Page 4 of The Last Saturday In July
‘Saturday, July 28th.’ Ian helped himself to some more tea.
That was the day she was getting married.
Chapter 3
‘I REFUSE to feel guilty anymore.’ Kate ordered a flat white and a latte at Butlers Café later that morning. ‘It’s your own fault.’
Jess pulled herself back to the moment. ‘What is?’
‘The hen weekend.’
‘What?’ Had Kate somehow found out? She seemed very calm.
‘You said you wanted one last wild weekend.’ Kate put their coffees on a tray. ‘Anyway, you didn’t actually get yourself into any trouble.’
‘Right.’ Jess wished she would just stop talking about it. ‘I’ll have a blueberry muffin too. Let me get this.’
Jess paid and they sat down.
‘Thanks.’ Kate tucked some hair behind her ears, frowning as Jess rubbed at her eyes. ‘Don’t do that, you’ll get stretchy skin, and don’t tell me it’s your hay fever.’
Sometimes Jess forgot how bossy Kate was. Although she knew she meant well. She tried blinking hard instead.
‘So, have you forgiven Zoe yet?’
Jess grimaced. ‘Mam rang me a while ago. Apparently, Zoe told her that we all went out for a nice meal, had a couple of glasses of wine and decided to call it a night. So naturally Mam assumes we all got completely wasted and slept with every man within a ten-mile radius.’ She winced as the words left her mouth, but Kate didn’t seem to notice.
‘So, are the rumours about Linford true?’
Jess bit into her muffin and wiped away some crumbs. ‘Yup! Frank called a meeting earlier.California Girlfriendsstar, Chelsea Deneuve, is marrying,’ Jess did air-quotes with her fingers, ‘“Vegas King” Leo Dinardia.’
She thought briefly back over the past hour. After the meeting, Frank had introduced her to Ian Finnegan.
To her mortification, Ian’s eyes had lit up.
‘A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Jess.’
He’d given her a tiny wink, which she didn’t know how to interpret. She had stuttered something vaguely intelligible in reply, hoping he didn’t get a chance to talk to Emily.
Luckily, Emily seemed to have forgotten about the phone call.
‘Omigod!I can’t believe Chelsea Deneuve is getting married here in Ireland. You have to get selfies, Jess. Seriously,California Girlfriendsis the best reality TV, and Chelsea totally deserved her win as Most Popular Girlfriend last year. Although I’m betting on Brandi this year.’
Jess had decided to humour her. ‘Brandi?’
‘Chelsea’s younger half-sister – same mam. They’re, like, super-competitive.’
The reception phone had rung, saving Jess from having to hear any more about Chelsea and her sister.
Kate looked thoughtful. ‘You won’t have to meet them, will you?’
Jess scrunched up her nose. ‘I’m not sure, Frank wants me to liaise with Ian Finnegan. Although I’m sure the couple will have their own publicity people.’ She shrugged. ‘He probably thinks I’ll market Linford better if I can get a handle on this. I know the wedding will be huge but Linford is really special, you know? Is it mad that I want it to be more than just a wedding venue? I mean, I know I’ve got the history and the whole Victorian thing too, but ...” Jess trailed off. It was the first time she had admitted she was struggling with the new marketing campaign.
Kate just laughed. ‘How hard can it be? It’s a posh castle and you’re flogging it to the one per cent. And if it’s just going to be used for celebrity weddings, so what?’ Before Jess could object, she added, ‘How did they manage to keep it a secret?’
‘Ian Finnegan and Frank were sworn to secrecy, apparently.’ Jess grinned at Kate’s expression. ‘They’re flying in two hundred guests for a three-day wedding.’
‘Jesus, the press will have a field day!’
