Chapter 42
42
Lou and Ellis’s wedding didn’t just go without a hitch – which is a miracle, considering how many hitches tried to crop up this morning.
The weather was glorious, the venue was decorated to perfection, the food was unrealistically good (although we have all had a week of not eating as much as we usually would have) and the speeches were spot on, with the right amounts of humour and heart, none of that cringey, comedy roast material I hate to hear.
But to be honest, all those details – the weather, the flowers, the food – don’t really matter. Earlier, when everything was hitting the fan, I don’t think Lou cared if she had to marry Ellis at the side of the road. At the end of the day, the bottom line, she just wanted to marry him. You could have swapped the Spanish countryside estate for Leeds bus station. Because weddings are wonderful, sure. There’s food, music, dancing, everyone looks gorgeous and drinks and dances the night away, but it’s a party, a one-off, it’s not the till death do us part bit. It’s not about the wedding, it’s the marriage that matters. Still, I’m so, so glad that Lou has got both.
However, aside from all of the joy and champagne fumes in the air, there’s something else too. Thick, scary tension between me and Travis. Yes, Travis, who saved the day, and landed himself an invitation to the wedding in the process. He’s sitting at the singles table, because apparently the universe has a sense of humour, and because of course he is.
I need to talk to him, to come clean, and to get it over with ASAP. I can’t have it hanging over me for the rest of the evening.
His shirt sleeves are rolled up, his tie is a little crooked, and he’s leaning back in his chair mid-conversation with one of Ellis’s cousins. She’s leaning in too, twirling a strand of her hair and laughing a little too loudly at something he just said. To be honest, you’d think I would be jealous, but I’m not. Frankly, now that I know that he isn’t married, or getting married, nothing else seems all that worth getting upset about.
I hover awkwardly on the edge of the table, trying not to look like a groupie. The cousin notices me first.
‘Can I help you?’ she asks.
‘I was after Travis,’ I say.
She tosses her hair back with an exaggerated giggle.
‘You’ve found him,’ she tells me.
‘Hi,’ he says, flashing me that devastating smile as he turns around to face me.
‘Hi,’ I reply. ‘Can I have a word?’
‘Of course,’ he says, jumping to his feet immediately, in a way that makes things feel easier already. There’s no playing it cool, no games. I like that.
‘Shall we pop outside?’ I say as we walk.
‘Yeah, sure,’ he says. ‘I think there’s a garden, I don’t know if it’s a secret one, but I promise we’ll behave.’
His joke makes me laugh, and feel even more at ease. I was so worried this was going to feel impossible.
We step out into the garden area, leaving behind the hum of laughter from the wedding. The air out here feels fresher, and cooler, but it’s getting dark now. Overhead, strings of fairy lights twinkle like stars, and for a moment, life just feels good.
Travis shoves his hands into his pockets, watching me expectantly.
‘I need to say something,’ I blurt. ‘To confess something, really.’
‘Okay…’ he replies slowly, like he’s bracing for impact.
I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
‘I made a huge mistake yesterday,’ I start. ‘I came to find you at what turns out to be Owen’s wedding because I… well, I wanted to tell you how I felt. But when I got there, I overheard Harry and Nolan talking, and so I knew you’d all lied, that it wasn’t Nolan who was getting married, but what I heard led me to believe that you were the one getting married. So… yeah.’
His eyes widen, horrified and mortified.
‘What? No. Molly, no,’ he replies. ‘Oh my God, I would never do that to you. Or anyone!’
‘Yeah, well, I figured that out eventually,’ I say, the memory making my face flush all over again. ‘But you did all lie, you said it was Nolan getting married, I’m sure you did.’
Travis groans, running a hand through his hair.
‘Owen… is an idiot,’ he says. ‘We asked him why he lied, after he said it, and he told us he did it because he thought Nolan sounded like the “nicer” groom, so you’d be more likely not to kick him out. But, also, for whatever reason, he said he just wanted one last week of feeling single. He loves Suze, he really does, and he’d never cheat on her. I think he just wanted to feel… I don’t know. I don’t get it myself.’
I kind of do. I think back to what Lou said earlier about weddings marking the end of that being single, and getting to enjoy one last week of it.
‘It’s not entirely stupid,’ I admit. ‘Everyone wants to feel like they’re doing what’s right for them, and that they’re happy about it. At the end of the day, they both chose their partners. We can always make different decisions, good or bad.’
‘Speaking of,’ he starts. ‘You said you came here yesterday, to find me, to talk… what were you going to say?’
‘Well, before I thought you were a lying, no-good heartbreaker,’ I start, letting him know that I’m joking with a bit of a smile, ‘I was going to tell you that none of the stupid competition stuff mattered. That I didn’t care about the villa, or the arguments, or anything else. All I cared about was you. Because you…’ I swallow hard, trying not to chicken out. ‘You’re the first person to make me feel really happy since my ex. And I didn’t think that was possible. And I like you. A lot.’
The smile that spreads across his face is so genuine.
‘Molly, I almost left Owen’s wedding yesterday,’ he confesses.
‘What?’ I squeak.
‘Yeah. I couldn’t stand the way we left things,’ he replies. ‘I wanted to find you and tell you that… well, you’ve woken something up in me. Something I thought was gone. I didn’t want to waste another minute not being with you. But Owen reminded me, quite fairly, that it was his wedding day, and I was a big part of it, so I stayed. I was going to talk to you, when I got back last night, but you were asleep.’
‘I wasn’t actually asleep,’ I confess. ‘I was too heartbroken to sleep and, to be fair, I figured you’d be in a honeymoon suite somewhere.’
‘I’m so sorry that you felt heartbroken, even for a day,’ he says. ‘But everything I wanted to say yesterday, I still mean today. And I’ll still mean it tomorrow. Probably forever.’
‘Me too,’ I whisper.
He takes a step closer to me, taking my hands in his.
‘So, what happens now?’ he asks softly.
‘I guess we just need some time, to figure out what happens next,’ I suggest.
‘It’s funny you should say that,’ he says with a grin. ‘Nolan and Harry and I had a chat. We really want you girls to stay for the second week. You can keep the bedrooms. We’ll share the villa, but we’ll do it properly this time, you can use the kitchen. Whatever you want, all that matters to me is that you all stay. What do you think? And no more secrets from here on out.’
‘I’d love that,’ I reply, mirroring his grin. ‘But as far as no more secrets go – did you know Nita’s been sleeping with Harry?’
Travis’s jaw drops.
‘What? Harry? When did that happen? I thought they hated each other…’
‘Oh, I’m sure they do, but it works for them,’ I say with a laugh. ‘And did you know that Nolan and Willow slept together?’
I didn’t think he could look more shocked but I stand corrected.
‘How am I always the last to know these things?’
‘Girls talk,’ I tell him.
‘Well, that takes care of one problem,’ he says.
‘What problem?’ I ask.
‘If we’ve all paired off then, well, that’s the bedrooms shared out,’ he jokes.
I laugh, slapping his chest.
‘Don’t get ahead of yourself, mister,’ I tell him.
‘Okay, okay,’ he replies. ‘How about a kiss then?’
I nod my head. That we can do.
Travis smiles and pulls me closer, his hands sliding to my waist. He kisses me and it’s slow, sweet, and (as corny as it sounds) charged with possibility – not just for what’s to come later, but for the future.
‘Okay,’ he murmurs when we pull back. ‘That’s the kiss sorted. Now, how about a dance?’
‘Are you a good dancer?’ I ask. ‘Because I’m really, really not.’
‘No, not at all,’ he admits with a laugh. ‘It’s been said that my dancing offends people. But we’ll figure it out – we work well together.’
Hand in hand, we head back to the reception and while I may not know where this is going, for the first time in a long time, I can’t wait to see what happens next.