Page 42 of Night and Day
Lilla nodded in earnest and ran away.
“Cheers,” Izzy cast her wary glance, which quickly melted into a smile. “You really don’t like the beard, do you?”
Mia swallowed. “Actually, I kind of do, but it could do with a trim.”
“Noted.”
Lilla returned with a unicorn clip, offering it to them with both hands like a gift from the gods. “This is my best one.”
Mia accepted the little item with due reverence. “Thank you. We’ll take good care of it.”
With amusement dancing on her lips, she worked the hair clip into Izzy’s bushy beard while he rolled his eyes, holding remarkably still. Once it was attached, he rose to his feet, displaying the new beard accessory to everyone.
Lilla clapped her hands, her face lit up with joy.
“Look at that, beards aren’t that scary after all.” Shasa smiled in amazement. “They’re just extra hair you can style.”
“Is anyone else coming?” Izzy asked, looking around at the small gathering.
“No,” Shasa replied. “I was going to invite Marnie and Jason, but you know, plans changed.” Her eyes widened, and she turned to Izzy and Mia. “My friend Marnie just had her baby. He came four weeks early, quite a surprise. They’re still in the hospital.”
“How are they?” Sue asked, her eyes filling with longing.
“Marnie is well. The baby is still in NICU but doing well. He’s breathing fine, but needs to learn how to suckle.”
Mac cleared his throat. “Since we’re not expecting anyone else and we’re all here...” he glanced at Shasa, who grinned back, eyes sparkling. “We have an announcement.”
Sue looked like she might have burst a vein from excitement. “Yes?”
“We’ve set the date!” Shasa took Mac’s hand. “And it’s soon. I’m sorry guys, we meant to give you more notice since we’ve been sitting on this for so long... and in the end we decided to go with that original plan of keeping it small.”
She and Mac exchanged a starry-eyed look. “We found a wedding planner, who can do it on a friendly budget,” Mac explained.
“She lives in a tiny house!” Shasa added. “That’s why she can keep her prices so reasonable... and she found us this incredible site and glamping gear, so it’s going to be an outdoor wedding. A small one, like forty people.”
“When is it?” Sue asked, taking out her phone, worry lines appearing on her forehead.
“In four weeks,” Mac replied with a sheepish grin.
Sue glanced at her husband, who stared back at her, equally dumbfounded. “But... that’s Christmas!”
“Almost, I know. But we couldn’t find a time everyone would be off work.” Shasa’s eyes burned with mild panic. “And we really didn’t want to lose the whole summer to the wedding planning. It’s so stressful... so we wanted to get married first and then enjoy the summer.” She threw a pleading look at her fiancé.
Mac jumped in. “The point is to get married, not to have a wedding, right?”
“So, under an open sky?” Sue’s mouth twitched, working itself into a brave smile. “It sounds very... romantic, I suppose. Let’s hope the weather plays ball.”
“We’ll have tents!” Shasa assured, rushing to top up the wineglass she’d drained. “It’ll be relaxed, but also comfortable. Ocean is amazing... she’s the wedding planner. Seriously, I’m in love with her. She’s taking away all the agonising and said we should just turn up.”
Mac scooped her into his arms. “I’m the one who said we should hire someone to deal with all this. Do I get any points?”
Shasa pursed her lips. “One point. That’s my best offer.”
“I give you five million points!” Lilla shouted, hugging his knees.
Mia chuckled. These guys were adorable.
Mac turned to Mia. “How long are you in the country? We’d love to have you at the wedding!”
