‘Oh God, mate, I get it, I do,’ Will says, ‘but you know you don’t have to marry her. You can just be together; you don’t need to rush into anything.’
Rupert feels a wave of anger, as his fists clench by his sides. Of course, Will doesn’t get it. How could he understand how Rupert felt after Caro died? How could any of them? ‘If it feels right, then why wouldn’t I ask Em to marry me? I did what you all wanted – I did what Sadie told me to do. She said I should move on, get myself sorted, and I have. Emily is perfect, and I know I’m doing the right thing. Don’t put a downer on it.’
‘I’m not, really I’m not,’ Will says quickly, before he pulls Rupert in for another man hug. ‘Sorry, Rupe, I didn’t mean to upset you. If you’re happy then I’m happy too. For both of you.’
Once the ring has been admired and congratulations have been showered over Rupert and Emily, Sadie reveals that she has booked a band for the evening. Fairy lights that have been strung across the garden are lit, and Rupert sees that a marquee has been set up at the end of the garden. Despite the chill that settles now that the sun has gone down, everyone is happy to spend the night dancing in the marquee, and Sadie makes sure that the champagne carries on flowing. For a moment Rupert wonders if Sadie had an idea about what he was planning, before Sadie announces that she also has news – Miles has been promoted, and she makes a point of saying that this is the real reason why she has arranged the party, even though this is the first Rupert has heard about it.
Finally, at around two o’clock in the morning, the band retires, and Rupert realizes he is ready for bed too. He turns to Emily, who has matched him dance for dance tonight, dancing with not only him, but Will, Miles and a few of Miles’s colleagues as well. She looks flushed and rosy-cheeked, a grin plastered across her face as she tries to get her breath back.
‘Hey,’ Rupert stops her in her tracks as she passes, ‘ready to go up?’
‘Absolutely,’ she smiles up at him, ‘ready when you are. Oh, Sadie—’
Sadie has appeared beside them, a glass of what looks like water in her hand. Rupert remembers that Sadie is always the sensible one, the first to start combatting her hangover before she’s even gone to bed.
‘Are you sure it’s OK for us to stay? We can always get an Uber home.’ Emily looks down quickly as she says the words, and Rupert realizes that when she says ‘home’, she means his house.
‘Of course, Rupert and Caro always stay when we have a party,’ Sadie says, a boozy red flush creeping up her neck as she carries on regardless. ‘It’s no problem for the two of you to stay. There’s plenty of room. Mi casa es tu casa.’
Rupert is mortified as Sadie gives a shrill laugh and knocks back the contents of her glass. Maybe it isn’t water after all. Emily says nothing, and Rupert admires her restraint.
‘Thanks, Sadie,’ Rupert finally manages to get the words out, breaking the cloud of tension, ‘I think we’ll just go up.’ He grasps Emily’s hand firmly in his and they make a quick escape, managing to get upstairs without bumping into anyone else. Rupert closes the door to the spare bedroom quietly, and turns to Emily, who is very quietly reaching behind her neck to unzip her dress.
‘Are you OK?’ he asks, as she fumbles with the zip. ‘Here, let me.’
Emily’s arms fall to her sides. ‘It’s all right, Rupert. It’s not the first time this evening someone has referred to me as “Caro”. It’ll take people some time to get used to me, I suppose.’
Rupert turns Emily to face him, lifting her chin with one finger so he can look directly into her deep blue eyes. Eyes that remind him of Caro’s. He blinks away the vision of Caro’s face that swims briefly in front of his eyes, and kisses Emily. Her face is set, but he feels her mouth soften under his as he gently slides the shoulders of her dress off, letting it fall to the expensively carpeted floor. He breathes in her scent, floral and by now familiar, and rests his chin on the top of her head.
‘They don’t mean anything by it, you know. It’s just a slip of the tongue. Like you say, it’ll just take time for them to get used to saying “Emily”. Caro and I were together for a long time.’ Emily stiffens slightly in his arms, and he strokes her back, until he feels her start to relax.
‘Of course, I do understand,’ she says eventually, the words so quiet she is almost speaking under her breath. ‘It was just a shock to hear her name in place of mine. But you’re absolutely right, time is all we need. And we have plenty of that. I’m not going anywhere.’ She looks up at him now, her blue eyes serious. ‘I mean it, Rupert. I said yes. It’s not to be taken lightly. I’ve made a commitment to you. After Harry… well, you know it took me a long time to get over happened with him.’ Emily has told Rupert some parts about her relationship with Harry, how it scarred her.
‘And I couldn’t be happier that you said yes.’ Rupert means it too; he really does feel like he has
