Page 73 of The Woman Who Said Yes

He shrugs. ‘It just wasn’t really… you know.’

Sam catches her mouth quivering, as if she is trying to keep down a smile. ‘Why are we talking like this?’

‘Like what?’ he asks, smiling now.

‘In code.’

‘Are we?’ he asks, although he knows exactly what she means. They are dodging around the thorny topics of Lucy and Phil. He also thinks that Andie looked ever so slightly pleased when he said it wasn’t happening, and that she knew that was code for, I’m not interested in seeing anyone else. At least, anyone who’s not you. Or did he imagine that?

The group is rearranging itself now, and Sam catches Eva looking around, squinting in the sunshine as she makes her way towards him and Andie. ‘You haven’t seen Dom, have you?’ she asks.

‘Not yet,’ Andie replies.

‘I’m sure he’ll be here any minute,’ Sam reassures her, based on no evidence whatsoever. And on that note – whilst not crucial to today’s proceedings – where the heck is Theo?

Someone is calling out that they should all head into the reassuringly solid municipal building. Eva strides towards the door and everyone follows. They make their way along a short corridor and into a rather elegant room with extravagant cornicing, and chairs lined up in rows.

No one is taking their seats yet. It’s as if they are all waiting for a hush to settle, and a sense that it’s all about to begin. ‘Still no Dom,’ Eva announces to Jake and Kian a few metres away. There’s a hubbub of voices, the loudest belonging to Hadley Morgan who has swooped upon Eva, and is saying, ‘He’s just keeping you on your toes, darling. All the best weddings have a bit of drama!’

‘If you say so.’ Eva laughs tightly and Sam sees her scanning the room.

‘Your engagement ring though,’ Hadley gushes, grasping at her hand. ‘I’ve been meaning to say, if you’re going to go fake, then you might as well make a statement!’

Sam’s chest tightens. Andie is right at his side, and he senses tension coming off her in a hot wave. ‘It’s… not fake, Hadley,’ Eva says.

‘Honey, it is! I’ve seen these. I know the little place that makes them and I love them. They’re so audacious, such a big, flashy statement piece⁠—’

‘No, but Dom said…’ Eva starts, her jaw rigid. She turns and catches Sam’s eye. He returns her gaze, willing her to forget what Hadley just said because what does it matter, at this late stage? It’s only a ring! And Sam is done with snooping around at random addresses and pretending to hunt for a lost purse, and what does Hadley know anyway? Does being on TV make her an expert on precious stones?

Aware of murmured comments all around him, Sam clears his throat and tries to focus on his duties as a witness and not messing up his speech later. He’s kept it short, and hopefully it’s funny, although now he is rapidly losing confidence in his ability to deliver the jokes. He hears one guest shushing another very firmly, and now Eva is weaving her way to where Sam and Andie are standing.

‘Everything all right, Eves?’ Andie says brightly. Now Marnie and Jake and Kian have drifted over to join their little group.

‘Hadley says my ring’s a fake.’ Eva scans their faces expectantly. Sam sees the woman whom he assumes is the registrar making her way towards the antique desk at the front of the room. In her neat dark brown suit, she looks like a reassuring head teacher with a special talent for making everything okay. ‘Do you think it is?’ Now Eva is addressing Sam, God knows why – he wouldn’t be able to distinguish a proper jewel from one fallen out of a Christmas cracker. Why do his women friends expect him to know this kind of stuff? Andie once asked him if he could tell her new perfume was a dupe. He didn’t even know what a ‘dupe’ was! All he knew was that she smelt wonderful and as she moved closer so he could smell her long, slender neck, he didn’t know where to put himself. As these thoughts dash through his brain – and before he can respond – something seems to switch in Eva, and she turns to Marnie.

‘Marn, you know about stones. You’re a geologist.’

‘Oh, but this isn’t my—’ she starts.

‘Yeah, I know. But what do you think, honestly?’

Marnie flushes as she fiddles with her hair. ‘Oh, er… I think it’s probably… not a genuine emerald. But it’s gorgeous, isn’t it? So it doesn’t really matter. It’s what it signifies, isn’t it⁠—’

‘Well, it signifies that he lied, doesn’t it?’ Eva blurts out.

Sam stares at her. He doesn’t know what to say. He looks at Andie, who is chalk-pale.

‘And maybe,’ Eva goes on, ‘it signifies that I’ve been a complete idiot?’ The room has fallen silent and Sam is conscious of the dull thud of his heart. ‘Which you’ve all known all along, haven’t you?’

‘Eva!’ Andie exclaims.

‘We just didn’t—’ Sam starts but Eva shushes him.

‘You’ve tried to find out what’s going on – what he’s all about. And I’m sorry I was so mad, but you were right. There was something off. I kind of knew it but this has all been so lovely and unexpected with the cruise and everything, and it kind of felt like fate, you know?’ Her voice wobbles, and as she sweeps her hands over her face, Sam stands there feeling utterly helpless. ‘He said the ring was from a place on Bond Street!’ she blasts out.

Sam touches her arm. ‘It’s all right, Eves,’ he says softly.

Her eyes are wet and as she rubs at them furiously, Sam’s attention is caught by a movement at the door. It’s Dom, having entered the room with a confident stride, looking polished and dapper in a dark grey suit. He looks around, seeming taken aback now, as if he fears that he has walked into the wrong gathering. They are mostly Eva’s people, after all. In fact, they all are, from what Sam can tell.