Page 45 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
Before he could protest, Alessandra set down her mug and stood, making her way to where Carla was talking to Ginny. Inwardly groaning, Mattia braced himself. Whatever Alessandra had to say to either of them, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it. He only hoped she’d believed his excuses. He didn’t want to land the other wedding planner in trouble because the bride was determined to see her friends settled before she permanently left Naples. Perhaps he should have told her the truth.
Urgh, no, after the strange conversation he’d just had with Alessandra, he couldn’t backtrack and admit he’d kissed the other wedding planner, especially when he could barely believe it himself. Only two more days and they’d have made it through the wedding alive. He only had to keep Alessandra calm for another two days.
‘Ginny,’ Alessandra interrupted gently, ‘I’ve just had the most wonderful idea and I’m certain it can’t be too difficult to arrange.’
Mattia held his breath.
With her bottomless patience, Ginny smiled enthusiastically and waited for her to continue.
‘You know how important kisses are at Italian weddings. And this is an Italian winter wedding. We’re going to need a lot more mistletoe.’
18
‘She finally beat you, huh?’
Ginny looked up from where she’d been scowling at her laptop, propped on the bed in front of her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You’ve been muttering to yourself about kissing for the past ten minutes. Will you finally admit you’re annoyed about all the special requirements for this wedding?’
‘I’m not annoyed,’ she insisted, making Kira laugh, ‘as much as it feels like a personal affront to be sourcing a heap of mistletoe when I haven’t been kissed in…’ She counted on her fingers, but quickly gave up. ‘Anyway, getting enough mistletoe at such short notice won’t be easy. I had already ordered a couple of bunches for the church, because it’s always nice for a winter wedding, but I’m not sure how much more I’m going to be able to get my hands on. I don’t suppose you have a sickle and know a grove of oak trees nearby?’
‘No. Which is what you should tell Alessandra.’
Ginny glanced at her with another smile. ‘You’re probably right. Can you teach me how to say that?’
‘N-o,’ Kira repeated.
‘It really is the magic I need in my life,’ Ginny said drily.
‘But to be honest, I’d rather be out there collecting mistletoe for you than stuck with this group much longer,’ Kira grumbled. She’d been in a better mood before dinner, probably because her own kissing clock had been put back to zero – her whole love life had been put back to zero after that halting, exploratory kiss.
But then she’d spent dinner listening to Rav defending Christian until she wanted to hit him – or hit Christian, since Rav stammered half-heartedly through his friend’s excuses.
She couldn’t shake the feeling she was going to ruin this wedding – in a more serious manner than through a lack of mistletoe.
‘Aren’t you usually stuck with groups in your job?’ Ginny asked. ‘I assume you can’t escape to a nice hotel room after a day with them either.’
‘No, but people are nicer when they’re expecting challenge and hardship. For a wedding, the challenges and hardships are a nasty surprise.’
Ginny chuckled, always so bright, even when Alessandra was pushing her to her limit.
‘Do you want me to help?’ Kira offered.
Ginny shook her head. ‘You’ve got an important job tomorrow, getting Joe to ski away his jitters.’
‘He has jitters?’ Kira asked doubtfully. She’d only seen his confident swagger and superior taunts.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Ginny said with a roll of her eyes. ‘This is why it’s good to get to know the couple before the big day. Alessandra is actually really sweet and Joe dotes on her, he just thinks he needs to pretend he’s certain.’
‘Shouldn’t he be certain at this point? It’s kind of difficult to back out now.’ Unease dug in and made itself comfortable in her stomach. If Joe backed out now… He might need a good kick up the arse tomorrow, not a ski tour. Alessandra would be mortified – crushed.
‘Everyone’s uncertain about their wedding two days before,’ Ginny said with a shrug. ‘You just learn to accept it and make an attempt anyway.’
Kira frowned. ‘That’s not very romantic of you. What about all the true love and soulmate crap?’
‘That’ll come, don’t worry. But doubts are normal – healthy even. Ignoring doubts is where couples tend to hit problems.’
Kira fell silent, further conversation crowded out by her own thoughts. She’d always hoped her healthy scepticism would save her from any further romantic mishaps that would crush her heart – and decimate her pride. But if doubts were normal, then hers were nothing special.
