‘Toughen up, princess. It’s not that cold. Only a few more weeks until spring,’ Claire replied. She handed her cousin a bouquet of lavender, snowdrops and soft pink hellebores. ‘Anyway, isn’t the excitement of finally getting to be in a wedding enough to give you a warm glow?’
Gus couldn’t help but smile at that. She turned to appraise herself in the full-length mirror in Vanessa’s living room, which was doing triple duty as a dressing room, hair salon and makeup studio for the bridal party.
‘I do make a pretty spectacular bridesmaid,’ Gus said approvingly, smoothing the flowing skirt of her navy blue gown.
‘And so modest,’ Claire teased, nudging her cousin aside so she could give herself a last-minute onceover. She retied the satin ribbon that secured her own snow-white stole around her shoulders and tucked a stray curl back into her elaborate up-do, wishing she’d opted to leave her hair down. She was inherently uncomfortable in such a formal ensemble, but it was just for one day, after all.
Claire glanced at the clock on the mantel. ‘We’d better get a move on,’ she said.
‘Chill, cuz,’ Gus replied. ‘It’s traditional for the bride to be late.’
‘What’s the bridesmaids’ excuse?’ Claire said, planting one hand on her hip and picking up her own bouquet with the other.
‘Don’t worry, we can go,’ came a voice from behind her. ‘I’m all set.’
Claire turned and gasped as she saw Nina emerging from the hallway into the living room. She was a vision in a strapless ivory wedding dress with an elaborately beaded bodice and a skirt made of what looked like acres of tulle. A vintage rhinestone necklace glittered on her décolletage and a crown of creamy white roses gave her the dreamy quality of a woodland fairy.
‘You look like a princess,’ Gus breathed.
Tears pricked at Claire’s eyes. ‘Nina, you’re absolutely breathtaking,’ she said, her voice thick with tears.
Nina gave a wry smile. ‘The look is a little different from last time, huh?’
Claire giggled. ‘If I’d known you better eight months ago I never would have believed Scotty’s and your wedding was the real deal.’
‘Are you saying I’m a bridezilla?’ Nina said, pressing her hand to her heart in mock outrage.
Claire laughed again. Her friend was way too easygoing to deserve that label, but Nina had certainly been more proactive in planning her real wedding than she’d ever been in the lead-up to Scotty’s and her sham ceremony. From the flowers to the groomsmen’s boutonniere, this time around Nina had a clear vision – much to the delight of Gus and her library of bridal magazines.
‘Ready, sweetpea?’ Nina’s eldest brother, Brock, appeared at her side. In his rented tuxedo and shiny dress shoes, the tall Texan cattle rancher looked as uncomfortable as Claire felt in her own fancy garb – but his face radiated love for his little sister.
Nina nodded and took her brother’s hand. ‘Let’s get this show on the road,’ she said excitedly.
With Gus, Claire and Nina’s sister and Maid of Honour, Claudine, leading the way, the bridal party made the short walk from Vanessa’s cottage to the beach. It was a stunning early August day in Bindallarah. Though the afternoon air was chilly, there wasn’t a breath of wind and the sky was a brilliant blue. Contrary to Gus’s complaint, Claire couldn’t imagine a more beautiful setting for the wedding of two people who were so wildly in love with each other.
When they reached the top of the path onto the sand, Nina’s younger brother, Doug, who was a groomsman, signalled to the waiting string quartet and they began to play the classic Beach Boys song, ‘God Only Knows’.
Claire’s heart swelled as she saw Scotty waiting at the altar next to Doug and Callum Jessop, the groom’s brother. Scotty looked unbelievably sexy in his slim-cut royal blue suit, chosen by the bride to complement the girls’ gowns and the sparkling ocean that was the backdrop for the ceremony.
As she glided down the sandy path towards him, Claire winked at Scotty and saw a familiar expression scud across his face. It was a look she’d seen often since she’d returned to Bindy for good in February: lust. The feeling was mutual. When they weren’t working at the vet clinic, looking after Autumn and her foal, January, who had both come to live with them, or tending Thorne Hill’s fledgling acai berry plantation, Claire and Scotty couldn’t keep their hands off each other. They had eight years of lost time to catch up on, after all.
Claire reached the altar and paused to peck the groom on the cheek. ‘Wait ’til you see her, Alex,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘Your girl is an absolute stunner.’
Alex said nothing, but smiled and squeezed Claire’s hand. His palm was clammy and Claire felt a rush of affection as she realised bombastic Alex Jessop, mayor and all-round renaissance man, was as nervous as a little boy on his first day of school.
Or a grown man on his wedding day.
Suddenly, the quartet segued from ‘God Only Knows’ into Wagner’s Bridal Chorus. The wedding guests turned to face Nina as she walked down the aisle on her brother’s arm, but Claire kept watching Alex. His chin trembled and his eyes shined as he drank in the sight of his stunning bride. Not for the first time, Claire wondered how she could have missed the obvious chemistry between Nina and Alex when she first came back to Bindallarah the previous Christmas.
It wasn’t long after Claire’s permanent return to Bindy that Nina had confided her crush on Alex. Even while going through the motions of preparing to marry Scotty, Nina had admitted to Claire that she’d been fighting her growing feelings for her boss – but she was certain their professional relationship meant Alex would never entertain the thought of dating her.
Claire knew from torturous personal experience that making assumptions about somebody
