Meet Me at Willow Hall: A perfectly charming romance for 2019!. Carla Burgess

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СКАЧАТЬ no, we don’t have a date yet.’

      Anthony looked surprised. ‘And yet you’re trying on wedding dresses?’

      I blushed. ‘We’re here for Elena today. I was looking for a bridesmaid dress but they didn’t have any in that style.’

      Elena shot me a look as if to say I should be making up loads of wedding details, but I ignored her. I didn’t want to get involved in some elaborate lie. I was uncomfortable enough about the Jayjay thing as it was.

      ‘But I thought you had everything sorted already, Elena?’ Julian said. ‘Are you addicted to wedding fairs or something?’

      ‘Pretty much!’ Elena laughed. ‘We have everything except Rachel’s dress, but I think we’ve got that sorted now, thanks to today. Besides, Rachel’s only just got engaged. It’s all about my wedding right now. We’ll think about Rachel’s after my honeymoon.’ She laughed to show she was joking.

      Anthony smiled. ‘How is Daniel? Well, I hope?’

      ‘He’s great, thanks!’ Elena beamed. ‘We’ve moved into our house together and it’s lovely.’

      ‘Oh, it’s finished then? That’s great!’

      ‘Yes, just a few bits here and there to finish off, but it’s wonderful to be in our own house at last.’

      ‘Excellent! Give him my best wishes. I always liked Daniel.’

      ‘He liked you too. He was gutted when you and Rachel broke up.’

      I felt my cheeks flare and Anthony looked away, obviously uncomfortable with the subject. Julian laughed and slapped his brother on the arm.

      ‘If you and Daniel had such a bromance going, you should have no trouble persuading him to get married here instead of his local golf club.’

      Anthony shrugged. ‘Are you actually thinking about it, Elena? Would you move your wedding to here?’

      ‘I’d love to but I’m not sure how practical it would be. It’s a bit late to reorganise everything now. All the invitations have gone out and it’s a bit cheeky to change the venue on the guests, especially when it’s an hour away.’

      ‘It’s your wedding,’ Anthony said. ‘You should be able to get married wherever you like.’

      ‘Well, I doubt we’d be able to afford it anyway. A place like this must cost a fortune!’

      ‘Not if we do you a deal,’ Julian said. ‘How about you get married here this summer and be our first marriage. If you agree to be photographed and videoed for our website and perhaps featured in a magazine, we could offer the venue for free.’

      ‘For free?’ Elena blinked at him in amazement. ‘Why would you do that?’

      ‘To get publicity, of course. We’re just starting out and we’re pretty desperate to get this up and running. Honestly, you’d be helping us enormously. You’d need to pay for catering and your flowers and stuff like that, but we wouldn’t charge for the use of the hall.’

      My mouth fell open in disbelief. It was an unbelievably generous offer, and I almost wished I really did have a fiancé so I could be their first wedding. It was ironic that my commitment-phobic ex-boyfriend’s family home was now the wedding venue of my dreams.

      Elena laughed. ‘Wow! That’s a good offer.’

      Julian’s eyes lit up. ‘What would you lose? Your deposit? I bet it would still work out cheaper in the long run.’

      Elena grew serious again, chewing her lip. ‘It’s still a bit far for all my guests, though.’

      ‘It’s only an hour from Chester!’ Anthony said over his shoulder. ‘Besides, they could stay over. We have plenty of rooms in the hall and we’re converting the stable block into accommodation.’

      ‘Would it be ready in time, though?’ I looked pointedly around the dusty hall. ‘Elena’s wedding is only four months away. That’s a lot of work.’

      ‘It will be finished by then,’ Julian said. ‘We’re looking at the beginning of July for completion so it would fit nicely with an August wedding. So, as long as you don’t want to get married in this room here, Elena, you’ll be all set.’

      ‘How many guests can you accommodate? Surely not eighty?’

      ‘Not at the moment, but there are a couple of good guesthouses in the village, so I’m sure between us we could manage.’ Julian looked across at Anthony. ‘Our holiday cottages can accommodate four families of five and we also have four double bedrooms within the hall itself, on top of the honeymoon suite. I can show you that now if you’d like to follow me.’ Julian led us towards a door at the opposite end of the room and into a wide, oak-panelled hallway. A large staircase with an intricately carved banister wound its way upwards. Elena and I followed him up to the first floor, with Anthony walking slowly behind us. It felt like all my senses were attuned to him: the thud of his footsteps on the stairs, the squeak of his hand on the polished wooden banister, the sound of his breathing. It made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and my pulse race.

      The day had taken on a surreal quality. After all this time, how could this be? How could I be walking up the stairs with Anthony? My brain couldn’t process it properly and I kept thinking I must be dreaming.

      We reached the first floor and Julian led us along a red-carpeted corridor flanked by doors leading to different bedrooms. ‘Okay,’ he said, when we got to the door at the end. ‘This is the honeymoon suite, and it’s the room Liz and I stayed in on the night of our wedding. This was one of Liz’s first projects so it’s looking pretty good in here.’ The door swung open with a creak to reveal a beautiful cream-panelled bedroom with a king-sized bed. Gold jacquard curtains hung at the huge window, which had sweeping views of the rolling hills and woodland surrounding the hall. ‘As you can see, it’s rather nice. There are tea- and coffee-making facilities on the dresser, and a lovely en-suite bathroom.’

      ‘Ooh, it’s lovely!’ Elena wandered in, looking around her in delight. She seemed entranced by everything she saw and I wondered if there was any possibility that Daniel would agree to move their wedding to Willow Hall. It was clear she loved it and I hoped she wasn’t going to be disappointed if he said no. His dad’s golf club had never been her first choice of venue.

      Crossing to the window, I looked out at the view.

      ‘Yes, Liz designed it all. She wouldn’t let me or Anthony near it. I don’t think she trusts us with the design side.’ Julian laughed as he opened a door next to the bed. ‘Take a look at the en suite. It’s got a roll-top bath!’

      ‘Very nice!’ Elena said, following him into the bathroom, leaving me and Anthony in the main bedroom. I stayed by the window, staring out at the view with my back to Anthony. Even though I couldn’t see him, I could feel his eyes on me. I rubbed the back of my neck. The atmosphere grew hotter and heavier with each minute Elena and Julian were out of the room. They seemed to be taking their time. I could hear them discussing the gold taps and the fluffiness of the towels. Hurry up, for heaven’s sake!

      ‘Do you like the view?’ Anthony’s voice came from just behind me, making me jump. I hadn’t realised he was quite so close. СКАЧАТЬ