Page 23 of Wedding Games
‘No, it would have been Fi,’ said Duncan.
‘None of the above,’ Arnold replied.
‘Zoe,’ stated Rory.Ofcourse,it was her.
There was an unnerving pause before Arnold replied. ‘Yes,’ he said, nodding vigorously. ‘It was Zoe.’
Rory gave Arnold the look he once used in his army days for the most difficult of interrogations.
‘Arnold, who asked you to take these photos?’ he asked with deadly calm.
There was a pause as everyone waited for his response.
‘Morag,’ Arnold finally mumbled.
‘Mymum?’ Jamie cried as Duncan yelled ‘Mymother-in-law?’
‘Well, she asked me not to photograph the pair of you,’ Arnold replied hurriedly. ‘She only wanted pictures of Charlie.’
Charlie laughed. ‘Suck it, Scotties.’
‘It was my wife who wanted photos of Duncan,’ Arnold continued.
Duncan punched Jamie on the arm. ‘Ha! Sam’s the only one who wants you, mate.’
‘Fuck off,’ Jamie grumbled.
‘Oh no, Jamie did get another vote,’ said Arnold.
Jamie blanched. ‘Please tell me it wasn’t Zoe or my sister?’
‘No,’ Arnold replied. ‘It was Mrs McCreedie.’
‘Fuck my life,’ Jamie muttered as Charlie and Duncan cracked up.
Rory couldn’t help but smile, but then a sobering thought crossed his mind.
‘Arnold,’ he asked. ‘How many people are in this chat group?’
Arnold frowned. ‘I’m not sure, to be honest. It was eight, but Mrs McCreedie is an admin so she keeps adding more.’
Rory didn’t understandthe point of holding a stag event. He didn’t feel the need to party like a condemned man celebrating his last hours of life. Marrying Zoe was not a prison sentence with no chance of parole; it was the start of a new chapter in his life that promised infinite happiness and contentment. Also, due to Zoe’s inherent sociability, he knew he’d see more of his friends, not less, in the years to come.
But even though he didn’t want a stag do, Charlie had insisted, telling him they hadn’t had a night out together in over ten years. Rory didn’t drink, wasn’t much of a people person, and wouldn’t cross the threshold of a strip club. He didn’t trust any of his old army friends not to drug and then tie him naked to a lamppost in the centre of Inverness, so none of them was coming.
Charlie had invited Arnold, but he’d declined and now had plans to visit the GlenWyvis Distillery for a private tour with Brad. So, Rory was spending the day and evening with Charlie, Jamie, and Duncan. He’d told his best friend he didn’t mind what they did as long as they were outdoors and at least five miles away from any other human.
After the fitting, they had lunch in Inverness. Later, Charlie drove Arnold out of the city in Rory’s truck to hand him off to Brad. Rory had expected to do this, but Charlie was adamant that for the rest of the day he had to do exactly what he was told. So now he was standing with Jamie and Duncan outside the station on Academy Street in central Inverness, waiting for his friend.
He soon wished he wasn’t.
The strains of Mendelssohn’sWedding Marchcarried over the background noise of traffic and people, but the music was not coming from Rory’s truck. Driving far too slowly down the road towards them was his grandfather’s Rolls Royce. Charlie was at the wheel with the windows down, wearing a shit-eating grin and a chauffeur’s cap.
Rory made a move in the opposite direction. However, he found himself imprisoned in a DuncanJamie sandwich.
Charlie rolled to a halt and got out, the music still blaring.
‘Turn it off, you twat,’ Rory growled. He hated being the centre of attention, and Charlie was currently blocking the traffic.
