‘This is new to me,’ he admits, actually sounding a little bit nervous.
‘It’s new to me too, pretending to be with someone, we were never going to get it right,’ I reply.
‘No,’ he says, shaking his head lightly. ‘Feeling this way about someone. I’ve never felt like this before.’
‘Neither have I,’ I admit.
Whatever this is, it’s something special. I don’t think either of us can deny that any more.
‘So,’ I start, my voice barely above a whisper. ‘What happens now?’
‘I guess we just start again,’ he says. ‘From square one – the real square one, not the fake one. No secrets. No stories. No staging. Just you and me, making it up as we go along – or not, technically.’
I laugh and it’s the wild kind that bubbles up from a mixture of relief and happiness.
‘Let’s just give the old-fashioned way a go,’ he suggests, stroking my cheek. ‘No pressure. Let’s just see how it goes?’
‘I’d really like that,’ I say.
I yawn, not because I’m bored, but because with things between us back on the right track, I finally feel like I might be able to sleep.
Brody leans back on the bed, arms open wide, an invitation that I can’t resist.
‘Come here,’ he says softly.
I don’t need asking twice. I place my head on his chest, snuggling up to him, the slow steady rhythm of his heartbeat making me feel even more sleepy.
‘This is nice,’ I murmur sleepily, allowing myself to sink into his embrace even more.
He kisses the top of my head.
‘It really is,’ he replies. ‘Get some sleep, you sound shattered. I’ll be right here in the morning.’
And, safe in the knowledge that he will be, I allow my eyes to get heavier, to allow myself to fall asleep in his arms. Because I just know that while I’m here, nothing bad can happen to me.
38
It is surely a faux pas, to be this happy, and this loved-up, at someone else’s wedding.
And yet here I am, with Brody, having one of the best days of my life. I know, that sounds dramatic, but considering how the last wedding I attended went down – and the one before that, actually – let me have this one.
This really is a perfect wedding though, my happiness aside. The fairy lights strung between the stone pillars, the faint roar of the ocean – and the food, my gosh. I hate to dunk on British tapas, because I love me a big plate of beige, but surely arancini and cannoli have sausage rolls and Party Rings beat?
If you can’t get yourself a man who looks at you the way Brody looks at a silver platter covered with mozzarella and salami, then get yourself a man who looks at you the way Neil is looking at Kelsey. Seeing your best friend marry the man she loves – a man worthy of her love too – is like reading a love story with the most perfect ending. Neil looks like he’s just won the lottery – I suppose he has, because the odds of getting a gem like Kelsey must be slim. I’m so lucky to have her as a friend. I mean, comeon, this is her wedding, and she took time out from focusing on herself and her happiness to make sure I was okay, to bring me and Brody together, so that I could be happy too.
And I am happy. I’m smiling so hard my face aches – more than my arse did after my morning in the gym.
‘I’m glad they decided to do the dance without the rest of us,’ Brody says. ‘It’s their moment.’
‘Yeah, their moment that you would have stolen with your exceptional dance moves,’ I tease him. ‘Are you actually trying out forStrictly Come Dancing?’
‘I’d never rule it out,’ he says with a laugh.
‘There’s only so many ways you can carry me, it’s probably for the best,’ I say with a sigh.
‘Okay, okay, everyone else come and join us,’ Kelsey calls out after having her moment with her man in the spotlight.
Brody takes me by the hand, leading me to the dance floor. With everyone else up on their feet we just sort of blend in, but we’re in a world of our own anyway. We smile, and we dance. And I don’t mess it up. Not a step.
