Chapter 14 #3
As he began, Alex reached for Zoe’s hand and gave it a squeeze, and when she glanced up, she saw he wasn’t watching the altar at all but was smiling at her.
She smiled back, warmed by the affection in his eyes, and for a startling moment wondered how it might feel if they were standing at the front making their own vows.
She shook off the crazy thought – they were in love but in reality they hardly knew one another.
They had a long way to go until they made that sort of promise, didn’t they?
And yet, she’d already moved in, and that had been almost as big a deal.
‘She looks gorgeous, doesn’t she?’ Zoe whispered in a bid to take her mind off it.
Alex nodded. ‘Your dad looks like he’s won the lottery.’
‘They both seem really happy.’
Zoe had been torn between her loyalty to her mum and her dad’s new love, but seeing them both at the altar, there was no way she could deny that this was what they both wanted and that they adored one another.
No matter how anyone else felt about it, surely that was the only thing that really mattered in the end?
She decided she’d support her dad’s decision whatever that meant, and it was time to stop indulging her mum’s bitterness.
There had to be a way to help Cherie move on and perhaps find happiness of her own.
The service flew by, and as they left the church, their guests, as few as they were, still managed to shower the newly-weds with an impressive cloud of confetti.
Chantal’s laughter and the way she clung to Nigel was warming to see, and it only strengthened Zoe’s resolve to support her dad’s new marriage.
There followed some brief greetings and congratulations to the couple, and then the official photographer began to gather people together.
‘I’ll understand if you want me to sit the photos out,’ Alex said to Zoe as they walked out of the church into the sunshine. ‘You can say so.’
‘Why would I want that?’
‘Well, I’m new to the family and…’ He shrugged. ‘Your dad hardly knows me, and he doesn’t know… I just mean, if he doesn’t consider me family yet, I totally get it, and I won’t be offended if he doesn’t think I should be in the photos.’
‘That’s lovely, but stop it. Dad and Chantal will be happy to have you in the photos. And I want you in them too. We’re together. It’ll be the first proper ones we’ve ever had. Taken by an actual photographer, I mean.’
The photographer started with the couple, which took a while, and then added in the best man and bridesmaids before pulling in various family and friend permutations, then did the last few as an entire group with every guest. Everyone was in good spirits at this point, looking forward to being able to start drinking at the reception or else being able to escape if they weren’t going.
Zoe kissed her dad and Chantal in turn as the crowd finally dispersed. ‘It was lovely,’ she said. ‘Congratulations.’
Alex was chatting to the vicar, and her brother was stuck with a great aunt.
Lennon swaggered over with his thumbs hooked into his belt. ‘Don’t I get a kiss? I mean, we’re family now, aren’t we?’
Zoe offered a neutral smile, but she didn’t know what to say.
Chantal saved her by jumping in.
‘I’m married, Len! Can you believe it? That’s it! Me, Mrs Padbury!’
‘You sound like someone who makes chocolate,’ Lennon said.
‘I’m a Padbury too,’ Zoe said.
Lennon turned to her. Muscled to the point the fabric of his suit was struggling to contain him, with sharply trimmed beard and hair and the edges of richly coloured tattoos visible below the hems of his sleeves, he was every inch the attractive bad boy stereotype. ‘I thought you were married.’
‘And that means I have to take my husband’s name? I’m actually almost divorced, and I kept my own name anyway.’
‘Oh, right…’ Lennon sniffed. ‘One of them then.’
‘What?’
Zoe noticed Alex coming back over. She couldn’t say why, but she’d never been so pleased to see him. Something about Lennon put her on edge.
If he was your type, Zoe mused, he might be considered handsome. But she’d never been attracted to men who looked as if they wanted to dominate every room they walked into.
‘You must be Alex,’ Lennon said.
Alex held out a hand for him to shake. ‘Chantal’s brother?’
‘Lennon,’ he said.
‘I can see the resemblance. I’d probably have guessed you were related even if you hadn’t told me.’
‘It’s been said.’
Zoe was suddenly aware of a strange tension in the air.
And when she glanced down at their hands as they shook, she could see that Lennon had Alex’s in a far stronger grip than was necessary.
If she hadn’t already decided he had more than a little of the alpha male about him, the handshake would have given it away.
She’d been proud of the way Alex had handled himself all day, and this moment was no exception.
He showed no reaction, apart from to offer Lennon a bland smile, and Zoe was so thankful he wasn’t the sort of man who felt the need to prove his masculinity in what she’d always thought was a totally pointless way.
Still, she was relieved when Lennon finally let go.
‘Here we go…’ Lennon suddenly looked like a hungry fox as he straightened his waistcoat and ran a hand over his hair, homing in on a young and incredibly attractive woman. ‘Time to work some magic…’
She turned to see Alex watching him go. Baseless or not, Zoe got a weird vibe from Chantal’s brother, and it seemed Alex did too. With luck, they wouldn’t have to see him much after today, so there was one small mercy to be found.
‘Oh, I just have to catch my mum for a minute!’ Chantal said before darting off.
Zoe didn’t think she’d seen anyone look more radiant.
‘Thank you,’ Nigel said, pulling her back from her thoughts.
She turned to him with a smile. ‘For what?’
‘For trying so hard with Chantal. I know you didn’t like her at—’
‘Dad, I never disliked her. I made no secret of the fact I had doubts about whether you two were suited, and of course it’s been difficult with Mum, but Chantal is nothing but lovely. I always liked her; I just worried she wasn’t the right woman for you.’
‘Do you still think that now?’
Zoe clamped her hands on her hips. ‘As if I’m going to stand here on your wedding day outside the church and say anything other than no.’
‘That sounds a little bit like you do.’
‘I didn’t mean it to sound that way. You’re both obviously happy, and that’s enough for me. I believe you can make it work… and at the end of the day, what do I know?’
‘I’ve always valued your opinion, though,’ Nigel said.
Zoe frowned. ‘Valued my opinion?’
He laughed. ‘All right, perhaps not always. But I’ve always thought you smart, and I respect your reasons for your opinions. How’s that? Better?’
Zoe grinned. ‘Sounds a bit more like reality.’
Nigel pulled her into a hug. And when he let go, she saw tears in his eyes, which instantly made hers blur too.
‘Don’t do that,’ she said, sniffing hard. ‘You’ll make my mascara run.’
He took a breath and glanced around the churchyard. ‘Looks as if people are moving on. I suppose we ought to get to the reception before the guests do.’
‘I think you might be right. I’ll go up with Alex and Tom, and I’ll see you shortly.’
As they left her dad, Alex stopped dead on the path and turned sharply to her.
‘Is that your phone?’
It was then she realised she’d heard something in the background that she’d been too preoccupied to register.
They exchanged a troubled look. It could have been anyone, but the people likely to phone knew they were at the wedding and so probably wouldn’t have done.
That left one distinct possibility, something Zoe had been on high alert for over the past few days.
And wasn’t it just like her recent run of luck that it would happen today of all days?
She yanked her phone from her bag to see the caller ID confirm her suspicions.
‘Billie… everything all right?’
‘Um… I’m not sure. I mean, I’m all right now…’ Billie’s voice sounded small and young. ‘I don’t know, but I think…’
‘You’ve started labour?’
‘I don’t want to bother you, though. I just wanted to ask if you thought it might be a while yet, like whether it would wait until you got back—’
‘What did I tell you about sitting it out?’
‘But—’
‘Hang on – we’ll be right up there!’