Chapter 30
After a Disney-style fireworks display, the whole place is ablaze with twinkling lights and the party is showing no signs of slowing down, even though it’s very late.
I’ve taken myself off to Ged’s cabana because it’s empty and I need to message Luke to tell him that his life is no longer in danger and that it never was and that he should carry on with his life as planned because it was all simply a horrendous case of mistaken identity.
I’m sure he’ll see the funny side eventually.
I’ve just pressed send when Cherry, a veritable sweaty mess, grabs my arm.
‘I’m going to go get ready. I’ve only got half an hour to get changed. ’
I check the time. ‘Where is everyone?’
‘God knows,’ she says. ‘Can you remember what floor we are on?’
‘I’ll come with you. Hopefully, Matteo will be in the room.
’ I haven’t had any messages, and I haven’t messaged him because I don’t want him to think I’m clingy, now that we are married.
We battle through the crowds. There must be at least three thousand people here.
Bumping up against each other, grinding away, arms flung around shoulders, swaying this way and that, two-stepping on tables as the DJ creates different moods with a selection of brilliant tunes.
We reach the patio area, and the emptiness of the lift is a nice relief.
As we make our way along the corridors, Cherry clings to my arm. ‘This has been a life-changing trip.’
‘It certainly has.’
‘I’ve realised how much I love my family,’ says Cherry unexpectedly as we walk along.
Must have been when she gambled their house away and won it back a few minutes later.
‘I’ve also realised how much I love my friends,’ she says, stopping to look at me. ‘Thank you, Connie.’
We share a moment of deep emotional connection. I’ve seen every side of her over the last few days. Some of the sides were not pretty.
Cherry’s soft expression is short-lived. ‘Don’t you dare tell anyone I said that. And by the way…’ She rummages in her bag and pulls out a wad of notes. ‘That’s to pay off your credit card.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course.’ She gives me one of those rare smiles that reaches her eyes, and she bleeps the key card against her door to unlock it.
‘I love you, too, my friend.’ As soon as the words leave my mouth, a visceral feeling sweeps over me. It feels awkward in a way. As though the words have been stuck inside me, gathering dust. That’s when I remember why.
* * *
As I continue along towards my room, I realise that I haven’t spoken those words since my mother died. I told her that I loved her, and she basically died in my arms. I’ve never been able to say those words since.
I need to tell Matteo that I love him. I speed up and rush into the room, half expecting Matteo to be there. Instead, I get a text from him. It says he is running late and will meet me at the love sign. A wave of disappointment floods through me.
Where is my husband?
I check the time. I will jump in the shower, make sure I smell divine and quickly throw on some clothes. As I’m putting the finishing touches to my barely-there make-up and dragging a brush through my hair, there’s a knock on the door.
Cherry is standing outside. ‘I can’t find anyone. So, I thought we might as well go together, seeing as…’ She stops speaking. ‘Connie, you look gorgeous, pet. Absolutely gorgeous.’
I immediately blush at the compliment. I’ve only had time to do a flick of mascara and throw on a knee-length summer dress I found at the bottom of the suitcase.
‘Here, let me finish your hair for you.’
By hair, Cherry means a full face and an updo. She spends ten minutes swishing brushes over my face, fiddling with my eyebrows and talking about her children as she takes clips from between her lips and digs them into my scalp.
‘The oldest one insists on a French plait every day for nursery. Even though I’ve told her she doesn’t have the right face shape for it.
’ She chuckles to herself. ‘But being a mother is nice, I suppose.’ Cherry has a peaceful, faraway look on her face as she lifts and backcombs strands of my hair.
‘I’m going to try and spend more time with them when I get back.
’ She sprays a whole can of hairspray over me.
‘There you go. It’ll take a hurricane to budge that. ’
Cherry has transformed me into an elegant version of myself. She has given me a gentle smoky eye, full plum-coloured lips in matte and lashings of mascara. Tendrils of hair frame my face while my thick hair has been swept up into a stylish knot.
‘I’m afraid the hair has upped the game dress-wise,’ she says, inspecting her handiwork. She marches over to the wardrobe and yanks the door open. ‘Oh. My. God. What’s this?’ she says, pulling it from the hanger. ‘Put it on immediately.’
‘It’s my wedding night underwear,’ I say, my voice tinged with regret. ‘He didn’t even get to see me in it properly.’
‘Well, he will tonight.’ Cherry flicks through the few clothes I have hanging up and grimaces before settling on a floral blue shift dress and flings it over to me. ‘That’ll have to do.’
I slide into my wedding underwear easily. I’m not even sure I’ve eaten today. The shift dress hangs off me too.
‘Come on,’ she says. ‘We don’t want to be late, or Tash will never forgive us.’
‘I can’t believe they’re getting married,’ I say, feeling genuinely excited for them. ‘I hope she knows what she’s doing.’
Cherry stops in the doorway to raise an eyebrow at me.
Hah! Fair enough.
A small burst of laughter escapes my lips. ‘Point taken.’
We scurry down the corridors, busy with people. Considering it is almost midnight, most of them look like they are just beginning their evenings rather than going to bed. As we get out of the lift, Cherry checks her phone. ‘Shite. We’re late. They’ve gone without us.’
‘Oh, no!’
‘Not to worry,’ she says. ‘We’ll jump in a cab.’
‘But Matteo is meeting me at the love sign.’
I can’t miss another opportunity to be with him. I’m supposed to be flying back home tomorrow and I’ve barely seen him. Tears prick my eyes.
‘He’s gone with the others. They’ve said to hurry up,’ Cherry booms, half dragging me outside. Luckily, there’s a taxi waiting at the entrance and Cherry wastes no time.
‘Take us to The Little White Wedding Chapel. The one where all the celebrities get married,’ Cherry says. ‘Typical of Tash to want to get married there. She’ll be hoping for a passing Kardashian.’
‘I’m so happy for her,’ I say as Cherry squeezes my hand.
‘Yeah, me too. I hope Sister Kevin appreciates all that she is. I hope they end up as happy as you and Matteo seem to be.’
At the mention of his name, my heart swells. There’s a fluttering in my stomach as a feeling of emptiness grips me. ‘Did Matteo definitely say he went on ahead with the others? Because it seems a bit out of character.’
‘Why do you sound so nervous? You guys are happy, right?’
‘Yes. Yes, we are. It’s just…’
Cherry squeezes my hand, her expression full of empathy.
‘It’s just I haven’t had the chance to tell him I love him. With all of the chaos on our wedding day, then Birdie stealing him away, then Eddie and the party… I’ve had no time to tell him how I really feel.’
Cherry smiles at me. ‘Then tell him now.’
It’s a few seconds before I realise we have arrived at the chapel. I lean over to pay but the driver says, ‘It’s prepaid, ma’am.’
‘Okay, well, thank you.’
We clamber out to find Liberty is waiting in the vestibule. ‘Hurry,’ she says, waving us in. ‘You’re late. Everyone is inside.’
‘Is Tash here?’ I ask.
‘Yes, she’s inside.’
‘Inside? At the altar already?’
She shakes her head.
‘Then who’s getting married?’ I ask.
Liberty smiles and hands me a big bag. ‘You are.’
Oh, my word.
Liberty and Cherry unzip the bag and carefully unfold my pristine wedding dress. While Liberty yanks my baggy shift dress from my body, Cherry is pinning flowers and a tiara in my hair.
‘You all knew?’
‘Uh-huh,’ Cherry mumbles, her mouth full of clips.
‘But the invite? None of us knew who it was for.’ My mind is spinning. ‘Unless… Matteo organised… while I was busy… and you all pretended…’
‘Yes, Sherlock.’ Cherry spins me round to do the back of my hair. ‘We all deserve Oscars. Now, hold still.’
They were all in on it. All of them. No wonder they were so keen to get me here. I draw in deep breaths as the magnitude of what is happening unfolds. I feel incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people. I love them. I absolutely, totally and completely love them.
‘Okay, Mrs Grande. It’s time for you to renew your wedding vows.’ Liberty and Cherry help ease me into my wedding dress, smoothing it down and deftly buttoning up the back. They step back to admire their handiwork. ‘Stunning. Simply stunning.’
Cherry roots around in her bag and pulls out an iPad. She fiddles with it while I stand in a daze. ‘Just one more thing. Smile for the camera.’
‘Is this really happening?’ I ask. ‘Oh my God, Dad!’ I squeal as his lovely, kind face appears on the screen. I can tell he has been crying. His voice is croaky and his eyes are puffy. It immediately sets me off.
‘No,’ warns Cherry. ‘All the happy tears can wait until after the ceremony. See you in there.’ She leans over, says, ‘Hi, Mr C,’ to my dad, and gives me a kiss on the cheek. She disappears through a heavy wooden door.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask him.
He chuckles. ‘I could ask you the same thing.’
‘I’m so sorry I’m doing this without you,’ I gush. ‘It all happened by accident.’
‘Hey, hey. Connie, love, Matteo has explained everything. I’m very happy for you.’
‘You’ve spoken to Matteo?’
This is getting more bizarre by the second. They’ve never even met. I’ve never even mentioned him.
My dad smiles. ‘I really like him.’
An overwhelming feeling of gratitude floods my body. I feel my shoulders drop as the tension eases from me.
‘You look beautiful, darling. Your mother would be so proud of you. And I can’t wait to meet your new husband in real life. She would have loved him. I think you’ll both be very happy together.’
‘I can’t believe you’re not disappointed in me.’
His eyes fill with tears. ‘How could I be? Look at you. Bursting with joy. You’re full of life and love and adventure. Your mother would have totally approved. In fact, I’m sure she’s with you right now, giving you her blessing.’
‘I love you, Dad.’
‘I love you too, sweetheart. See you soon.’
After he ends the call, Liberty takes the iPad from me. ‘Ready?’
I take in a deep, calming breath. ‘Ready.’
The doors sweep open, thanks to Ged and Liam.
I take in the chapel, adorned with swathes of white fabric, green and white flowers tumbling from the huge arch, which stretches over a golden table, laden with an open Bible and a golden vase overflowing with the same beautiful flowers.
It is floor-to-ceiling white, only the stained-glass windows either side adding a splash of colour.
My best friends take an arm each as Liberty scuttles to the top of the aisle.
They are dressed in white suits with matching flowers in the buttonholes.
How is this possible?
‘May we?’ says Ged, tenderly. Liam has already broken the seal and has tears flooding down his face. Ged hands him a tissue while I give him a hug. Liam sniffs up his tears.
‘You better not cry like this when it’s my turn,’ Liam says, dabbing at his eyes with a wonky smile.
I let out a giggle. ‘I won’t. I promise.’
We all know that this is a huge lie.
The music tinkles out across the room. This time it is a classical piece. A beautiful haunting melody.
Oh, my God.
I stop to catch my breath.
This is my mother’s song. My dad must have told Matteo.
My hand flies to my locket.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths.
I blink slowly to clear away the tears and lock eyes with the person responsible. The wonderful, thoughtful, caring man that I accidentally married on a gondola two days ago.
I love him.
I absolutely love him.
I’m not sure my soul can take this much happiness.
And as I walk towards him, a feeling of weightlessness envelops me as my friends gush excitedly for me.
I make a quick mental note to find out why they were all hiding in Macy’s.
Mine is not the only love story unfolding here, I think, as I take in their happy faces.
Matteo stands a few feet away, his glossy hair just the right kind of messy. He fills out his white tux perfectly as I sweep my gaze the length of him. He has a dangerous twinkle in his eye and does a cheeky flex of his bicep just to keep things real.
He literally takes my breath away, smiling in a way that leaves me in no doubt whatsoever.
I am walking towards the greatest adventure of my life.
‘Hi,’ I whisper as he takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
‘You okay?’ he mouths. ‘You want to do this?’
I have never wanted to do anything more in my entire life. This is me being reckless, courageous, fearless and vulnerable, all at the same time, and it feels overwhelmingly worth it.
I look deeply into his eyes and pull him to me. ‘I love you,’ I whisper in his ear. ‘I will always love you.’
He stares back in mock horror. ‘Are you saying we should have hired a Dolly Parton instead?’ He nods towards our Elvis officiator. A different Elvis, one that comes with the church rather than the one that comes with gondolas. ‘Because I think it might be too late.’
I giggle. ‘Let me rephrase that then.’ I look deeply into Matteo’s gorgeous dark brown eyes. ‘You are always on my mind. Always have been from the moment we met and always will be.’
There’s a group ‘aaaah’ as I briefly curtsy to my lovely friends (because I’ve nailed it) before turning back to face my husband. I can’t see how he’ll top that.
‘And I really can’t help’ – Matteo takes a deep inhale, his eyes twinkling with mischief – ‘falling in love with you… Big Guy.’