“You might not think that when you see what else we’ve got in store for you,” Jess grimaced, turning to face the door, which opened right on cue to reveal none other than Sophie Parker.
“You did promise her.” Danny laughed, as we watched her stride in confidently and make a beeline for the dance floor. “She made quite a fuss with the security, asking them to take photos with some of the celebrities hanging around outside.”
“I can imagine.” I laughed.
Sophie swept her gaze across the room and stopped when she spotted me. She lifted her hand and waved with a smile. A SMILE.
And, okay, it was the smallest smile of all time and looked as though it were a HUGE amount of effort for her to contort her face into a smiling position but it was 100 percent a smile.
You know what that means? I was right. In Rome, we totally bonded.
Marianne came over to join us, hugging the new arrivals each in turn and then throwing an arm around me. “Good surprise?”
“The best!”
“Helena and Dad thought it would be nice if you could have your all your friends here,” Marianne explained.
I searched the room for Dad and saw him watching me. My eyes filled with tears at how thoughtful he had been. He held up his glass in acknowledgement and then went back to his conversation.
“He also thought your best friend should be here.” Marianne grinned. “I’ll go explain to security that he can come in.”
She tottered off, exiting through the door, leaving me totally confused. “Who is she talking about?”
“Wait and see,” Stephanie squealed excitedly.
“More surprises?” I shook my head in astonishment. “Dad really has been busy. I feel bad now for making fun of his hair the past few weeks.”
Desperately trying to work out who could possibly arrive next—reminding myself that the likelihood of comic-book god Stan Lee turning up was very slight since, unfortunately, I don’t think Dad even knows who he is—I waited impatiently for the doors to open again.
When they finally did, at first it didn’t look like anyone was there and it was just opening for no reason. But then I lowered my gaze.
“DOG!” I cried, as he trotted in wearing a top hat and bow tie.
I think I scared him a little bit at first in my dress, but when he realized that he wasn’t being attacked by some kind of giant purple alien he perked up, leaping to try and lick my face.
I complimented him on his smart attire—that, Marianne informed me, was my mom’s doing and not Dad’s—before Dog got bored of me fussing over him and started sniffing around the floor for some Michelin-starred scraps.
I straightened up, grinning so wide that my jaw ached, and that’s when I saw the person who had brought Dog.
I didn’t even care that all my friends were watching. I didn’t even care if my dad, my mom, and a whole lot of celebrities and members of the royal family were watching. And I certainly didn’t care that Sophie Parker was watching.
I rushed toward James and into his arms, the weight of my lilac bridesmaid’s monstrosity knocking him clean off his feet so we landed in a heap on the floor. “Good to see you, too.” He laughed, pushing the frills away from his face so he could see mine. I beamed at him.
It’s like Dad said. Sometimes, you just know.
28.
“SO?” JESS SAID, SLUMPING DOWN onto the sofa with a bowl of popcorn. “What was it like?”
Dog had been lying comfortably on his back with his four paws sticking up in the air, but as soon as the smell of warm, salty popcorn drifted in the room, he was up like a shot, racing over to her. She batted away his snout.
“What do you mean?” I laughed, sitting next to her.
“Duh!” Marianne picked up the cushion from the chair she was slouched in and threw it at me. “The kissing! Don’t think I didn’t see him give you a sneaky smooch on the dance floor.”
“It was good.” I blushed, refusing to look at either of them and instead studying the embroidery of the cushion I had caught.
“It was hilarious the way you knocked him over when he walked through the door.” Jess shook her head. “It was literally like a giant purple snowball flying through the air.”
“You guys make a great couple,” Marianne added, smiling at me.
“Agreed,” Jess said, before narrowing her eyes at my Labrador, who was still watching the bowl of popcorn intensely. “Ew! Dog, stop drooling on my leg!”
“I’ve known for ages you and James were going to end up together,” Marianne informed us smugly.
“How?” I said, wishing my cheeks would stop burning. “I didn’t even know it was going to happen.”
“Well, the way you talked about him was all”—she wrinkled her nose—“gooey.”
“It was not!” I shrieked, throwing the cushion back at her.
“It was!” She laughed, wiggling her feet in her Winnie-the-Pooh slippers. “Ever since you came back from Rome. Plus there was that photo you showed me.”
“What photo?”
“When you were showing me Jess’s pictures from the vacation. The one of you and James standing next to some kind of gargoyle thing . . .”
“I know the one,” Jess said. “When Anna was giving us a boring lecture about some old film and that ugly stone dude eats your hand or something.”
“The Bocca della Verità.” I blushed, remembering James’s hand next to mine.
“It was the perfect moment,” Jess said proudly. “Completely natural, I caught them unaware.”
“They say a picture tells a thousand words. . . .” Marianne and Jess looked at each other knowingly.
“I’m surprised it took you so long to realize.” Jess threw a kernel of popcorn in the air and it dropped into her mouth. “It was so obvious all last semester that he was crazy about you. And every time he walks in the room your face lights up.”
“You never said anything before now!”
“Had to let you work it out for yourself. Would have given away all the fun. You two are adorable.”
“All right,” I sighed. “We can talk about something else now.”
“Making you embarrassed, are we? You didn’t seem too embarrassed last night when you were slow dancing together the whole time.” Jess winked at me.
“I wasn’t the only one! What about you slow dancing with that guy from the orchestra?”
“Oh, please,” Jess snorted. “It is so NOT about musicians.”
Marianne nodded. “I hear that.” They high-fived each other and I rolled my eyes.
“No spark, then?”
“I’m only interested in Italian men these days,” Jess stated, making me giggle. “I’ve been messaging a certain sound guy . . .”
“What? The one in Rome?”
“He wants to practice his written English,” Jess said smugly. “I selflessly offered my services. We’re pen pals, if you will. For now. I just need to apply for Italian photography courses.”
I glanced over at Marianne, who was typing into her phone. “And what about you, Marianne?”
“What about me?”
“You were talking to that tall bearded dude for ages,” I said. “What was all that about?”
“That ‘tall bearded dude’ happens to work at one of the top British fashion labels. We were having a business conversation. He wants to work with me in the future,” she said coyly.
“Work with you how?” Jess asked excitedly.
“Well, he mentioned my own clothing line. . . .”
I shrieked, jumped off the sofa, and went to sit on top of her to give her a hug. “That is SO cool!”
“Oof! Anna!” Marianne yelped as I landed on her and smothered her with my Snoopy nightgown. “It’s still early days!”
“What did he say?”
“He said that if I managed to make that ridiculous bridesmaid dress look fashionable then he thought I had excellent potential.” Marianne laughed.
“I think that’s brilliant!”
/>
“I think what was more brilliant was you helping Sophie out,” Marianne chuckled. “Don’t think we didn’t see that.”
“Ah, yes, that.”
When I saw Sophie standing all alone to the side of the dance floor, craning her neck, desperately trying to spot a celebrity she might be able to talk to, I genuinely felt sorry for her.
“You felt sorry for Sophie Parker?” Jess snorted. “That’s a first.”
But I really did feel bad for her, especially as we were all having so much fun and she was just stuck there on her own. So I walked over to where Sophie was standing.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, eyeing me up and down. “That dress is awful.”
“I know.”
“It’s a nice wedding.”
“Yeah, it’s cool.”
“Thanks,” she said hurriedly, clearly not wanting to dwell on this necessary point of the conversation, “for letting me come.”
“I said I would. Anyway, let me introduce you to someone,” I offered, grabbing her arm and steering her around the dance floor.
I tapped the shoulder of one of the members of the boy band who were taking a break from their set. He didn’t seem to mind being disturbed when I introduced Sophie to him, and soon she was deep in conversation with him about their latest tour that she had bought tickets to. She was so enamored by him that I didn’t think she would notice me slink off, but just as I backed away she grabbed my arm.
“Thanks, Anna,” she said quietly. “Again.”
“Is this bonding?”
“Seriously, Anna. You ruin it every time. No, we are not.”
But I’m sure I caught a smile as I slunk away.
“Sophie will be busy telling everyone she knows that she spent the whole night with a famous boy band,” Jess moaned. “We’ll never hear the end of it. But, anyway, my highlight was when Dog crashed into that table and knocked over the wedding cake.” She threw some popcorn up in the air for Dog to catch.
He missed and it stuck to his nose, making us all burst out laughing.
“I thought Mom and Nick reacted to him destroying their four-tiered, bespoke wedding cake fairly well.” Marianne chuckled as Dog finally managed to scoop the popcorn from his nose with his tongue and munch away happily.
“Yeah. Dad just said it wasn’t like it was the biggest day of his life and the cake cost more than our house or anything.” I grinned, reaching across to Dog to tickle his chin. “I thought it was game over for Dad’s eyebrows.”
“It wouldn’t have been right if Dog hadn’t made his mark. Nick was adamant that he should be there,” Marianne informed me.
“Dad is definitely going soft in his old age,” I remarked.
“They should be back any minute from breakfast,” Marianne said, looking at her watch. “So nice of Rebecca to organize that as a surprise wedding present. Mom loves that restaurant.”
Marianne heaved herself up from the chair. “I better head off. I’m meeting a friend. Dog, go fetch my shoes! Go on! Go fetch!” Marianne pointed at the door and Dog tottered out. She kicked off her slippers and raised her eyebrows at Jess and me snickering together on the sofa. “What’s so funny?”
“Have you met Dog?” Jess laughed.
“Now that you’re one of the family, you need to learn that Dog is an independent soul and will work on his own terms,” I advised.
“Is that so?” Marianne said.
“I can’t believe you expect Dog to know which are your shoes and just bring them along to you!” Jess wheezed.
The door pushed open and Dog walked in carrying a pair of bright blue strapped heels, which he placed obediently at Marianne’s dainty feet before he sat down next to her with his chin up and tongue lolling out, waiting for the praise that she duly began to give him.
Jess and I stared at Dog with our mouths hanging open.
“Well, what do you know?” Marianne said, sliding on her shoes, grabbing her bag, and heading out.
She closed the door behind her, and Jess and I didn’t move, silenced by the miracle that had just happened before our eyes.
“Dog?” I said, scrutinizing his face as he padded over to me. “Is that really you?”
He tilted his head and then suddenly launched himself forward onto the sofa with us, winding and headbutting me at the same time.
“Dog!” I groaned, rubbing my forehead. He licked my nose and then decided to settle down and curl up on my lap, forgetting he was a gigantic Labrador.
“It just goes to show.” Jess laughed. “You may be a celebrity these days with a Hollywood movie star stepmom and the coolest socialite stepsister of all time, but when it comes down to it you’re just as much of a loser as you always were.”
“Yeah.” I smiled as Jess let out another yawn, wiggled across the sofa with the popcorn, and rested her head on my shoulder. “Some things never change.”
29.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: A perfect wedding!
Well, I have to say that was the best evening I have had in a long time! Such a wonderful wedding. I hope you enjoyed it, darling. At the last wedding I took you to, you jumped into the aisle in the middle of the marriage vows, bent over so your bottom was in the air pointing at all the guests, and shouted “BUM BUM!” at the top of your lungs. Boy, did that church echo.
So I was relieved that you behaved impeccably at this one. Well done!
I’m very much looking forward to coming to house-sit and spending two weeks with you while your father and Helena jet off on their honeymoon. I know they’ll be running around like headless chickens after they get back from breakfast, sorting everything before they go, but I will be arriving this afternoon to help pack them into the taxi.
See you soon, darling!
Mom xxx
PS Such a shame that Marianne’s rice trick didn’t save your cell phone! Now that the chaos of the wedding is over, I think it’s about time we got you a new one, don’t you?
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: A perfect wedding!
NEVER TELL ANYONE THE BUM BUM STORY.
Please confirm receipt of this e-mail.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: A perfect wedding!
If you like, darling!
I certainly won’t tell anyone the Bum Bum story. From now.
Mom xxx
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: A perfect wedding!
What do you mean “from now”?
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: A perfect wedding!
By the way, what would you like for your birthday this year? I can’t believe you’re turning fifteen in just over a week!
How about that new cell phone? Let’s go shopping for it. That will be so much fun!
Mom xxx
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: A perfect wedding!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN “FROM NOW”?
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: A perfect wedding!
Don’t panic, Anna. It may have slipped out last night at the wedding. You know how it is, small talk with the other guests.
It seemed like an appropriate story to tell, considering the setting.
And everyone found it hilarious! If anything, you’ll be much more popular now.
Mom xxx
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: A perfect wedding!
Brilliant, thanks, Mom.
PS My life is
over.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Well hello there
Hey! Looking forward to seeing you both in a bit for pizza.
Just out of interest, neither of you talked to my mom at the wedding, did you? You didn’t chat with her, right?
You didn’t mention anything this morning, Jess, so guessing you both managed to avoid her?
Love, me xxx
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Well hello there
No, I don’t recall that we did. Why?
Danny
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Well hello there
Oh good. No reason! See you later.
Love, me xxx
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Well hello there
By the way, I meant to say before I left this morning, well done on not shouting “BUM BUM” at any point during the wedding.
A real achievement.
J x
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Well hello there
Yeah, if you’d done that Anna, you would have really hit rock BOTTOM.
Ha.
Danny
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Haha
We mean this from the BOTTOM of our hearts.
J x
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Haha
And that is the BOTTOM line.
Danny
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
The It Girl in Rome Page 17