“Oh, right. Well, I’m not really sure yet…” I tail off as I see the shop door opening behind me.
Robyn is coming into the shop, dressed in a mauve suit and clutching her Mulberry bag. She catches my eye in the mirror and gives a little wave.
What’s Robyn doing here?
“And then on the tables, maybe some sweet little posies…”
Robyn’s heading toward us. I’m not sure I like this.
“Hey, Suze!” I turn with what I hope is a natural smile. “Why don’t you go and look at those… um… ring cushions over there?”
“What?” Suze stares at me as though I’ve gone mad. “You’re not having a ring cushion, are you? Please don’t tell me you’ve turned into an American.”
“Well, then… the tiaras. I might have one of those!”
“Bex, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” I say brightly. “I just thought you might want to… oh, hi, Robyn!” As she approaches, I force myself to give her a friendly smile.
“Becky!” says Robyn, clasping her hands. “Isn’t that gown beautiful? Don’t you look adorable? Is that the one, do you think?”
“I’m not sure yet.” My smile is so fixed, it’s hurting. “So, Robyn, how on earth did you know I’d be here? You must be telepathic!”
“Cynthia told me you’d be coming in. She’s an old friend.” Robyn turns to Suze. “And is this your chum from England?”
“Oh… yes. Suze, Robyn, Robyn, Suze.”
“Suze? The maid of honor herself? Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Suze! You’ll look simply wonderful in—” She stops abruptly as her gaze takes in Suze’s stomach. “Dear, are you expecting?”
“I’ll have had the baby by then,” Suze assures her.
“Good!” Robyn’s face relaxes. “As I say, you’ll look wonderful in violet!”
“Violet?” Suze looks puzzled. “I thought I was wearing blue.”
“No, definitely violet!”
“Bex, I’m sure your mum said—”
“Well, anyway!” I interrupt hurriedly. “Robyn, I’m a bit tied up here—”
“I know, and I don’t want to get in your way. But since I’m here, there’s just a couple of things… Two seconds, I promise!” She reaches into her bag and pulls out her notebook. “First of all, the New York Philharmonic will unfortunately be on tour at the time of the wedding, but I’m working on an alternative. Now, what else…” She consults her notebook.
“Great!” I dart a quick glance at Suze, who’s staring at Robyn with a puzzled frown on her face. “You know, maybe you should just give me a call sometime, and we can talk about all this…”
“It won’t take long! So the other thing was… we’ve scheduled in a tasting at the Plaza on the 23rd in the chef’s dining room. I passed on your views on monkfish, so they’re having a rethink on that…” Robyn flips a page. “Oh, and I still really need that guest list from you!” She looks up and wags her finger in mock reproof. “We’ll be needing to think about invitations before we know it! Especially for the overseas guests!”
“OK. I’ll… I’ll get into it,” I mumble.
I don’t dare look at Suze.
“Great! And I’m meeting you at Antoine’s on Monday, ten o’clock. Those cakes… you are going to swoon. Now I have to run.” She closes her notebook and smiles at Suze. “Nice to meet you, Suze. See you at the wedding!”
“See you there!” says Suze in a too-cheerful voice. “Absolutely.”
The door closes behind Robyn and I swallow hard, my face tingling.
“So, ahm… I might as well get changed.”
I head to the fitting room without meeting Suze’s eye. A moment later, she’s in there with me.
“Who was that?” she says lightly as I unzip the dress.
“That was… Robyn! She’s nice, isn’t she?”
“And what was she talking about?”
“Just… wedding chitchat… you know… Can you help me out of this corset?”
“Why does she think you’re getting married at the Plaza?”
“I… um… I don’t know!”
“Yes you do! And that woman at the party!” Suddenly Suze’s voice is as severe as she can manage. “Bex, what’s going on?”
“Nothing!”
Suze grabs my shoulder. “Bex, stop it! You’re not getting married at the Plaza. Are you?”
I stare at her, feeling my face grow hotter and hotter.
“It’s… an option,” I say at last.
“What do you mean, it’s an option?” Suze stares at me, her grip on me loosening. “How can it be an option?”
I adjust the dress on the hanger, playing for time, trying to stifle the guilt rising inside me. If I behave as though this is a completely normal situation, then maybe it will be.
“It’s just that… well, Elinor’s offered to throw this really spectacular wedding for me and Luke. And I haven’t quite decided whether or not to take her up.” I see Suze’s expression. “What?”
“What do you mean ‘what?’ ” expostulates Suze. “What about (a) your mum’s already organizing your wedding? What about (b) Elinor is a complete cow? What about (c) you’ve gone off your head? Why on earth would you want to get married at the Plaza?”