Mother of the Bride. Kate Lawson

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СКАЧАТЬ to some secret location.’ He paused. ‘Please don’t be upset that I wanted to tell Mummy and Daddy my way. On my own.’

      ‘I’m not upset that you wanted to tell them on your own, I’d have understood that. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me the truth.’

      ‘May we talk about this later? We’re all about to go out to lunch.’

      Jess wondered what she could possibly say. ‘I’ll call you later,’ he continued. ‘How are all the wedding plans coming along?’

      ‘That was what I rang to –’

      ‘Sorry, sweetie, I’ve really got to go. My father’s in the car outside,’ and with that Max hung up.

      Speechless, Jess stood with the phone in her hand, furious with Max and feeling horribly hurt. What the hell was he playing at? The phone rang again and without looking at the caller ID Jess pressed receive. ‘I really hope you’ve rung to say something nice,’ she snapped. ‘I’ve been here all morning going through these bloody wedding books on my –’

      ‘Jess?’

      Mouth open, Jessica was caught mid-sentence.

      ‘It’s me. Remember me? Jack. Your baby brother? I was just ringing up to say congratulations. Bad timing?’ he joked.

      ‘No, no, not at all – just a misunderstanding,’ she hedged. ‘So how are you?’

      ‘I’m fine. More to the point, how are you?’

      ‘Good, great,’ Jess lied, nodding furiously despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. ‘Really well, just getting a bit stressed out by all the stuff we’ve got to do for the wedding.’

      ‘It’s months away yet.’

      ‘Yep, but not enough months apparently. According to this list Mum downloaded off the Internet we should have started booking everything about ten years ago. And we want some really special –’

      ‘That’s what I was ringing up about. I was talking to my boss, Bert, yesterday and he wondered if you might like to have the wedding here.’

      ‘At Vanguard Hall?’

      ‘Uh-huh, I mean you can at least think about it.’

      ‘Oh God, that would be perfect. It’s lovely there.’

      ‘I think you’d probably have to have the legal bit somewhere else but you could have the reception here if you wanted to. He suggested you come over and take a look round. He was thinking you might like to use the Tythe Barn – after all it’s got loos and fire exits and all that stuff for when we open the gardens up in the summer. Do you know the room I mean?’

      ‘The one they do tea and cakes in?’

      ‘That’s the one. Anyway, it’s something to think about. Bert’s been mulling over whether to go for the wedding trade. It’s big business – and I know he won’t be offended if you say no.’

      ‘Oh no, God, it would be wonderful,’ Jess murmured. ‘Did he say what it would cost? Only I haven’t spoken to Dad yet so I don’t have a clue what we’ve got to spend.’

      ‘It’s on the house. Bert is keen on family. And besides, because he’s toying with the idea of opening the hall up for weddings he wants to get a feel of what he’s letting himself in for.’

      ‘How many people do you think it would hold?’

      ‘No idea – come and take a look around and see what you think. I’d imagine you could easily get a hundred people in the barn, say ten tables of ten. I’ll ask him.’ Jack paused. ‘And well done you. Seems so grown-up. I hope you and Max are really happy.’

      ‘Thanks, Jack.’

      There was a warm silence and then Jack continued, ‘I was going to ask, is he on some sort of medication? Only he must be mad taking you on, maybe I should warn him.’

      Jess laughed; that was more like it. ‘Cheeky bugger. How are you anyway?’

      ‘Me, I’m fine – I can’t talk for long, me and Ollie are supposed to be working, or at least I am.’

      ‘Ollie?’

      ‘Yeah, head gardener and chief slave driver. I’ve got to water the walled garden. How about you ring me later to sort out when you’re coming over?’

      ‘Ok, I’ll talk to Mum.’

      Jess didn’t really have much chance to think about the revelation that Max was down in Hampshire until she came off the phone, and then it hit her.

      ‘Bastard,’ Jess hissed as she wandered back into the house. Why on earth had he lied to her?

      Molly looked up from the piles of lists. ‘Sorry?’

      Jess waved the words away. ‘Nothing,’ she said.

      Molly smiled back at her. ‘So how was Max?’

      ‘Absolutely fine, just off to lunch,’ Jess said, trying to sound matter of fact. ‘Now where were we?’

      ‘Lunch,’ said Molly, handing her a plate. ‘And how’s his work going?’

      ‘Just fine,’ lied Jess, sitting down at the kitchen table, not quite meeting Molly’s eye. ‘And it looks like we’ve got a cake and possibly a venue.’

      ‘Great,’ said Molly, peering at her. ‘Are you all right?’

      ‘I’m fine, just hungry,’ Jess said. The last thing she wanted was to talk about Max, because she knew that it wouldn’t take much to make her cry. What the hell was he thinking of? Old-fashioned or not, surely it wouldn’t have hurt for them to have gone down to see his parents together.

       Chapter Seven

      The day just went on and on and so it was almost eight by the time Jess and Bassa finally left for the drive back to Swaffham.

      Molly was exhausted. They had spent all day looking at wedding magazines and websites, and drawing up endless lists. They had eaten dinner in amongst a pile of wedding plans. Nick had been an absolute star; he’d fed them, oohed at all the pictures Jess had pushed under his nose, said all the right things in all the right places and was now busy packing the dishwasher.

      Not for the first time Molly marvelled at her good fortune in finding a man like Nick after all these years, a man who loved her and her children – who repaid the compliment by loving him right back – and who loved her in ways so numerous and so palpable that she couldn’t imagine what life had been like without him.

      ‘Right,’ said Nick, handing her a mug of tea and settling himself down alongside her. ‘Hit me with it.’

      ‘Well, Jess’s idea is that we plan everything all in one big go, present СКАЧАТЬ