It's Now or Never (3 page)

‘But if I don't leave now, I might never leave. I might spend the rest of my life here, picking up my pension when I'm a very old lady.'

Matt grunted.

‘And would that be such a bad thing?'

I laughed. Obviously it wouldn't seem that way to Matt. This was his life. He'd been brought up in the business, it was all he'd ever known. The success of the store today was down hugely to Matt's hard work and commitment and he could be proud of that, but to me it was ultimately just a job.

‘I'm sorry, Matt. I promise you it's nothing personal. It's just something I feel I need to do right now.

‘Well, I can't say I'm not saddened by this news. Is there nothing I can do to make you change your mind? If it's a case of more money then you know that wouldn't be a problem.'

‘No, it's not about the money or even the job. I've loved working here, you know that, and I've made so many good friends. It's just the right time for me to move on.'

‘What will you do?'

‘I've got lots of plans. I've been writing some articles for the gardening magazines. I'd like to devote more time to that if I can. I was also thinking about setting up my own blog, gardening hints and ideas for a new generation. Young single people or elderly people living alone, newly married couples, people who don't have much outdoor space, but who still want to find a way to bring some greenery, a touch of the outdoors, into their lives.'

‘Sounds great.'

‘I've also been thinking about developing a range of savoury jams and chutneys. Similar to those we're already selling in the food store, but maybe experimenting with some different variations.'

‘Really? I didn't know you were a cook.'

‘I'm not. I might need to learn.'

Matt raised his eyebrows and smiled at me, as though he thought I might be mad. The same thought had actually occurred to me.

‘I'll have to sign up to a temp agency to see me over for a few months while I settle on what to do, but I think it will be good for me. You have to remember, I've only ever worked here. I don't know what's it like to work for another company.'

‘Not as good as working for Browns, that's for sure,' said Matt, a rueful smile on his lips.

I wondered if that might be true; that I might never find such a friendly and interesting company to work for, but it was too late for those kind of worries now. I'd done it! After all the prevaricating, I'd finally handed my notice in and taken the first small step on my way to a brand new exciting chapter in my life.

Chapter Three

Ms Angela Peters

and

Mr Tom Sidney Cooper

request the pleasure of your company

at their marriage

on Saturday 19th April

at 1.30 pm

at Casterton Registry Office, Bucks

followed by lunch at Chez Michel

‘Jen, over here!'

I walked up the stone steps of the town hall – one arm held against my forehead blocking out the warm rays of the sun – just managing to make out the small huddle of people congregating outside the doors.

‘Look at you,' I said, my gaze alighting on Angie when I reached the top of the steps. She was wearing a simple cream linen shift dress with a scalloped collar and hemline, and a matching pashmina wrapped around her shoulders. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied in a French plaint at the back of the head. ‘You look absolutely stunning,' I whispered in her ear as she grabbed me for a hug. Beautiful, radiant and utterly feminine too. Almost unrecognisable from the Angie I knew and loved, who spent most of her time in cargo trousers, crop tops and Doc Martens.

‘Hi Tom, lovely to see you!' I said, turning to the groom, trying to sound as though I meant it while the words ‘scumbag, grotbag' played over in my head. ‘Congratulations!'

‘Thanks, Jen. Yeah, who'd have thought it, eh? It's been a while.'

Maybe I imagined the awkwardness as he leant in to give me a chaste kiss on the cheek or perhaps it was just because I hadn't seen him since they'd got back together again. He looked much more handsome in his sleek grey suit than I remembered him to be. Clutching Angie's hand, looking fondly into her eyes, he looked every inch the devoted husband-to-be. If Angie had found it in her heart to forgive Tom, then maybe I should do the same too.

Be gone with you, scumbag, grotbag and all the other uncharitable names I had for Tom. I allowed my remaining reservations about him and this whirlwind marriage to flutter off in the light spring breeze. This was their special day and, as Angie's best friend, I was determined to celebrate it with them.

Putting all negative thoughts out of my head I wandered off and said my hellos to some of the other guests and chatted briefly with Angie's mum and dad, before Angie grabbed me by the arm and led me away.

‘Let me introduce you to Alex. I don't think you two have met before, have you? Alex and Tom used to work in the city together. Alex, this is my very best friend in the whole wide world, Jen.'

She'd brought me to a standstill in front of the man who was clearly auditioning for the part of most gorgeous wedding guest. In my opinion, without even seeing all the other guests, he'd won the part hands down. I looked up at him and smiled.

‘Delighted to meet you, Jen,' he said, lifting up my hand and depositing the lightest of kisses on my fingertips in a gesture so gallant and ridiculously over-the-top it made my toes curl.

There's something about a man in a navy blue suit and a crisp double cuffed white shirt that does funny things to my insides. Don't ask me why, but it's always been that way. Added to that the fact that this particular man was over six foot tall with dark hair and warm sparkling eyes and it made for an intriguing combination. As his lips met my fingers I caught the faintest smell of sun-drenched orange groves and I tried to ignore the flip of anticipation that turned in my stomach.

‘I understand you'll be my partner in crime today?'

‘Excuse me?' I hadn't been listening to his words, I'd been too busy taking a surreptitious inhalation trying to recapture the essence of that delicious scent.

‘You're the other witness, right? Is it your first time too?'

‘Oh yes, my first time,' I said, concentrating now on his lips, which on close inspection were full and wide and really rather lovely.

Angie had left us alone, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as she went off to greet a couple of new arrivals and I noticed those lips were now twisting in amusement.

‘And do you have the slightest idea what we have to do?'

‘Absolutely no idea whatsoever.'

‘Brilliant, let's go and do it together then,' he said, grabbing my hand and leading me inside.

Smiling, I wandered with him into the registry office and we stood to the side of the bride and groom, who seemed oblivious to anything else but each other. Tom tidied Angie's hair away from her face and whispered something into her ear which made her laugh, happiness radiating from every inch of her being.

Looking around the oak-panelled room, waiting for the registrar to start the proceedings, my eyes landed on the ring of flowers on the desk, and my breath caught at the back of my throat at the enormity of the situation. My best friend, the girl at school who was once named the least likely to get married, was doing exactly that (before me even, which was still a bit of a sore point) and things would never be the same again. It was the end of an era and the start of a brand new one and there was still a tiny part of me that felt hugely unsettled by that fact.

I clasped my hands in front of me letting the words of the registrar, a kindly middle-aged woman, wash over me. The legal formalities were all wrapped up within a matter of minutes. Tom and Angie signed the register, before Alex and I were invited to do the same, adding our names in black ink at the bottom of the page. Signed, sealed, delivered. As easily as that.

***

After some photos, taken by Tom's brother on the steps of the town hall and on the bridge overlooking the river, our small party took the short walk to the restaurant where we were greeted by Michel, the owner of the establishment, with welcoming glasses of champagne.

‘Can you believe it?' Angie, already drunk on happiness, radiance and excitement, steered me into a quiet nook of the room. ‘I'm a married woman at last. Who'd have thought it?' She waved her wedding band in front of my nose.

‘Congratulations, darling. I am so happy for you. And no, I still can't quite believe it!' I lifted up her hand to examine her finger just to make sure. ‘Really though, I hope you and Tom have a long and happy married life together filled with love and laughter.'

‘Squeee!' Angie hugged me so tightly I thought I might faint. ‘We will, Jen. We will.' She released me from her bear hold and slipped an arm around my waist.

‘You do realise that this changes nothing between us. Obviously I'll now have to be made an honorary member of the Single Girls' Club but I still intend to attend our meetings in an advisory capacity only, you understand.'

‘I should hope so too.'

‘Oh yes, our Tuesday nights are going to remain a permanent fixture on my calendar, don't you worry. I'm going to be coming round to yours and scanning those dating websites with you and I'm not going to stop until we find your Mr Right. Of course, being a married woman, I'm an expert in these matters now and so will expect to find you the perfect man in next to no time.'

‘You reckon, do you?'

‘Absolutely. There's no question of doubt in my mind.'

We laughed, but I knew it was never going to happen. Giggling at dating profiles had been a blast when we'd both been in the same position, single girls looking for love, but doing it on my own with Angie acting as my chaperone smacked of desperation. And I wasn't desperate. Absolutely not. Besides, I was quite capable of finding my own romantic hero if I wanted one. I certainly didn't need anyone's help on that front.

‘So what do you think of Alex then?' she whispered in my ear.

I span around just to make sure he wasn't in the vicinity and his eyes locked on to mine from across the other side of the room, where he was chatting with Tom, as if he knew we were talking about him. He raised his glass of champagne to the air and hooked me with a smile.

‘Well, he seems lovely. Charming and, well, just delightful really.' I don't know if it was the effects of the champagne which was being topped up to the brim of my glass faster than I could drink the stuff or whether it was the emotion of the occasion, but I was already feeling lightheaded and we hadn't even sat down to eat yet.

‘Ha ha, listen to you, acting all coy and
“oh yes, he's delightful
.” I've seen the way you look at him. You fancy the pants off him, don't you?'

‘He's very attractive, I admit, but I'm just appreciating the beauty of a man who is clearly a fine specimen of his breed.'

‘Is that right?' Angie's mouth quirked in disbelief. ‘In all seriousness though, he is lovely. Totally charming, but let me just give you a word of advice. If you thought Tom was a player then Alex is in another league all together. He's a love ‘em and leave ‘em type of guy and I think he's left plenty behind in his past. I've lost count of the number of girlfriends he's had since I've known Tom and none of them have lasted past the three month stage. If you want to keep your heart intact, then honestly, Jen, don't even go there.'

Okay, so it seemed that the lovely Alex was a scumbag/grotbag out of the same mould as his friend Tom. It didn't surprise me in the slightest, but then I was a woman of the world and I could certainly handle the likes of Alex whatever-his-name-was. It would need more than a few appreciative glances and a couple of glasses of champagne to get past my exacting standards, I can tell you.

‘That's very interesting to have the lowdown on Alex's love life, thank you, but you have absolutely no need to worry on that score. He is so not my type. All that smooth polished sophistication leaves me totally cold. Besides, I could never go out with a guy who was so much better looking than me.'

We giggled and for a moment it was as if we were back at my flat together sharing our dating woes. She took my face in her hands and kissed me on the lips.

‘Listen I ought to go and mingle, but I just want to say thank you for everything you've done for me. You've been a complete star!'

‘What have I done? I haven't done anything.'

‘Oh, but you have, Jen. You've done everything. You're the best friend I could ever ask for. You've always been there for me and are totally supportive and you've never told me I'm doing the wrong thing in marrying Tom. A couple of people have, you know. Oh, and back there, you were absolutely the perfect witness to my marriage. I mean you watched and witnessed the whole thing with… with aplomb.'

I burst out laughing.

‘Well, it was a very difficult job, I have to tell you.'

‘Honestly, I mean it. It wouldn't have been the same without you.'

I could see tears of happiness and joy brimming in her eyes.

‘Go on,' I said, shooing her away before we both collapsed in an emotional heap. ‘Go and see to your guests. Oh, and thank you for the warning,' I said, looking over in Alex's direction. ‘I'll be sure to steer well clear.'

Chapter Four

It might have been easy to heed Angie's advice if it hadn't been such a small and intimate wedding, but there were only about eighteen of us in total and as luck would have it Alex and I were placed next to each other at the lunch table.

Still there were worse problems to have than having to be wedged up against a good-looking, sweet smelling man at a wedding reception and to be honest I was quite enjoying Alex's attentiveness. He pulled out my chair, filled my water glass, flapped my napkin with a flourish in the air before laying it on my lap and generally went out of his way to make me feel completely at ease. I wasn't quite sure why Angie had gone to such lengths to warn me off him – after all, it wasn't as if I'd be likely to see him again after today.