Page 34 of The Last Saturday In July
‘So, what did you think?’ Adam asked.
‘About their plans?’ Jess shrugged. ‘They seem to have a clear idea about what they want.’ She paused. ‘It did strike me as a bit ironic that they’re going for a Cinderella-themed wedding, though. I mean, Cinderella had only until midnight before all the magic disappeared.’
Adam shot her a look of amusement. ‘I didn’t miss the irony. But, to be honest, I think this will be the wedding that breaks the Linford Curse.’
‘It’s probably silly to overthink a themed wedding, even a Cinderella-themed one.’
Jess took a deep breath and tried to shake out the tension in her body, but it was difficult sitting in a car. She rolled down the window, wishing she wasn’t facing a long journey home on such a gorgeous afternoon. She put her head back, closed her eyes and eventually drifted into a relaxed state between waking and sleeping.
‘Jess?’
She started awake to see Adam, head turned, smiling at her as he drove.
‘I was thinking we could take a short break before we go back? Stretch our legs somewhere.’
She hesitated. How wise was it to spend any more time with Adam? Especially on a Saturday, when she should probably be getting straight back to Simon. Except that Simon was now at Luke’s birthday party.
She nodded. ‘Actually, I’d love that.’
‘What about that little village you mentioned? There’s a river walk, I think.’
She hadn’t been there since she and Simon had booked the church.
How weird would it be to go there with Adam?
He glanced over. ‘The turn’s coming up.’
‘Um, sure.’ It would be fine. It was a walk, nothing else.
Adam turned right onto a small road that wound around until it came to a humpback bridge over a river. The road widened slightly as they came to the outskirts of Ballygobbin village.
Moments later, they pulled into the small car park behind a pub.
Jess got out of the car and stretched, shielding her eyes against the sun and grateful for the warm wind. It was the most perfect afternoon. She slipped on some sunglasses and fell into step beside Adam as he headed towards the river.
‘Pretty, isn’t it?’ He pushed his hands into his pockets. ‘I think it’s the same one that runs through Linford’s grounds.’
‘Hmm?’ Jess glanced over. ‘Oh probably, it’s only twenty-six miles away.’
‘Really?’ He slanted her a smile.
She’d looked it up, she remembered, but now she realised how weirdly specific it sounded. ‘Apparently.’
They walked in silence along the river path, as shards of sunlight filtered through the tall trees that lined the bank and bounced off the water. Finally, it became too narrow to walk side by side.
Adam stopped and pointed to the far bank. ‘There, look!’
A heron dived into the water, surfacing moments later with a wriggling fish in its bill.
‘I love it here!’ Jess laughed, glancing quickly away as Adam’s eyes met hers. This was insane, she couldn’t flirt. Jess inched slightly away and listened for a moment to the competing sounds of birds, the buzzing of insects, and the quiet rush of the river. She’d always loved rivers and canals, but she and Simon had been under pressure to see the church and get to Burlington House the day they’d come down, and they’d had no time to explore. Now, being here with Adam felt disloyal.
‘Let’s get back into the sun.’
He shrugged. ‘We can explore the village a bit.’
They retraced their steps, re-emerging into the village, and wandered up its hilly main street which was busy with local shoppers and children eating ice creams or running along the path in front of them. A group of bored teenagers hung around outside a pub.
Adam turned to her. ‘I think that’s an old church at the top of the hill. Will we take a look?’
