The Wedding Engagement

Chapter Three

“You’re talking absolute bollocks,” Maya said, giving Liv a hard stare across the kitchen table.

Liv raised her eyebrows in response. “I am not .” It was rare for her to argue with someone, but this was a very important subject. “I’m telling you,” she continued. “The jam should go on first, and then the cream.” She lifted her scone and took a big jammy, creamy bite. “That’s how they do it down in Cornwall.”

“But in Devon, they do cream first,” Maya replied, taking a bite of her own scone and getting jam on her nose in the process.

“Ha!” Liv pointed at her with a grin. “Your nose is jammed. The downside of the jam-on-top method.”

Maya shot her a mock-stern look, then tried to lick the jam off her nose. But her tongue wouldn’t reach so she sat there for a moment, stretching the tip of her tongue desperately toward her nose while Liv tried and then failed to hold in a snort of laughter. Maya gave up and, with a smile, wiped the jam off with her finger—licking it instead.

Elise gave them both a wry smile from the head of the table. “The real question is, how do we do it here in the Highlands?”

“Jam first!” Liv shouted, as Maya yelled, “Cream first!”

Pursing her lips, Elise sipped her tea. “This is a very important debate, which I fear shall not be settled today.”

Maya sniffed, sipping the tea, then shot Liv a smile. “This isn’t up to your usual standard—methinks you might be distracted by pining for a certain gentleman?”

“Shut it, you,” Liv muttered as she lifted her cup. She studied Maya’s delicate china, imagining she really was in an Austen novel, in an attempt to take her mind off this conversation.

“A certain gentleman?” Elise chimed in. “I assume you mean Arran.”

“Yep,” Maya said, doing a poor job of hiding her grin behind her teacup.

“Ugh,” Liv muttered. “I wish you’d let this one go.” This repetitive conversation was more painful and awkward than the time Liv had been on a date with a hot guy and she’d gone to push her glasses up her nose—staring at him while he spoke, mesmerized by his beautiful face. Except she hadn’t actually been wearing her glasses. So, she’d ended up poking herself in the eye instead.

Elise was watching her over the rim of her cup. “Can’t you just tell him how you feel?”

Liv bit her lip, avoiding Elise’s gaze. “We’re just friends. I don’t want to make it awks.” She fiddled with her cup, hoping to avoid scrutiny. “Anyway. He’s always been very vocal about wanting to stay away from relationships after Jess broke it off with him.”

She tried not to cringe as she remembered the sight of him cursing under his breath when he’d seen that it was her. It had made the whole thing even more mortifying. At her insistence, he’d agreed not to tell the others. Liv had pretended to Maya and Elise that the date had been a washout because the guy had a major belly-button-fluff fetish.

“You don’t know for sure unless you address it,” Elise said. She lifted a jammy dodger from the plate in the middle of the table and dunked it into her tea. “You’re always protecting everyone else. Put your own feelings first for once. And if he doesn’t feel the same way, then he’ll have to deal with it and carry on, like a grown-up. It’s hardly a trauma, having a gorgeous friend say that they fancy the pants off you.”

Liv pondered her tangled emotions where Arran was concerned. “It’s more complicated than that,” she said, aware she was being deliberately vague.

Maya shrugged. “We always think these things are more complicated than they are.”

Liv stirred her already well-stirred tea, imagining that the words she was attempting to carefully choose might suddenly whoosh up through the small brown whirlpool she was creating inside the china cup. “It is pretty complex. He’s my brother’s best friend, and, since he and Jess split, one of my closest friends. And I’ve got a real bond with Jayce. I don’t want to do anything to upset the balance—between us, between his son and me, or among our friends.”

Liv bit her bottom lip, trying to avoid both Maya’s and Elise’s gazes. She desperately wanted this conversation to be over.

“What else is complicating it?” Maya asked, her brow knitting.

Hesitating a beat, Liv searched for something to throw them off. She couldn’t tell them that the idea of a serious committed relationship terrified her. And whatever she did tell them couldn’t be a lie, because she was as shit at lying as Pinocchio. “The fact that Jayce is going to be starting in my nursery school class after Easter.”

Maya wrinkled her nose. “That’s not a major complication.”

Liv decided to steer the conversation further onto Jayce and away from Arran. “I’ve actually offered to babysit Jayce regularly, for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon and evening.”

Maya and Elise both raised their eyebrows, and there was a moment’s silence before Elise broke it. “ Every Saturday?”

Liv shook her head. “No. Just one per month, the one that is meant to be Jess’s weekend. The demands on Arran’s one free weekend are going up just as his portrait work has been taking off, and he needs that time to work.”

Elise frowned. “Isn’t there someone else who can babysit? His parents?”

Liv shook her head. “They already have him one day in the week; so does Jess’s mum. Arran won’t want to ask them for any more. And I’m the only one out of our friends who doesn’t have a life.” She shot them a grin.

Maya fake coughed, muttering, “Because you’re too busy pining over him.”

Liv shot Maya her hardest stare. But because she loved Maya to bits, the stare was only about as hard as butter. “I mean—you and Sam have each other, and Elise is busy with work and wee Jack. And Nico—”

“Is busy with all the women about town,” Elise finished, arching a brow as she sipped her tea.

Liv frowned. “I was going to say running his own fitness empire, leading the local Scout group, and helping out with his nieces and nephews. But okay.” She leaned back with a sigh. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I suggested it, but Arran wasn’t keen. Too proud to accept any help.”

Maya leaned her chin on her hand to study Liv. “You know what? You need to stop doing stuff for everyone else and do something for yourself. Like go on a proper date. Not a blind one, but a knowing-what-you’re-getting-yourself-into one.”

A heavy feeling tugged at Liv’s stomach. “With who?”

Had Maya finally gotten the message that Liv and Arran were a lost cause? But aiming her matchmaking sights on someone else was nearly as bad.

“What about Brodie?”

Liv paused to ponder that question. Brodie was handsome and friendly, plus good fun. There was no logical reason not to go on a date with him, if he was interested. But logic wasn’t driving her at the moment. “I dunno.”

“Come on. He’s got those gorgeous baby blues, lovely dark hair.” Maya winked. “Runs a ski shop, where you can get your best friend loads of discounted skiwear…”

A smile tugged at Liv’s mouth. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Maya replied. “Because your last big relationship was with Dean when we were eighteen, and even then, it ended before six months.”

Liv stiffened. “I have dated since then. You’re making it sound like I’ve been celibate for the last nine years.”

Maya waved a hand. “Casual dating doesn’t count.” She sighed. “I don’t get it. You’re such a catch. And the only one of us who has their shit together.”

Liv bit her tongue. Why did people always assume that a woman who didn’t have long-lasting relationships craved anything other than that? No one ever seemed to consider that it might be her avoiding anything serious. Her pushing the guy away, not vice versa. But at least it created a convenient distraction.

Playing the reluctant, terminally single woman was a good front and meant she could keep up her pretense of being “the only one who has their shit together.” Little did her friends know that she didn’t really feel that way.

The front door opened and shut, signaling Sam’s arrival. “Sorry I’m late!” he called.

His footsteps sounded up the hallway, and as he entered the kitchen, Liv stood to give him a hug.

“All right, twinny?” she asked as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

“Yep,” he said, releasing her with a grin as he went on to kiss Elise’s cheek. He then gave Maya a full-on kiss on the lips with borderline tongue, which made Liv feel as if she and Elise should depart the vicinity, posthaste.

Liv sat, clearing her throat. “I would tell you two to get a room, but we’re in your house.”

Maya broke off, blowing her fringe out of her eyes. “Sorry. Got overexcited.”

Liv took in the blush on Maya’s cheeks and the manner in which Sam was shifting his weight from one foot to the other. She narrowed her eyes. “Spill it.”

Sam shot Maya a look. She grabbed his hand to tug him into the seat next to her. “You can tell them,” she said.

He shook his head. “I got to tell Arran and Nico. Your shot now.”

The smile threatening Liv’s mouth broke into a full-blown grin. Oh my God. I know where this is going.

Maya swallowed. “We’re getting married.”

A starburst of joy erupted in Liv’s chest, driving her to her feet with a scream. She grabbed hold of Sam tightly before he could get fully to his feet, eliciting a laugh from him. Then she dropped him like a hot potato to grab hold of Maya. Even that wasn’t enough, so she took one under each arm in a three-way hug, with Elise joining in, circling Maya and Sam, with Liv in the middle.

“Ahh.” Liv sighed, closing her eyes. “Four-way hugs are awesome.”

Another voice sounded from behind her, one that gave her goose bumps and sent her heart rate up a notch. “Five-way hugs are where it’s at.”

She turned her head, looking up to meet Arran’s eyes as he took hold of her from behind, pressing into her back to circle the group with his arms and eliciting laughter from everyone. The memory of lifting her gaze from his David Tennant badge up to his eyes the previous evening surfaced, causing her cheeks to grow red-hot. Her face nestled in his neck as he leaned in, and she breathed the delicious scent of him—sandalwood infused with orange blossom. The hard pressure of his chest against her shoulders sent her nerve endings zinging into a frenzy.

Sam stretched a hand over everyone’s head to ruffle Arran’s loose, coily hair. “What’re you doing here? I only just left. Miss me?”

Arran grinned. “I wasn’t ready to finish celebrating and Nico had to get on with his babysitting duties. There was a major incident involving his little niece Aurora and a projectile vomit, so I hotfooted it out of there.”

Liv laughed. “Some friend you are.”

He shrugged. “Not everyone can be as amazing a mate as you.”

Heat rose in her face. Deciding to extricate herself before he noticed her blushing, she broke up the hug from the inside, dispersing everyone back to their seats, with Arran taking up residence in the chair next to her. She poured him and Sam some tea.

Arran raised an eyebrow as she passed him his cup. “Hey.”

Liv glanced down and clocked that he was holding out his hand. She gave him a side five, then flexed her fingers in an attempt to dispel the tingling sensation left by his touch.

Sam lifted his cup, took a sip, then set it back down again. “Enough of this tea,” he declared, getting to his feet and rummaging in the fridge. He lifted out a bottle of champagne and proceeded to pop the cork, resulting in a cheer from the group.

He brought the bottle over with some champagne flutes and filled everyone’s glass for a toast. As they clinked them together, Arran slid his hand over the back of Liv’s chair and brushed her shoulders with his arm. “Cheers.”

“To the happy couple.” Liv smiled, attempting to ignore the heat of Arran’s arm, which was stirring up heat in other parts of her body too. She dashed a quick glance at Elise, worried that the announcement of a wedding would elicit painful memories for her friend, who had been widowed the previous year. But she was reassured by the smile on Elise’s face and the matching sparkle in her blue eyes.

“Tell us everything,” Elise said, leaning forward. “How did you propose?”

Maya and Sam gave each other a look that turned Liv’s heart into a pool of warm mush. She loved the two of them to bits. How lucky was she, her twin brother and best mate getting together?

Sam ran a hand through his hair. “I feel I’ve let womankind down, because it really wasn’t very romantic. We were out for dinner and started talking about the future. We both said we wanted to get married and it should be sooner rather than later.” He gave Maya a smile. “So Maya said we should get engaged and set a date, and I agreed.” His smile morphed into a grin. “And by agreed, I of course mean I nearly bit her hand off.”

Sam tugged her into his chest and kissed her forehead.

“Right,” Arran said, rubbing his hands together. “On to the most important part. What are we doing for the stag do?”

Liv raised her eyebrows. “Most important part?”

Elise laughed. “Yeah. Surely the most important part is the day our friends make a lifelong commitment to each other.”

Grinning, Liv shook her head. “No. I mean the hen do is more important than the stag.”

Arran laughed heartily, the sound of his low rumble creating a warmth in her chest. “Touché,” he said.

“Not to worry,” Sam said, smiling. “Those two events will be one and the same.”

“A combined hen and stag party?” Liv asked, her eyes widening. “That would be cool.”

Maya nodded. “We’re going to have a weekend away, with all of us.”

“Nice,” said Arran, leaning back and lifting his fizz. He stroked his fingers down his stubble with a raised eyebrow. “Everything’s more fun when the ladies are around.”

Liv shot him a smile, which he reciprocated, and she found herself caught in it for a second, her heart flipping. Arran had the kind of smile that gave his eyes a glow, like a tumbler of whiskey sitting in the afternoon sun.

She turned toward Sam and Maya, who were on the other side of the table. “Pretty cool that I get to go on my bro’s stag. Gotta find me some dollar bills to slide into the panties of the hot strippers.”

Arran nearly spat out his mouthful of champagne, coughing in the process.

Liv turned to him, patting him on the back. “Oopsie. You’re meant to drink that stuff, not inhale it, sweet cheeks.”

He managed a laugh through his cough, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as his gaze raked over her, giving her goose bumps. “The image of you stuffing cash into the underwear of naked dancing ladies distracted me.”

Something about the way he dragged his hand across his mouth did it for her. But then again, everything about him did it for her. She shoved that thought deep down into the basement of her mind, locking the imaginary cast-iron door, padlocking it, and drawing down a wooden plank to barricade it.

She sniffed, pursing her lips at him. “Don’t be such a prude.”

Maya leaned on the table to address Liv and Elise. “There’s something I need to ask you guys.” She paused to take a breath, seeming a little self-conscious. “Would you two be my best women?”

Liv’s mouth dropped open, joy rising in her chest. This day couldn’t get any better. “I’d love that.”

“Me too,” Elise said, her eyes shining. “Thank you.”

Sam nodded toward Arran. “I’ve already asked this arsehole to be my best man, along with Nico.”

Arran raised his eyebrow, lifting his glass toward Sam. “Watch it, Holland. Or I might accidentally misplace the rings.”

Sam grinned, giving Arran a wink. “We’re evenly matched. Two best men, and two best women.”

Liv leaned her forearms on the table, excitement infusing her. “What do you need us to do?”

Maya swirled her champagne. “If you guys could organize the weekend away, that would be awesome. We’re hoping to have everything covered with planning the actual wedding; it’ll only be small anyway.”

Elise rummaged around in her handbag, bringing out a notebook with spring flowers and rainbows on the front. She flipped it open and pulled a sparkly pen from the elastic loop on the side. “Tell us your wish list and let’s get organizing right now.”

Liv laughed. “Did you have that notebook on standby? Your stationery addiction is getting out of hand.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Elise’s mouth. “You never know when a new notebook might come in handy.”

Maya glanced at Sam. “I’m not sure we’ve got a wish list, as such.”

“What destination are we thinking?” Arran said.

Sam rubbed his beard. “Not sure.”

Raising his eyebrows, Arran smiled. “Are we talking Ibiza, or Inverness?”

“Scotland-based, I reckon,” Maya said. She glanced at Sam. “Is that okay with you?”

“Definitely,” Sam replied, shooting her a soft look that made Liv’s already mushy heart melt a little further. “Save our money for the honeymoon.”

Maya grinned. “Probably less chance of naked dancing ladies, though, in Scotland compared to the Balearics. That okay?”

Sam looked her up and down. “Unless I get a naked dance off you?”

Shrugging, Maya lifted her glass to take a sip. “Depends on how much you’re paying.”

Elise was scribbling more notes, clearly taking the organizational role very seriously.

Liv peered over her shoulder, curious to see whether she’d actually documented “no naked dancing ladies.”

“When are we talking?” Elise asked.

“Perhaps April or May?” Maya said. “Because we’re thinking of a June wedding.”

“Blimey,” Elise said, glancing up. “Only four months to plan a wedding. You two don’t mess about, do you?”

Sam took Maya’s hand. “Nope. There’s already been too much messing about and delay. So, we’re going for it.”

Maya leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Liv spotted Elise exchanging a look with Arran at that point, and she suspected that the two people in the room who had actually planned a wedding in the past thought Maya and Sam naive in their underestimation of the task at hand.

Arran leaned back. “No time like the present, I suppose. Long engagements are a bad idea.”

Liv glanced at him, trying to read any underlying emotion behind his neutral expression. He and Jess had been engaged for a number of years before they set their date.

“Any specifics apart from Scotland-based?” Elise asked.

Maya and Sam shook their heads.

“Right,” Elise said. “We should probably pick a weekend first, then decide where we want to go. Then we can curate a list of venues and narrow it down, see what places have vacancies.”

The doorbell rang.

Sam stood and left the kitchen, then shortly after they heard the sound of him opening the door and Nico’s deep voice.

Liv noticed Elise burying her head in her notebook and starting to scribble as Nico entered the room.

“Manage to get out of the vomit cleanup?” Arran asked.

“Nah. I cleaned it up, but then my sister came home early so I figured I’d come join in the celebrations.” Nico tugged off his black leather jacket, his muscles bulging under his tight-fitting long-sleeved shirt. Elise glanced over from her notebook, her gaze seeming to land on the swell of Nico’s deltoid, then whipping away back onto her scribblings.

Nico leaned on the table, glancing at Elise as she jotted away. “Kowalski.”

She gave him a nod in return.

“Right,” he said to the group as he took a seat. “Where are we at?”

“Deciding on a date for the pre-wedding weekend away,” Maya said. “We should probably find a couple of options, in case one of them doesn’t work out.”

Liv lifted out her phone to open the calendar, the others following suit. She glanced at Arran, who was frowning at his phone screen, his brow furrowed in an adorable manner. “When has Jess got Jayce?” she asked. “Let’s use those weekends as a starter.”

He nodded, giving a couple of dates to Elise, who noted them down. She lifted her gaze. “Not many going spare.”

Arran winced. “Yeah. Jess has a lot of stuff on.” He looked at Liv, and she registered just then how much he needed her support. She was going to make him accept it by hook or by crook.

“Either of those weekends is good for us,” Sam said, slinging his arm around Maya’s shoulders.

Elise nodded. “Fine by me too. Mum and Dad will manage one weekend with Jack, I’m sure. It doesn’t matter which one it is.”

Nico scrolled through his phone. “Good for me too. Where are we going?”

“I’ve had an idea about that,” Arran said, leaning his elbows on the table.

“Me too,” Liv said, mirroring him.

He gave her a wink that made her skin tingle. “Ladies first.”

Smiling, she faced the others. “I think we should go to Skye. Remember that school trip—”

“We all went on in sixth year?” Arran finished for her. He grinned. “Exactly the same idea I had.”

Liv met his gaze, something warm passing between them. She found that they were always on the same wavelength. Except where romantic feelings were concerned—but she reminded herself that it was for the best that he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. Even though it hurt.

“Yes,” Maya said, clapping her hands together.

Sam nodded. “I loved that trip. And we were talking about wanting to visit again.”

“Great,” Elise said, jotting down a couple of things. “Hotel? Cottage?”

Nico interjected. “Leave that to me. I’ve got a contact who owns a huge property on Skye, a holiday home. I’m sure it’ll be free because she’s working away at the moment.”

“Brilliant,” Maya said. “Thank you.”

“She?” Elise said, shooting Nico a wry smile. “An ex-girlfriend?”

Nico met her gaze head-on. “Yes. I’m friends with all my exes.” He hesitated for a beat. “Mostly.”

“Let us know if you can get the property,” Elise said, “and I’ll search for some alternatives just in case you can’t. When do you think you can get hold of her?”

Nico lifted his phone, tapping out a message. “Right now.”

“We’ll need to decide what activities we want to do,” Liv said, pushing her glasses up her nose. She shot Maya a death stare. “Probably a massive hike, knowing you and your springtime program at the ski resort.” Maya stuck her tongue out at her.

“Don’t worry,” Arran said, bumping her shoulder. “I’ll give you a piggyback if your feet get blistered.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, trying to cover the fact that imagining being on Arran’s back, even fully clothed, gave her goose bumps.

Elise leaned back. “I’m going to see if I can book a nice restaurant for the Saturday night.” She glanced at Nico. “Where’s your friend’s cottage?”

“Portree,” he replied, tossing a cookie in the air and catching it in his mouth.

Elise appeared to roll her eyes a little as she went back to her scribbling. “Right. I’ll sort food, Nico will do accommodation. Liv, can you and Arran come up with some activities?”

Liv nodded her agreement.

Elise closed her notebook, glancing at Nico. “Text me with the answer about the cottage, and I’ll sort something if we can’t get it.”

Nico shook his head, frowning. “I’ll text you with the outcome. But if it falls through, I’ll sort something.”

Leaning back in her seat and folding her arms, Elise eyed him. “Don’t trust me to find somewhere to your liking?”

“I do,” he said, holding her gaze. “But you’ve got enough on your plate. So I’ll sort it.”

Elise seemed taken aback for a moment. Then she nodded. “Great.”

Arran gave Liv a nudge as the others began talking among themselves. “We should meet up soon and get the activities sorted.” He gave her another one of those sexy winks, causing a delicious shiver to lick up her spine.

“Yeah, let’s do it. I’ve got a few ideas already about the activities.”

“Same.” He nudged her arm. “We’ll compare notes. See who comes out on top.”

Her cheeks burned at the thought of either of them being atop the other, so she moved her gaze away from his sparkling honey eyes. Planning a wedding-related activity with the guy I’ve been crushing on for years. What could go wrong?