Page 18 of The Wisteria Tree Cottage

‘I was thinking that too,’ River said, standing up and looking over at the missing part of the roof. ‘Maybe get some white blinds for those days when it’s really sunny.’

Heath stood up as well, stretching his back. ‘It’s a good idea but you’ll have to clear it with the one in charge.’

‘Who’s in charge?’ Bear said. Meadow was the manager of Wishing Wood but Indigo was now events manager so maybe it was her baby.

‘Well it’s definitely not me, I don’t think I’ve been in charge of anything since Indigo arrived,’ River said.

‘You were never in charge.’ Heath laughed.

‘I’ll suggest it to Indigo,’ Bear said.

‘You should probably talk to Meadow too. The wedding chapel was Indigo’s idea but this design mainly came from Meadow,’ Heath said. ‘She told me that when she was little she wanted to get married in this wood. I think she’s been dreaming about something like this ever since then.’

Bear suddenly had a vivid flashback to when he and Meadow were around Star’s age and the smile stretched across his face. ‘She did get married here. When we were about seven or eight, we were playing up here in the woods and she made me act out a whole wedding ceremony. I was the groom, she was the brideandthe registrar so I don’t think it really counts.’

River grinned. ‘Probably not.’

‘That’s hilarious. You two were always so inseparable growing up,’ Heath said. ‘I need to get some more wood. I’ll be back in a minute.’

Heath clapped Bear on the back and walked out.

‘Well, your little wedding ceremony obviously struck a chord with her,’ River said. ‘She was really enthusiastic about designing this place and creating the perfect wedding venue. Although maybe it was the man she was marrying rather than the wedding that struck the chord.’

Bear ignored the comment. He was fairly sure, like their grandmother, Amelia, that River had guessed about Bear’s feelings towards Meadow, but Bear wasn’t going to take the bait.

‘Maybe I’ll leave it then if this place is so important to Meadow,’ Bear said. ‘I was going to suggest scrapping the stained-glass window too as that view out there is far more impressive than anything a stained-glass window could recreate.’

River went to the window. ‘Yeah, that’s one of the best views in the resort.’

Bear moved to stand next to him. He could see several treehouses peeping through their trees with their turrets and wonky chimneys. The peacock-blue sea twinkling under a cloudless sky followed the butter-yellow sand of Pear Tree Beach. It was stunning.

‘That’s actually one of the selling points for using this chapel to get married. We can sell that view in the adverts.’

‘Good point. Talk to Meadow about it. She listens to you.’

Bear frowned. ‘She listens to you too.’

‘But with you it’s different, you know that.’

Bear looked at River. ‘What do you mean?’

River grinned. ‘You two just get each other more than anyone I know.’

‘We’re friends. Just like you and Meadow are friends.’

‘I adore Meadow, but what you share with her is very different to what I share with her.’

‘Well, we’re the same age, we were in the same class at school, we’re bound to be closer.’

‘And Heath and Meadow were married for nearly eight years and raised a child together, they’re close, but still nothing compared to what you two share.’

Bear swallowed, focussing on the view, the way the golden light of the sun danced on the turquoise waves.

‘How do you feel about her going on a date tonight?’ River asked.

Bear didn’t look at him. ‘I want her to be happy.’

‘And that tells me everything I need to know. Why don’tyoujust ask her out?’

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