“Ooh, why don’t I go for something wild?” Ally craned her neck over the nail colors on offer. “How about electric purple or acid green?”
“You’d hate it by the end of the day,” Tyler hastily replied. Somehow she didn’t think her friend would want to be married with her fingernails flashing purple or green. “Why don’t you go for a pearly pink like the one I’ve chosen?”
Ally blinked in surprise. “I never thought you’d go with such a mild color. Are you sure that’s what you want?”
Tyler had picked it because she didn’t want to stand out. Today was Ally’s day, and all the attention ought to be on her. “I must be getting conservative in my old age,” she quipped.
“Oh, yeah, and next year you’ll be joining the Burronga Bridge Club, too, I’ll bet.”
An hour later they were done, skin rejuvenated, faces made up, nails polished, hair gleaming, legs waxed. As they drove back through town, anticipation stirred in Tyler. Were they on schedule? She hoped so. She prayed Nate had everything under control. He was such a capable organizer, but on his wedding day he was bound to be wired.
“Why do you keep checking your watch?” Ally said as they pulled into the street leading to Clifton Gardens. “Are you late for something?”
“Uh, it’s nothing.”
“Why are we going this way?” Ally straightened as they neared the wrought iron gates leading into the park. A familiar figure stood on the sidewalk, watching them. “What’s Nate doing here?”
Tyler didn’t say anything, instead bringing the car to a halt in front of the gates. Nate, handsome in a pale gray suit, stepped forward and opened the door for Ally.
“Nate? What’s going on?” Ally asked, still appearing perplexed as she slid out the car. “Why are you all dressed up?”
He cleared his throat, nervousness printed all over his face, and offered her the long-stemmed rose he was carrying. “Ally, my darling, will you marry me?”
“I don’t understand. Of course I’ll marry you.” She took the rose in a daze. “But we’re already engaged, aren’t we?”
“Ally, will you marry me today?”
“Today?” She stared at him. “What’s going on here?”
“I know you’ve been worrying over the wedding, and I wanted you to enjoy the occasion, so I decided to bring the wedding forward a few weeks and spare you the concern.” Her poor man swallowed visibly. “I’m throwing you a surprise wedding party right now.”
For a few heart-stopping moments, Ally just gaped at Nate. But then she threw herself into his arms. “Oh, Nate, that’s the most darling thing ever” The rest of her sentence was lost as she smothered him with kisses.
A relieved Nate hugged her and gave Tyler the thumbs-up over her shoulder. “That’s great, because a whole bunch of people have turned up today.”
That was the cue for the guests to come pouring out of the gates. For a few minutes there was nothing but hugs and exclamations all around. Finally Ally, tears threatening her makeup, made a beeline for Tyler. “I can’t believe you kept this a secret from me!” she squealed as she hugged Tyler. “No wonder you were hassling me to choose a wedding dress!”
“We’d better change so the ceremony can go ahead.” Tyler grabbed her friend by the wrist and pulled her into the park. “Come on. You don’t want to make Nate wait at his own wedding.”
After Tyler had seen to Ally, she changed into her own simple frock and slipped out of the tent, where Luke was waiting for her with Chloe. Tyler kissed her daughter and admired her princess-y dress before turning to Luke.
“Very demure.” Luke’s eyes lit up with appreciation as he took in her pale lavender dress.
“I didn’t want to stand out today.”
“You’re standing out anyway. That contrast between your outward properness and what I know is simmering just beneath is really working on me.”
She grinned back at him before glancing down at Chloe, but her girl was too busy with her posy of flowers to notice. “You don’t look too shabby yourself.” She studied his single-breasted jacket, silk tie, dress shirt, and navy trousers with interest. “This is the first time I’ve seen you wear a tie.”
“Don’t get too attached to it. I’m taking it off as soon as the ceremony’s over.”
“Thanks for minding Chloe this afternoon.”
“No problem. We had a lot of fun reading together.” He ruffled Chloe’s hair, and when the girl offered him one of her mangled daisies, he tucked it into the buttonhole of his jacket.
The air caught in Tyler’s throat at the sweet, casual interaction between the two. How had it happened that Luke had insinuated himself so quickly and seamlessly into their lives? The three of them stood together like a regular family unit—mother, father, and daughter, just like so many others here among the guests. But they weren’t a family unit. They were just a random, unstable compound that would soon dissolve under its own fickleness.
A few minutes later, the ceremony began. When Ally and Nate walked up to the minister, the glow in their faces struck Tyler anew. She’d always known these two were mad for each other, but to see them so palpably in love brought a lump to her throat. The feeling persisted throughout the ceremony, and by the time they were declared husband and wife and finally kissed, she was almost too choked to breathe.
“You okay?” Luke murmured in her ear, his arm hovering protectively around her.
“Yeah,” she managed to get out, surprised that he’d noticed. “Don’t know what’s the matter with me.”
“It’s a wedding. People are allowed to tear up.”
All the other women around her were looking teary. Ally’s grandmother and sister were both weeping as they embraced the newly married couple.
“Not me.” She never teared up—not at weddings, movies, breakups, nothing. This scratchy feeling in her throat must be an allergy. Pressing her lips together, Tyler squared her shoulders before they moved forward to congratulate the bride and groom. Nate beamed with happiness, while Ally was radiant.
Tyler had never seen her friend so transformed. “Told you your wedding would go off without a hitch,” she said after they’d hugged and kissed.
“I can’t get over it.” Ally was almost hyperventilating. She threw an adoring glance at her new husband, who was chatting with Luke. “I’ll be boring my children and grandchildren about this wedding for years. Everything is so perfect. Nate seems to know exactly what I like.”
Yes, it appeared Ally and Nate were set to enjoy a blissful marriage. The wedding party swung into full gear. Waiters began circulating drinks and canapés, while a band starting playing discreet background music.
Chloe was busy playing with Ally’s twin nephews, leaving Tyler free to mingle and enjoy the party. Luke seemed happy to stick beside her, but soon a handful of book fans found him and hung around, reluctant to let him go. Pretty soon the conversation began to wear on Tyler, and she figured she wouldn’t be missed if she slipped off.
“You can’t leave me.” Luke clasped her hand as she attempted to edge away.
The sensation of his fingers threading between hers sent a pleasurable shock through her arm. She smiled at him. “I’m just going to chat with Ally’s sister.”
“I’ll come with you.” He threw an apologetic glance at his fans. “Excuse me.”
They couldn’t fail to notice him holding her hand, Tyler thought, which might explain the black looks she received from them before she walked away with Luke. Strangely, she rather enjoyed their envy.
“Sorry to drag you away from your adoring fans,” she said, “but I didn’t have much to contribute to the literary discussion.”
“Me neither. I should’ve been an accountant instead of a writer. Nobody ever wants to know about accountancy.”
“Do you want to leave early? I know you’re not exactly a party animal.”
“No. I like being here.” His footsteps slowed. He was still holding her hand, even though they were now well clear of his admirers. “I like being with you.”
She caught her breath. For endless seconds the moment seemed suspended in time. A myriad of different details impressed upon her—the scent of honeysuckle, the sound of children playing, the curve of Luke’s lips, the dimple in his chin, the whiteness of his teeth, the crease in his tie—imbuing her with the sense that something crucial was happening, that her entire world was tilting on its axis, and that afterward nothing would ever be the same again.
Then a small body cannoned into her legs, and Chloe was bawling about something, shattering the mysterious interlude. “Baby, what’s the matter?” she asked as she picked Chloe up.
Hiccupping and sobbing, her daughter blubbered something incomprehensible. “What’s that?” she asked.
Luke turned to her. “Seems she and Ally’s nephews are fighting over her pony.”
“Oh.” Before she could say anything further, Chloe twisted toward Luke, so he had to gather her into his arms. The girl wailed into his shoulder.