Page 15 of Before You Say I Do
Abby let out a howl of laughter. “Maybe three.” She liked the way she laughed with Jordan.
She’d liked the feel of her in her arms earlier, too, when she was showing her how to swing.
But she wasn’t going to think about that.
After all, they were friendly feelings, nothing more.
“In my defence, I ate enough of it during my childhood to last a lifetime. Growing up in Glasgow, white bread was a staple of any diet.” Abby sat back in her chair, stroking the rim of her glass. “Now I’ve taught you how to drive a golf ball, it’s your turn to teach me how to pretend we know each other well. I’m still not sure I can pull this off.”
Jordan shook her head. “Course you can. Nothing to it. Plus, because I am a long-lost friend from your past, you’re not going to know everything about my life in detail, seeing as we’re just catching up. So the story is perfect. The key thing is to spend as much time together before the wedding. Not every waking moment, obviously, but times like this. You show me what makes you tick, and it’s a two-way street. Ask me anything you like, too. I’m happy to answer.”
Abby nodded. It made sense. She wasn’t worried about the wedding day itself, because nobody was going to quiz her about their past then. It was more the hen weekend. The lead-up drinks. The rehearsal dinner. Delta knew, along with Marcus’s parents. Her parents would know by then. Everybody else, they had to convince.
“So you were whisked away from my school when we were what age?”
Jordan stroked her chin. “Let’s say nine. That way, it gives us a few years of being besties. The beauty of this story is that I’m not really lying. Like I said, my childhood was studded with moves, and leaving behind new friends. In the end, I didn’t try so hard to make friends. It was easier that way. Saved the heartache.”
“My childhood was the opposite to you. I had a very settled time. My mum worked full-time, my dad worked from home and did the school run most days.”
“I could only dream of that,” Jordan said. “Do you still see friends from your childhood?”
Abby shook her head. “Not so much now I live down here. But some of them will be coming to the wedding. But I’m not worried about our cover being blown. Give them enough wine and they won’t ask any questions.”
“Works every time.” Jordan paused. “When little Abby was running around her Scottish playground, dreaming of white bread sandwiches, did you want to work in finance then?”
Abby scoffed. “Does anyone dream of that?”
“My cousin did. But he is a little odd.”
“You’ll be surprised to hear the answer is no. In fact, I’m currently going for a promotion which will mean longer hours at a job I hate.” When she put it like that, she made herself question her life. “I wanted to be a golfer in my teens, but I left it a little late to start. Tiger Woods started playing aged one. So my second choice was to work for a charity, achieve big things, and save the world.”
Jordan nodded. “Start small.”
“That’s what I thought. I went to Oxford University because I read that’s where all the big decision-makers in life went. I wanted to be on their team. However, I didn’t really like many of them. The only one I did like was Marcus. He was kind and considerate.”
“Wow, you’ve been together for a while.”
Abby shook her head. “No, we never got together at uni. Our paths crossed, we had mutual friends, but we never got romantically involved. That didn’t happen until just over 18 months ago, when I met him again at a work function. We had a drink to chat about old times, then he asked me to dinner. The rest is history.”
Jordan smiled. “A classic second-chance romance.”
Clouds formed on Abby’s brain, but she nodded anyway. She and Marcus were no love’s young dream, she knew that. Perhaps that was truer for Marcus than for her. But she did love him. And she knew that Marcus would always be there for her, no matter what.
“Something like that,” she replied.
“And when you’re married, do you think you’re going to take up those childhood dreams of saving the world?”
Was she? Abby hadn’t really thought about it. Marrying Marcus and moving in with him had been consuming all her thoughts of late. She hadn’t thought much about anything past the wedding.
Not even the honeymoon.
Getting married, changing her name, moving house.
One step at a time.
“I live on Charity Street. I thought that was a good start.”
Jordan tilted her head. “But you always said you wanted to save the world when we were eight. You wanted to be a name on everyone’s lips. Someone who really made a difference, and did it for reasons known only to herself. You also wanted to be the sixth member of the Spice Girls, and I applauded such lofty ambition.”
