Page 53 of One Bridegroom Required!

‘Shame they don’t do any green flowers,’ smiled Holly serenely.

Michelle briefly switched from soft romantic mode to frustrated florist. ‘Well, as it’s an Easter wedding, I was hoping for something like lilies, or pansies—’

Holly’s voice softened to a smoky whisper. ‘But that’s traditional, and Luke’s not traditional, Michelle—you know that.’

‘Luke’s just gorgeous—beginning and end of story—and you’re a very lucky woman.’ Michelle shot her friend a glance. ‘You are okay, aren’t you, Holly?’

‘Mmm?’

‘I mean—you seem awfully distracted—you have done all week! You’re not having any second thoughts, are you?’

Holly giggled as she shook her head, the copper curls contained today beneath the fragrant circlet of roses. ‘Not a single one,’ she said firmly. ‘Why?’

Michelle frowned. ‘You just seem different, that’s all. There’s a kind of bloom about you, and—’ her brown eyes narrowed assessingly ‘—that dress looks a little small around the waistband—’

Holly burst out laughing. ‘Why don’t you just come right out and ask me?’ she teased. ‘It isn’t a secret you know, not really.’

‘You’re pregnant?’ breathed Michelle.

‘Yes, I am.’

Michelle’s eyes were like saucers. ‘But what about your shop? What’s going to happen to it?’

Holly shrugged her shoulders, a dreamy smile curving her lips. ‘Oh, the shop no longer seems like my be-all and end-all. It was the freedom to design and make my own wedding dresses that I craved—and, fortunately, that fits in very nicely with motherhood. Luke says...’ she sighed with pleasure ‘...that I can have someone in to run the shop if I want. Maybe even start a co-operative to help young, talented designers who don’t have the good fortune to win competitions. Several of the girls I was at college with have already expressed a huge interest about coming to live here!’

‘Surprising, that,’ offered Michelle drily. ‘Maybe they think they’ll end up marrying millionaires, too!’

‘Luke isn’t a millionaire, not really,’ said Holly firmly. ‘Lots of his inheritance is in assets—’

‘I know. It’s a hard life!’ teased Michelle. ‘But you are a lucky, lucky woman, Holly Lovelace!’

‘I’d have married him if he’d still been that man sleeping out under the stars,’ said Holly truthfully.

‘I know you would, dummy.’ Michelle’s voice was soft. ‘I meant lucky that you’re carrying his child.’

Holly turned, as pleased and surprised by the intimacy of the old-fashioned term as by her friend’s response to her news. ‘That’s not the reaction you expect if the bride waddles down the aisle.’

Michelle looked at Holly’s tall, slim figure and shook her head. ‘Waddle? Do me a favour, Holly—at twenty-eight weeks you’ll probably have the same kind of figure that most of us have, and we’re not pregnant!’

‘Why lucky, then?’ asked Holly curiously.

‘Oh, because you’ve found Luke, and he’s found you, and quite honestly it’s restored my faith in men to see him look at you the way he does when he thinks no one is watching.’ She sniffed, then glared. ‘There I go again! Much more emotion and I’ll start blubbing—and I can’t afford to let my mascara run. Have you seen Luke’s best man?’

‘Well, of course I’ve seen him! His name’s Will, and he’s very nice.?

?

‘I know,’ sighed Michelle. ‘He just wasn’t what I expected. Terribly English, isn’t he—in a way that Luke isn’t?’

‘They were at school together,’ explained Holly. “I’ll introduce you afterwards, if you like.’

‘Mmm! Yes, please!’ Michelle made a final adjustment to her outrageous hat. ‘Oh, and my friend Mary said to wish you all the best, and to be sure and tell you that she’s over the moon at winning the wedding dress.’

‘Good. Should be perfect for a summer wedding.’ Holly smiled with satisfaction. ‘So everybody’s happy.’ She held out her hand for her bouquet. A moment’s quiet reflection, and she felt ready.

‘Come on, Michelle,’ she said softly. ‘Let’s go.’

The organist was coping admirably with some African music which Luke had had sent over. It was livelier than the usual offering at an English country wedding, and already the congregation were getting into the swing of things. A couple of people had even been noticed swaying their shoulders!

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