Four Weddings and a Christmas by Phillipa Ashley

Author:Phillipa Ashley [Ashley, Phillipa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2023-08-31T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

Freya’s place on the top table gave her a bird’s eye view of Travis, taking photos of the speeches, the couple posed by cake and candid shots of the guests. However, they were both far too busy with their duties to speak to each other.

She was seated next to Nico, whose speech about Ravi’s adventures as a medical student brought the house down, though Roxanne and her mother were almost hiding behind their menu cards at several points, wondering what he was going to say next.

He’d pitched it exactly right and left everyone with a toast to the happy couple. Mr Jameson left everyone dabbing their eyes with his heartfelt speech to his daughter and her new husband. It was sincere and gently humorous, and not too rehearsed.

Freya would have been made of stone not to imagine her own father standing up and wishing her a ‘lifetime of happiness’, though she had no recollection of his face and had never heard his voice apart from a video of him telling a joke at a family party.

A realisation socked her in the gut: could his passing be one of the reasons she couldn’t imagine a stable future for herself? Even if she didn’t consciously recall him, she must have some memories of him: like treasure on the bottom of the sea, lying too deep to reach or even see, yet there all the same.

‘Here. Have this.’

She felt a whisper against her ear and Nico’s fingers brush hers under the table. He’d pushed the rose-pink handkerchief from his morning jacket into her hand.

She reached up to her cheek and found it damp with tears.

‘It’s all very emotional. I’m almost in bits myself.’

His cheeky smile told her otherwise. He thought she was crying at Mr Jameson’s speech, little did he know it was for a loss she’d never really mourned in the first place, and perhaps for the loss of what might have been: relationships, children …

She smiled. ‘It is. Thanks.’

It had been dark for several hours by the time the meal and the speeches were over. Freya got up, longing to seek out Travis to thank him but Roxanne wanted to speak to her.

‘Travis is a total star. I know I shouldn’t have kept him here but I did want the photos and also – I wondered if you wanted him to stay here longer?’

‘Roxy! That’s outrageous.’

‘Sorry, it was wrong of me. Have you been OK?’

‘Yes, until you told me that.’

‘Come on, you know the bride is always on matchmaking opportunity. You now have Nico and Travis to choose from.’ Before Freya could protest, Roxanne hugged her. ‘I’ve had such a wonderful day. I just want everyone to be as happy as I feel with Ravi.’

Freya couldn’t be cross with her friend for long and especially not on her wedding day. ‘I am happy. I’ve had a fantastic time and I still am, and more important, I have loved being a part of your special day. Ravi is a brilliant guy and I can see how much you love each other.

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