Page 79 of Short Stack 3

I stand up, and Carla hugs me, her perfume filling the air. “It’s so lovely to see you, Artie. How was the honeymoon?”

“Absolutely perfect,” I say, smiling over at Jed.

He nods. “Three weeks with Artie all to myself. I was a happy man.” I’m sure I’m glowing from those words and offer him a wry look that makes him chuckle. “But don’t ask about his sunburn.” He winks. “I told him thateveryonegets burnt there.”

“Oh my god,” I exclaim.

He breaks into laughter. “Let’s sit down, folks,” he says. “We need to talk about your wedding instead of ours.”

I sit down gingerly, not letting my back come into contact with the chair. Feeling someone watching me, I look up and blanch as I find Jed studying me, his forehead pleated in thought.

“How are you both?” I immediately ask, and Russell’s answer is thankfully long enough to distract my husband. Jed shoots me a look, and I amend my analysis to include the words “for now”.

Jed turns to the couple. “Simon is the hotel staff member we’ll be meeting today. He’s responsible for their wedding bookings. I spoke to him when I got here, and he said he’d be over in a few minutes and show you the room where they hold the wedding ceremonies. I think you’ll like it. It’s small enough to feel intimate and big enough not to look like a broom cupboard.” Carla laughs, and he smiles at her. “Then he’ll take you upstairs to see the wedding suite that’s included in the price.”

“Is it true that you can’t have a cash register in the room where a ceremony is being performed?” Russell asks.

Jed smiles at him. “Yes, which is sad because who doesn’t want to charge their guests for their attendance?”

A slim, dark-haired man approaches us, his face wreathed in smiles.

“Artie, how are you?” he exclaims. “It’s been far too long since I saw you. You look gorgeous as usual.”

I blink at the enthusiastic greeting. I’ll never get used to being addressed like I’m Austin Butler. I’ve worked with Simon a few times this year while planning weddings, and he’s always like this. He stands far too close and always laughs so loudly at my jokes that you’d think I was a professional comedian rather than a shy assistant.

“Oh, fine,” I say, standing up awkwardly and holding out my hand. “How are you, Simon?”

Simon takes my hand and holds on to it a shade too long, smiling at me in his usual rather alarmingly intimate way. “You look very good with a tan. Did you have a nice holiday?”

“Honeymoon,” Jed interjects, sitting back in his chair and shooting Simon a look that is friendly but somehow makes the other man blanch and drop my hand.

“Oh yes. I must have forgotten that.”

Jed clears his throat, and a panicked look crosses Simon’s face.

“And this must be the bride and groom,” Simon says, quickly turning to Carla and Russell.

“It certainly must,” Jed drawls, and I reproachfully shake my head at him. He offers me a wolfish smile and gets to his feet. He towers over Simon.

“Shall we look at the room?” Simon says quickly.

Carla and Russell agree enthusiastically, and Jed winks at me, making me want to laugh. I fall in behind the couple, feeling Jed at my side.

“Was there any need for that behaviour?” I whisper. “You could have swung through the bar yodelling and beating your chest andstillbeen less possessive.”

“I’m saving that for our first anniversary.”

“Isn’t that gift supposed to be paper?”

“You can write me a cheque for the performance.”

I can’t stop my laugh, and I grin at him before we enter the room set aside for wedding ceremonies. I reach into my messenger bag and remove my notebook and pen as Jed starts to discuss the details with Carla and Russell. Even as my pen sweeps across the page, my mind is wandering. This is a beautiful room, but it doesn’t compare to Mal and Cadan’s barn, where Jed and I had our vow renewal ceremony.

That was a wonderful day full of love and laughter. I try to imagine being the centre of attention as Carla will be when she exchanges her vows with Russell and immediately shy away from the thought. The way Jed and I did it was perfect, where no one heard our very intimate promises in our hotel room. Then tocelebrate with our friends and family afterwards was the cherry on top. Not for the first time, I wonder how I’ve got so lucky to find a man who understands me so well.

I look up and find Jed watching me as the others talk. His eyes are bright and full of so much love that I blink. Then Carla says something, and he turns to reply to her, breaking the moment but leaving that warmth behind like a banked fire.

After half an hour, the meeting ends, and I slide my pen and pad back into my bag. Everyone else uses their phones for notes, but there’s something about physically writing things down that makes them stay in my brain.

---