He hoped that was down to three kids, a stressful job in teaching and bad genes.
Not a result of ten years being a Donovan-in-law.
Either way, Cooper was glad when Ben came in, camera on, and strode up to join him.
‘Did you get something?’ Cooper asked. Ben had gone to record some footage of the bride.
He took a moment to answer. ‘Um, yeah.’ Ben paused, then nodded firmly. ‘Yeah… I didn’t interview her, but I got what I needed.’
‘And?’
Ben wasn’t listening.
‘Ben? How was she?’ He gave his best man a nudge.
‘What? Oh, yeah, she was great.’ He nodded again, causing the camera to bob up and down. ‘Really great. You know what I think about all this, but if you’re going to legally chain yourself to an unknown woman, with the extreme likelihood of weeks of awkward, increasingly desperate attempts to manufacture feelings that don’t exist, followed by months of disappointment as you try to undo the almighty mess you made, she looks like the woman to do it with.’
‘Thanks. I appreciate that.’
‘No, seriously, mate. Watching her with her dad just now… I almost… Well. She almost had me revising the Ben Baxter theory on why long-term commitment is an inherently flawed social construct. Good luck to you. You might not need as much as I thought. Think I might have to edit my speech.’
‘You said no speech!’
But before they could argue about that, Sofia gave Cooper a pat on the shoulder and whispered, ‘Positions, please, gentlemen. Now, this is a bizarre situation for all of us, but whatever you do, keep smiling.’
Everyone else had already taken their seats, on two rows lined up neatly to form the shortest aisle ever. As ‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You’ by Elvis started playing, they all turned to see Bridget’s niece start slowly walking towards the front, chucking white rose petals in every direction, her nephew striding confidently behind her holding the ring box. He was followed by Bridget, clutching a bouquet of roses to match her dress, tears unashamedly streaming down her face. And then, before Cooper had a chance to steel his shoulders, or take a much-needed breath, Emma walked through the barn door, the May light casting a soft yellow glow behind her. It seemed like forever as she led her father the few metres down the aisle, and if Cooper had wondered if she might have guessed it was him – or whether Bridget or one of her other sisters had given it away – he knew even Professor Cole couldn’t deny the pure shock on her face as she glided closer.
‘Hi,’ she said, once she’d come to a stop and gently helped Bear take his seat beside Gabriella. Emma glanced at Ben, filming away, before looking back at Cooper again.
‘Hi.’ He hoped his smiled seemed genuine, not the nervous grimace he feared it probably was.
‘You’re Cooper.’
‘I am.’ He cleared his throat. ‘It’s very nice to meet you properly at last.’
‘I’m Emma. But I guess you knew that?’
‘I do now.’ Cooper leant forwards as if to kiss her hello, and muttered, ‘Prof is here, so if we can play down our link to Bridget, she’ll really appreciate it.’
He sensed the warmth radiating from the skin beneath her ear, caught the gentle vanilla of her perfume, and felt an automatic prickle of awareness that he was millimetres away from a beautiful woman.
Phew.
Emma looked him directly in the eyes as he straightened up, and nodded, the corners of her mouth creasing in a conspiratorial smile.
Several dozen of Cooper’s muscles that he hadn’t realised he was clenching unclenched in that moment.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be a complete disaster, after all.
* * *
Emma
What? What the…?
I had confidently arrived at my wedding, feeling a million times better now that I knew who would be waiting for me there. But while, yes, Hot Photographer was indeed standing at the front and grinning at me in a suit and tie, he was most definitely occupying the position of photographer – from behind a video camera.
And directly in front of me, in what I knew from the mini-rehearsal the day before was the designated groom’s position, was who I was pretty darn sure was Bridget’s long-lost best friend, now colleague, Cooper.
