Page 44 of The Wedding Pact
‘Normal brownies are actually my favourite kind,’ answered August, helping herself to a big one.
‘I wasn’t implying anything, just letting you know. It would be fun if they were though, wouldn’t it?’
They all tucked in to the delicious, and thankfully quite normal, brownies, when Callie suddenly looked around and said, ‘Where are all your pictures?’
August froze mid-bite. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You don’t have any holiday snaps in frames, or any wedding photos up. Didn’t you have a lovely beach wedding?’
August and Flynn locked eyes, excuses twirling in their heads and trying to form into sentences, when Callie continued, ‘I suppose we just keep it all on our phones these days, don’t we – I must have been living with Mum for too long.’
‘Yes, that’s it,’ August said, relaxing, while Flynn stuffed a brownie in his mouth.
‘Let’s see them, then,’ Callie said.
‘Let’s see what?’
‘Let me see your wedding photos, I want to see your dress.’
August felt sick, the brownie having turned dry in her mouth. She looked at Flynn who said, ‘I don’t think we have the wedding photos on our phones.’
Callie turned from one to the other. ‘You must have something, everyone has something. I even have my wedding photos still and I had a better time at my divorce party than my wedding day!’
‘Water damage!’ August cried, her improv training kicking in. ‘We had water damage in our last place and the box with all our printed wedding photos got ruined.’
‘Oh no,’ said Callie. ‘Thank God everybody uses digital now so you must have backup.’
‘Yep,’ August shook her head. ‘Yep, we have them on … CD. We just need to get them reprinted.’
‘That’ll be nice,’ Callie nodded. ‘This place will feel really lovely and romantic once you’ve got a bit more of yourselves here in your space.’
With that, she finished her brownie and her cuppa and pattered back off up to her own apartment.
August felt bad lying to Callie, especially over the subject of weddings and marriage, something Callie was so open with her about. Should she just come clean? Maybe sooner would be better than later. Yes. She’d have a good think about that … maybe she’d do it tomorrow … or the next day. Anyway, she’d do it soon.
Flynn, meanwhile, pushed his glasses up onto his head and rubbed his eyes. ‘So where’s the nearest beach?’
The beach, however, would have to wait, as would the whole should-I-confess-to-Callie thing, because during ten days of every September, Bath transformed into a Regency paradise with the Jane Austen Festival. Dance workshops, readings, balls, bonnet-making classes, street performances, it was, quite frankly, how August imagined heaven might be, as long as she could bring a few mod cons along with her. And some Pop Tarts. Oh, and her phone.
Bel cursed, shoving her parasol under August’s arm and retying the ribbon that looped her body underneath her bust, converting her maxi dress to a high-waisted Regency-style frock. ‘This damned thing keeps falling down. How did I think making my own dress was a good idea?’
‘The same way you do every year, my darling,’ August replied with a smile, fluttering at her face with her paper fan.
‘Next year, please remind me to take you up on your offer of helping me. I don’t know why I think I can do it myself every time.’
The two of them were strolling slowly through the centre of Bath, dressed to the nines, as part of the festival’s Regency Costumed Promenade, along with about five hundred other people, all bedecked in Austen-like finery. August had, as usual, needed no cajoling to get Bel to take part, her friend being just as into all the pomp and circumstance as she was. Now here they were, in long dresses with temporarily stitched-on puffball cap sleeves, hair curled and piled on their heads, and an air of two sisters on the lookout for mischief.
‘Guess what?’ Bel said. ‘My practice is finally getting the big renovation we’ve been waiting for.’
‘That’s amazing!’ August said, knowing how long her friend had wanted, and campaigned, for this. ‘When?’
‘Next summer.’
‘Nextsummer? A whole year away!’
‘But,’ Bel added, a smile on her face. ‘Next summer it’ll be closed for a whole month while the renovations happen, so Steve and I have decided … ’
August gasped, stopping in her stride and causing a small pile-up behind her. ‘Is this it?’
