Finding Hope at the Loch (Loch Lannick Book 7)

by Hannah Ellis

  Douglas shot Logan a look, then turned back to the crowd. “I thought we might do things a little differently and I’ll tell you a few stories about this lovely couple before we get to the vows. Is that all right?” he asked Lexie.

  “Perfect,” she said, then spent the next five minutes listening intently while Douglas talked about how he’d caught Lexie stealing glances at Nick across the pub long before she’d admitted how she felt about him. She’d always thought she’d been discreet, but apparently Douglas hadn’t missed a thing. He spoke about them flirting and about all the evenings Nick had waited for Lexie to finish a shift so he could walk her home. When he talked about Nick’s patience and devotion, Nick’s cheeks burned bright red.

  “Are we ever going to get to the vows?” Nick asked. “I’m sure people are dying for a drink!”

  “In a minute!” Douglas chastised. “I thought we might have a little song first.”

  “All of us?” Lexie asked. “Or just you?”

  “I’ll start,” Douglas said. “People can join in if they want. Or not. You know I’m not shy about singing alone.”

  He inhaled deeply before breaking into a soft baritone, singing an old ballad that he often sang in the pub. Slowly, everyone joined in. Lexie couldn’t stop smiling as she leaned into Nick.

  “Is this what you imagined when you thought about us getting married?” he asked in her ear.

  “Funnily enough,” she replied, “I never imagined it quite like this.”

  “You like it, though?”

  “I love it,” she said as the singing faded away and Douglas launched straight into the vows.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Isla moved along the buffet, which was set out on a row of tables inside the pub. With her paper plate loaded up with sandwiches, sausage rolls and crisps, she paused, staring at the wedding cake that Elspeth had made. Two white cake tiers were simple but striking. The marzipan figures of a bride and groom standing on the top were intricate, as were the cluster of seagulls by their feet. On the lower tier a trio of seals emerged from the icing as though poking their heads out of water. Around the bottom, on the cake stand, were rocks like the ones on the shore of the loch with a family of otters playing on them.

  The cake was an amazing talking point. Isla was impressed that Elspeth had been able to put it together at such short notice.

  “I can’t believe Elspeth made that,” Nick said, appearing beside Isla. “She’s very talented. How did she manage to get the figures to look like us?”

  “I’ve no idea,” Isla said. The detail was incredible, and she’d managed to capture their personalities brilliantly. A pair of binoculars hung around the neck of the groom. It definitely resembled Nick.

  “Are you having a similar one for your wedding?” he asked.

  Elspeth waltzed over to them before Isla could reply. “It’s a bit too quirky for Isla’s taste,” she said. “Theirs will be a different style. I’ve spent the last few weeks practising intricate flowers. It’s a useful skill to have, but I’m hoping there’s a demand for more cakes in this style. I like to think of them as cakes with personality.”

  “I love it,” Nick said. “It almost looks too good to eat.”

  “I’ll wait a little longer,” Elspeth said. “Then I can take the top tier off and cut the bottom for people to eat. I made the top tier with fruit cake so you can keep it and freeze it if you want to be traditional.”

  Isla watched in amusement as Elspeth waited for a reaction from Nick.

  “You’re supposed to keep it and use it as the Christening cake for your first child?” Nick asked.

  “That’s the tradition,” Elspeth said with twinkling eyes.

  Nick nodded. “We’ll keep it.”

  “Keep what?” Lexie asked, walking over to them.

  “The top tier of the cake.” Nick draped an arm around her shoulders. “We can use it as a Christening cake for the baby.”

  “What baby?”

  “Our baby.”

  Lexie gave a quick shake of the head and looked down at her stomach. “Did I miss something?”

  “Our hypothetical, future baby,” Nick said.

  “Oh, that baby!” Lexie said, amusement flashing in her eyes.

  “How long will it keep for in the freezer?” Isla asked.

  “I’d say about twelve months,” Elspeth replied.

  “That’s not long.” Nick looked to Lexie with panic in his eyes. “We’ll just keep it for Christmas, shall we? It’ll make a nice Christmas cake.”

  Someone called across the pub for Nick before Lexie could reply.

  “Time for our first dance,” Nick said.

  “Is Douglas going to sing again?” Lexie asked as he led her away.

  “No.” Nick chuckled. “Alasdair’s taking over the music now.”

  Isla popped a mini sausage roll in her mouth and chewed slowly, her eyes still on the wedding cake.

  “Don’t worry,” Elspeth said. “Yours will be much more sophisticated.”

  “Will it have figures of Logan and me on it?” Isla asked.

  “No, I already showed you my design. The flowers look good without anything else. And you insisted that having figures is outdated and tacky.”

  Isla nodded slowly, wondering if she could change her mind. The figures of Nick and Lexie were really great. And Elspeth was right; it added a personal touch.

  “There you are!” Rory said as he appeared beside Elspeth. “Are you going to dance with me?”

  “How many beers have you had?” Elspeth asked.

  “A couple,” he said with a silly grin. “Why?”

  “Just seemed a bit odd that you were volunteering to dance.”

  “I’ll always dance with you,” he said.

  Elspeth rolled her eyes. “I need to find Arran and make sure he eats something,” she said as they wandered away.

  Taking a bite of ham sandwich, Isla smiled at Nick’s parents.

  “I see you’re not the only artist in the family,” Aileen said. “Your sister’s done a brilliant job with the cake. I heard she’s doing the cake for your wedding too. That’s only a few weeks away, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. Our cake will be a bit more traditional, but I’m starting to wish I’d let Elspeth surprise me. I love this cake.”

  “Maybe you could change your mind,” Phil said.

  “I don’t think I’m brave enough,” Isla said. “Elspeth’s spent ages practising the design I wanted.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be lovely,” Aileen said. “You’ll have to send us some photos. I’d love to see it. Nick was telling us you’re getting married in Eilean Donan Castle. That’ll be gorgeous.”

  “Yeah. It’ll be really special.” Isla smiled at Aileen. “Why don’t you come?”

  Aileen blinked rapidly. “To your wedding?”

  “Yes. It’d be lovely to have you there.”

  Aileen gave a nervous laugh. “It’s very kind of you but we couldn’t intrude.”

  “You wouldn’t be intruding. The more the merrier. I’ll give Nick an invitation for you.”

  “That’d be lovely,” Phil said.

  When they moved away from her, Isla glanced around. She caught Logan’s eye and headed over to him.

  “What on earth just happened?” he asked.

  She stuffed a few crisps into her mouth. “How do you mean?”

  “Did you just invite your ex-boyfriend’s parents to our wedding?”

  “Yeah. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

  “Not really, no,” he hissed. “I’ve already given the final number to the caterers and the seating plan’s finished. You can’t just invite random people at the last minute.”

  “They’re not random people. And two more people doesn’t make much difference. I’ll email the caterer and let them know. And adding another couple of places at one of the tables can’t be that hard.”

  “Isla! It’s like you’re not taking it seriously at all.”

  “I am,” s
he insisted. “But you’re getting stressed about irrelevant details.”

  “I just don’t understand why you’d invite Nick’s parents.”

  “Because they live in Fort William,” she said flatly.

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “I thought I’d ask them to bring Sherry. Her son’s away and she doesn’t drive any more so she didn’t know how she’d get to the wedding. I told her we’d figure something out. I didn’t want to bother you with it so I figured it out myself.”

  “In the most ridiculous way!” He shook his head. “I could have driven down for Sherry the day before. She could have stayed with your mum and dad for a couple of days and driven over to the castle with everyone else.”

  “Oh, she’d have enjoyed that!” Isla chuckled. “Sorry. But I like Nick’s parents anyway. They’ll enjoy it.”

  “Right.” He took a deep breath. “Whatever.”

  “Don’t be grumpy? It doesn’t matter, does it?”

  “I suppose not. Please don’t invite anyone else, though.” He stared down at her plate. “Did you get food for me too?”

  “No. I presumed you were capable of getting your own.”

  “All that food is for you?” he asked, pointing.

  “Yes.”

  “Is there anything left on the buffet?”

  “Of course.” She chuckled. “I was very generous and left you the salad.”

  “You’re kind of a pig, you know?”

  “A very happy pig,” she said as she chewed. “And you love it!”

  “I do,” he agreed, distracting her with a kiss while he stole a sandwich.

  Lexie and Nick were in high spirits when they walked home shortly after midnight.

  “Are you going to carry me over the threshold?” Lexie asked when Nick opened the door.

  “No.” He laughed as he stumbled into the kitchen.

  “It’s tradition,” she said, pouting at him from the doorstep.

  “A really weird tradition.”

  “Come on.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “It’s fun.”

  “Fine.” He walked back outside, circling an arm around her waist as he scooped her up. “I don’t really agree with this tradition, though. I’m not sure why you would.”

  “Why?” She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling safe in his arms. “Where does the tradition even come from?”

  “There are a few different origins but none of them are good. In Roman times women were forced into marriage and carried back to their new home kicking and screaming.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. It was also thought to stop evil spirits entering the house with the woman.”

  “Nothing romantic then?”

  “No.”

  “Sometimes it’s annoying that you know so much,” Lexie remarked as he set her down. “I thought it was just a bit of fun.”

  He grinned as he closed the door.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked as she followed him to the living room where he collapsed on the couch. He had the crooked smile that he always had when he drank too much.

  “I know all these pointless facts,” he said, looking oddly amused by the statement. “When I was a kid everyone thought I was a loser.”

  “Well, you’re not a kid any more.” Lexie perched on the couch beside him. “And you’re definitely not a loser.”

  “Aye.” He beamed. “I had three best men!”

  “It’s not that funny.”

  “It is,” he insisted. “I want to go back in time and tell my thirteen-year-old self that when he gets married he’ll have three best men.” He paused, chuckling to himself. “And that he marries a gorgeous woman who’s way out of his league! He’d never believe it.”

  “I’m definitely not out of your league,” Lexie said.

  “I love you more because you actually believe that.”

  She looked at him seriously. Arguing the point probably wasn’t worth it. “Thank you for today,” she whispered.

  “You’re welcome. It was fun, wasn’t it?”

  “It was amazing,” she said dreamily.

  “You know Isla invited my parents to their wedding? That’s a bit odd, isn’t it?”

  “A little bit,” Lexie agreed, then shook Nick’s leg when his eyes began to droop. “Don’t fall asleep!”

  “Sorry,” he muttered with his eyes closed. “I’m not sure I’m capable of performing my husbandly duties tonight.”

  “I don’t care about that,” she said. “Just unzip my dress before you pass out. I’ll be stuck in it otherwise.”

  She managed to coax him into helping her before he fell into a deep slumber. The hem of the dress was dirty and in desperate need of cleaning. After wearing it for three days she felt as though she’d got good use out of it.

  As she draped it across the bed in the spare room, she smiled to herself. She’d spent so much time worrying that she’d never get the wedding she truly wanted, but things had turned out better than she could ever have imagined.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Three days after the wedding, Lexie and Nick’s kitchen was still piled with wedding presents they had yet to find a place for.

  “I thought you already opened the smoothie maker,” Nick remarked as he picked up the sealed box.

  “I did. We got two identical ones. Don’t open it. I’m going to wrap it up again and give it to Logan and Isla.”

  “I guess this is why a gift list is a good idea.”

  “Yeah, but it’s also fun not knowing what you’re getting. Especially when you weren’t expecting to get anything.”

  “What will we do with the nineteen photo frames?” Nick asked, looking around at the mess in the kitchen.

  “I want to hang them on the wall up the stairs. A load of mismatched frames with random photos will look great.”

  Nick nodded his approval. “Shall we get a takeaway again for dinner?” he asked. “There’s no room to cook.”

  “No. We need to tidy up at some point. We may as well get on with it.”

  They’d only just started sorting through it all when Lexie caught sight of Isla walking down the front path. She opened the door before she got to it.

  “Have you brought my bridesmaid dress?” Lexie asked. There wasn’t any sign of it, but Isla had said she’d bring it over sometime and Lexie couldn’t think of another reason why Isla might be calling round to see them.

  “I dropped it at the cleaners yesterday. I’ll bring it at the weekend so you can try it on. I wanted to ask you a favour, but you look busy …”

  “Come in,” Lexie said. “We’re trying to find places for all the presents. We got so many. People were really generous.”

  “Wow.” Isla looked around. “That’s one good thing about a big wedding.” There was a clatter as she almost fell over a bag beside the shoe rack. “More jam jars?” she said, peering into the bag.

  Lexie cast Nick a quick glance. They should probably start hiding them better, but she never really expected Isla to come around without warning. Logan had lots of people collecting jars and had told them all to drop them off at Nick and Lexie’s house. Random people kept turning up with bags of them.

  “Are you getting rid of these ones?” Isla asked.

  “No.” Nick sighed. “I’m collecting them.”

  “What for?”

  “For jam season.”

  Lexie had to take steady breaths to keep from giggling.

  “Can I take some more?” Isla said. “I realised how handy it is to keep my glass in jars rather than a big box. It’s easier to see what I’ve got.”

  “Collect your own,” Nick said, turning away from her. “I need those.”

  “Thankfully Nick’s hoarding is limited to glass jars,” Lexie said, grinning at Isla. “Do you want a drink or anything?”

  “No.” It took her a moment to drag her gaze from the bag of jars. “I only came to ask a favour …” She looked nervously at Lexie.

  “Why do I get
the feeling I’m not going to like this?” Lexie said.

  “It’s nothing bad,” Isla said. “I just wondered if you’d organise a hen party for me?”

  Lexie hesitated while Isla’s words sank in. “You know I’m not the wild party animal that I once was?”

  “Exactly. That’s why I want you to organise it. I don’t really want a hen night at all, but Elspeth and Leana are insisting on it. Their ideas involve cocktails, pub crawls and dancing. Basically my worst nightmare.”

  “What do you want me to organise then?” Lexie asked.

  “I’d like to do something at the activity centre. I was thinking we could have a day of kayaking and climbing or something like that. That would suit me better than a night of drinking.”

  Lexie stared at her. “So you actually enjoyed our kayaking trip?”

  “Yes. I mean, I can’t imagine it’s something I’ll do regularly, but it was nice to do something different. I had a good time.”

  “We thought you must have lost a bet or something,” Nick said, moving a couple of boxes from the kitchen table so they could sit down. “We couldn’t figure out why you suddenly wanted to go kayaking.”

  “It wasn’t a bet,” Isla said as she pulled out a chair. “I came over that day intending to ask Lexie to be my bridesmaid. Then I chickened out. There were a couple of kayaks on the loch so that was the first thing that came to mind. I was also interested to see if you’d hang out with me if I chose something you like doing.”

  “What?” Lexie asked, confused.

  “I asked you to hang out and talk weddings and you didn’t want to. I thought it was because we’re not friends. But Logan said you probably just didn’t want to talk about weddings with me.”

  Lexie’s brain was working overtime as she struggled to keep up with the conversation. “Did you really want to get together to talk about wedding stuff?”

  “No.” A smirk played at Isla’s lips. “I wanted to ask you to be my bridesmaid then too, but I chickened out.”

  “You could have just asked me. I would have said yes.”

  “I realise that now. Anyway, we got off topic. What do you think about the hen do?”