Page 41 of Always Alchemy

‘Honestly,’ he continues. ‘The universe is fucking weird. Mum has worried about Nat her whole life. Having a bad hypo, or going DKA, or any of that stuff. In the most fucked-up way, you’ve been in training your whole life to take care of my sister. Did you ever think about that? There’s no one in whose hands she’d be safer. I would never, ever have wished what happened to Ellen on anyone, just as I probably wouldn’t have wished what you did to me on anyone, but you know what? We all survived. We’re fine—more than fine. We’re thriving. And the future is bright, my friend.’

I nod my understanding as I blink away the tears. My heart is so full of love for his sister it’s frankly ridiculous. I’m an addict, and the honey-sweet happiness she pumps into my veins every moment that I’m with her is my crack.

I risk a look straight into the eye I took from him. ‘The prosthetic is amazing,’ I mumble. It really is. I’d never know it wasn’t real.

He grins. ‘It’s fucking cool, isn’t it? Not like the old one.’

I grimace and stay wisely silent. The old one was almost as creepy as that cocktail eyeball out on the table.

‘You can say it,’ he prompts.

‘It was a bitBond villain,’ I confess, and he throws back his head and laughs.

‘Wow. Tell it like it is.’

I hesitate. ‘Does it hurt?’

‘No, Ads. It doesn’t hurt physically. It doesn’t hurt emotionally. I’m all good.’ He bows his head for a moment before looking back up at me. ‘I hope you remember this in the morning, because I think you need to hear it. Only good things have come to all of us from having you back in our lives, mate. Only good things. And I’m not talking about that fucking mansion you’re building for Mum and Dad, okay?You’ve made my sister’s dreams come true. You’ve helped her fly. Remember that. We’re all so grateful. So when you and I are standing at the top of that aisle next week, just remember how thrilled the Bennett family is that you’re a part of it. Understand?’

14

O HOLY NIGHT

NAT

The beautiful church is dim at this time of the evening, its ornate chandeliers turned right down, most of the light coming from the tapered candles flickering at the end of every pew and their chunkier cousins burning brightly on the altar.

I’ve always wanted a Christmas wedding. While other girls dreamt of tying the knot in June, with flowerbeds in bloom and the sun shining and champagne out on the lawn, I dreamt of ivy and scarlet velvet ribbons, of duchesse satin and ivory-coloured faux fur and pink and white snowberries everywhere and choirs singingThe Carol of the Bells.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that my husband-to-be has made this wish, like every other wish I’ve had in my life, come true.

As I walk down the long, long aisle of this elegant, ancient church in Knightsbridge on Dad’s arm, I admire through the gauze of my silk tulle veil the shapely back view of my future sister-in-law, Quinn. Her slender frame isdraped in bias-cut maroon-coloured satin, custom-made by my team and providing the perfect foil to her long dark curls. In front of her, my other sister-in-law, Anna, is sporting her own version of the dress in the same fabric. They both look gorgeous.

Every wish I’ve had for festive flowers has also manifested in glorious fashion. The pew-ends match my winter bouquet. They’re brimming with white-edged ivy and grey-green eucalyptus and the soft pinks and whites of my beloved snowberries. Ivy tendrils trail down, gorgeously entangled with pale pink velvet ribbons, and the overall effect is festive and romantic as hell.

The sea of faces—warm, smiling, joyous faces—as I process down the aisle is so much to take in. Friends, relatives, Adam’s business associates, my team from Gossamer: all here to share in our happiness. But there’s only one face I care about, and the person attached to that face is standing at the very top of the aisle, next to my brother.

He comes into focus as I near the altar, cutting an imposing figure in his beautiful morning suit and silk tie, the exact same pink as the ribbons. His posture is perfect, his hands clasped loosely in front of him. He’s the picture of elegant ease, except for his face.

The man looks nothing short of thunderstruck.

His gaze on me is blue and ardent, and a wave of emotion, excitement, rolls over me and through me, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

The most beautiful, caring man on the planet is standing here, looking likethat,waiting forme,and he’s intending, I hope, to pledge his entire future to me.

I don’t know how I got so lucky. I don’t know how on earth my life unfolded before me like the most preciousflower. I don’t know how I found this man whose entire life’s purpose seems to be to give me wings.

I halt and smile at him as my dad lifts the front section of my veil with trembling hands and, with the help of Quinn and Anna who understand far better than him the importance of the aesthetics here, settles it over my shoulders.

Meanwhile, Evan scurries into view, dropping to his knees and arranging behind me the six-foot trains of both my dress and my veil. He insisted on doing this himself, claiming that no one else would get it right. Dad kisses me and squeezes my wrist affectionately as I clutch my bouquet with both hands, so hard that the platinum band of my Art Deco solitaire digs into my skin.

Winky winks at me, appropriately enough, and takes a couple of steps back, melting into the shadows of this beautiful, solemn church, and then, finally, it’s just the vicar and me and my almost-husband.

He—Adam, that is, not the vicar—takes me in, the absence of a veil now displaying the plunging vee of my neckline; the ivory silk mikado lustrous in the candlelight; the way the fabric clings to my hips before fishtailing out into my Disney Princess train, and his expression shifts from rapt to hungry. That avidness in his eyes is as hard as always to look away from, and I don’t.

Nor, if I can help it, do I plan to look away for the rest of my life.

‘I thinkwe’re expected to circulate separately,’ I whisper in amusement to my husband, whose fingertips are digging into my waist in the best way as he pins me to his side.

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