‘Come and lie down, you’ve had a traumatic day. The doctor said you need to rest.’
‘I need to be alone, I know you mean well, but I can’t … I just can’t.’ I ran from him back into the villa and into my suite, locking the double doors behind me. I threw myself onto my bed and started to sob, harder than I’d ever cried in my life.
Prince Charming
September
‘You look simply stunning, the most beautiful bride that ever lived,’ I sniffed as I adjusted Poppie’s veil, feeling overcome with emotion. ‘And in about thirty minutes, you’ll be married to your very own Prince Charming.’
‘Don’t cry, you’ll make me cry and I can’t walk up the aisle in tears already.’
‘I’m sorry, I’m just extra emotional as my best friend is getting married today.’
‘And the love of your life is, too,’ she said gently, catching both of my hands in hers. ‘It’s not too late. Until he says I do, you can ring him and tell him how you really feel.’
‘I can’t, Poppie,’ I replied with a shake of my head. ‘I’m so unhappy without him that I’ve taken a vow of celibacy. If he was in love with me, he wouldn’t be walking up the aisle with another woman. Why can’t you or Jean-Claude see that? It’s over. I’m going to be fine, I have a whole new life to plan, but today isn’t about me, it’s about you. So, that’s enough on the matter.’
‘You’re as stubborn as a mule, Paige,’ she sighed.
‘I know,’ I smiled, putting on a brave front. ‘Come on, your dad’s outside and he’s fit to burst with excitement and pride, so God knows how poor Justin is feeling.’
‘He’s there, right, he’s turned up?’
‘Of course he has, things like that would happen to me, not to you,’ I grinned, handing her bouquet over and linking arms with her as we headed to the door.
We made it to the Abbey about fifteen minutes early, so after pictures with me had been taken, and while pictures were being taken of Poppie and her dad outside, I rushed over to the The Peach Tree to use their toilets. I cursed and hopped from foot to foot as I waited for the afternoon tea brigade to empty their bladders of Earl Grey and coffee. I checked my watch, it was nearly three p.m. The wedding service was due to start, I hadn’t expected to have to queue so long. I was on the verge of screaming “Irritable bowel sufferer, bottom explosion pending,” when finally a stall was vacated. I rushed my pee and was careful not to splash water all over my pretty bridesmaid’s dress. Poppie’s dress was gorgeous, layers and layers of toile, a tightly fitted bodice, and a wide gold sash around her waist that flowed down her back and out across her train. The gold just offset her blonde hair and brown eyes perfectly. I was in a matching gold, off the shoulder dress with three-quarter sleeves and a full skirt that stopped just above the knee, which was teamed with a pair of jewelled gold shoes to match Poppie’s. Both of us had jewelled pouches that dangled from our wrists, in which I’d stuffed my phone, some tissues, and my lip-gloss. I washed my hands really gently, making sure I didn’t splash any water on myself. Paige Taylor was not going to create a scene today. All attention needed to be on Poppie, not me.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ I called as I dashed across the road to find everyone else had gone in and Poppie and her dad were patiently waiting outside. ‘I’m here now. Where’s Sarah?’ I asked. The wedding planner I’d organised had been like a constant shadow from the moment we opened our eyes this morning.
‘Letting Justin know I’m not standing him up,’ Poppie giggled. ‘She said to make your way in, the organist will start as soon as you enter.
‘Good luck,’ I smiled, leaning in to kiss her cheek. ‘I’m really going to miss not living with you.’
‘Paige!’ she moaned, fluttering her hands. ‘Don’t start me. Dad, do you have a tissue?’
‘Sure, baby, look at me. Let me dab, can’t have you walking up the aisle with mascara everywhere.’
I sighed as I watched them smiling at each other, her dad licking the edge of his pocket-handkerchief to carefully wipe her tears away. I felt awful that I was doing my dad out of this moment. I rushed through the grand arched entrance to the Abbey and waited for the organ to start, then slowly walked up the aisle, trying to remember I wasn’t on the catwalk and to slow my speed and sass down. I smiled as I passed the first group of the congregation, who were all facing my direction, and cringed as the unmistakable sound of Taylor Swift’s We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together emanated from my bag. I’d added it as my ringtone in Grand Cayman to help me focus on moving on. I just hoped Justin didn’t think my ringtone was some kind of omen, that I was only heading up the aisle to tell him that his bride wasn’t three minutes late, that she was actually never coming.
‘Paige, Paige.’ I could hear people whispering behind me, trying to let me know, like it wasn’t obvious. I was carrying a bouquet in one hand and my small bag had such a tight opening that I couldn’t wrestle my phone out without stopping, and there was no way I was delaying this wedding for another moment, so I gave up trying to find the mute button and managed to make out the red reject sign glowing and tapped that instead. ‘Paige,’ someone else hissed loudly.
‘Alright, alright, I’m sorry but it’s stopped ringing now,’ I whispered over my shoulder as I carried on walking. I gave Jean-Claude and Pascal a little wave as I passed them and saw both of them trying to stifle their laughter. I straightened my shoulders. So what if I had a break up song on my phone? it didn’t just apply to Alec, it could apply to anyone I’d ever dated or kissed, including Chi-Chi. I made it to the top of the aisle and smiled at Justin. He looked happy and nervous all rolled into one. ‘She’s coming,’ I mouthed, giving him a reassuring smile and receiving a relieved one in return.
‘Thank God,’ he mouthed back, then grimaced as he flicked his eyes at the vicar to see if he’d heard him blaspheme. I took my position, slightly facing the congregation, and trained my eyes on the door, waiting for Poppie to come through as the organist started playing the wedding march. I could still hear people sniggering, the front few rows seemed to be pointing at me as they laughed. Honestly, it was only Taylor Swift, it wasn’t like I came up the aisle with Black Sabbath or Slipknot blaring. I ignored them all and focussed on Poppie’s happy face as she headed towards us. My eyes widened in horror as she shook her head and started laughing, looking straight at me. What had I done now?
‘What?’ I whispered as she steered her dad towards me, instead of walking up besides Justin.
‘Nice purple knickers,’ she giggled, handing me her bouquet.
‘How did you know I was wearing purple knickers?’
‘Everyone knows, Paige, you’ve walked up the aisle with your dress tucked into them and your bottom on display.’
‘No, seriously?’ I craned my head to look behind me as she pulled and freed the taffeta and smoothed it down for me. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘It wouldn’t be the same to have a day without a Paige disaster, but on the plus side, at least you didn’t fall over and you weren’t wearing a G-string to really flash everyone,’ she grinned, kissing my cheek. I handed her bouquet back and quickly glared in Jean-Claude and Pascal’s direction, to see their shoulders were shaking with laughter. I was so getting them back for that later. I teared up as the happy couple faced each other to make their vows. Poppie was crying, her parents were crying, my parents were crying, even Justin was on the verge of tears.
‘Sorry, sorry, sorry,’ I whimpered as my phone started ringing again. I pulled my bag off my wrist and tossed it up over the heads of family in the front rows to Jean-Claude. Pascal leapt up to catch it so he could turn the phone off.
‘You do realise that wasn’t the bride's bouquet, right, darling,’ Jean-Claude laughed, making the whole church burst into laughter as well.
We laughed our way through the evening meal in the white and gold-decorated marquee at Poppie’s parents’ house, and I was led to the dance floor by Justin’s best man, Callum, who worked with him in the sam
e financial firm that Flash had.
‘I’m so sorry about Gordon, none of us had any clue,’ he said as he twirled me around.
‘It’s not your fault, I just have a way of attracting them.’
‘You’ll find your Prince Charming one day, Paige. Elisa’s three years older than me and she never thought she’d get married. One day a really nice guy will sweep you off your feet.’
‘All the good ones are married though,’ I said sadly. It was lunchtime in New York and my Prince Charming was no longer available. The final nail in the coffin of Alec and Paige had been hammered. ‘Will you excuse me, Callum?’ I asked, kissing his cheek and dashing off the dance floor. I just needed a few minutes to grieve, then I could put on my happy face again and join the after party.
I ran out of the marquee and bent down to pull off my shoes, clutching them in one hand by the heels. I headed down the immaculately manicured lush grass to the river that ran along the bottom of the grounds. I sat on the bench next to a weeping willow, which overlooked the river and a small jetty where a rowing boat was moored, and smiled. Poppie and I had spent many school holidays down here. I pulled my feet up onto the bench and hugged my knees to my chest, closing my eyes as I thought of all the happy moments I’d had with Alec, wondering if he remembered any of them with fondness, too. I let myself wallow for a few minutes, then sighed and wiped a few stray tears from my eyes. I was about to get up when I remembered my missed calls from earlier. I’d not turned my phone back on. I pulled it out of my bag and powered it up to see I had six missed calls now, all from the same number. Alec’s number. How bizarre, and he hadn’t left any messages for me either.
‘Why are you calling me, Alec?’ I asked my phone. ‘Today of all days? It’s your wedding day, the happiest day of your life.’
‘No, it wasn’t, because I realised that I was making the biggest mistake of my life. That I was about to marry the wrong girl to try and get over the right girl, so I came to see if she was still available and might think about giving me another chance.’
‘Alec?’ I whispered, not sure if my ears were playing tricks on me. I slowly looked behind me, my breath catching in my throat to see him standing there, wearing formal wear, with his cravat hanging loosely around his neck. I dropped my phone on the bench next to my shoes and bag and stood up, turning to face him. My hands started shaking, my heart was racing, and my stomach fluttered as I drank him in. I was going to be in love with this man until I took my last breath, there was no point fighting it.
‘I don’t care anymore if you’re seeing someone else again, Paige. I’m fed up of waiting for the right time. I should never have told you it was ok to take that job in Grand Cayman. I should have put my foot down and told you that I was going to be everything you ever needed, that you’d never regret turning it down to stay with me, and we could have had so many happy years together. But I could see in your eyes that you weren’t ready to make the same commitment to me back then, so I tried to make it easier for you and I let you go. I’ve had to live with that regret ever since. I won’t live with regrets anymore. If you’re seeing someone now, I want you to break it off, to give me a chance, because no one will ever love you the way that I’ve loved you from the moment that Daisy showered you in cow poo,’ he stated earnestly. I laughed as happy tears started to roll down my face.
‘Do you really mean that?’ I asked, my heart soaring with hope.
‘I love you, Paige Taylor, and I’m never going to be happy until I make you Paige Wright. The only question is whether you feel the same about me?’ He bit his lower lip nervously as he gazed at me, emotion swimming in his gorgeous blue eyes.
‘That’s one question you never have to ask me, Alec Wright,’ I replied, throwing myself at him, my arms wrapping around his neck as I kissed him. He laughed and lifted me off my feet and spun me around.
‘Really? Tell me, Paige, I need to hear it,’ he demanded forcefully between kisses that rendered me to the consistency of melted butter.
‘I love you, I’ve loved you from the moment I first set eyes on you, and I don’t want to live with regrets anymore either.’
‘God, Paige, you’ve just turned the lowest day of my life into the best one ever,’ he groaned, one hand reaching up to clasp the back of my head as he kissed me so passionately I saw stars. He broke away, both of us panting for air. ‘Why did you never tell me that you were in love with me?’
‘Because you were a serial dater travelling the world, Alec. I didn’t think you were the settling-down type, then you broke my heart when I heard you’d moved in with Tiffany. When you came to Rome to say you wanted to be with me, I thought I was happy with Spence. By the time I realised I wasn’t and I’d got over that relationship, you’d gone and got engaged and rejected me! I really believed you were happy with her, that you’d moved on, so I didn’t think it was fair to tell you that I was still in love with you. I tried to make it work with other guys to get over you, as I had no idea that you still felt anything for me.’
‘I was so gutted that you turned me down in Rome, I guess I was scared of putting myself out there again, of admitting that I was still in love with you and having you break my heart all over again, so I convinced myself that I was happy with Tiffany to try and get over you. I was so close to telling you how I felt again in London for your birthday, but you looked so happy with that guy that I bottled it. Tell me we’ll never be that stupid again, that we’ll be honest about our feelings for each other from this moment on.’
‘I promise,’ I confirmed, kissing him again, feeling happier than I had in my whole life. He pulled me off him and set me down on the grass, then quickly dropped to one knee in front of me, making me gasp.
‘I meant what I said before. Marry me, Paige, don’t make me waste any more of my life waiting for you. It’s our time to collide right now, let’s not waste this opportunity.’ He choked up on his last few words as he slipped a dazzling diamond solitaire onto my finger.
‘O my God, that’s not Tiffany’s ring, is it?’ I exclaimed, making him laugh and shake his head. ‘What? It’s not so funny. I’ve stolen her husband-to-be on his wedding day and he’s proposing to me in the outfit he was going to get married to her in.’
‘You can’t steal something that was always yours, Paige. You’ve owned me and my heart from that day in the cow stall. And no, it’s not Tiffany’s ring, though I did purchase it from Tiffany & Co in New York before I flew back here to find you. Please, Paige, I’ve waited for you for thirteen unlucky years, the longest of my life, don’t subject me to even thirteen more seconds of misery waiting for your answer.’
‘Don’t you think we ought to have sex first? We might not even be compatible,’ I giggled.
‘The way we kiss? The way my skin vibrates whenever you’re near, the way my heart pounds so hard I think I might die, the way I can’t breathe whenever I look at you? There’s no way we’re not compatible, but I promise you we’ll get plenty of practice in before the day, just to be sure,’ he winked. ‘Starting tonight, in the Signature suite in The Domville. I’ll wait for my answer until morning if you need to be sure, but no longer.’
‘I don’t need to be sure, Alec, I already know. I want to be Mrs. Wright, it’s all I’ve ever wanted, but I’d better warn you that I want at least two baby Wrights in the not-too-distant future.’
‘We have a deal then,’ he laughed, quickly standing up and clasping my face as he gazed down at me with indisputable love in his eyes. I had a feeling that look had always been there, but I’d been too scared, or too distracted, to see it. ‘You have never looked more beautiful,’ he murmured.
‘Because I’m finally happy, because you’ve made me happy. Promise me you’ll never break my heart, because I only have one and you own it. You’ve always owned it, Alec.’
‘I promise, as long as you promise the same in return.’
‘I do. Come on, much as I’d love to just make out with you down here for the rest of the night, my best frien
d just got married, we can’t miss her night.’ I squealed with laughter as he swooped me up into his arms and headed over to the bench to let me gather up my belongings. He carried me into the marquee and Poppie screamed as she saw us and started jumping up and down and clapping her hands. I grinned and held up mine to show her my ring.
‘Best. Day. Ever,’ she cried. Dad put his arm around Mum and squeezed her tightly as they both smiled at me, Dad giving me a slight nod, his seal of approval.
‘Don’t you think you two should slow down a bit?’ called Jean-Claude with a grin that threatened to crack his face. ‘It’s only been thirteen years getting you to this point, we don’t want to rush into anything, do we?’
‘Please tell me that we can rush?’ I asked, looking up at Alec’s handsome, ecstatic face and falling in love with him all over again.
‘Only if we do it right. You’ve missed out on so much, I want to give you a wedding day that you’ll never forget.’
Fresh As A Daisy
July
‘Darling, you look stunning. I mean, you always looked stunning, but this …’ Mum shook her head and had to grab another tissue and blow her nose forcefully. She was a wreck this morning, and it wasn’t helping me keep my emotions in check.
‘She’s right, Paige. Jean-Claude has outdone himself with this dress,’ Poppie confirmed, raking her eyes up and down it.
He really had. He’d never done a dress design before, but he’d wanted to do something special for me for my wedding day. He’d promised me that if I didn’t like it, he wouldn’t be offended if I chose one of the more prestigious designers, but I’d fallen in love with it on first sight. He’d done a variation of the dress I’d worn to the ball with Alec all those years ago. It was a silver-jewelled halter neck with a sweetheart neckline, and it fanned out with layers of handmade lace with hundreds of tiny diamonds stitched into it. Alec had paid for it, insisting on diamonds and not diamantés. I looked like some kind of fairy tale princess. Vivian had pulled some of my long hair up, leaving the rest trailing down my back, and I was wearing a pair of diamond earrings from Mum and Dad and a diamond solitaire necklace from Poppie and Justin. The florist had been most upset when I’d asked for cornflowers in my small bouquet, but they reminded me of my first date with Alec, so I put my foot down. Poppie, who was my chief bridesmaid, was dressed in a rich shimmering blue that reminded me of his eyes. I’d asked Vivian and Shauna to be my other bridesmaids, I’d spent so many hours with them for work, we’d become really close. I laughed as Poppie pouted when she looked over at them, then down at the huge bump showing in her dress.
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