Page 14 of Always the Bridesmaid

It’s true. Brooks and Izzy had been hate at first sight. Until they weren’t.

‘Fine. But I seriously dislike him, too. Oh, don’t tell Jess or Jake, though. I don’t want them to worry about the room situation, or anything else for that matter.’

Izzy draws closed an imaginary zip across her lips. ‘Your secret is safe with me.’

One of the catering staff approaches us with a mango daquiri for Izzy and a Long Island Iced Tea for me. We take our drinks from the waiter’s tray and head over to the guys.

Izzy slips into the line next to Brooks and receives a kiss on her temple. I wiggle into a space next to Jake, who nudges his hip into mine and clinks his bottle of beer against my cocktail glass.

‘So, what’s going on over here in the boys’ club?’ I ask.

‘Well, I didn’t want to ruin the surprise for anyone else either but I’m currently pondering how in the hell I’m supposed to find time to go into London to get Jess’s wedding present without her knowing that I’m getting her wedding present.’ Jake leans forward and rests his elbows on the rail. ‘You know Jess; she doesn’t want any fuss. I had to convince her to have something bigger than a registry office for our wedding. But we agreed no wedding gifts.’

‘Usually, I’d go all girls’ club on you, Jake, but I am with you. I think that girl deserves a wedding gift. But why on earth have you left it until three days before the wedding to collect it?’

‘You wouldn’t believe the lengths I’ve had to go to to get this.’

‘Tell her what it is,’ Drew says. ‘Sarah will love it.’

Jake swigs from his bottle and sniggers. ‘You know the only thing she loves more than Elvis himself is me impersonating Elvis. But not just any Elvis. She really gets off on that leather pant suit from his nineteen sixty-nine comeback. You know the one?’

I fan myself with my hand. ‘Show me a woman who doesn’t.’

‘See! So tell me why no costume shop wants to give me Elvis's suit from his comeback show! They all want to give me the white Vegas jumpsuit. Anyway, I’ve managed to track one down. It was already on loan to an impersonator for the whole of summer, so I had to get in touch with him personally and make a whole load of deals with him to get it. He’s only just agreed that I can borrow it for the wedding and now I’ve got no time to get into the city unless I cancel on something we already have planned. In which case, I’ll have to give Jess an excuse as to why I’m cancelling. I’m already having to sneak some time in with Izzy because she’s choreographing some moves for me. And Jess knows me far too well to believe any bullshit I spin.’

‘Can’t you just get up early and go first thing?’ Charlie asks.

I shake my head. ‘No, tomorrow he has breakfast at a vineyard with Jess’s aunt and uncle and his parents. It’s the first meeting of the families; he can’t cancel. On Thursday, he has a hot air balloon champagne breakfast with Jess, their last alone time before the big day. And on Friday morning, you guys all have your final fitting for your suits, and given they’ve only been altered this week, it has to be first thing so there’s time to adjust them again during the day if needs be.’

‘Naturally, you know his entire schedule,’ Charlie mutters. I try to ignore his unhelpful sarcasm and think of a solution to the real problem at hand.

‘I’ll go,’ I say in a snap decision. ‘I’m the only person who can be free without Jess thinking it’s a big deal. I can tell her I’m dealing with florists or catering or something. And I don’t have the family piece to juggle. Plus, I’ve taken next week as vacation, too, so I can run myself ragged this week if needs be.’

I can feel rather than see Charlie’s eyes boring holes in me.

Why should it bother me? Why does he care? Yet, it does bother me. It annoys me, actually.

‘How do I get to London from here?’ I ask Jake.

Leaning further forward on the rail so that he’s looking around me and in Charlie’s direction, he says, ‘What do you say, Charlie? Can you give her a ride?’

‘What is it worth?’

I look between the two of them.

‘How about a free meal and booze on Saturday?’ Jake says, much to Charlie’s amusement.

Charlie looks from Jake to me. ‘I have a gig tomorrow night in London. I’m driving into the city for it. We can leave earlier and pick up the suit but you’ll have to either come to my gig or occupy yourself until I’m done.’

I force a smile. It’s for Jake and Jess, I tell myself. Then through gritted teeth, I say, ‘That would be great, thanks.’

Charlie snorts – ick – and is still snickering when Jess and Becky come out of the house, Jess floating like an angel in a long white dress, which would have looked hippy on someone else but on Jess looks like a television advert for a luxury resort in the Seychelles.

‘Here she is, the love of my life!’ Jake announces.

Jess rolls her eyes and accepts a cocktail from one of the wait staff before coming to join us.

The pre-dinner cocktails are subsequently uneventful, the usual fun that we always have as a group together. I make sure to integrate Drew’s parents and his sister’s family when they arrive, as well as our new friends, as much as possible, circling the decking to chat with everyone.

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