Page 82 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
The scent of honey brought a smile to her lips. A hint of spice and fresh citrus and she’d imagine Mattia behind her. He’d be here soon, with Alessandra. Perhaps she should have been bracing herself for the emotional onslaught of hearing him sing, especially given the strange mood she was already in, but she let her mind wander pleasantly instead.
Which was why she wasn’t prepared when a voice from her distant past sounded behind her.
‘Kira.’
She froze, which was a little awkward, given she was leaning over the altar to light a candle right up the back.
Twelve years. It was more than a third of her life. She was most definitely an adult now, with a rational perspective on life. She was a rock climbing instructor, she’d summited two 6,000ers in Nepal and led countless adventure tours.
But hearing that voice made her nineteen again – the tomboy misfit who soaked up every drop of affection her inadequate friend-turned-lover gave her. A friend she never should have believed she was in love with.
‘Kira, the candle!’ Sophie’s choked cry broke through her foggy thoughts and she looked down – and yelped.
Flailing for the nearest piece of cloth, she grabbed the linen under the big old Bible and slapped frantically at her stomach, registering the bite of pain.
The unassuming priest must have had superhuman speed, because he appeared in a heartbeat with a fire extinguisher. A puff of white powder exploded over her torso, raining down on the altar and filling the front of the church with chemical fog. After one more blast for good measure, the priest stepped back to assess his handiwork.
‘That could have been very bad,’ he said emphatically.
Spluttering, Kira swiped at her chin, noticing the fine, white powder residue all over herself. This was very bad.
‘Kira! Can I?—?’
She whirled around, hearing Christian’s voice much closer. He drew back when he saw her face – or perhaps it was in reaction to her current state.
‘Wow, it’s been a long time.’
Kira gritted her teeth. Did he mean good ‘wow’ or bad ‘wow’? What kind of reaction was ‘wow’ anyway? The wedding was due to start and she’d just set herself on fire. This was no time for ‘wow’.
‘It really has,’ she said woodenly.
‘It’s good to see you.’
A few days ago, she might have given a snarky retort, something like It obviously wasn’t good to see me in a fucking wedding dress! But all she wanted was for Alessandra’s nuptials to get underway – and to fix her latest mishap.
‘Maybe at the reception we could… catch up?’
She gave him a withering look. ‘Let’s not,’ she said with a laugh. ‘I need to go get cleaned up.’
That was that. She’d seen him again. And she’d felt more standing in the Christmas market while Mattia shared the tiniest glimpse of his soul.
Sophie bustled up to them, nudging the trigger-happy priest with the fire extinguisher and Kira’s gawping ex-fiancé out of the way. ‘Are you okay? Let me see.’
Kira turned to allow Sophie to assess the damage. ‘I’m so sorry, Sophie. I did warn you I’m not cut out for weddings, although I didn’t expect I’d nearly burn down the church.’
Her eyes flickered to where Christian was retreating to the back of the chapel to stand with a tall woman in a pencil-straight dress. At least with the perspective of the continual disasters, she was barely even curious about his girlfriend.
‘My shirt is ruined. And maybe the wedding.’
Sophie snorted a laugh, obviously assuming she was joking. ‘We’ll get this cleaned up. It’s not the first fire I’ve had to put out before a wedding. I promise we’ve had our share of mishaps over the years,’ she said ruefully. ‘I’ll call this one “Fire and Ice” in the file.’
‘More like crash and burn?’ Kira muttered. ‘That’s just my pride. Oh, and my wardrobe, apparently. I literally have nothing else to wear.’
‘That’s easily solved. Here’s the key to the van. There are wet wipes in the centre console and you can grab something out of my suitcase to wear. It might be a little loose on you, but better that than the other way around.’
Kira took in Sophie’s fine, wrap-around dress with a doubtful look. ‘It’s more the style that concerns me.’
‘You can pull it off. Just wait until you see Andreas in a tie.’
