Nina hid a smile. ‘Scott?’ she mouthed.
Scotty nodded. He’d almost forgotten the name everyone called him wasn’t the name his parents had given him at birth. ‘Scott’ sounded so formal, so adult. It was a name for a man who knew what the hell he was doing.
‘We are here today to celebrate with Nina and Scott a very important moment in their lives,’ Valda continued. ‘While they may have known each other for only a short time, that was all the time they needed to know they wish to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife.’
A chorus of awww came from the crowd.
‘All of life’s most important relationships can be found within a marriage. A husband and wife are each other’s best friend, staunchest ally, biggest critic’ – Valda paused for knowing laughter – ‘patient teacher, loving listener and passionate lover.’
Scotty’s gaze met Nina’s and he saw his own shock reflected back at him. Where did that come from? He cursed himself for failing to read through Valda’s speech before he had signed off on it. His grandmother had heard that. He didn’t want people picturing him and Nina in the throes of passion.
One person in particular.
‘But marriage is also a decision,’ she went on. ‘It demands that two people commit to walking through life together, weathering whatever storms and challenges may come their way. It is not a decision to be made lightly. Nina and Scott have made that decision and that is why we are all here this evening.’
There was that word again. Decision. Claire couldn’t make one, so Scotty tried to make it for her. But every decision he made, it turned out, was the wrong one.
‘A little bit of housekeeping now and then we’ll get to the bit you’re all waiting for,’ Valda said conspiratorially. ‘Before you are joined in marriage, Nina and Scott, I am required by law to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are about to enter. With that in mind, I ask you and the witnesses present whether you know of any impediment that should prevent this marriage today. Speak now, et cetera . . .’
More laughter. Scotty stared down at his shoes. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Nina or their guests. He couldn’t bear to see the one undeniable reason he knew the wedding shouldn’t go ahead. Claire didn’t want him, he understood that, but he shouldn’t be marrying someone else when every cell in his body still wanted her.
Valda paused. Nobody said a word.
‘Wonderful,’ she said. ‘In that case —’
‘I do,’ said Nina.
Valda smiled patiently. ‘We’re not quite up to that part, dear.’
‘You’re keen, Nina!’ someone shouted from the crowd. A collective nervous titter followed.
‘No, I mean I know of an impediment to the marriage,’ Nina said. She looked up at Scotty. ‘You don’t love me, Scotty. And I don’t love you either.’
The audience gasped in unison as Nina turned to face them. She searched their faces, looking for the one she was sure would be there.
Scotty realised with horror what was about to happen. ‘Nina, no,’ he whispered. ‘Please don’t do this.’
But Nina had found her target. ‘This is for you, Claire,’ she said, her voice loud and clear. ‘This is all for you.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
Claire had seen enough movies to know that an objection at a wedding was swiftly followed by pandemonium. There was outrage and accusation. People fainted. Elderly relatives clutched their pearls. Explanations were demanded. Sometimes punches were thrown.
But in the movies it was always the mistress or the jilted lover who interrupted proceedings. It was never the bride objecting to her own wedding.
Maybe that was why, in the moments that followed Nina’s declaration, there was nothing but silence. Nobody knew what to make of her announcement that she and the groom were not in love, so nobody said anything.
Except Nina herself. Once she started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop.
‘I’m so sorry, everyone,’ she said, but she was looking directly at Claire. ‘Scotty and I – we’re not a couple. We never really were. He’s just a wonderful friend who offered to help me and didn’t want to go back on his word. Even if it meant losing everything.’
Claire waited to feel vindicated. She had been right all along. Scotty and Nina’s wedding – the entire relationship – was a farce, and now the bride herself was admitting to it. But all she felt was numb. The shock of it was paralysing.
She turned to Alex. ‘What’s happening?’ she managed to say. She could hardly speak. Her chest tightened as she struggled to make sense of what Nina was saying. She felt two hundred pairs of eyes swivel to stare at her. The weight of their judgement was like an anvil pressing on her heart. They thought she was responsible for this. They thought she was about to ruin Scotty’s life – again.
Alex just shook his head, clearly as baffled as she was.
‘It should be you standing up here, Claire, not me,’ Nina went on. ‘This wedding isn’t even legal.’
Scotty put his hand on her arm. ‘Nina, stop,’ he said, his voice forceful. ‘Please.’
But Nina wouldn’t stop. She gathered up a handful of her chiffon skirt. ‘This should be your dress. It looks better on you anyway. Remember how you tried it on? Couldn’t you picture yourself wearing it on your wedding day?’
‘That’s enough!’ Scotty snapped.
Claire heard the whispers reverberate through the congregation. She tried on the dress! Claire Thorne tried to hijack Scotty’s wedding! She’s crazy!
Somehow, she got to her feet. ‘Is this true, Scotty?’ she demanded. ‘Does this have something to do with me?’
He stared helplessly at her. She saw a hundred emotions flash across
