She promptly burst into tears.
Not happy tears, although thankfully the shop assistant didn’t figure that out, promising to package the dress and have it waiting for her, even as Bridget sniffled and sobbed and used up nearly a whole box of tissues.
‘We’d better get back to work,’ she croaked as they left the shop.
‘Let’s grab some lunch first.’ Comfortably back inside the Friend Zone, Cooper didn’t need to add what Professor Cole would say if she returned to the lab still crying her eyes out.
‘No. I’m fine. And I don’t want to think about it, let alone talk about it. I’m clearly deranged. I have a great man, we love each other, no issues, no drama, it’s cool.’
She accepted Cooper’s offer of another tissue, giving her nose a long, honky blow.
‘It’s been an exhausting few weeks. All the work stress. Sorting out everything for you and Emma. Sam and Orla. Worrying about Annie. Living by myself for the first time ever. I think my brain’s had enough change. I just need a moment to catch my breath. Probably nothing a pyjama day and a giant box of Maltesers wouldn’t sort.’ She grimaced. ‘Only this Saturday I’m at Hatherstone Hall with Paolo’s parents doing menu tasting. Then Annie’s on at me to get bridesmaid dresses sorted. According to Emma’s list I need to choose shoes, flowers, décor, transport, favours, a gift list. Sofia wants us to arrange marriage preparation classes and finalise the ceremony. I’m tired already and there’s still over a month to go.’
They began walking back towards the tram stop. ‘I wish I was marrying you.’
Cooper tripped over the pavement, crashing into an elderly man and nearly sending him flying. Bridget waited until the man was safely on his way before continuing.
‘Well, not you, obviously! I mean, I wish Paolo would agree to a wedding like yours. You very sensibly avoided all this palaver. Three-week engagement, a few fairy lights in the barn and Nita’s buffet. Family and might-as-well-be-family only. Do you think Paolo would mind if we moved the date to this weekend, just rocked up and said “I do”?’
If he did mind, he’d be a bigger fool than Cooper had previously pegged him for waiting even this long. And while on the one hand, Cooper’s insides crumpled at the thought of them finally being married, on the other one, maybe that was the missing piece that would ensure he’d finally moved on.
The closer they got to the lab, as Bridget returned to her normal, relentlessly cheerful self, the more Cooper convinced himself that today was an entirely plausible blip.
‘Let me know if I need to keep this weekend free, Widget.’ He gave her a quick nudge as they reached her lab door.
‘Do you think that’s the answer? That moving the wedding forward will sort all this anxiety?’ She stopped, clutching the lab door handle, face scrunched with stress.
‘How do you feel at the thought of getting married this weekend?’
‘Like I want to vomit.’
‘Then, from a neuroscientific point of view, I’d say that’s probably not the answer. But I’m hardly the expert on marriage matters.’
‘You’re an expert on Widget matters.’
Man, she really did have no idea.
‘Talk to your sisters.’ He began to move away before pausing to add, ‘Even better. Talk to your dad.’
20
Emma
Things were still a bit strange.
‘Of course they are!’ Nita shook her head, comparing two shades of pink ribbon against a cream background. ‘What did you expect? Things take time to settle down when any two people start sharing a house together. Let alone with the added pressure of being married.’
‘Was it strange when you and Vik first got married?’
She burst out laughing. ‘Strange? The only man I’d ever been alone with up till then was my father. I was terrified, baffled, lonely, miserable. I called my mother and told her it was a terrible mistake, begged her to let me come home. She told me to give it time, we’d get past it. And she was right.’
‘So how did you get past it?’
Nita pulled out another ream of ribbon, darker pink this time, and carefully snipped it with a pair of gold-handled dressmaking scissors. ‘We boinked four times a day. Soon broke the ice.’
I closed my eyes, shaking my head even as I smiled.
‘You should try it.’
