Chapter 19
The venue, on the lawns of Holywell House, was gorgeous. The house stood overlooking a long, sloping lawn that was bordered by smaller formal herb and flower gardens.
The actual wedding register would take place in the small function room of the house, but the party began outside under gleaming white awnings. They’d been lucky with the weather too. It was a clear day so far, despite rain being forecast. The few clouds in the sky made it all the more picturesque. Saffron was going to be delighted.
Mal followed the events coordinator, a well-groomed woman who looked like a model, into the kitchen. ‘You can use the fridge in here and of course the pantry, but not the rest of the house,’ she said, in a posh-accent. ‘Please use the back entrance that we came in through, rather than having the staff walk through the house. As you can see, you can access the gardens directly by going through the kitchen garden.’
Mal glanced at Elodie, who seemed to be absorbing all of this in a slightly distracted way. Her mind was probably on the cakes that were still in the van.
‘Do you want to store the cake in the pantry until you’re ready to assemble it?’ he asked her.
She nodded, forehead furrowed. ‘I think that would be sensible. It’s cool enough in here. I worry about the heat and insects landing on it when it’s outside.’
They’d brought enough bubble wrap to entrap a mammoth, so he had no doubt she could keep it loosely caged until it needed to be on display.
‘Yah. Well, I’ll leave you to it,’ said the events manager. ‘I’ll go and see to the bride. If you need anything, you have my number. I’ll be around the place somewhere.’
‘Thanks, Charlotte,’ Elodie said.
‘You’re welcome. It’s nice to see you again.’ She smiled at them both and left.
‘Likewise.’
When she’d gone, Mal said, ‘She doesn’t sound local. Do you know her from school?’
‘Elocution lessons,’ said Elodie. ‘She took it far more seriously than I did. She thought it would help her progress. Looks like it worked. Shall we get the stuff in?’
At the moment there was just the two of them. Marty was keeping the shop open for the morning. Mal’s café was shut for the day. They each had their task list. Once everything was brought into the pantry, they went out into the garden to set up the tables.
She needn’t have worried about being distracted by being close to him. He was as focused on the job as she was. They developed a rhythm of setting up tables, adding the thick paper tablecloth, taking it in turns to peer underneath and secure the tablecloths to the table so that they didn’t billow out. Soon they had the trestle tables set up in a long row.
A round table in the middle had a special cloth on it. This table would hold the cake. Elodie put her weight on it and bounced it a little. It was wobbling on one side.
‘Let me get that.’ Mal knelt down and wedged a piece of plastic foam underneath it. ‘Try it now? See if it needs another one.’
She gave it another bounce. It seemed stable now. ‘That’s fine.’
‘When do you want to bring the cake out?’
She checked the time. The wedding wouldn’t even be starting yet. ‘Another half hour or so.’
He stood back up, dusting off his hands. ‘What’s next on the list?’
‘Food cards.’ She pulled out the display they’d worked out last night and put in on the table, weighing it down with scissors and a roll of tape. Mal came to stand next to her. They were standing very close. She shot a glance at him. He was looking at her too.
He gave a small, mischievous smile that made her stomach flutter. The back of his hand brushed against the back of hers.
‘Parked,’ she said quietly. ‘Remember?’
‘I remember.’ Another brush of his hand and he took a small step away. ‘Okay then. I’ll start at this end, you start at the other. Shall we tape the cards down first? Or set out the platters first?’
‘Platters first, I think,’ she said. ‘Because otherwise we’ll end up having to move the cards slightly and that’ll be a nightmare if we’ve already taped them down.’
‘You can tell you’ve done more of these than I have,’ he said. ‘Your to-do list is impressive.’
They set off back to the kitchen.
‘I’m just organised,’ she said.
‘Evidently.’
It wasn’t a long walk from the tables to the kitchen garden, but it would feel like it was when you were carrying a tray of food. That was one of the reasons they’d suggested a buffet rather than have waiters handing things around. But now that Saffron had insisted on waiters to hand out drinks, there was the added worry of one of them tripping over the edges or uneven ground while carrying a whole tray of champagne.
She was about to ask Mal about the waiters again when someone called her name.
Saffron was marching up the walkway, at the head of a small entourage. She held her skirts up so that they were clear of the gravel. The dress had a tight, flattering off-shoulder bodice and big skirt, which made her waist look miniscule. Her hair was in an elaborate updo that was in contrast to the usual sleek waterfall of blonde. She looked amazing. Elodie was about to say as much, when Saffron snapped, ‘Elodie. Where. Is. My. Cake?’
‘In the kitchen. I was going to build it while you were in the ceremony, so that the fruit stayed fr—’
‘I need it for the photos,’ Saffron interrupted.
‘Isn’t it bad luck for Jamie to see you before the wedding?’ Mal waved at Jamie, who was lagging behind, doing a piece into his phone.
Saffron tossed her head. ‘Well, we have to do the photos before the wedding itself while my make-up is still looking on point. And I need the cake. We need to pretend to cut it.’
Oh. Right. She should have checked that with Saffron beforehand. Elodie mentally added that to the list for the next time she did a wedding. ‘I can build it for you now,’ she said. ‘It’ll take about … half an hour?’
Saffron glanced at the photographer, a young woman in a smartish dress and a jacket with bulging pockets. She shrugged and said, ‘We need to do some outdoor shots of the couple. We can do those and come back.’
‘Okay. Elodie, can you do the cake? Come on, guys, let’s go.’
They marched off across the grass towards the rose garden. Jamie finished his piece to camera, lowered the phone and smiled at them. He wore a well-tailored suit that showed off his broad shoulders.
He and Mal nodded to each other.
‘Looking good, mate,’ Mal said.
‘Thanks.’
‘Saffron looks stunning,’ said Elodie.
Jamie looked after his fast-disappearing bride and her entourage. ‘She does, doesn’t she?’
‘She seems a tad stressed though,’ said Elodie.
‘Just a bit,’ said Jamie.
‘I guess it’s only natural—’ Mal began.
‘Jamie.’ Saffron’s voice made Jamie snap to attention.
‘Okay. I’d better go.’ He grinned at them, gave them a thumbs-up and hurried to catch up with his intended.
Elodie shook her head. ‘Poor, stressed Saffron.’
‘Must be a lot of pressure having to look perfect,’ said Mal. ‘Jamie was telling me that a lot of the stuff she’s wearing is from the sponsors. She gets paid to wear it and share it. She’s got to look after it and give it back in good order too. Kinda stressful, I imagine.’
‘True.’
Now Saffron was arranging her dress and someone else was telling Jamie where to stand. Yes. It probably was quite stressful. Not that things were any less stressful for her. ‘Shit. I’ve got to get the cake done in the next thirty minutes.’
Mal nudged her shoulder with his. ‘I’ll help you carry things out. Come on.’
She followed him into the kitchen garden. The only other times she’d had a man helping her set up was when she ordered Marty around. The fact that this gorgeous man was just volunteering to help, not because he was treating her like a damsel in distress, but simply because they were a team, made her ridiculously happy. She made her way to the pantry and tried not to do a happy little skip.
Mal pulled his T-shirt off over his head and put on the crisp, white shirt that he’d brought along to wear for the wedding. He and Elodie had laid everything out and done as much set-up as was humanly possible. The wedding ceremony was happening in the formal room right now, so after this, it was showtime.
Someone knocked on the door from the garden. They had been given two rooms to work in: the big, airy pantry, where he was, and the smaller kitchen, which had fridges and a cooker in it.
Elodie had shut the door to the kitchen so that she could get changed, so he was in the pantry. Luckily, he’d been able to change out of his jeans and into black trousers without anyone surprising him. He opened the door.
Jake stood outside, also wearing a white polo shirt and black trousers. He held his hands open. ‘We’re here.’
Mal looked behind Jake. Three men were standing behind him, all dressed as waiters. He recognised all three of them from the early mornings at the gym. ‘Oh, you guys are lifesavers.’ He ushered them in. He noticed that all their shirts had discreet Jake’s Gym logos on them.
‘What are friends for,’ said Jake.
Marty sauntered in at the end of the line. ‘I’m here representing the less muscular male,’ he said.
‘Well thank you, too,’ said Mal.
One of the others, Travis, looked around. ‘We get to come to a celeb wedding. Is anyone famous going to be here?’
‘Ah. No phones or recordings. Saffron was very clear about that. She’s got an exclusive streaming thing going, so no cameras at all, unless they’re the non-smart variety. I think she’s put disposable cameras all over the place for people to take candid photos the old-fashioned way.’
‘So … should we hand all our phones in to be locked up or something?’ said Jake.
There was a murmur around the group. Mal hesitated. Taking phones away from people seemed a little draconian.
‘Can I trust you guys with the no-photos rule?’
There was a chorus of ‘yes’ and ‘of course’. That would have to do. He knew these guys. He saw them almost every day. ‘Right then. Please turn your phones off and don’t let Saffron know you’ve got them.’
Everyone solemnly did that. He watched phones disappear into pockets.
Jake clapped his hands together. ‘Right then,’ he said. ‘What do you need us to do?’
At that moment, the pantry door opened and Elodie walked in. She too had changed from the jeans and fleece combo into a black skirt and white blouse. She’d said it was her ‘professional-looking’ outfit. Mal thought she still looked cute, but refrained from saying so.
‘Elodie,’ he said. ‘These are the guys who will be doing the waitering.’
‘Thank you so much for coming at such short notice. It’s very—’ She stopped, staring at one of the guys. ‘What are you doing here?’
Mal frowned. What? Elodie was staring at Travis.
Travis smiled. ‘Hello, Elodie. I’m doing my mate Mal a favour.’
He didn’t like that tone. Travis sounded sincere enough, but there was something underneath the pleasantness. Something that worried him, even though he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. ‘You know each other?’
‘He’s my brother,’ said Elodie. Her hands had curled into fists. Ah. So this was the brother that she hated so much. She had never mentioned his name, just muttered about ‘my brother’ darkly. He hadn’t even known that Travis had a sister.
‘And I’m here to see my little sister triumph. It’s great that you’ve pulled this off, El. I’m proud of you.’ Travis was smiling now.
Elodie didn’t look convinced. She caught Mal’s eye.
What was he supposed to do? He tried to communicate with her that they were desperately short of people. He hadn’t had enough time to hire proper waiters. This was the best they were going to get.
Elodie sighed. ‘Okay. Fine. Thanks, guys. Now, has anyone had any experience waiting drinks?’
All the men, Mal included, raised their hands.
‘Good,’ said Elodie. ‘Because we need to be out there passing the champagne and the sparkling diet lemonade round in about ten minutes.’
‘If asked,’ Mal added, ‘the sparkling lemonade is zero cal. So is the strawberry version. There is artificial flavouring in it, but only a small amount. It shouldn’t affect anyone’s keto. A list of ingredients is on the end of the food table. It’s made by a company that specialises in low- to no-cal drinks for events. The champagne is … well, it’s champagne.’
‘All the cold canapés are placed next to labels, which tells you what’s in them.’ Elodie took over from him smoothly. ‘The bride and groom asked for everything to be clearly labelled. We have some hot foods, which we will start sending out once everyone has a glass of champagne. Just come in and take whichever tray is ready for you next, okay?’
The men all nodded. Mal kept an eye on Travis and noticed the small smirk when Elodie was speaking. He knew Travis and although he wasn’t a good friend as such, he wasn’t someone he’d been wary of. But he hadn’t made the connection between him and Elodie. She had told him she didn’t get on with her brother. It seemed a bit strange then that he’d volunteered to help. He thought of his own brother whom he had assumed didn’t care about him, but actually did. Perhaps Travis cared about Elodie more than she realised. After all, blood was a bond.
Everyone’s eyes turning to him made him realise that it was his turn.
He looked at Elodie for help. What were they talking about?
‘Jamie had some requests,’ she prompted.
‘Oh. Yes. Jamie and Saffron’s rules. Er.’ He picked up his clipboard and looked at the notes. ‘No phones, we’ve talked about that. Be polite to all the guests, don’t ask for autographs.’
Everyone rolled their eyes.
‘Don’t get anywhere near Saffron, because we can’t spill anything on the dress. Ah, which reminds me. The ground on the way to the food tent is a little uneven. There’s a small step between the gravelled path and the grass and there are a few covers that are keeping the cables in place. They’re bright yellow, you can’t miss them. Just mind for those so that you don’t trip.’
Elodie checked the time on her phone. ‘Okay, everyone. They’ll be out in five minutes. Let’s go.’