Page 61 of An Italian Wedding Adventure

‘Kira and Willard are here talking to Reshma. She mentioned she’s doing the Garda wedding and sounded a little nervous, to be honest.’

‘Um, yes, sure. She should come in and meet the couple – and I can talk her through her nerves afterwards over a cup of tea. If she drinks tea.’

Ginny peered at her warily. ‘I’m sure that’ll do her some good.’ She paused. ‘Do you want me to stay in the meeting, too? I could help write stuff down.’

As much as Sophie wanted to assure her that wasn’t necessary, she had to admit her thoughts were a mess and it would be better if they didn’t screw up Lily and Roman’s wedding, so she nodded with a grateful smile.

‘I know Reshma’s keen to make these adventure weddings a thing, but don’t put yourself under more pressure than necessary. The adventure part is Kira’s job.’

She nodded again, hoping her expression showed enough relief that Ginny would continue to assume that was Sophie’s problem.

Lily and Roman arrived early, hurrying inside from the car park in a light shower of rain. Ginny served them coffee – and tea for Sophie, which saved the day.

After a few fortifying sips, Sophie started her curated photo presentation and opened her mouth to introduce the first one, but Roman’s reaction cut her off.

‘Oh my gosh!’ Roman exclaimed. ‘We could say our marriage vows there?’

The picture showed the peak of Punta Telegrafo, the last hike she’d taken with Andreas. ‘There or any of the other spectacular places for the ceremony around the lake.’

Lily laughed in delight. ‘This is incredible. I know we said we wanted a cross on top of a mountain, but… wow, the idea of it is so much more powerful, seeing that picture.’

Sophie smiled helplessly, all her discussions with Andreas coming alive in her mind.

‘How do you get up there? Would we need ropes?’ Lily asked.

‘It’s just a hike from a cable car, but the landscape is fantastic the whole way,’ Sophie reassured her.

‘Ah, okay.’ Lily’s tone held a hint of disappointment. ‘I suppose that’s for the best.’

Sophie bit her lip, her finger hovering over her tablet. ‘I’ve been working quite closely with one of our adventure guides—’ She swallowed, remembering just how closely. ‘He has a very good idea of what’s possible, what’s safe – for everyone. And there is…’

She flipped through the photos, passing briefly over Monte Castello, the first summit where she’d stood across from Andreas and made him pretend he could be a real groom – her groom – and Cima Comer, with the wooden lookout.

‘It’s all so beautiful!’ Lily commented as she watched the photos change quickly on the screen.

But Sophie stopped scrolling when she reached Cima Rocca with its metal cross set into the boulders at the summit. She’d taken a panorama shot of the looming rocky peaks and the lake, dizzyingly far below.

‘This one,’ she began, pausing unintentionally before realising Lily and Roman were holding their breath. ‘This summit is accessed by via ferrata, a fixed climbing route. If you’re sure your wedding guests want to slip on a harness and a couple of straps and scramble up for your ceremony, then this might be the place. There’s an alternative route to the top on foot if some of your party aren’t willing to climb.’

The look Lily shared with Roman was so eager, Sophie had to forget her own reservations – and her own memories of adrenaline and kisses.

Roman clutched his fiancée’s hand in both of his. ‘We had all those plans to do the via ferratas in Austria last year and then you got sick. How amazing would it be…?’

‘Obviously, a wedding dress won’t be an option, but the wreath we discussed will look absolutely gorgeous and with matching corsages for the wedding party that you can preserve afterwards, it will be stunning.’

‘You lost me at the corsages,’ Lily said with a grin, ‘but that’s why we hired a planner. I don’t know anything about that stuff.’

‘A woman after my own heart!’

Sophie glanced up to see a flash of blue as Kira poked her head around the door.

‘Come on in, Kira. This is Lily and Roman, our Garda couple. This is Kira Watling. She’s a qualified guide and will be with us for all the activities.’

Kira shook their hands firmly. ‘I’m more familiar with bachelor parties, but I reckon we can pull this off.’ Glancing at the screen, she said, ‘Ah, Andreas told me about the via ferrata. Is that what we’re going with?’

‘It looks that way,’ Sophie said.

Roman thankfully picked up the thread of the conversation while she dealt with the twin blows of the prospect of doing the via ferrata with Kira instead of Andreas and the fact that he’d been talking toKiraand not to her.

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