Chapter Thirteen
‘IT’S YOUR WEDDING DAY?’
The hairdresser gaped in surprise at the calmest bride in the world, sitting in her chair.
Rachel deliberately hadn’t gone to the place she’d once worked, because their wedding was a secret and just about them.
‘Yes.’ Rachel smiled.
‘But you booked a “hair up for a wedding...” Usually brides like to have a trial...’
No trial had been necessary.
There was to be no family this time.
No pregnancy either—although Dominic was working on that!
No pressure.
The sun was bright and shining high as they met at a quarter to eleven outside the Town Hall.
It was a gorgeous listed building and there were people milling around outside, a newly married couple stepping out to the sound of cheers.
‘I can’t wait to marry you again,’ Dominic said. ‘You look beautiful.’
Rachel wore a flowery dress from a high street store and some wedge sandals for the occasion. Her red hair was curly and piled high and she carried a bunch of sunflowers—because they made her feel happy.
Dominic looked completely immaculate, of course. He wore a dark grey suit, a white shirt, a silver tie and a smile. He’d had his hair cut and gone for a hot towel shave. She could not wait to get her hands on that smooth jaw. In fact, she ran her hands over it and moved in for a kiss.
‘Not until we’re married, cheeky,’ he said, and then offered his arm.
Together they walked in.
Their register office wedding was a very tiny one, because with two witnesses pulled at random from the street, they held hands and looked only at each other as the registrar spoke.
‘The purpose of marriage is that you may always love, care for and support each other, through all the joys and sorrows of life. It is a partnership in which two people can pledge their love and commitment to each other; a solemn union providing love, friendship, help and comfort to you both through your life together...’
Hearing those beautiful words, Rachel started to cry. They had been here before, had heard those words before, but this time there was such certainty in the air that it was for ever, and it made the words sound extra-poignant.
‘We know we can do this now,’ Dominic said gently. ‘Whatever life brings.’
She nodded and they made their vows, and she smiled as his ring slipped back on her finger, where it belonged.
And then her ring was back on his. And finally they were husband and wife again. And Dominic kissed the woman who was clearly destined to be his bride.
There were people everywhere as they stepped out of the small ceremony room. Love was in the air, and there were kissing couples and gorgeous bridesmaids trotting past as they were offered congratulations by people they didn’t know. It was, for both of them, the most perfect wedding.
Rachel felt as if her heart might burst with happiness as they stood on the gorgeous staircase inside the Town Hall, with its crimson carpet and ornate banister, and had photos taken on their phones by a passing stranger.
Especially when she felt Dominic’s arm holding her tightly and she turned and saw his proud and confident smile as the moment was captured for ever.
They sent a photo to both sets of parents and some close friends to announce their union to the world.
‘Your dad will be annoyed at missing out on a chance to party,’ Dominic warned her.
‘I’m sure he’ll have a little party in our absence tonight, and we can head over tomorrow with a cake. Anyway, it’s his turn next.’
They would be back at the Town Hall in precisely two weeks, for the wedding of her father and Moira.
Dominic had been right to tell Rachel to give Moira a chance, for her father too had found love again, and Rachel could not be more thrilled for him.
She was starting to adore her new stepmother—this woman who was willing to reach for her coat rather than sit quietly by and be shut out of their family.
At last Dr and Mrs Hadley walked out of the Town Hall and into a taxi, to go for a very special wedding breakfast.
‘This is my favourite place in the world,’ Rachel told him as they walked in the gorgeous grounds of Chatsworth House and looked at the cascade of water in the fountains. Then, when they had selected their picnic spot, Dominic took out a bottle of champagne.
‘Here’s to us,’ he said as they clinked glasses.
It felt so right to wear his ring, and so pleasurably strange to see Dominic wearing hers again.
But Dominic really was a lightweight, because one glass of champagne in, he was making her laugh as he stood up and ran across Capability Brown’s perfectly manicured grounds.
He started to spin like Maria in The Sound of Music, and she joined in, and they spun till they were dizzy, and then, the best part of all, they lay together on the grass and looked up to the bright blue sky.
‘I’m sorry I never gave Sheffield a chance,’ said Dominic. But he was more than happy to do so now, as he put on his terrible accent. ‘I might even have gravy on me chips tonight.’
They were delirious with love, messing about on the lawn like the two teenagers they’d once been, and then lying back and relishing the fact that they were husband and wife.
Rachel sighed. ‘I love it here.’
‘I know you do,’ Dominic said. ‘Are you sure about us staying in London?’
‘I’m very sure.’ Rachel nodded. ‘I like working at The Primary.’
May had been thrilled to have her back—and, of course, despite refusing to give Dominic her phone number, she’d had no problem in sharing the juicy gossip that Dominic and Rachel had once been husband and wife.
Rachel didn’t mind. It had given people the heads-up about their relationship, so she didn’t have to tell everyone, and even Tara had managed a smile and offered congratulations when they’d gone back.
‘We’ll be back up here often,’ Dominic said now. ‘We’ve got the flat, remember?’
It was their wedding present to each other. The little flat where they had started married life the first time around would be their heavenly escape when they came back to visit her family.
But for now it was on to Bakewell in the Peak District, where they had rented a gorgeous little honeymoon cottage, nestled in clouds of soft heather on the wild moors. There were low wooden beams and a log burner, and a welcome basket of food that they would explore later.
It felt as if it were just the two of them alone in the world, save for the sheep, and Rachel enjoyed a feeling of peace she had long forgotten—a sensation of utter contentment that wrapped around her like a hug.
Dominic made her smile, but he also allowed her to cry and express all the emotions in between.
There was grass on his suit from where they had lain on the ground, and she felt the eternal thrill of Dominic as he took her in his arms and kissed his bride again.
‘So... Are you happy?’ Dominic asked the same question he had on the day she’d returned to his life.
And she knew he asked because it would always matter to him.
For Rachel there was no need to pause or examine her answer this time. ‘So very happy.’
For she was back with the man she had always loved.