25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Evie paused as she walked out of the cottage she’d begun to think of as home and thought about how the last two weeks had played out. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined it culminating in an invite to a prom.
She certainly wouldn’t have seen herself stepping out in a stunning bias cut teal green dress which draped against her curves and contrasted with the perfect soft red curls the hairdresser had teased out of her hair earlier. Or accompanied by a tiny slip of a dog who was donning a collar to match her dress.
Walking slowly across the drive, enjoying the light warm breeze that swayed her hair and lifted her long skirt a little, she smiled at the sight of hundreds of lanterns lit around the house and down towards the gardens. Everywhere she looked festoon lights hung from tree branch to tree branch, guiding her down to the enormous marquee.
James had told her to keep away from the marquee. It was the one part of the project she’d had no involvement in and he’d said she’d enjoy it all the more if it was a surprise. Helicopters buzzed overhead as she held the large white umbrella above her head, blocking the press’ view of her. She knew her most important role in the evening was to pretend to be Cyan for ten minutes. All James had asked of her was to walk slowly towards the gardens and down to the marquee once she was dressed and ready. As soon as she got there she could be Evie again. It was a small price to pay for what was quickly turning into one of the most magical nights of her life.
As she neared the footpath Evie could hear the strains of the live band playing something up-tempo. It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. As she got closer, Evie laughed out loud in recognition. It was This Love by Maroon 5. The song that she and James had been obsessed by for months before prom. They’d even hoped to ask the DJ to play it so they could dance to it. Stopping in front of the marquee, Evie threw the umbrella to the side and stepped in.
James had told her the marquee had been covering a structure, but she hadn’t realised the scope of the building the team had put together. The marquee enveloped it all, with a two metre perimeter but as soon as she pushed open the metal gates which had hundreds of real roses entwined around them Evie gasped once again, this time at the view that met her when she entered. James had conjured up a secret garden. The structure was just walls, no roof, hence the marquee to cover up what he’d been creating and inside the walls, which looked as though they’d been there for hundreds of years due to the lichen and moss and cracks across their surfaces was a scene out of Alice in Wonderland. A large black and white checker board was placed in the middle, where Evie noted with glee many of her new friends were throwing themselves around to the band. Everywhere she looked there were roses. They climbed the walls, draped tables, clung to waiting staff’s shirts, nestled in vases of every size and shape imaginable and even appeared to build towards a covered space where, had it been used for a wedding, the happy couple would have said their vows. Interspersed everywhere were church candles of varying heights, flickering and filling the cavernous space with light and magic.
‘What do you think?’ James appeared at her side, dressed to perfection in a tuxedo and, Evie wasn’t surprised to note eschewing the bowtie in favour of a tie that exactly matched the shade of her dress.
‘This is beautiful,’ Evie breathed out. The scent of the roses was intoxicating and the candlelight managed to make everything seem as though it belonged in a fairy-tale.
James held her hands and brought her in for a kiss. ‘ You’re beautiful. All of this is for you Evie.’
As he tenderly touched his lips to hers, brushing her bare back with a featherlight touch, Evie shivered with joy.
‘Enough of that, I’ve requested Where Is the Love and can’t wait to hear their version,’ Mick had bounded over, his diminutive girlfriend in tow. ‘I feel like I’m reliving 2004, this music is banging,’ he said laughing and bringing his girlfriend back to the dancefloor.
James went to pull Evie’s hand but she stopped him briefly. ‘Is that what we’re doing? Reliving 2004?’ she asked, worried.
He held her face in his hands and kissed her on the nose, then the lips and then on each cheek. ‘We’re doing the opposite. We’re saying goodbye to 2004 and fast forwarding to now, where we get to be together on a dancefloor and then live happily ever after. How does that sound?’
Looking up at the handsome man who had occupied her dreams for the last decade, at the man who as a teen had been her friend and secret crush, and at the person who wanted to start this next episode of their lives together, she knew she couldn’t think of anything better.
‘It sounds perfect.’
They began to dance together cheek to cheek, then James leant in. ‘By the way, did I tell you what Cyan gifted me to keep her secret?’ Evie shook her head. ‘The cottage. She said she knew as soon as she saw us we had made it our own.’
Evie couldn’t stop grinning, ‘I couldn’t face the idea of leaving.’
James shook his head. ‘Nor me.’
‘But it needs a bit of a redecoration…know anyone who could help with that?’ She said as he spun her around, the roses and candles morphing together.
‘I may just,’ he said as he dipped her and kissed her fully on the lips.
‘And Lou Lou?’
‘Chloe’s allergic. She’s all ours.’
James spun Evie around and she laughed with happiness. Good things were definitely worth waiting for.