A Surprise Christmas Wedding: from the best selling author of A Perfect Cornish Christmas comes one of the most feel-good winter romance books of 2020

by Phillipa Ashley

  ‘OK. I’ll sort it. I’ll try to delay him.’ He held the phone away from his ear. ‘Babe, calm down. If you really can’t make it, I’ll call it off.’

  The photographer took Lottie aside. ‘I hate to make a fuss but is the bride planning to come? I’ve got a shoot at the Grasmere hotel and I can’t leave it much longer.’

  Connor shoved his mobile in his jacket pocket and strode over. ‘Keegan’s having a bit of a mare at the hairdresser’s. Apparently she says the colour makes her look like Marge Simpson and she’s got to stay to have it redone.’

  Alicia sputtered but Lottie had a horrible vision of Keegan turning apoplectic in the salon and throwing hairbrushes at the stylist.

  ‘Oh no. How frustrating for her. I’m so sorry. She won’t be able to make it, then?’

  ‘You’re telling me.’ He turned to Alok. ‘I’m sorry, it’s all off, mate, unless you can hang around for an hour or so. I’d appreciate it.’

  ‘I’d love to but I’ve another appointment in Grasmere. I can’t cancel that at this stage.’

  ‘Jesus.’ Connor shoved his hands through his hair. ‘I suppose it can’t be helped. I presume you’ll deduct the cost of this run-through from the wedding package?’

  ‘Well I’ve still had to spend the time here, Mr Moran …’ Lottie thought Alok was showing admirable restraint.

  ‘You mean, you’ll still charge us even though you haven’t actually taken any photographs?’

  ‘I’ll have to charge something to cover my time and travel costs.’

  Connor sneered. ‘Clearly, I ought to go into the wedding business instead of insurance. They seem to be a little gold mine.’

  Annoyed at his rudeness, Lottie took charge. ‘Actually, I think I have a solution. It’s very disappointing that Keegan can’t be here but we can still have a quick run-through and check all the camera angles.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Alicia can stand in for Keegan.’

  ‘What?’ She pulled a face. ‘No way am I walking up the aisle with my own brother. Eww.’

  ‘What are you?’ Connor snapped. ‘Twelve?’

  Alicia grinned. ‘I’ll be the vicar.’

  ‘Registrar. We’re not in church if you hadn’t noticed.’

  ‘Ohh, tetchy.’

  Lottie had to stifle her laughter. Despite her tactlessness, Alicia could be very funny.

  ‘Why doesn’t Lottie stand in?’ Alicia suggested, and Lottie immediately reversed her opinion.

  ‘I’m sure there’s no need for that.’

  ‘Er …’ Connor’s jaw dropped so low, it was a wonder it didn’t bounce off the parquet floor. ‘Perhaps it would be better to cancel after all.’

  Lottie squirmed in horror but Alok launched in, understandably keen to get the job done and keep his clients happy. ‘Hey. That’s a great idea. Shame not to have the Real Deal but Lottie will do nicely as a stand-in.’

  Even though it was a good solution, Lottie could have killed him.

  In contrast, Alicia was gleeful. ‘Great, sorted.’ She climbed onto the dais, leaving a trail of mud from her riding boots.

  Connor stared at Lottie. ‘I’m glad someone’s happy,’ he said sarcastically. ‘And I think this the best we’re going to do.’

  ‘I’m not sure Keegan will be happy,’ Lottie murmured, while Alok was busy unearthing yet another piece of equipment.

  Connor held up his arm. ‘Would you mind?’ he said.

  Lottie’s heart was almost too full to reply. So many conflicting emotions fought a battle. Anger, and underlying them, regret. She’d loved him once, looked forward to a moment such as this – for all of a few days. The thought of standing at an altar – well, a registrar’s desk – as stand-in for another woman, with Connor, was excruciating.

  Alok interrupted them. ‘Right, folks. We could do with someone to give you away … Hey, Jay!’ he called, zeroing in on the open door to the vestibule where Jay was unfolding a stepladder.

  Lottie stifled a squeak of dismay. ‘I think Jay’s probably rather busy …’

  Alok grinned. ‘He won’t mind. We only want to borrow him for a minute.’

  ‘You two know each other?’ Lottie said, while Connor stood by with a face like thunder.

  ‘Yeah. I’ve done some jobs at Greythwaite where Jay used to work.’ He called to Jay. ‘You don’t mind, do you? It’s an emergency.’

  Jay walked in. ‘Don’t mind what?’

  ‘Escorting Lottie into the room. We need a father-of-the-bride and the bride herself can’t be here. I want to check the shots. It’ll only take a few minutes.’

  Lottie cringed as Jay exchanged a glance with her. ‘I’m happy to help but I’m in my work clothes.’

  ‘So’s Alicia,’ Connor said tartly. ‘So, one more won’t matter.’

  Alicia pursed her lips and Lottie saw her mouth move in a silent swear word, probably because she’d missed out on the chance to get her hands on Jay, as well as being annoyed with Connor.

  Lottie stiffened, anticipating a full-on row but Jay provided a distraction.

  ‘I was about to go into the drawing room to water the trees and fix some faulty lights,’ he said. ‘But that can wait.’ Jay rested his ladder on the wall.

  ‘Thank you,’ Lottie said. ‘It’ll only take a few minutes.’

  He addressed himself to Lottie alone. ‘I really don’t mind,’ he said. Was that a glint in his eye? ‘Though I’ve no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.’

  ‘All you have to do is wait outside the door with me and when we get the cue, we walk into the room together …’

  ‘If everyone’s ready, shall we get started?’ Alok shouted

  Connor moved into place but Alicia was ogling Jay with undisguised lust. Lottie knew exactly how she felt.

  ‘Can you go out and walk in, please?’ Alok called, camera in his hand.

  Lottie went outside with Jay. ‘Thank you,’ she said, about to add he didn’t have to take it too seriously but it was too late.

  He held out his arm. Despite his scruffy jeans, sweatshirt and tousled hair, she found him just as gorgeous as in his tux. The memory of that electrifying kiss, and the disaster that followed came back to her.

  His eyes glinted with a look that gave her hope that he’d forgiven her deception about Connor and wanted to move on. ‘Ready?’

  ‘As I’ll ever be …’

  She slipped her arm through his.

  ‘Dum-dum-di-dum …’ Alicia hummed from the ballroom.

  Jay shook his head but there was a smile on his face.

  ‘We’re not having the “Bridal March”,’ Connor said. ‘We’re having “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba”. Keegan thinks it’s classier.’

  ‘Really?’ Alicia said. ‘What about “I Should be So Lucky” by Kylie Minogue?’

  ‘You’re so funny, Alicia,’ Connor said icily.

  Alok snapped away, asking them to pause halfway to the dais where Connor waited.

  ‘OK. Connor, turn and look back at your bride and look gobsmacked at her gorgeousness,’ Alok joked, as the shutter clicked endlessly.

  Connor didn’t look gobsmacked. He had a face like thunder, and Lottie could only think that he seemed jealous … jealous that she was with Jay, but how was that possible when he was about to marry Keegan?

  Finally, they reached the dais but Jay showed no sign of letting go of Lottie’s arm. She didn’t know whether to pull it away. She didn’t want to.

  While Connor had a smile on his face, his expression was stony. ‘I think this is where I take over, mate,’ he said.

  In a moment, Jay let go of her and she was face to face with Connor.

  He smiled softly. ‘Lottie?’ he murmured, holding her gaze. There was a tenderness and intensity behind that look, which threw her back over a year, to the night on the beach when he’d asked her to marry him. The joy and excitement of that moment rushed back and made her stomach flip all over again.

  ‘I think that’ll do,’ Alok called. />
  Snapping out of her trance, Lottie stepped away from Connor and swung around to thank Jay but he was already metres away. ‘If you don’t need me any more, I’ll get on with my work,’ he muttered.

  ‘I think we’re done with you,’ Connor cut in. ‘Thanks for standing in. You played the part of Keegan’s dad well.’

  Lottie was sure he’d emphasised the word ‘dad’.

  ‘Thanks, Jay,’ she called.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ he said and, with a brief smile, he left. Lottie was assailed by emotions. The feel of Jay’s arm through hers, the longing look on his face when they’d waited together outside the ballroom. Then, Connor, staring at her with an intensity that had thrown her back to one heady night when their future had sparkled like a diamond.

  The loss had taken her by surprise but so had the look in Jay’s eyes.

  She had the strangest feeling she’d been standing at a fork in the road: one way lay the past and the other the future, yet she couldn’t decide which to choose.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Nine days to the wedding

  After the drama of the ball and the wedding run-through, Lottie was relieved to immerse herself in family life, by helping Steph with the nativity costumes. It had taken them several evenings until late to get them ready for the play, which was taking place the week after, at the end of term just days before the wedding. Despite her hectic schedule, Lottie wasn’t going to miss the play for the world. She hoped Steph had found the frantic cutting and sewing had helped to take her mind up off the scan she had the next day. Despite all her offers, Steph had insisted that Lottie shouldn’t take extra time off come to the actual scan with her and Lottie had had to agree but was adamant she would go with her to get the results.

  For a short time, the sewing had helped keep Lottie’s thoughts from dwelling on the bizarre wedding ‘rehearsal’. Since she’d walked up the ‘aisle’ with Jay, she’d seen him in passing, going in and out of the cottage and crossing the stable yard to the offices, but they hadn’t spoken.

  ‘Ow!’ Lottie cried out.

  ‘Auntie Lottie! You’ve prickled your finger!’ Myra cried, bringing Lottie back to reality.

  ‘Like Sleeping Beauty,’ Jodie said. ‘There’s blood on your finger.’

  ‘Oh. It’s only a tiny drop,’ Lottie said, sucking her finger where the needle had cut it. She dabbed it with a tissue and resolved to concentrate on the job in hand.

  Myra’s donkey had proved relatively simple, fashioned from a grey fleecy throw and an Eeyore hat that Myra already had. It turned out that she’d volunteered for the role of donkey precisely because of the Eeyore hat. It had seen some action and needed some running repairs.

  The lobster was more of a challenge.

  ‘Bloody Love Actually has a lot to answer for!’ Steph declared, explaining that Jodie had seen a trailer clip of it on the TV and been adamant that no other creature would do.

  ‘She was probably high on poster paint fumes at the time,’ Steph had said, frantically googling ‘How to make a lobster costume’. ‘I’d completely missed the email from the school!’

  Steph had managed to get a lobster hat from a dodgy fancy dress site on the Internet. With some fiddling around with a scarlet catsuit from the dance shop and an old pair of gardening gloves and barbecue tongs, they’d managed to fashion some ‘claws’.

  ‘While you’re at the hospital tomorrow, I’ll go into Keswick to try and get some brown tights for Myra,’ Lottie said, looking at the costumes hung on the doorframe.

  ‘Thanks, you’re a star. If by some miracle, you see any red tissue paper, can you get some?’ Steph asked. ‘We could make the claws look a bit more realistic.’

  ‘I’ll do my best,’ Lottie said.

  The twins squashed onto the sofa with Lottie. ‘Is Jay coming to the nativity play?’ Myra asked her.

  ‘I don’t think so, darling.’

  Steph held up her hands. ‘It wasn’t my idea!’

  ‘Please ask him, Auntie Lottie!’ The squeals hurt her ears.

  ‘He’s very busy at the moment,’ Lottie insisted, not wanting to have to ask him but also wanting to do anything she could to make the girls happy and Steph’s life a little easier.

  ‘Promise you’ll ask him!’

  ‘Girls, don’t get your hopes up. Jay probably can’t leave the Christmas tree centre.’

  ‘Please try …’ Myra’s upturned face, and hopeful eyes, pierced right through Lottie. ‘OK, I’ll ask him but don’t get too excited yet.’

  ‘Will he bring the reindeer?’ Jodie asked.

  Lottie sighed. Asking two five-year-olds not to get excited was like trying to ask them not to look forward to Christmas too much.As for Jay, after the ball and the rehearsal, she’d no idea how he was going to react – to the invitation or to her.

  While Steph was at the hospital, Lottie went into Keswick, on her mission to help with the costume bits and bobs and do some Christmas shopping for the family. They’d agreed with their parents to save their present exchange for when they came over in early spring so there was no rush to post their gifts to them. She still wished they could have celebrated together, but they’d been twice already since Steph had been diagnosed and couldn’t afford the sky-high Christmas flights.

  It boosted her spirits to see that Christmas had seized the little town with a vengeance, and there were hordes of people filling the shops, pubs and a festive food market that was camped in front of the old town hall. Having found the finishing touches for the costumes, she started her own shopping, ending in Abbott’s, a chocolate shop that was sheer confectionery heaven. She loved buying her Christmas gifts from there, and apparently so did half the Lakes as the place was rammed with locals, kids and walkers with backpacks.

  She fought her way to the novelty animals display, her basket bulging with truffles, pralines and chocolate liqueurs. There were some cute packs of foiled chocolate reindeer that would make a lovely stocking filler for the twins.

  ‘Ow!’ She cried out as someone’s wire basket dug into her hip.

  ‘Oh, I’m so sorry!’

  ‘I’m OK—’ Lottie inhaled sharply with shock. ‘Oh my God, Fiona!’

  Fiona’s face lit up. ‘Lottie. Hello, how lovely to – erm – bump into you.’

  Panicking at being caught so unprepared, Lottie embraced Connor’s mother with her free hand. ‘Gosh. You too.’

  ‘I must apologise about bashing you.’ Fiona rolled her eyes. ‘I’m still a little clumsy after the Thing.’

  ‘The Thing? You mean the stroke?’ Lottie said. ‘I heard. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Yes, my stroke.’ Fiona looked puzzled. ‘I call it the Creature from the Black Lagoon as it struck so suddenly from the depths.’ She smiled. ‘If you already know about it, I’m guessing Alicia told you – or did you hear about it from someone else?’

  ‘Alicia …’ Lottie scrabbled for a reply, trying to work out at lightning speed what she was meant to know about Fiona and who from. ‘Erm …’ The horror at having to be ready to tell another pack of lies to keep Connor’s secret flooded her. Her secret too, since she’d agreed to continue with it.

  ‘Alicia said she’d bumped into you at Firholme when she was walking the dogs?’ Fiona said.

  ‘Oh yes, of course. Yes, it must have been then.’

  ‘Excuse me!’ A woman in a huge Russian fur hat barged past Fiona, squashing her against the Kendal Mint Cake gift boxes.

  ‘How rude,’ Lottie said as the woman charged off towards the festive biscuit tower, elbowing everyone out of the way.

  ‘Some people wouldn’t recognise Christmas spirit if it bit them on the bottom!’ Fiona declared. ‘Have you finished your shopping?’ she asked, nodding at Lottie’s basket.

  ‘I just need to get two packs of milk choc mini reindeers,’ Lottie said, before adding, ‘For Steph’s girls.’

  Fiona smiled. ‘You mustn’t fail in that mission. Shall we pay up and go for a cuppa and a catch-up if you have t
ime, then? It’s getting dangerous in here and I’m not great with crowds these days.’

  ‘Yes. I …’ Lottie started. Under any other circumstances, Lottie would have been desperate to spend time with Fiona, but she was conscious of the danger she’d be in of letting slip anything about the wedding.

  ‘If you’re too busy, I honestly won’t be offended. Alicia told me you run Firholme these days. How wonderful, I absolutely adore that place.’

  ‘Well, I don’t exactly run it. I’m the w— the events manager.’

  ‘Still, sounds like a big job, but I’m sure you have the place ticking over like clockwork.’

  ‘In my dreams,’ said Lottie, then deciding it was worth the risk, ‘and I’d like to have a quick cuppa. It’s been a long time.’

  ‘It has,’ Fiona said, her eyes wistful. ‘Oh quick, I can see a gap around the reindeer. Tell you what, I’ll join the queue while you grab them so we can save more time for our chat.’

  Lottie was glad Fiona had suggested the plan, as it gave her a minute or two to marshal her thoughts while she selected the gifts for the girls. With a careful eye on the progress of the queue, she hovered around the display and added two chocolate Santas to her basket to give her an excuse to hold back a while longer. It was obvious Alicia had mentioned they’d met. Maybe Alicia had let it slip then covered her tracks with the dog-walking story.

  She braced herself and rejoined Fiona. Soon after, they left the shop and went into a nearby café.

  ‘My treat. It’s been so long,’ Fiona said, picking up the menu.

  ‘How are you?’ Lottie said, reminding herself to tread carefully.

  ‘Oh, I’m on the mend. Much much better than I was.’

  Lottie listened as Fiona told her a little more about the stroke, how shocked she’d been and the long process of recovery. The waitress brought frothy cappuccinos and slices of Cumberland Rum Nicky tart.

  ‘I haven’t had this for years,’ Lottie said, cutting a morsel off the pastry with her cake fork. The tart smelled divine, filled with juicy dates, ginger and rum and served warm with cream.

  ‘Nor me.’ Fiona cut her slice up with a knife. Noticing Lottie’s look she explained, ‘The stroke affected my left arm. So, this is easier than using a fork, though I’ve learned to use my other hand for a lot of things.’ She rolled her eyes.