Page 25 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
‘We can’t seat them together, not for dinner,’ she insisted, earning a surprised glance from Ginny.
‘Why not?’
She wasn’t sure she could explain his discomfort to Ginny without revealing confidences that suddenly felt too intimate.
‘There’s no seating plan tonight anyway,’ Ginny continued. ‘And I really hope we don’t have to make any more changes for the reception. I’ve spent hours on it!’
‘On a seating plan?’
‘Just wait until you have to help me with the bower and the place settings!’ Ginny seemed genuinely excited, but Kira’s stomach was churning. Her awkward wedding memories were from a long time ago and there hadn’t been a bower or any fuss with place settings, but she still had a bad taste in her mouth.
First, she had to get through dinner with the fancy guests at the fancy cabin – and face the fancy opera boy who shouldn’t feel like a friend already.
Adjusting the scarf part of her blouse as she followed Ginny down the hall towards the dining room, she accidentally undid the knot Mattia had tied. Swallowing a curse, she quickly tied a water knot and tried to forget about the stupid thing.
As she stepped into the dining room, she suddenly understood why Ginny had been so concerned about Kira’s appearance. While the traditional construction of rough-hewn wood was hinted at here and there, the white walls with grey accents, natural stone fixtures and jacquard tablecloths turned the room into a fine restaurant – and the guests were even finer.
Kira picked out Alessandra straight away. She was a vivacious woman with black hair in careless curls that had probably taken an hour to style, standing by the window talking to man with his back turned. Her make-up was flawless; her blouse with its edgy collar had not a wrinkle, which Kira considered to be some kind of dark magic. Instead of the felt cabin slippers that Kira had shoved her stocking feet into, Alessandra wore some shiny black designer things with a low heel.
The men weren’t wearing ties, but they were otherwise dressed for a business meeting – at least that’s what it looked like to Kira – in navy or camel jackets and leather loafers, their hair subtly styled.
Suddenly feeling out of touch with normal people, Kira smoothed her black hiking trousers that she’d hoped wouldn’t be noticeable as such. The wedding party weren’t normal people, she reminded herself. They were top earners, probably descended from other top earners, but the knowledge didn’t stop the tide of self-consciousness up her throat.
‘Oh hi, Kira!’
Uh oh, the bride had caught sight of her. Alessandra beckoned her over and then wrapped her arms around her in a hug that was far too familiar, punctuating the action with a kiss on each cheek. Kira wouldn’t have been surprised to find matching lip marks on her face.
‘Thank you so much for taking care of Mattia. He has such a delicate artistic spirit and I was so worried about him getting here safe.’
Kira wouldn’t argue about the ‘delicate artistic spirit’, but Alessandra seemed a little too caught up in her honorary big sister role. Mattia was all grown up.
She was gathering her thoughts in search of something appropriate to say – and drawing a blank – when she finally glanced at Alessandra’s companion. She’d assumed it was Joe, the groom, but when she saw the face above the navy jacket, she stopped breathing altogether.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Seeing her old friend Aarav Grewal again came pretty close. He’d been there that day twelve years ago – also a groomsman – giving her a pitying look as she’d slowly realised the enormity of the mistake she’d made. He knew.
No. Now was not the time to see Rav again. The memories she’d been keeping at bay pulled loose, freezing in her chest and rushing up her throat. It was a long time ago; she’d been young and stupid. But the feelings were still with her, damn it: mortification mainly, as she came face to face with the past she’d successfully avoided for all her years at Great Heart.
Rav glanced at her. Kira held her breath, waiting for her final defences to fall and reveal her to be the misfit who wasn’t worth the effort, but Rav said nothing, eventually wandering away to speak to the groom who was standing by the fire with a tumbler of something.
Kira blinked, unsure whether to be relieved or offended. Rav hadn’t recognised her.
She could barely think, let alone manage any small talk and it was a relief when they sat down to dinner – until she noticed that, in her distraction, she hadn’t been able to stop Ginny from ushering Mattia to the end of the table to sit with a woman who had to be the bridesmaid – Carla.
10
Soft jazz music played through subtle speakers set behind the lighting throughout the room. Mattia liked jazz. Not quite as much as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but he enjoyed the syncopation and the rawness of the melodies.
He could focus on that. For the sake of Alessandra’s happiness, he had to get through this dinner without drawing attention to himself. The clink of cutlery and the murmur of voices in the room would at least mask the sounds from Carla, seated opposite him, that he’d allowed to balloon into a stress trigger. One day, he was confident, he’d be able to eat with her and feel nothing – but unfortunately not today.
After an awkward greeting – pressing his lips to her cheek had been a vertigo-inducing mix of familiarity and tension – she’d been watching him closely ever since.
Alessandra’s parents, who he called Zia Francesca and Zio Giorgio – his honorary uncle and aunt – sat nearby, but after a delighted welcome, they’d largely left him in Carla’s clutches. A wink from Zia Francesca made him think that might have been on purpose.
His ex had a narrow face, striking, dark features and rich, brown hair with subtle highlights. She was wearing some kind of gloss that made her lips look moist. It reminded Mattia of kissing her – another awkward thought, when they weren’t together any more.
There had been a time when he’d enjoyed being close to her, but now her presence made him recoil. He must be broken in some way, to both long for affection and then physically despise it afterwards, but that was his oversensitive existence in a nutshell. He wished he could undo the year they’d been together.
