Page 3 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
‘It’s beautiful.’ There was something about his voice that cut through the white noise to the sea of emotion in a person and Kira definitely did not like it.
She should remind him that their destination – one of the farthest corners of Tyrol, at the end of the isolated Tux Valley, at the foot of a glacier – would have a lot more snow than this, but the light in his eyes stopped her from dragging him back to earth.
‘It is,’ was all she said in reply.
2
Mattia realised he hadn’t eaten lunch at about the same moment he noticed the car rental company appeared to be closed.
At least the wedding planner’s exclamation of, ‘What the—?’ covered the creak and groan of his stomach, where he sat in the back of the cab. She peered through the windscreen, her look just as dark as the windows of the shopfront.
He was selfishly relieved that Alessandra had sent this woman with blue hair to look after him. If she was the kind of person who sat in the front of the cab with the driver, she must be capable of anything and after the day – days – he’d had, he wasn’t sure he was able to solve any problems right now and he didn’t want to disappoint Alessandra just before her wedding.
‘It’s supposed to be open until six-thirty!’
‘Shall I get out and?—’
She was already shoving open the car door and trotting up to read the sign stuck behind the glass. ‘Stay there. It’s closed. Due to heavy snowfall, apparently.’
Glancing doubtfully at the sky, she grumbled under her breath as she returned to the cab. ‘Be still, my growling stomach.’
Mattia had to resist a smile. ‘Can we try somewhere else?’
‘With a minivan available at short notice two days after Christmas?’ she snapped without looking at him. Turning to the driver, she said, ‘Could you take us to the train station, please?’ and pulled out her phone. After a few short taps, the device was at her ear.
‘We’re going to take the train?’ he asked.
She eyed him and that seemed to be the only answer he was going to get.
A quick phone conversation followed, emotions from frustration to dismay to a hint of amusement flitting across her features. She had an interesting face: a strong jaw and a high forehead, slightly crooked teeth – and straight, firm lips that hinted at complexity. A puckered scar the shape of the crescent moon adorned her cheekbone. He suspected he was wearing more make-up than she was, if his concealer and subtle eyeliner had survived the rigorous day of auditions.
Just thinking about the auditions made his empty stomach heave.
‘Are you sure you’re okay on your own until tomorrow? She’s not a bridezilla?’ Kira was saying into her phone.
Mattia sat up straight. ‘Alessandra is not a bridezilla,’ he said indignantly. ‘And what do you mean, “tomorrow”?’
Kira ignored him. ‘We’ll get going as early as we can, but the rental company doesn’t open until ten.’
He held his hand palm down and gestured urgently.
She finally paid him some attention. ‘What?’
‘Can I have the phone? Is Alessandra there?’
‘Can’t you call Alessandra yourself?’
‘Ah.’ She was right. Rummaging in his coat pockets, it took him a minute to find the device and then they were pulling up outside the historic rail terminal and he had to scramble to keep up with her – no hope of working out what was going on, in his state.
After paying the driver, she was out and hauling her backpack on while he was still finding his footing on the slippery pavement and nearly lobbing his phone into the fountain in the process. Despite the foot and vehicle traffic, a layer of snow had built up and it was still coming down.
The train station had a lush spruce bringing post-Christmas spirit into the square. If this place had to be cold and damp, at least it did so beautifully. He thought of Alessandra’s dreams of a winter wedding with a shot of tenderness for his old friend. Then he remembered: Kira Watling had said tomorrow!
Alessandra would be running herself ragged – and worrying about him on top of everything else. But if he stopped to call her now, he might lose his guide, who was setting off at quite a clip.
‘Can we slow down?’ His foot slipped, punctuating his sentence. His elegant Santoni dress shoes obviously didn’t like the snow. Kira wore yellow nylon boots with soles that appeared to bite into the pavement and he was struck by the thought that she wasn’t what he’d expected from a wedding planner.
She was far too grumpy.
