The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding by Cressida McLaughlin

Author:Cressida McLaughlin [McLaughlin, Cressida]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-04-16T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Jago’s words were still going round Ellie’s head as she drove to Truro three days later, to meet Charlie and the wedding dress designer. She found herself double-checking everything, seeing how closely she’d planned every stage, which was ridiculous because it meant she was adding more layers of scrutiny, not less.

The sun was hiding behind clouds that looked like mountains, white and harmless at their peak, grey and foreboding lower down. She hoped that nothing would put a dampener on today, for Charlie’s sake. Pete was giving them daily updates on Gertie, and while Ellie was sure he was focusing on the positives, it did sound as if there was hope for the stricken Routemaster. They had stripped her down to get full access to the damaged chassis, and a new engine was on order.

The news was reassuring, and when Ellie had spoken to Charlie to confirm today’s meet-up, she had seemed friendlier; perhaps not back to her old enthusiastic self, but that was understandable. But Ellie needed Charlie to trust her again, so today really mattered.

She parked behind Truro’s impressive cathedral, and made her way through the smaller streets of the city to the boutique where Gina worked when she was in Cornwall. There was a mannequin in the window wearing a black dress with a print of peony-style blooms in red and purple. The cut was asymmetrical, and the hem of the skirt was ruched. If Ellie described it to Rose it would sound awful, but on this slender silver model, it looked stunning.

‘Ellie, hi,’ Lila said, hurrying up to her. ‘How are you?’

‘Good thanks, how about you?’

‘Great. Good. We’ve started filming, so—’ she paused to take a deep breath. ‘I thought I was late.’

‘Is this for the second series of Estelle?’ Ellie asked. ‘I loved the first series.’ It still blew her mind a tiny bit that Lila and her boyfriend were bona fide actors, working on a starry BBC drama set that was filmed along Cornwall’s stunning coastline.

‘Thanks! Well, I was really a caterer for that one. On board Gertie, with her cakes and mini quiches and …’ Her smile fell. ‘I still can’t believe that Gertie’s broken. All those trips around Cornwall, to Penzance and Tintagel and Mousehole, and she even went down to the beach in the middle of the night once, and didn’t even get a flat tyre. And then, on the way to getting dolled up for the wedding – bam.’ Lila smacked her hands together.

‘I am so sorry it happened,’ Ellie said, the guilt threatening to overwhelm her all over again.

Lila looked surprised. ‘Why are you sorry? It was a great idea, giving Gertie her own wedding makeover, and Pete’s totally trustworthy, according to Charlie. It was just a horrible accident. And anyway, it’s clearly fate.’

‘Fate?’ Ellie pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

‘This has happened for a reason.’ Lila leaned against the wall. Her dark hair was tied back, and there was a smudge of thick concealer on her cheek that stood out on her freckled skin.

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