Page 55 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
He considered her request once more, brows raised, his earring winking in the soft light. Then he nodded, his jaw tight. ‘I’ll make sure she gets back to the car safely.’
Winding his colourful scarf once more around his neck, he braced himself and headed back out into the snow.
22
Just when he’d thought he’d done something right.
Hurrying to catch up with Alessandra, he thought absently that at least he didn’t have to worry about drenching his trousers, as they were already soaked. He needn’t have hurried either. Alessandra hadn’t got far through the snowdrifts.
Mattia walked more easily now in the brand-new snow boots he’d hastily bought while waiting for the pizza – boots that had pleased him mainly when he imagined showing them to Kira. She hadn’t even seen them; she’d been so busy being grumpy at him.
Being grumpy about the wedding, he was beginning to understand, but she’d told him to kiss Carla too and he was less willing to forgive that.
Alessandra clutched at his arm, muttering in relief when he reached her, and he realised Kira had been right again: Alessandra needed help. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he concentrated on taking solid steps and let her lean on him.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked over the wind. ‘I mean about Joe?’
‘Non lo so, Matty,’ she said, her voice barely strong enough to carry. ‘I don’t know. I feel like he’s insulting me.’
‘I’m sure he doesn’t realise?—’
‘Are you defending him? You?’
‘I don’t know him well,’ he responded, peeved, ‘but I can’t imagine anyone purposefully insulting their fiancée the day before their wedding.’
Alessandra stopped, blinking at him. ‘What’s happened to you?’
‘You can stop worrying about me for a minute while you get married, Ale. I’m not the emotional wreck I used to be.’
She studied him closely enough that he came up in goosebumps – or perhaps that was the cold. He considered asking her to stop pushing him with Carla, but the wind picked up her hair and now certainly didn’t feel like the right time.
He urged her on. ‘Dai, it’s freezing, carissima. Joe’s waiting for you.’
‘He’s probably passed out by now,’ she muttered.
Battling across the slippery street together, they found the van – ice caked around the wheels – and Rav opened the door for them to get inside.
‘Where’s Kira?’ he asked.
‘’sKira?’ Joe repeated, his eyelids heavy.
‘She’s finishing up in the chapel, but Joe, here’s Alessandra.’
The man had the good grace to look sheepish as he hoisted his brow high enough that he could squint at her. ‘’m s-s-sorry, baby. I’ll be better tomorrow. Promise. I love you s’much.’
Mattia could almost see Alessandra’s resentment crack – that quickly. A smile touched his lips. His old friend was no stranger to resentment; she’d been known to hold a grudge – for months, on occasion. But with Joe, she barely lasted a minute.
He had no doubt Joe had some grovelling to do to get back in her good books, but he could already see she’d forgive him. Mattia only hoped Joe understood what a gift that was.
A distant buzz alerted him to Norbert’s approach and he peered through the gloom to see the headlights of the snowmobile tracking slowly down the mountain. When the concierge pulled up, he was wearing ski goggles and heavy-duty gloves, and his moustache was caked in snow.
The sled that had brought them down this morning was attached to the snowmobile and Mattia shuddered, imagining another loud, juddering trip in heavy snow.
‘Where’s the wedding planner?’ he asked gruffly after he cut the engine. ‘This is record snowfall and I’d like to get home to check on my cows.’
‘Ah,’ was all Mattia could say at first, not quite understanding the comment about the cows. ‘She’ll be here soon. But maybe you could take this group up first? By the time you’re back, the others will be finished.’
He offered Alessandra his arm for balance as she settled into the passenger sled while Rav and Hugh kept Joe steady. She clutched at him when he would have tugged his arm back.
