‘Er, surprise,’ Cal said, grimacing as Mrs Leonard finally coughed the engagement ring up into her cupped hands. ‘Are you all right there, Sandra?’
‘I’m… fine,’ she said hoarsely. She wiped the ring with her handkerchief and handed it to Hattie. ‘Here you go, love. You can take it with my blessing if he promises not to try to murder me every anniversary.’
Hattie stared at it, then up at Cal. ‘What is this?’
‘Well, it’s me trying to be romantic, isn’t it?’ Cal said with a sheepish smile. ‘I wanted to make it a proposal for you to remember. Something we can tell the grandkids about.’
‘What, the day you nearly killed their great-nana?’ Hattie shook her head, smiling. ‘You big idiot.’
‘So will you?’
She shrugged. ‘All right, go on then.’
He laughed and came forward to embrace her. ‘Thanks, Hat. Sorry I messed it up.’
‘No, it was sweet. And very you.’ She looked up to smile at him. ‘Only Cal Kemp could manage to propose by half-choking his future mother-in-law while dressed as Just William.’
He took the ring from her to slide it on and gave her a lingering kiss, to the ringing applause and cheers of the other party guests.
‘God, this is the best day,’ he whispered. ‘I love you so much, Harriet Leonard. So much.’
‘I love you too, Cal. Forever.’
‘Forever? You promise?’
‘I promise.’ She gave him another kiss before freeing herself from his embrace. ‘I’ll be back in a minute, darling. I want to go find Bridie so I can tell her the news. I don’t know where she’s hiding but she’s typically managed to miss the whole thing.’
When Hattie had gone, Cal turned to frown at Ben.
‘Well you cocked that right up, didn’t you?’
‘Me? It was you who told me the wrong slice!’
‘That is completely untrue.’
‘Yeah?’
‘And even if it is true, it’s still your fault for not being here at ten to back me up like I asked you,’ Cal went on, ignoring the interruption. ‘Seriously, the one occasion I’m going to propose in my life and you can’t even manage to get here on time.’
‘I said I was sorry. Anyway, it all worked out in the end, didn’t it? Sandra survived the assassination attempt and Hattie said yes.’
‘Hmm. Suppose.’
‘Well, congratulations, tiny.’ Ben pulled him into a hug and slapped him on the back. ‘My baby brother about to become a married man, eh? Never thought I’d see the day.’
Cal smiled as he hugged him back. ‘You should come on in, Benjy. The water’s lovely.’
‘Oh, no. Not this Kemp.’ Ben glanced towards the French doors, which Hattie was opening to go search for Bridie outside. ‘Look, you stay and have fun. I’m going to get off home.’
Cal frowned. ‘You all right?’
‘Yeah, just… I’d rather not stay for the unmasking bit.’
Cal squinted at him. ‘What did happen with Bridie tonight, Ben?’
‘Never mind that now.’ He gave his brother’s hand a hearty shake. ‘You and Hattie enjoy the rest of your night. Be happy, little brother.’
Bridie stared into the distance with unfocused eyes as Hattie hooked an arm through hers.
‘Engaged?’
‘Yep.’
‘Engaged to Cal?’
‘That’s what I said.’
She shook her head, trying to free herself of the floaty state she’d been in since her kiss with Bruce.
Where was Bruce anyway? She was back inside the party now, being guided by Hattie towards Cal and a tableful of cake, but there was no sign of the man she wanted to find.
‘Hello? Anyone in there?’ Hattie said, waving a hand in front of her friend’s face. ‘Come on, Bride, wake up. I need someone to be excited with. I know you think marriage is stupid and pointless and a massive stressful faff for no reward, but I was hoping you’d be able to fake it for my sake.’
‘Sorry.’ Bridie managed a smile and gave her friend a hug. ‘I am excited for you – genuinely, not faking it. I’m just in shock, that’s all. All the happiness in the world, Hat.’
‘Where were you while Cal was proposing?’
‘Oh, just… dreaming, out on the veranda.’
Hattie quirked an eyebrow as she let her friend go. ‘With Craig? Cal said he seemed a good prospect when he talked to you earlier.’
‘Well, he wasn’t. Ex-wife issues. No, I was with…’ Bridie scanned the crowd again. ‘Never mind.’
‘So, can I count on you for maid of honour duties then?’
‘Ugh. Will I have to wear a dress?’
‘Yes, Bridie, you’ll have to wear a dress. You’re going to look like a princess on my wedding day if I have to bundle you into the thing kicking and screaming.’
‘Oh God. All right, but just this once.’ Bridie frowned at Cal as they joined him by his cake table. ‘So what’s all this about you stealing my housemate, Cal Kemp?’
He smiled. ‘I’d prefer to think of it as sharing custody. You can have her every third weekend and select bank holidays.’
Bridie wrapped him in a hug. ‘Well, congratulations, you lucky sod. If it had to be anyone, I’m glad it was you.’ She glanced at Ben in his Spider-Man costume, feeding Meg forkfuls of cake from his plate. ‘Although I don’t envy Hat one in-law.’
‘What happened to your date, Bride?’
‘He turned out to be another dud, unsurprisingly. A real-life superhero scared him away for me.’ She let him go. ‘Cal… do you know a guy called Bruce?’
He frowned. ‘Bruce? No. What was he, Australian?’
‘No, he was local, I think. He said he knew you.’ She looked around the room again. ‘I was talking to him on the veranda, but I can’t see him anywhere now.’
Cal exchanged a look with Hattie. ‘What was he wearing, this Bruce?’
‘Like a Michael Keaton-era Batman costume. He had this voice changer thing on that made him sound all gravelly.’
Hattie lifted an eyebrow. ‘Seriously? You met a guy dressed as Batman who told you his name was Bruce and you thought his name was actually Bruce?’
Bridie blinked. ‘Oh. Right. So who was he then?’
‘Don’t you know?’
‘Well, his eyes looked familiar but I couldn’t place them.’
Cal opened his mouth to respond, but Hattie subtly shook her head.
‘Doesn’t sound like anyone I know,’ she said. ‘How about you, Cal?’
‘Um… sorry, Bride, I don’t think I saw him,’ Cal said, registering his fiancée’s waggling eyebrows. ‘If I do, I’ll let him know you’re looking for him.’
‘Why are you looking for him?’ Hattie asked Bridie.
‘Oh, he… seemed kind of interesting, that’s all.’ She stared absently for a moment before rousing herself to smile at them. ‘Well, I’ll stop making a gooseberry of myself when you two obviously have some important engaged-people snogging to do. I’m going to get off home.’
‘You’re not leaving before the unmasking, are you?’
‘Yeah, I’m all partied out, to be honest. Plus the only person I didn’t know seems to have buggered off, so there’ll be no surprises for me.’ She cast another dirty look at Spider-Man and Meg necking. ‘Getting horny at a party while dressed entirely in spandex is something I’d really have expected your brother to think through, Cal. Still, I don’t suppose he’ll care if everyone can see his willy, given most people around here already have. See you later, guys.’
‘She thinks Adrian’s your brother,’ Hattie said to Cal in a low voice when Bridie had gone.
‘Yes, I’d worked that out. And she obviously has no idea that her pal Bruce Wayne was actually Ben.’
‘What do you suppose happened between them?’
‘Dunno, but Ben was being pretty strange before. He thought she might know who he was really and just be messing with him. Sounds like she served up a few home truths wh
ile they were out there.’ Cal pulled his fiancée into his arms to make it easier for them to talk in whispers, and also just because he liked having her there. Mainly the second thing. ‘As soon as he saw you going out to fetch her, he was out of the door like a whippet,’ he murmured close to her ear. ‘Said he wanted to go home before the unmasking.’
‘Did he now?’ Hattie narrowed one eye. ‘Interesting. Very interesting.’
‘How come you stopped me spilling the beans? Is it part of your big plan?’
‘I think it could be a useful bit of information to sit on until we can work out the best way to use it to our advantage, yes.’
‘I never knew my future wife was so sneaky and devious.’ He kissed her ear. ‘It’s kind of turning me on.’
‘In that case, you’re going to love what I’m going to suggest next.’ Hattie leaned back to look into his face. ‘Cal, we’re a modern, progressive sort of couple, right?’
‘I like to think so.’
‘And if we can find some convenient way to bring my maid of honour and your best man together in the run-up to the wedding, we obviously want to jump on that, right?’
‘Well, yeah.’
‘Great, because I just had the best idea.’
Eight
‘What?’
‘A Sten party,’ Hattie said as she stretched her legs lazily out onto the coffee table the next morning. ‘Joint stag and hen, for boys and girls. They’re all the rage among young couples like me and Cal.’
‘But what about our old plan for a weekend in Cambridge?’ Bridie demanded. ‘We were going to go punting and have a picnic, just me, you and the girls. A small, classy ladies’ weekend with not a penis in sight, inflatable or otherwise. You told me that if you ever found yourself engaged, that’s what you wanted to do.’
‘Well that was before I met Cal, wasn’t it? I want to spend my hen night with him, like I want to spend the rest of my life with him. He’s my best friend and I want him to be there.’
‘Oh, right. Thanks a lot.’
Hattie smiled. ‘All right, my joint best friend then. It’ll still be fun with the boys there, won’t it?’
‘No it won’t. Boys ruin everything. We’ll end up on a boozy weekend in Magaluf watching Pete Prince being sick on a lap dancer.’
‘We won’t because I’m the bride and I have power of veto.’
‘But it’s supposed to be all girls, that’s the whole point of the tradition,’ Bridie protested. ‘One last night of freedom with your sisters before you settle down. A chance to make tits of ourselves with no men there to judge us.’
‘I thought you hated all that tradition stuff.’
‘Not as much as I hate lairy, testosterone-fuelled lads’ nights out with a side order of toxic masculinity.’
‘Oh come on, stop living in the past,’ Hattie said, flicking a hand dismissively. ‘Stag and hen dos are anachronisms in this day and age. I want a pre-wedding night out with all my friends, not just the female ones.’
‘How do we find something everyone’s going to enjoy though? Cal’s mates from the garage are all blokey-type blokes. I can’t see a bunch of macho car mechanics punting down a river swigging sparkling rosé, can you?’
‘Stop making problems. There’s loads of fun things we can do together.’ Hattie examined her nails, casually buffing them with her thumb-tip. ‘I’m sure you and Ben can come up with something we’ll all enjoy.’
‘Me and…’ Bridie laughed grimly. ‘Oh, no. Not a chance.’
‘He’s Cal’s best man, Bride. We have to let him have an equal say in the planning. Besides, marriage is about compromise, right?’
‘Yeah, which is one of the many reasons I never, ever want to do it. You and Cal are supposed to do the compromising, not me and Ben.’
‘Well once you’ve practised it, you can show us how it’s done.’
‘I am not planning a Hag do—’
‘Sten. The men come first.’
‘Huh, so what else is new?’ Bridie muttered. ‘I am not planning a Sten do with that arrogant bellend Ben Kemp. No way. Ask Ursula or Meg to be maid of honour if that’s how it has to be.’
‘But I want it to be you, Bridie,’ Hattie said, fluttering her eyelashes. ‘You’re my best friend.’
Bridie folded her arms. ‘I thought Cal was your best friend now. Why don’t you get him to be maid of honour?’
‘Aww, come on, you’re not allowed to sulk when I’m all excited. You want to make me happy, don’t you?’
‘No.’
‘Please, Bride. I’m only doing this once, then you’ll never have to be my maid of honour again.’
Bridie sighed. ‘You’ll really be miserable if I don’t organise this bloody thing with Ben?’
‘Inconsolable.’
‘And will you take over washing-up duty from now until you move in with Cal?’
Hattie blinked. ‘Wow. Hard bargain.’
‘Well, will you?’
‘Yes, yes, all right.’
‘Fine. I’ll do it,’ Bridie said. ‘But I want it minuted that I was against the idea from the start, and if the lads ruin your night by showing up in matching pink mankinis or flopping their tackle out in the pub then it’s not my fault.’
‘OK, your objections have been noted.’
‘When are we having this Sten do anyway?’
‘We’re looking at late October for the wedding, so I guess earlier that month.’
Bridie frowned. ‘That’s only five months’ away. I’m no expert, but is that really long enough to organise a wedding?’
‘It’ll be tight, but an autumn ceremony would be so perfect, don’t you think? All the gorgeous colours,’ Hattie said with a blissful sigh. ‘Besides, my mum’s got contacts she can exploit. That gives us a head start.’ Sandra Leonard was a professional wedding planner, highly sought-after by newly engaged Messington couples.
‘Where will you have it?’ Bridie asked.
‘Mum thinks she can get us booked in at Lindley House.’
Bridie gave a low whistle. ‘Bloody hell, that place? That’s a bit posh for oiks like us.’
‘I know, it’ll be a dream come true if she can wangle it. They’ve got the most amazing little wedding chapel in their orangery. It’ll be stunning, with the lake outside and all the trees blazing red and gold through the glass.’
Bridie smiled at her friend’s sparkling eyes. ‘I bet your dress’ll look beautiful against a backdrop like that. And you in it, obviously.’
Hattie patted her hand. ‘Thanks for being excited for me, Bride. I know this isn’t your scene, weddings and dresses and all that stuff.’
‘Well. It’s hard to stay grumpy when your little face is all glowing and happy.’
‘Since you’re being good and cooperating, I’ll make the tea. Even though it’s technically your round.’ Hattie swung her feet off the table and got up to put the kettle on.
‘Did you find this so-called Bruce you were looking for before you went home last night then?’ she called through to the living room.
‘No. He’d definitely left.’ Bridie sighed. ‘So that’s another man I managed to scare away within the first half-hour of meeting them.’
A few minutes later, Hattie came back in with the tea. She handed Bridie a mug and sat down on the sofa with one of her own.
‘You’re sure it was the first half-hour?’ she asked. ‘I thought you said you recognised him.’
‘His eyes looked sort of familiar, but I’ve been through everyone I can think of and I still can’t place them,’ Bridie said. ‘Maybe I was just imagining it. I was pretty tipsy by that point.’
‘No kidding. What happened with you and him then?’
‘He…’ Bridie coloured. ‘He rescued me from Craig and we had a beer together. I drunkenly offloaded on him a bit about my love life woes, which would normally be enough to send any half-decent man running, but he was a good listener and he seemed sympathetic. Then we… kissed.’
Hattie
lifted her eyebrows. ‘You kissed him? Bloody hell.’
‘He kissed me, but I kissed him back, yeah. I was a little bit pissed but also a little bit… sort of dreamy. It felt kind of unreal, with the costume and the sea behind us and the stars and… everything.’
‘How was the kiss?’
‘Only brief, but nice, really nice. Soft; not pushy at all. Then he just dashed off like Cinderella on the stroke of midnight, saying he had somewhere to be. That was the last I saw of him.’
‘Maybe it’s a sign you shouldn’t give up looking just yet. This guy obviously got your pulse racing and your knickers in a twist. That shows there are still men out there capable of exciting you, despite the twenty dates disaster.’
‘Or it’s a sign I’m destined to scare off any decent man I do manage to meet.’ Bridie sighed and sipped her tea. ‘I don’t know, it did feel like we might have chemistry. I guess the main chemical at work was alcohol after all.’
‘Maybe he really did have somewhere he urgently needed to be. Maybe Fate saved your Mr Right till last, just like I said.’
‘I wouldn’t go booking us a double wedding just yet,’ Bridie observed wryly. ‘If I’ve got a Mr Right – and I’m pretty sure I haven’t – one of his qualities is definitely not disappearing for no reason and then never acknowledging it. I’ve been there before.’
‘You’re not on about Ben again?’ Hattie said, shaking her head. ‘Seriously, Bride, you’re obsessed.’
She snorted. ‘Yeah, in his dreams.’
‘Honestly, I wish I had some sort of app that could calculate just how much of your conversation is dedicated to what a twat you think Ben Kemp is. Even when he was away, you were forever talking about him.’
‘Because you’d started seeing his brother. I might’ve managed to put him out of my mind if Cal wasn’t suddenly here all the time, reminding me of the constant irritation of Ben’s existence.’
Hattie shot her a sly look. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to cover up a secret crush.’
‘Now you’re entering the realms of fantasy,’ Bridie said, laughing. ‘No, I can say with all honesty that I wish Meg joy of the man – not that he’s ever likely to call her now he’s got what he wants from her. I promise you, he’s the last eligible bachelor on this single girl’s list.’
Love at First Fight Page 7
