Chapter 37
37
‘You want to cut my tie?’ Rick blurts out, his tone a mixture of surprise and amusement.
‘ Sì ,’ Andrea replies with a chuckle.
Rick raises an eyebrow, clearly puzzled.
‘It’s an expensive tie,’ he points out. ‘Why would I cut it?’
‘It’s tradition,’ Andrea explains. ‘In Italy, we cut the groom’s tie and sell pieces of it to raise money for the bride and groom.’
‘You’re going to sell my tie?’ he blurts.
‘Just… watch,’ Andrea assures him, his smile widening.
Andrea calls Beppe over, because of course Rick has invited Beppe and his wife to the wedding. Well, family is everything, isn’t it?
Andrea speaks to Beppe in Italian. He talks with his hands, gesturing towards Rick’s tie. Beppe says something in response before Andrea turns back to Rick.
‘He says he will give you eighty euros for a piece,’ Andrea translates.
‘A piece?’ Rick’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. ‘How big a piece?’
Andrea holds up Rick’s tie, demonstrating with a small sliver.
‘Sold!’ Rick declares with a laugh, removing his tie in the blink of an eye. ‘Get it all sold.’
I can’t help but laugh – in fact, I feel like all I have done today is laugh and smile and sing and dance. I never expected to actually enjoy Rick’s wedding, it was just going to be another dumb work thing I was forced to attend, but I really, really am having such a great time – especially with Andrea here as my plus one.
I think it’s fair to say that Andrea and I have pretty much been the life and soul of this wedding – apart from Rick and his new wife Sophie, of course – and, if I’m being honest, it’s all thanks to Andrea. It’s him who everyone loves, him who is making sure everyone is having a good time, and him who brings out the best in me. Without him, I would probably be sitting quietly in a corner somewhere, sadly lusting over James, being mildly terrorised by Liz, wishing I was anywhere else. Right now, though, there is nowhere I would rather be.
The actual wedding itself has been absolutely beautiful, from the romantic ceremony on the beach to the delicious three-course meal at the hotel restaurant. Now, as the evening unfolds, the mood has shifted into more of a party mode – which is always my favourite part of any wedding. The dance floor is alive with partygoers, moving to the music as lights flash above them. Everyone who isn’t dancing is drinking, laughing, chatting in groups. It’s just such a relaxed atmosphere. Credit where it is due to Rick, he’s planned a great one.
Sophie, Rick’s new wife, is seriously lovely. She seems to be even more into the Italian traditions than Rick is, asking loads of questions, taking a keen interest in everything Andrea has to say. God love him, Andrea is obliging, telling them everything they want to know. It’s starting to feel like he’s being interviewed.
‘What else do you do?’ Sophie asks eagerly. ‘I’m fascinated by all of this.’
Andrea wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me closer in a gesture of pure affection that feels so natural.
‘Another tradition is to play tricks on the bride and groom,’ Andrea continues.
‘What kind of tricks?’ Sophie leans in.
‘Just little jokes,’ Andrea explains.
‘Like pranks?’ I interject, intrigued by the idea.
‘ Sì ,’ Andrea confirms. ‘For example, at my sister’s wedding this week, while her husband was busy at the party, his friends went to his hotel room and took the screws out of the bed.’
Sophie’s eyes widen in astonishment.
‘Oh my goodness, why would they do that?’ she asks.
‘Just for fun,’ Andrea says simply, with a smile and a shrug. ‘So that when they got in it, it would collapse.’
Sophie’s jaw drops in disbelief.
‘I’m going to give you our room key,’ Rick says keenly, turning to Andrea with a bizarre level of seriousness. ‘I want you and Robin to go there and prank us.’
I look to Sophie, surprised to see how into it she appears to be too.
‘Do your worst,’ she insists. ‘I want this to be a real, authentic Italian wedding.’
I can’t believe my eyes or my ears. They are seriously all in on this.
‘James,’ Rick calls out, catching sight of him walking by.
James, who is cradling a whisky, saunters over.
‘What’s up?’ he asks, not quite his usual self.
‘Andrea was just telling us how, at Italian weddings, they prank the bride and groom,’ Rick explains. ‘I’ve asked Andrea and Robin to prank us. Maybe you can help them.’
‘Yeah, sure,’ James replies, nodding. ‘Actually, Robin, can I borrow you for a moment?’
‘Sure,’ I reply, suddenly anxious about what he’s going to say.
Well, at this point, what can he say? All I want now is for things not to be awkward.
Andrea gives me a quick kiss on the cheek – as if to give me his blessing and his reassurance – before I follow James across the hotel restaurant.
This should be interesting.
We only need to walk for a few seconds to find a quiet spot, away from prying ears and the noise of the dancefloor.
‘Is everything okay?’ I ask James, sensing a tension in the air.
‘You two are back on then?’ James checks, obviously referring to Andrea.
‘We were never really off,’ I reply, trying to make sure that I’m not giving off anything close to a mixed message – not any more.
‘And me and you…’ His voice trails off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.
‘There is no me and you, James,’ I tell him firmly. ‘I know things have been… well, kind of weird, but I love Andrea. And you don’t want me.’
‘I do,’ he insists, but I can hear the uncertainty in his voice.
‘No, you don’t,’ I correct him. ‘Not really. You only wanted me because you thought you couldn’t have me, or because you liked the idea of sleeping with another man’s fiancée. When you thought Andrea and I had broken up, and that I was potentially all yours, you panicked.’
James takes a moment to process my words. He knows I’m right, it’s written all over his face.
‘You’re not the bad girl I thought you were, are you?’ he eventually says.
‘And you’re not the bad boy you think you are either,’ I point out. ‘You just haven’t met the right girl yet.’
‘Well, we’ll see about that,’ he replies with a smirk, offering me his hand to shake. ‘No hard feelings with the pitch. The best pitch won.’
‘I’m not sure Liz agrees with you,’ I reply with a wry smile. ‘She’s been shooting me daggers all day.’
‘You know Liz,’ he says with a casual shrug. ‘She’ll be fine.’
‘Yeah, let’s hope so,’ I say, feeling relieved to have cleared the air between us.
‘I’m happy for you,’ he tells me sincerely. ‘You and Andrea. Really, I am. He seems like a top bloke.’
‘Thanks,’ I reply. ‘Come on, let’s get back to the party. Rick and Sophie are asking me and Andrea to break their bed.’
‘Well, historically, I only know one way to do that,’ he jokes, his tone lightening as we head back to join the others.
I rejoin Andrea, Rick, and Sophie, feeling Andrea’s comforting arm wrapping around me the second I arrive back, like I was never not there.
‘Hey, did he tell you that he sang at his sister’s wedding?’ I ask them, a playful grin spreading across my face.
‘No!’ Sophie says. ‘Oh my gosh, Andrea, will you sing for us? What did you sing?’
‘“C’è La Luna Mezzo Mare”,’ Andrea replies. ‘It’s a tradition in my family that everyone sings part of it. None of us are very good singers but it’s a lot of fun.’
‘Andrea, truly, we would be honoured,’ Rick adds, and he is not even joking.
I can’t help but laugh. You would think it was Enrique Iglesias standing here before them (yes, I know he’s Spanish, but I don’t know any Italian singers apart from Pavarotti).
‘Okay, sure,’ Andrea agrees, his easy-going nature coming out on top as always.
‘Now?’ Sophie asks eagerly.
Andrea chuckles, running a hand through his hair.
‘Okay,’ he says again.
Rick ushers him towards where the DJ is set up, leaving me with Sophie.
‘Wow, you’ve got yourself a good one there,’ Sophie tells me with a sigh.
I wonder how many women seemingly swoon over other men on their wedding day? Then again, no one is quite so swoon-worthy as Andrea.
As Andrea takes the stage, I look at him with a big, dumb smile on my face. He waits, cool as anything, for the music to start before singing the song with all the joy and enthusiasm he had at Lucia’s wedding.
Wow, he really is something. I don’t know how many men would perform a musical number at a wedding, just to impress someone else’s boss.
Sophie is right, I really do have a good one. I don’t know how I did it – at this point, it feels like it started with an admin error, rather than a kiss – but I’ve done it. He’s mine.
‘Beppe, vieni qua ,’ Andrea shouts between verses.
Beppe doesn’t need telling twice, joining Andrea on stage to sing the next verse. You can just tell that Beppe really likes Andrea – and I think he likes him even more now that Andrea has agreed to overhaul all of the Come a Casa recipes for him.
It’s such a fun song – I wonder what the equivalent song would be at an English wedding, one where everyone knows the words. Probably ‘Sweet Caroline’ or ‘Come On Eileen’. They always seem to get English folk lit.
I love it here. I love the vibe, the food, and how happy everyone is. There is one Italian phrase I do know and that is ‘ la dolce vita ’.
Life here really is sweet, and I can’t believe I get to stay here for longer.