Chapter Twenty-Four
“If you’re going to throw up,” Elliot said, “just don’t do it over my shoes.”
“I’m not going to throw up.” Rafe spoke with more conviction than he felt.
“You’ve actually turned green,” Elliot stated. “It doesn’t go with the outfit at all.” The two of them wore dark gray suits, white shirts, and white bow ties.
“Will you leave him alone?” Dominic scolded. Although he was acting as the celebrant at the wedding, he wasn’t there in a religious capacity, so he, too, wore a suit rather than his usual vestments. “Or I’ll start asking when you’re getting down on one knee.”
Elliot pursed his lips, and Rafe chuckled. Everyone knew that Karen was eager to get hitched. For some reason, though, Elliot was dragging his heels. Rafe was certain his best man wasn’t as in love with Karen as she was with him. For a long while, he’d suspected that Elliot’s true affections lay elsewhere.
“Now, now,” he said to the two guys. “Play nicely on my big day.”
He was distracted from their reaction by the sight of Angus McGregor walking purposefully toward them down the aisle between the two rows of white fold-up chairs. His heart began to bang on his ribs as he looked at Angus’s serious face. Oh no. Please no…
But as he reached the guys, Angus broke into a smile, and he reached out and clapped a hand on Rafe’s arm. “She’s here.”
Rafe wanted to punch his friend for giving him that moment of hesitation, but it was too beautiful a day, and instead he blew out a long breath and gave a wry smile as they all laughed.
It was dumb to have worried, but what groom doesn’t fear the bride not turning up on the day? Knowing that it was all going ahead settled his stomach, and while he waited for Phoebe to arrive, he took a few steps away from the others, toward the fence that ran around the garden.
They’d chosen a boutique hotel in Paihia for their wedding, loving the quaint rooms, the large lawn, the beautiful borders of carefully tended flowers, and, only a few hundred feet away, the beach and the Pacific Ocean that sparkled in the afternoon sun. They’d discussed getting married on the sand, but had decided to use the garden for the ceremony, then have photos taken on the beach, and Kole Graham, their photographer, had promised some amazing shots with the ocean behind them.
Only ten days ago, when Phoebe had first opened her eyes and said, I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are, Rafe had feared that this day would never come to pass. But he’d been determined to win her back, and now he was being rewarded in the best way possible.
He closed his eyes, half wanting to hold onto this moment forever, the seagulls crying overhead, the smell of the salty sea and the jasmine from the borders in his nostrils, and the excited anticipation of seeing Phoebe sending tingles through him. He felt like a six-year-old who couldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve because he suspected Santa was downstairs delivering a train set.
The last few days leading up to their wedding had passed in a blur. He’d been on night shift on Saturday and Sunday, but he’d spent the mornings going over wedding details with his future bride, ringing around to make sure all their friends and family were still coming, and ensuring that everything else was organized.
Rafe had called Jill at the travel agents and had explained everything. Jill had been very understanding, and had said that it was just an unfortunate confluence of events, because if she’d been in the office on that Thursday, she wouldn’t have cancelled the holiday for another day or two, because it occasionally happened that stress got to couples who would argue and cancel and then make up.
She’d managed to secure them last-minute flights to Fiji, and she’d then rung the resort they’d originally booked at. The resort had replied that although the lagoon villa they’d originally wanted had now been booked, the honeymoon suite was available, and they were going to upgrade them because of their unfortunate circumstances, so they were now super excited about leaving for their holiday the next day.
He couldn’t believe things had ended as well as they had. He really was going to marry the girl of his dreams.
His father and stepmother were there, and his brothers. Was his mum here, too, watching over him? He hoped so, and that she was happy with his choice of bride. He liked to think they would have gotten on well together. Maybe if his and Phoebe’s first child was a girl, they might think about calling her Mae, after his mum. The thought made him smile.
“Rafe.” Elliot nudged him.
He turned and walked back to the spot in front of the podium, then finally his gaze fell on the archway over the path from the hotel. Phoebe stood there holding Angus’s arm, lit by the rays of the afternoon sun, which bounced off the beads on her dress and covered her in sparkles like fairy dust.
Rafe caught his breath. To his shock, his eyes filled with tears.
“Aw,” Elliot said.
Dominic patted Rafe on the back. “Top marks for determination,” he murmured. “You deserve your prize.”
Rafe fought to stop the tears spilling as she walked down the aisle, and thought he’d been successful. But when she stopped next to him, she reached up and brushed her thumb across his cheek, so he knew one must have escaped.
“I knew I’d make you blub,” she said cheerfully, although her own eyes were shining. She wore a garland of flowers on her blonde hair, and he couldn’t believe that she and Bianca had made the gown—it was like something royalty would wear.
“You look amazing,” he whispered. “Like a princess.” He swallowed hard. “Still want to marry me, then?”
Her light green eyes were clear, with no sign of anything but honesty. “With all my heart,” she said, and they turned to face Dominic, who raised his voice to welcome everyone to the bay.
*
Much later, when the sun was setting, and the hotel staff had lit lanterns around the garden, Phoebe and Bianca walked onto the beach, kicked off their shoes, and let the warm sand trickle between their toes. Although Phoebe had chosen a small wedding, Bianca, Roberta, Libby, and Dominic’s daughter Emily had all been her bridesmaids, and they all wore similar gowns, in a champagne color with shoestring straps and floaty skirts. Phoebe thought that Dominic was going to have trouble getting his daughter to take the dress off at the end of the day.
“I’m tempted to get undressed and go for a swim,” Phoebe said. “But it would be a shame to waste the underwear before Rafe gets a look at it.”
Bianca chuckled. “You’ll just have to be careful that you don’t take his eye out when you undo the corset.”
Phoebe gave a wry smile. She’d put on a little weight over the past ten days, and as a result the dress was… snug. Luckily, the pretty underwear she’d chosen had some boning which held everything in, but she could see her sister’s point.
“You look so happy,” Bianca said. “I’m glad everything worked out.”
“Me too.” The look of wonder when Rafe had turned around and seen her in the garden would stay with her forever. “Now we just need to find you your Mr. Right.”
Bianca shrugged. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get married. I’d be quite happy being the old spinster who sews wedding dresses. I’ll end up looking like Miss Havisham.”
They both laughed. “Is there no one you’ve got your eye on?” Phoebe asked.
Bianca shook her head. “There have been a couple of guys over the years, but nobody serious.”
“I always thought you’d end up with Freddie Brooks,” Phoebe said. Freddie had gone to school with them, and Bianca had always had a thing about him, right through their school years. “Did you ever tell him how you felt about him?”
“Yes, around the time we started university. He said he liked me, but he was too young to settle down, and he wanted to see the world. He went into the army.”
“Shit, really?”
“Yeah. I saw his mum not long ago—he’s a captain now, based somewhere in the Middle East.”
�
�Jeez.”
“She’s pretty worried about him.”
“Does he have a girl here?”
“No idea.”
“You could write to him.”
Bianca waved a hand. “It’s all in the past. He wouldn’t want to hear from me.”
Reaching out, Phoebe took her sister’s hand as they walked along the sand. “I’m so sorry for everything,” she said.
Bianca swallowed hard. They’d all been emotional today, and tears hadn’t been far from the surface at any point. “Forget about it. I’m just glad you’re staying—if it’s what you want.”
“It is.”
Bianca walked quietly for a while. Then she said, “What do you think you’ll do if your memory does come back?”
Phoebe bent to pick up a shell. Turning it over in her fingers, she said, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
“I am remembering things.”
Bianca’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God.”
“Not everything,” Phoebe said. “Little flashes, images, from events all over the place.’
“When did this start?”
“The day after the storm. But I haven’t told anyone else, so don’t tell Rafe. I might tell him while we’re away, but I don’t want to worry him today.”
Bianca surveyed her. “You remember Dad dying?”
“Yes. Bits and pieces of the day.”
“How do you feel about it?”
She looked out to sea, at the fishing boats returning to the pier, full of the day’s catch, and the way the sun had filled the sea with a deep orange-red, reminding her of the night of the cyclone. “Actually, I’m all right. I can remember some of the angst I felt after Dad died, and how knotted up I was with grief and guilt. But it’s tempered by everything I’ve experienced this week. I think that before, it was so gradual a thing that I didn’t notice it building. It was like a cancer, eating away at my soul, and I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t realize what an effect it was having on everyone around me, especially you and Rafe. I’m ashamed of that.”
“You only did what you thought was right,” Bianca said. “And we only have one life, probably, so you have to go for your dreams.”
“Yes, true. But there’s more to life than satisfying your own whims. I don’t want to fulfil my every fantasy while treading on my loved ones in the process. I think I’d forgotten how to be content. Losing Dad made me panicky that I was wasting my life and not making the most of every minute. But over the past week, Rafe and I have spent a lot of time… I don’t know… just being. And then working with you in the shop—it’s been wonderful. I don’t want more than that. I don’t know why I ever did.”
Bianca pulled her to a stop, then threw her arms around her and hugged her.
Phoebe hugged her back. “Born together, friends forever,” she whispered fiercely. “Don’t let’s ever change that.”
*
An hour later, Phoebe and her mother sat side by side with their feet propped up on chairs, having a drink while they took a break from dancing. The hotel had opened the large sliding doors leading from the dining room onto their huge deck, and the band had set up there, so dancers could look out at the sea, and in fact some had spilled onto the beach.
“You look so much better,” Noelle said. “But you need to be careful you don’t wear yourself out.”
“Yes, Mum.” Phoebe wrinkled her nose.
Noelle looked at the glass in her hand. “Sorry. I must stop doing that. I forget you’re all grown up now. It’s just hard to switch off being a mum.”
“That’s okay.” Phoebe smiled. “I’d rather you be like that than not care at all.”
“I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again,” Noelle said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what happened when your father died. And I’m so sorry that Rafe ended up bearing the brunt of it all. He wanted to tell you at the beginning—it was me who asked him not to. I was just so worried it would set you back.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Phoebe held her mother’s hand. “It’s all behind us now. Everyone did what they thought was best. Now, it’s time to think of the future. I wanted to tell you—Rafe and I are hoping to start a family soon.”
Noelle pressed her hand to her mouth, her eyes shining. “Oh, sweetheart, that’s wonderful news.”
“I hoped you’d be happy.”
“I’m over the moon. I’m so pleased it all worked out for you.”
“The doctor said the injury might affect my ability to conceive, but hopefully there won’t be anything wrong.”
She’d been wanting to ask her mother something, and she guessed that now was as good a time as any. “What about you? Are there any signs of a man on the horizon?”
Her mother’s eyes widened. “Goodness, no. I’m far too old for all that.”
“You’re fifty-two. You’re hardly ancient.”
“I loved your dad very much,” Noelle said softly. “Nobody could ever replace him.”
Phoebe swallowed hard. “I know. But he’s been gone over a year. You deserve happiness and companionship too.”
“I am happy.” Noelle squeezed her hand. “I have the shop, and an active social life. And all my children, and Emily, who’ll soon be joined by more grandchildren, hopefully. I don’t need a man. Nobody would match up to your dad, anyway.”
“I just want you to know that if you did meet someone, it would be fine by me.”
“Thank you, darling, but don’t you worry yourself about it.”
Phoebe opened her mouth to reply, but at that point Roberta turned up with Bianca, both of them flushed and with bright eyes.
“Come on,” Roberta said. “It’s your wedding day and there’s music playing! You need to dance!”
“I have a brain injury,” Phoebe protested as her sister pulled her to her feet.
Roberta blew a raspberry. “Angus is over there if you need CPR. Come on!”
Laughing, Phoebe followed her to the other girls dancing in the middle of the lawn. Libby was there, and Elliot’s girlfriend Karen, and little Emily, Dominic’s daughter, as well as several others.
“You look amazing,” Libby said, taking Phoebe’s hand, and spinning her around. “That dress is just fantastic. I hope you’ll make mine one day.”
“Oh, has Mike popped the question?” Roberta asked.
Libby’s smile dimmed a little. “No, it was more of a general question.”
Phoebe exchanged a glance with her sisters, but refrained from saying anything. None of her family or friends seemed to be in happy relationships. It made her a little sad when she was the happiest woman on earth.
She glanced around the dance floor and spotted Rafe sitting with her brothers, and with Angus, Mike, and some of their other friends. She twirled and blew him a kiss, and he blew one back.
“Aw.” Libby bumped shoulders with her.
“He gets you for the rest of your life,” Roberta said, pulling her into the center of the circle. “Tonight, you’re ours!” And she spun Phoebe around to the music, their laughter joining the sound of the waves on the beach and the smoke from the candles, spiraling off into the night.
*
“They’ll all sleep well tonight,” Dominic said, smiling at the sight of his sister twirling around, her dress sparkling in the candlelight.
“Sleep wasn’t quite what I had in mind,” Rafe said.
“Any more of those and you’re not going to be good for anything anyway.” Elliot gestured to Rafe’s whisky glass.
“It’s my wedding day. My last day of freedom before the old ball and chain cracks her whip.”
Angus snorted. “What a load of shit. I’ve never seen a man happier to be tied down.”
“Anytime she wants to tie me down, she’s welcome to,” Rafe said.
The rest of them sighed, and Rafe grinned at the thought that he appeared to be the only one who had a girl who set his bed ali
ght.
“That’s my sister you’re talking about,” Elliot said. “I should call you out on a duel.”
Rafe stared at him, and then they all started laughing.
“She looks happy,” Dominic said, returning their gazes to the girls. They all watched them dancing for a few minutes.
Rafe looked at Elliot to see if he was watching Karen. He wasn’t.
Elliot glanced at him, saw his raised eyebrow, and just said, “Don’t.”
Rafe finished off his drink. He’d nearly screwed up his own relationship; he wasn’t about to give advice on everyone else’s.
“Uh oh,” Dominic said at the sight of Roberta marching toward them.
“Come on.” She beckoned her fingers. “There are loads of lovely women out there looking for some attention. You don’t really think we’d let you sit here all evening?”
Rafe chuckled. She was so different to her twin sisters. Dark-haired, tall, and slim-hipped, often called Bobcat by her friends and family, she was feisty, sporty, and—Rafe thought privately—somewhat scary. She always wore jeans or shorts and he’d never seen her in a skirt, but tonight she looked amazing in her bridesmaid’s dress, and more than one guy at the wedding had their eye on her, he was sure.
She grabbed Angus’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “I haven’t finished my drink,” he complained. “And I don’t dance.”
“Bullshit. Come on.” She practically dragged him onto the dance floor.
Rafe laughed. “Come on,” he said to the others, leading them toward the girls. Grabbing his wife by the waist, he swung her to face him. She threw her arms around him, and he hugged her tightly.
“You’re mine,” she said fiercely in his ear. “Forever and ever.”
“Till death do us part,” he said, and kissed her.
*
Much, much later, Rafe swept his new bride up into his arms and carried her into their room while the others cheered behind them. The bed was covered with rose petals, and there was a huge teddy bear holding a giant Just Married sign in the middle.
Bride in Trouble Page 20
