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‘Freya, Nick, how does it feel to know that the people of Carlton and the surrounding towns will benefit from advanced cancer screening thanks to your donations?’ another journalist yelled in their direction.
‘Both Freya and I are delighted that we’ve been able to obtain this equipment for Carlton General and we hope it will end up saving many lives,’ Nicholas answered.
‘Freya, may I be the first to offer my congratulations on setting the wedding date.’
The voice calling out from behind them had Freya spinning round to see who was speaking. There she was: Sandra McNeill from Shooting Stars magazine. They had met on more than one occasion, the first being when Freya met Nicholas in Corfu.
‘Sorry, Sandra, what did you say?’ Freya asked.
‘December twenty-second, the date for your wedding. Will you be going back to England or having a ceremony in Hollywood?’ Sandra continued, her recorder held out.
‘Nick, are you hearing this?’ Freya asked him, pulling on his hand.
‘Sandra, I’m afraid you’ve yet again found yourself an unreliable source. Freya and I haven’t set a date for our wedding yet, but when we do, you will be the first to know.’
Nicholas directed Freya away from Sandra McNeill and towards the entrance of the hospital where the board members were waiting to meet them.
‘She knew the date of our wedding. We’ve told three people and she knew. How?’ Freya wanted to know.
‘You know what it’s like. News like that just has a habit of getting out. We have a team of photographers permanently at our front gate. Maybe they overheard you talking to Roger,’ Nicholas suggested.
‘Our gate is nearly one hundred yards from our front door, Nick. They couldn’t have overheard,’ Freya whispered.
‘Hey, calm down, it isn’t the end of the world. It was going to get out sooner or later; it’s the nature of the beast. Don’t let it get to you; you know what reporters are like. They could probably track down your “Wild Wednesday” pants if they put their minds to it.’ He smiled and squeezed her hand.
‘Do you think our house is bugged?’ Freya asked.
‘Now you’re being ridiculous and you really have to cut down the amount of crime dramas you watch,’ he responded with a laugh.
‘I don’t like people knowing things like that when we’ve only just decided it ourselves.’
It wasn’t just irritating; it was unnerving. She didn’t want to think anyone she’d told about the wedding date would divulge the information to someone like Sandra McNeill.
‘Listen, don’t let it spoil how we feel about setting the date. People are bound to be interested, but at the end of the day, it’s our private event. So they can talk about it all they like, but they won’t be getting invitations.’
Freya nodded but Sandra McNeill’s comment had unsettled her. She was just getting used to the idea herself; the last thing she wanted was to have the moment ruined.
It was still playing on Freya’s mind when they were being given a tour of one of the cancer wards by Bill Stanton, the chairman of the hospital.
‘Nick, Freya, this is Katherine. She hasn’t been able to stop talking about you coming to visit since we told her about it,’ Bill Stanton introduced as they stopped walking and stood at the foot of one of the beds.
A pale, dark-haired, dark-eyed girl of approximately eight years old lay in the bed they had halted at. She looked pale and frail and was attached to a drip.
‘Hi, Katherine,’ Nicholas greeted. He went closer to her and sat on the edge of her bed.
‘Hi… You are my favourite actor. I think you’re cool,’ Katherine spoke quietly. She attempted to sit herself up.
‘Well, thank you very much. Katherine, this is Freya, my fiancée,’ he introduced. He motioned Freya to come nearer to the bed.
‘Hi, Katherine, it’s very nice to meet you. Do you know, he’s my favourite actor too,’ Freya said, smiling.
‘Freya! How can you lie to Katherine like that? Freya’s favourite actor is Bruce Willis.’
‘I like him too. What’s a fiancée?’ Katherine questioned.
‘Well, being someone’s fiancée means you’re going to get married to that person one day. Freya and I are going to get married,’ he told the girl.
‘Wow! Are you going to have a big white dress and bridesmaids and a fancy cake?’ Katherine asked. At the mention of a wedding, she had perked up and was overflowing with excitement.
