‘And how is it going with your rock star?’ Rachel asks. Rock star might be pushing it: the story I’ve heard is that Lily met this guy while he was busking outside her local coffee shop. From what Alice has told me, he’s not exactly marriage material, but I don’t think that’s what Lily is looking for either.
‘Elijah? Well, he’s not a star yet,’ Lily says, completely seriously. ‘But he’s really, really talented. I’ll send you a link to his YouTube channel.’
‘You know you could have brought him, right?’ I say, suddenly feeling bad that Lily’s the only one here without a date.
‘Oh, he could never afford the air fare,’ she says, sounding almost proud.
‘Another glass of champagne?’ Maggie asks, seeing I’ve drained my glass.
‘OK, but this is my last one – I am giving a speech later on,’ I say, accepting a half-glass.
‘Champagne is good for speeches,’ says Lily. ‘By the way, I’ve vetted your best man’s speech for you and it’s totally fine. It’s quite the bromance – all about how he and Charlie bonded over Pokémon when they were six – but nothing to frighten the horses.’
‘You and my mum together could run the country,’ I tell her, sincerely.
‘Your mum certainly could,’ says Lily. ‘She is owning that red dress. And look at her being chatted up by that silver fox.’
I turn around, and then whip my head back to the girls. ‘That silver fox is Charlie’s dad,’ I say faintly. ‘They do get on well, but … You don’t really think they’re flirting, do you? We couldn’t handle it if they … Urgh.’
‘Of course they won’t,’ Maggie says soothingly. ‘Your mum is way too sensible. But a bit of mild flirting is no harm. That’s what weddings are for.’
‘It’s so nice to finally have a date to bring to a wedding,’ says Rachel suddenly. Then she looks at us. ‘Sorry. Did I say that out loud?’ We all laugh. ‘But it is!’ she protests. ‘This time last year I was dating Jay – at least that’s what I thought I was doing, though there was a clue in all the weddings I went to on my own. Plonker.’
‘This time last year I was single and miserable,’ I say. ‘Charlie and I got together a year ago next week.’
‘I was miserable too, but not because I was single,’ says Lily.
‘I was in a couple and miserable,’ says Maggie. ‘And I hadn’t made friends with you two yet!’ she adds, gesturing to me and Rachel.
‘What am I, chopped liver?’ asks Lily, but she’s grinning. I notice our photographer hovering nearby and beckon him over; I want to make sure he gets this on camera.
‘Let’s have a toast,’ I say, holding up my flute. ‘Here’s to bringing a date to a wedding, being single and happy … and to old and new friends.’
And they all raise their glasses and chorus, ‘To old and new friends!’
Alice Roberts is having a rubbish summer.
She’s terrified of her boss, her career is stalling, and she’s just been dumped – by text message. But things are about to change …
When her boss Olivia is taken ill, Alice is sent on the work trip of a lifetime: to a villa in Sicily, to edit the autobiography of Hollywood bad boy Luther Carson. But it’s not all yachts, nightclubs and Camparis. Luther’s arrogant agent Sam wants to ditch the book entirely. Luther himself is gorgeous and charming but impossible to read. There only seems to be one way to get his attention, and it definitely involves mixing business with pleasure. Alice is out of the office, and into a whole lot of trouble.
978 0 7553 8685 7
What if you found The One, then lost him again?
Or not so much lost him as became the neurotic, needy girlfriend from hell. The girl who tried to make him choose between her and his job, and got seriously paranoid about his relationship with his female best friend …
Zoë Kennedy knows she doesn’t deserve another chance with David Fitzgerald. But if there’s the tiniest possibility of making things right, she’ll snatch it. Even if it means breaking the laws of physics to do so …
A fabulously funny, romantic read about falling in love, falling on your face and finding the one you’re meant to be with.
978 0 7553 8688 8
Girls on Tour Page 39