. She resisted the urge to hug him.

‘This will sound odd,’ he said. ‘But could you pretend that we’re together?’

Pretend? That wasn’t what she was hoping for at all.

He must’ve sensed her confusion. ‘I know it’s awkward, ‘ he continued. ‘But it would help me out. Jack’s cousin Caroline likes me. A lot. And she’s not very good at taking no for an answer. But she never makes a move if I’m with someone, so I accidentally implied we were together again. Sorry. It was the beer talking. If you could play along, if she asks you, that would help.’

Interesting that he’d instinctively cast her in the role of girlfriend.

‘Ok, then.’

‘Thanks. I really appreciate it.’ He headed for the door before she could say anything else.

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