Page 77 of A Wedding in Tuscany

We are elbows-deep in flowers when Josh makes an appearance, bearing a tray with three mugs?tea for me and Mum and coffee for Jaelee?and a plate of biscotti. ‘Afternoon tea,’ he calls out as he approaches.

‘Perfect timing, babe,’ I say, snagging the piece of biscotti with the most almonds.

He places the tray on the makeshift bar and scans the space. ‘Wow, you guys have done a great job.’ Jaelee looks up from her arrangement and flashes Josh a double-dimpled smile.

‘And voila,’ says Mum, holding aloft the bridal bouquet.

‘Oh, Mum, that is beautiful.’ For flowers, we went mostly with cabbage roses and greenery, and Mum has created a stunning bouquet in an array of peachy pinks.

She regards her work. ‘Do you think Catherine will like it?’ she asks.

‘Yes, Mum, she’ll love it.’ She will?it’s perfect for her rustic but refined wedding.

‘Good. Right, now I just need to do the arrangement for the ceremony and anything left over can find a home in one of the smaller arrangements.’ She lays the bouquet on the bar and starts selecting the tallest blooms for the ceremony arrangement, even though I didn’t know until now that we needed one of those. Still, she’s happy being needed and busy?a trait I have most definitely inherited from her?and with Jaelee starting to situate the finished arrangements around the space, I can take a quiet moment with Josh.

I hold my tea with one hand and his arm with the other and pull him towards the large ‘window’?essentially an opening in the wall that looks out over the valley. ‘Pretty huh?’ I ask rhetorically.

‘Oh definitely. Beautiful, actually.’ When I look up at him, he’s watching me, his compliment directed at me, not the view.

I bump him with my hip. ‘Don’t. I’m all dusty.’

He leans down and whispers in my ear. ‘And sexy as hell.’ This time when I peer at him, he has an eyebrow raised. ‘Any chance we can sneak away for a bit before I head over to the resort?’ He and Jean-Luc are getting ready at the resort where Mum and Dad are staying?they got Cat and Jean-Luc a room there for their wedding night.

‘I don’t think?’

‘Cake’s here!’ shouts Jaelee, startling me. Some of the tea sloshes onto my hand and I flick it off, annoyed. I look over and she’s holding out her phone, so the baker must have called.

‘See you at the wedding,’ says Josh quietly. He leans down for a quick kiss.

‘Did you hear me?’ asks Jaelee.

Josh smirks, his eyebrows raised, and leaves while I return to Jaelee and Mum. ‘I think they heard you in Florence, dear,’ says Mum, her eyes firmly fixed on the floral arrangement.

It would be easy to pile on but not wanting to stir the pot, I reply, ‘Let’s go down and meet them,’ adding a cheery smile.

‘Are you sure this is what Cat wanted?’ I ask, eyeing the ‘cake’ curiously. The baker was lovely?not a word of English?but all smiles and Jaelee managed to understand ‘refrigerate’ before he drove away leaving me holding an enormous white box. We’ve brought it into the apartment and it’s now opened on the small kitchen table. It’s beautiful, but it’s not exactly a cake?more like a stack of flaky pastry sheets with custard, cream, and fruit in between.

‘You said that she wanted a traditional Italian wedding cake. This is what’s considered traditional here in Tuscany. It’s called a millefoglie.’ I am extremely sceptical that this is what Cat meant.

‘Hey, Sez,’ says Cat from the doorway to the kitchen. I flip the lip on the cake box closed.

‘Heyyy,’ I say enthusiastically, ‘what’s up?’

She looks at me oddly. ‘Why are you being weird? Oh, is that the cake?’ She enters the kitchen as I place a flat palm on the lid of the box.

‘It is, but it’s bad luck to see the cake before the wedding.’ Jaelee tuts. I deserve it. I’ve essentially pulled a wedding superstition out of my bum.

Cat gives me the odd look again. ‘What? No, it isn’t. Let me see.’ She steps past me and lifts the lid of the box. All the air is sucked out of the room as my sister gasps. Cat eyes the ‘cake’ and Jaelee and I eye other. It’s the first time I’ve seen even the slightest hint of panic in those brown eyes.

‘It’s …’ A thousand years roll by. ‘… absolutely stunning.’

Jaelee and I expel sighs of relief and Cat tears her eyes from the ‘cake’ and looks between us, then laughs. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t like it?’

‘Sarah did.’

‘You dag,’ says Cat. ‘It’s exactly what I wanted.’ She tuts at me and I’m too relieved to care that I’m the butt of the joke.

‘We’d better get it in the fridge though,’ says Jaelee. She lifts it carefully and I hold open the door as she slides it onto the middle shelf.

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