“Sorry,” Simon replied. He looked at Adam. “No hard feelings.”
“Hey, I don’t have a problem.” Adam shrugged, trying to keep the smugness hidden. If only Simon knew he had nothing to be jealous about. Although Adam wouldn't let Simon try the slightest thing when it came to Sophie. Hell would freeze over first, and heaven would have to turn a nasty shade of grey.
“Okay, I know it’s early. But do you know how to tie one of these things?” Gareth held out a burnt-orange coloured cravat, coordinating with his silk waistcoat.
Do I know how to knot a tie? His father had insisted he learned from a very early age. The kind of schools he’d gone to required he wear a tie.
Adam glanced at his watch. “This is early.”
“Yeah, but I want to get to the church and be ready to greet the guests as they arrive. And make sure I’m out of the way so Natalie can leave here and I don’t see her.”
“Ah, yes, of course.” Adam nodded, taking the cravat from Gareth.
By the time he’d polished off his glass of champagne, Adam had the two men looking perfect in their wedding attire. Simon had been bearable; the champagne had helped.
There was a knock on the door and three more men entered, also dressed in morning suits – Gareth’s ushers. After brief introductions, Adam saw this as a suitable time to head back to his room, leaving the men to their final preparations.
Suddenly, he had a pang; he wished he could see Sophie. He shook his head, pushing it to the back of his mind.
You’re being absurd now.
Still … she was the reason he was here. And they’d been getting along nicely. Great, in fact. Bloody fantastic.
He entered their room.
Sophie turned around and gasped, jumping out of her skin. His eyes widened with surprise, not expecting to see her standing there.
Wish granted.
She wore her bridesmaid dress; a strapless, burnt-orange satin dress, which accenuated her figure beautifully. Her hair, pinned up, had white and orange flowers dotted amongst the chestnut locks, with strands of curled hair falling down the sides of her face. She looked … perfectly kissable.
“Oh, hi.” She sounded flustered, fiddling with something in her hands.
“I didn’t realise you’d come back.” He tried to regain his composure, not wanting to show Sophie the effect she had on him. If this was her as a bridesmaid, what would she look like as a bride?
“I forgot my jewellery. Natalie had given us a necklace each. I’m all fingers and thumbs with it – these damn nails! Natalie and Gareth are supposed to be the nervous ones!” She giggled. “Could you help me, please?” She held out a necklace.
“Yeah, of course.” Adam took the necklace and Sophie stood with her back to him. He brought the silver chain around her neck. Sophie held the heart-shaped silver locket in place on her chest as he gently clasped the chain at the back of her neck. Her perfume was intoxicating. He had to resist the urge to touch her, stroke her skin, kiss her bare shoulder.
Not appropriate.
She turned to face him and gave a nervous smile. “Thanks.”
He nodded, watching her. “You look pretty.” He meant gorgeous, stunning … but had to downplay his remarks. Would she read too much into it otherwise?
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Thanks,” she replied, but she wasn’t taking his compliment seriously. She hadn’t all weekend, when he’d been sincere. He wasn’t pretending. He did find her beautiful. Never judge a book by its cover, or ‘an engineer by her choice of clothes’ would be his motto from now on.
She looked nothing like the woman he’d met down the pub with James.
“Where did you go, anyway?” she asked, nervously holding her hands in front of her, fidgeting.
“Oh, I was going to have a round of golf, if I could. Or at least a few holes, but Simon –”
“Simon?” She scowled.
“It’s all right. Gareth had sent him to find me. They were struggling with the cravats, so I never got to the golf course.”
“Oh, right.” She nodded, and still played with her necklace. “You’re dying to play golf, aren’t you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say dying as such,” Adam replied with equal amounts of sarcasm, and she giggled.
“Okay, I better go. I’ll see you at the church. Will you be all right?”
“I’ll be fine.” He gave her a reassuring smile.
Sophie nodded and leaned towards him, placing a hand on his arm. He caught the sweet, floral scent of her perfume again as he realised she was about to kiss him. He wanted her to kiss him. Suddenly she shook her head, pulling away.
“Sorry, sorry. There’s no one here.” She playfully slapped her palm against her forehead. He watched her curls bounce. “I’m forgetting myself now.” She wouldn’t make eye contact with him and hurried out of the door. “I’ll see you later.”
And then she was gone.
***
Adam made his way into the lavishly decorated old church. Various orange, yellow and white flowers and matching ribbons hung on the end of each pew, making a beautifully decorated aisle for the bride to walk down. By the entrance were two stands holding more flowers. No expense had been spared.
But then it’s a wedding. Most people do spend extravagantly on such an occasion, whether they can afford to or not. It’s a celebration.
He’d placed himself at the back, on the bride's side, allowing for closer family members and friends to sit at the front. He listened to the hum and rustle, watching as people entered the church; family waving at each other, kissing cheeks and hugging. There were women in hats which complemented their dresses; men in suits, all shades of grey, some more comfortable wearing them than others.
For a moment, as he watched the guests arrive, he allowed the thought to enter his mind - was he missing something here? He pretended to his mates he had a phobia of weddings, but he didn’t really. Watching his parents’ marriage go down the pan had put him off. If his father couldn’t make his marriage work, with his business commitments, could Adam? His mother wanted to see him married off, but his father never showed an opinion. Besides, Adam had got used to playing the field, wining and dining without the fear of supplying the diamond ring.
You don't want this. You’re not husband material.
They were ready. All the guests were seated, and the groom and best man stood at the front, waiting patiently. Simon seemed to be sweating more than Gareth. Gareth was the marrying type. A good man, loyal. As for Simon?
It galled him to be anything like Simon.
Two small children nervously walked down the aisle together – the flower girl, possibly no older than four, in her frilly cream dress with a burnt orange sash and the pageboy, of similar height, in his miniature suit. The church fell silent. The odd camera flashed.
The church organ started playing the familiar sound of the bridal chorus. All of the guests stood as the bride, her arm linked through her father's, entered the church. Natalie made a beautiful bride, with her white dress and the veil covering her face. Gareth was a lucky man and by his delighted expression as he watched his wife-to-be join him, he knew it, too.
He watched Sophie, pretty in her dress, alongside Cassie, following the bride, taking her place with Cassie off to the side. With matching dresses and flowers in their hair, they looked almost like twins.
On first impression, he’d never have thought of Sophie as a woman who wore pretty dresses. How wrong had he been?
Adam almost wished he hadn’t seen Sophie in her bridesmaid dress now, to see her emerge transformed, like the bride. It would have given him a sense of what Gareth was feeling, seeing.
Poor Sophie, who liked to blend in, was on show. She looked nervous, not used to the attention. She'd been right, yesterday. Even if she wasn’t the bride, the bridesmaids certainly did get attention. Eyes were upon them, too. And quite rightly so. Adam needed to convince her she shouldn’t hide away. Okay, so he understood maybe why she wanted to hide her
femininity at work, to be taken seriously in a male-dominated environment. But out of work, she needed to bloom. And Adam …
Oh God, this was tearing him apart. He didn’t want to hurt Sophie. She needed someone stable, reliable, to treat her properly, make her laugh – because her laughter brightened even the greyest of days. She needed the furthest thing from Simon - and him. He couldn’t guarantee those things, not if he was anything like his father.
The ceremony went without a hitch. There was a joke made about anyone knowing why they should not be lawfully married. It got a laugh because it was made by the vicar, of all people, with the tone of his voice, and the raise of his eyebrows, looking out towards the full church. Natalie had even winked at Cassie with her fingers to her lips. But it lightened the mood of the guests, removing the intensity, the seriousness of the occasion. Laugh or cry, so they say. Some of the older women had handkerchiefs ready to dab their eyes.
The guests stood up and followed the bride and groom out of the church, played out with the traditional wedding march by the organist, and Adam followed, looking for Sophie in the church’s courtyard.
“Are you okay?” she asked, frowning slightly.
“Yeah, yeah, fine. You?”
“I’m starving, but I think we’ve got to have photographs now,” Sophie said, grimacing. “They want some at the church and in the hotel grounds, too.” Her tone was unenthusiastic but Adam chuckled, glad Sophie was back on his arm.
Chapter Fourteen
Sophie estimated there had to be over a hundred people seated in the large ballroom. The circular dinner tables were decorated with yellow, orange, and white balloons, and flowers of similar colours. Natalie had thought of every detail, from children blowing bubbles to the table confetti. The room exuded a celebratory excitement from the wedding guests.
The toastmaster tapped a spoon against a glass to silence the guests.
“Ladies and gentleman, please be upstanding for the bride and groom, Mr and Mrs Staplehurst.”
The guests stood as Natalie and Gareth entered the room, making their way to the top table, hand in hand. Natalie’s dress was beautiful in its simplicity, with its train trailing behind her. Sophie swallowed down the emotions gathering in her tightening throat and blotted a tear. She was glad she’d made it this weekend; she would have regretted missing Natalie and Gareth finally tying the knot. To Sophie, they had always seemed perfect for each other.
Would Sophie find the same as Natalie had found in Gareth? She glanced at Adam and then kicked herself internally for even thinking of him.
This will end in tears. Your tears.
The bride and groom sat, followed by the guests. Finally, Sophie thought, sighing, as she sat back down. She was so hungry; she wanted to eat before she fainted from the lack of sugar running through her veins and the amount of alcohol she’d slowly been consuming. Being a bridesmaid meant champagne was on tap. Or that’s how it seemed. Nice but also dangerous; she could easily make a fool of herself.
The photographs had gone on forever. Adam had stayed out of most of them, but Natalie and Gareth had insisted he join them in some of the photos. The ‘friends’ ones. The lie caught on camera. She’d be lying about Adam for the rest of her life - or one day would have to come clean.
“You okay?” Adam placed a hand on her arm.
“Sorry.” She blinked out of her daydream. “I'm fine. My cheeks ache.” She rubbed her face gently with her palms. “They hurt so much from smiling for the bloody camera. Everybody’s camera! I don't think I've had to smile so much in my life. I dread to think what Natalie and Gareth must be feeling. If one more person asks for a bloody photo …”
Adam laughed. “Here, have this.” He handed her a glass of champagne. “This will make you feel better.”
See! It was on tap.
She chuckled and took a sip. “Ah, yes, much better. Now I need some food or you'll be picking me up off the floor later.”
On the plus side, she certainly wouldn’t be able to feel her aching cheeks.
“I’m half tempted to eat the favours.” She fiddled with the orange ribbon around the net pouches, releasing the five sugared almonds. “For health,” she muttered, popping one of the sweets into her mouth and crunching it, then after a moment, she tapped Adam on the arm, “Were you okay sitting all by yourself?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You looked,” she fiddled with her napkin, “I don't know – distant, during the ceremony.”
Adam laughed. “No, no. I was just thinking.”
“Oh, yeah? What about?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” He reached across the table for the pitcher of water.
“I'm doing it again, aren't I?” she said. “I am interested, though, and worried.”
“Nothing to worry about.” Adam lifted a jug of water and offered it to Sophie first.
She held up her glass, thinking about the champagne Cassie had made her drink as they’d got ready, now regretting it. Yeah, some water would be good. And food. Where was the bloody food?
She watched as Adam poured himself a glass, wondering how she could get him to open up, even if only slightly. He knew everything about her now.
“I don’t bite, you know,” she said.
“I know you don’t.”
“Well, you confessed last night you’re the son of the managing director of Thomas Robotics,” she said, keeping her voice low, stumbling on. She still couldn’t believe his dad owned the company. Her dad had owned a couple of restaurants, but it really wasn’t the same. Adam was worth a lot of money. “So, we’re friends right? Don’t be afraid to talk to me.” She chinked his champagne glass. Sophie decided he needed to drink more, too. That way, she wouldn’t look so drunk to him and he might open up.
“Yes, we’re friends.” His expression was suspicious.
“You must be fed up with my family and friends harassing you, having to idly chat with them. How bad have the interrogations of the new boyfriend been?”
He smoothed his hand through his hair and Sophie thought she glimpsed the hint of anxiety in his expression.
“I feel bad,” she said quickly, guilt hitting her, not for the first time this weekend.
“Hey, we’ve gone over this. It really isn’t that bad.” Adam placed his other hand over hers. “I’m actually enjoying myself. And you’re all right.” He winked at her, and she chuckled at his teasing.
The waiters and waitresses came around serving dinner, ending Sophie's conversation, but satisfying her need for food. Adam went into his automatic charm mode. And any doubts or nervousness he'd been showing fell away. She couldn’t stop admiring how well he had the other diners at the table all charmed. It was hard to believe he wasn’t happy. She hoped he’d be honest with her, of all people.
He'd tell her if things weren't okay, wouldn't he?
***
“Come on, Adam.” Sophie pulled at Adam’s hand to get him off his seat. With dinner over and the tables cleared, the evening entertainment had started and the guests were heading for the dance floor.
“No, no, Sophie, please, honey.” Shaking his head, he placed his champagne glass on the table.
She leaned in towards him, not letting go of his hand. “Come on, show me what a mover you are on the dance floor.” She was tipsy - too much champagne and not enough food. Well, not enough food in time before the champagne had truly kicked in. Now she felt confident enough to be cheeky with Adam. And she'd made sure he'd had a couple of glasses of champagne during the meal, too. “Are you my boyfriend or not?” she whispered. She gave Adam her best smile, hoping it was as good as his.
Adam narrowed his eyes playfully and allowed himself to be dragged onto the dance floor. Sophie giggled, her eye on Cassie.
“She’s a bad influence on you,” he said.
Sophie winked at him good-naturedly as they made their way to the centre of the dance floor, where Cassie was dancing with some poor bloke. Cassie had made it her mission to make sure everyone enjoy
ed the night and as far as Sophie could tell, they were.
Sophie hadn’t laughed so much in ages, and Adam proved to be more fun on the dance floor than expected. Maybe the champagne had loosened him up. He kept up the act. Every now and then he’d make sure he had hold of Sophie, spinning her round to the rock ‘n roll music, giving her a kiss.
His body, close to hers, swaying in time to the music, left her excited and buzzing. For Sophie the reality was blurring. Her actions felt genuine towards him. Luckily, he’d think it an act. At least that’s what she’d say if he questioned it, if he didn’t want it to be real.
“Okay, okay, I need to sit down.” Sophie finally felt defeated. “And I’m not so keen on this song.”
Adam looked relieved, grasping her hand and leading her off the dance floor. They ignored the complaints from Cassie, chuckling with each other as they headed back to their table, their champagne waiting for them.
“Happy now?” he said, sitting down, unbuttoning his waistcoat and loosening his tie. He pulled her into his lap and she giggled.
“Much happier,” she said, finishing off her drink. “But now I’ve got to visit the ladies. I need a wee.” Adam chuckled at her. “Oops, probably too much information.” Way to go, Sophie. How to impress the man. How much had she drunk? She’d hoped the dancing would sober her up.
She reached over him, to the centre of the table and grabbed her clutch bag, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Be back in a jiff.”
“I’ll be here, as long as your Aunt Veronica doesn’t accost me again.”
Sophie held her hand over her mouth to hide her giggle. Oh God, she felt like a drunken wreck. Sober up.
***
Adam shook his head as he watched Sophie walk off towards the powder rooms. He had to admit he hadn’t had this much fun in ages. Hell, weddings were fun – he just hadn’t been to that many. And it certainly did make a difference if you had the perfect date.
He swallowed.
Was Sophie his perfect date?
Don’t go there. Sophie was fun to be with, once she’d let her guard down. She ticked all the right boxes - attractive, intelligent, sensitive and a lot of fun …but would he be any good for her? He pretended to be, but what if he had to do it for real? The act came rather naturally, thinking about it …
Plus One Is a Lucky Number Page 13