Page 85 of The Wedding Game

‘Sadly, yes,’ I joke. ‘In the divorce I get custody of Tamara.’

‘Divorce?’ he asks and then narrows his eyes.

‘I’m joking,’ I reply. ‘Not actually suggesting we get married, so I can take Tamara with me when it all ends.’

He laughs, but it’s an uncertain laugh, sort of nervous.

I can’t work out what he’s thinking. Josh has not been getting my sense of humour much these days. Maybe I’m not funny any more. Maybe he’s distracted. I make Scarlet laugh. I made Chris laugh, often when he was trying to drink something.

‘We’ve been together a year and a half next month,’ I say.

‘Have we?’ he asks. ‘That’s flown.’

‘I guess it has, yeah. That’s a good thing,’ I reason.

‘Yeah,’ he says.

He’s quiet, staring at his food. Then he looks up at me. Candles flicker between us, and I wonder … it is Valentine’s Day after all. A year and a half is too short a time in which to get engaged, surely. What would I do if Josh asked? Would I say yes? God, I’ve no idea.

This silence lasts too long. Josh looks away, sips his wine and I sip mine. I dig around in my mind for something to say. ‘Do you think you might be able to come to the hotel opening next month?’

‘I know I said I’d try, but as it’s midweek it makes things tricky here. If I can, you know I will.’

‘It’s fine,’ I say. ‘Don’t worry. I know your time isn’t your own. The farm is the other woman in our relationship.’

He gives me a curious glance.

‘I’ll bore you rigid with how it all went after the event,’ I tell him.

‘Please do. And take pictures?’ he asks. He reaches out across the table, holds my hand for a moment, before we go back to eating our food.

CHAPTER FORTY

Chris

Hi, it’s Victoria. I hope you don’t mind me messaging so long after Scarlet’s house party. It was really nice to meet you. Don’t suppose you’re in London again anytime soon? If you are, let me know. Maybe we can get a drink together? V x

This is unexpected, given it’s been a couple of months since Victoria asked for my number at the party, and I was so stunned that I blurted it out to her. It didn’t occur to me to ask for Victoria’s, after I gave her mine. But she was fun to talk to, and it would be nice to see her again. Nothing serious can come of it anyway. It’s the proverbial problem of meeting someone just before I leave to go back to New York. Is London where all the good women are? Am I missing a trick being in New York? My career took me there, kept me there. But maybe I need to rethink my strategy. I’ve been in the US for a few years, and in this job ever since I arrived. I love it. But it’s not always beneficial to play it safe when it means letting life and love pass you by.

I’ve been thinking for a while that it might be time to move jobs and country. I’ve done it once before. It could betime to look for something more senior. My CV looks good. Where would I go? London? Somewhere else?

I’m excited to find out what the next stage of my life entails, though I’m not an impetuous person – other than that one time with Lexie. This will need some thought. Until then:Hi, it’s nice to hear from you. I’m in London right now. I fly home tomorrow, though. Don’t suppose you’re free tonight? Chris x

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Lexie

March

Today is the day when everything I’ve been working towards over the past year and a half finally comes to a head. From the tiny details to the big last-minute things … today is the day.

Everything’s finished, although there have been so many delays that I thought Max was going to flip his lid. But now – now we’re ready to open the hotel, so I should be feeling fine. But I’m not. I’m so nervous. Max has been over from New York for the past week and it’s been fun tweaking the finishing touches just the way we’d visualised them. The thrill is out of this world.

I knew I was going to love sinking my teeth into the design element, but the final portion is by far the most rewarding. I loved the whole process when I decorated my nan’s house, but this is on another level, with so many different designs for suites and rooms, bathrooms and entranceways, the lobby, the bar, the restaurant. It’s been such an amazingexperience, barring the input from Chef Javier, who very much had his own unique vision that needed toning down, but also appeasing. I’ve had to learn the art of diplomacy like never before.

Chris has been back and forth with the fit-out team and I feel like we’ve been chasing him around and hurrying him along. I’ve been staying in an Airbnb in Soho this past week while Max has been here, as the days are long and it was too hard to go back and forth from Josh’s. When I spoke to Josh late one evening on the phone, he joked that I must be following Chris around, waiting for him to put a sofa down so I can put a scatter cushion on it. I didn’t like to tell him he’s only half-wrong, though I thought he’d rather oversimplified what I’ve been doing since I got this job.

Now we’re here, exhausted and with champagne glasses in hand in the main lobby, while the publicity team does its thing, ushering celebrities along the red carpet outside the front doors. I watch them getting their pictures taken, dressed up in their finery. I’d felt pretty sexy tonight in my little black dress and silver ankle boots, but against celebrities – well, it’s impossible to ooze serious glamour next to them, isn’t it? They radiate sexiness on a whole other level, as if they’ve got a camera filter always on them.

---