Four Weddings and a Funeral Ch. 02

"Fuck a duck," Liv mutters. "We'd better go."

We quickly shower and dress, then head downstairs.

The hotel's dining room is crowded with wedding guests who've stayed the night. I see Ben and smile at him, but we sit with some of Liv's old schoolfriends. Waiters circle serving champagne, but both Liv and I choose orange juice. Liv chats animatedly with her friends, and doesn't look round at me once.

I watch Maddie and Marcus, the bride and groom, move from table to table. Maddie is wearing a gorgeous floral summer dress. Marcus wears a linen suit with an open-collared shirt. When they arrive at our table they tell us eagerly about their forthcoming honeymoon: a week on safari in Kenya, followed by a week in Zanzibar. My thoughts are still on last night. Although Liv smiles and looks excited by her friends' plans, I know she's thinking about last night too.

We've finished breakfast and I'm sipping coffee when Toby arrives at our table.

"Liv, Sophie," he nods. "Lovely to see you both, I trust you enjoyed last night?"

I feel a sudden flush of embarrassment, as if he knows what happened. Don't be absurd.

"It was a lovely reception," Liv responds.

"Seeing you both takes me right back to uni days," Toby smiles. "Before weddings, before jobs, before any of this grown up stuff. We should go back to Durham sometime, you know. And, you must both come along to my wedding."

"You're getting married?" I spurt. "I mean, Toby Cahill, the eternal bachelor?"

"Meet my fiancée, Sabine," he says, gesturing to a young woman who's just arrived at his side. She's strikingly beautiful; very petite, almost doll-like, with gamine features and long, tousled black hair. I nod a cursory greeting and bite back my shock. I feel Liv touch me gently on the arm, for the first time since we left the bedroom.

"Toby's university friends," Sabine smiles. "I've heard all about you! We're getting married in Provence in September. You absolutely must come along! We're sending out the invitations next week."

Later, I stand outside with Liv and her schoolfriends. We watch the bride and groom get into a hired Jaguar and depart for the airport to the sound of cheers and whistles. Afterwards, we quickly pack and drive back to London in silence.

The following Friday, as promised, I receive an invitation to Toby and Sabine's wedding. But not before I've received another, announcing the forthcoming wedding of James and Olivia.