When Mary heads outside for some fresh air, she spots five guys laying down on the grass in the distance. Smirking, she gets into a golf cart and drives to them before hopping off and slapping Francis's cheek, jolting him awake.
"Mary!" He cries out, pulling her to straddle his hips as he kisses her hard. "What time is it?"
"Past eleven," she says, crossing her arms. "You didn't come into the house..."
Francis groans, feeling his skin sweat. "Shit, we fell asleep here. We used to camp as kids so I guess we're used to the outdoor sleeping."
She sighs heavily, getting off of him and pulling him up. "It's fine. Looks like you all needed it."
Francis smiles, nodding. "It was nice spending time with them. God, I'm such a loner..."
Chuckling, Mary kicks Bash and the other guys and they curse and groan at her before being helped up by Francis.
"Get inside, stay under the nice AC and chill. Catherine's made her famous lemon-" Her brows raise when they steal her golf cart and Bash heads straight to the house. "And they're off..."
Francis chuckles, offering his hand to her. "My mother's lemonade is always doused with a little something extra for the adults," he explains. "But to be honest, as soon as Bash hit fifteen, she didn't care about giving it to him nor us when we got to that age."
"So your mother is behind your alcoholism?" Mary asks, laughing.
"Well, she's an okay mother... Sometimes."
Mary snorts, pulling him in the direction of the house where the guys hop off the cart and hurry inside. "Let's spend some time together before I pull the girls out for bridesmaid dress shopping."
...
"Scotland is cold in October," Lola says as Mary looks between the burgundy short-length dresses and the maxi dresses.
"To be honest, I've always wanted a Summer wedding but it got too close to Kenna's and..." Mary sighs heavily. "We want to be married as soon as possible..."
Kenna pulls a face. "Why don't we compromise? A maxi dress but it can be strapless or short-sleeved and we'll wear shawls."
Mary nods and looks through the options on offer, the shop assistant patiently waiting to collect all that she hands her. She grabs four different styles and two short-length styles before looking at the women and pursing her lips.
"Here we have six dresses and I have six bridesmaids... Each of you tries a style," she says, handing them each a random dress. "And we'll see what we like or dislike."
Leeza nods. "But the choice is ultimately yours," she reminds Mary as the six women head into the changing rooms.
Mary takes a seat, crossing one leg over the other as she gladly accepts a glass of champagne from the shop assistant. She contemplates texting Francis but he'll still be enjoying spending time with his brothers and friends after not seeing them most of the time over the year. So she's glad that this wedding has brought him out of his shell a lot more as it's been quite lonely for him when she's got the girls around her back in England.
She smiles to herself, thinking of his promise for them to live in France when they are older. She's always loved France, visiting her family every now and then but now she's going to marry a French citizen, to which she has citizenship in France herself, it would make visiting family easier as their trips to France would less likely be rejected. She knows Kenna was almost freaking out that Greer and Lola wouldn't be able to get their visas ready in time so now Mary's putting some of her family and Francis's family in that position with wanting the wedding in Scotland.
With how his Nonno and Nonna are, she might even consider having a second ceremony in France or Italy to please them. She wants to be a part of Francis's world just as much as she wants him to be a part of her world and she can't wait to introduce him to her father's grave when they get to Scotland.
She's been thinking about her late father a lot more, especially the fact that he won't be there to walk her down the aisle. She's contemplated going down it alone or asking her mother or even asking her brother since they are on way better terms now with reduced work lives and they enjoyed chatting and especially catching up at the wedding two days ago. If she can't have James Snr, she will settle for James Jnr.
"Okay, I've put the dress on," Kenna says, first to come out. She wears a sleeveless dress with a mini-skirt but a frilly train for an overskirt that covers the back of her legs but reveals the front of it. It's lovely but not practical and both mentally agree to reject it. "I'll freeze to death since we would probably have photos outside."
Mary nods, biting her lip. "You would all freeze to death in that," she agrees. "But I love the skirt. Maybe not for a wedding though. Too scandalous."
Kenna smirks in reply and she steps back to see Claude and Greer head out in their dresses. "Ooh."
Claude spins, showing them the knee-length A-line dress similar to that of the one they wore for Kenna's wedding. It's the deep burgundy colour that makes Mary's eyes brighten when she looks at it but then she thinks better of it and shakes her head.
"Too like the ones we wore to Kenna's wedding," Mary states.
"True," Claude says. "So reject pile?"
"Yep," Mary says, turning to Greer who wears a long-sleeved, circular neck, maxi dress with a black sash around the waist. The bodice is adorned with small diamonds and the sleeves are intricate lace flowers. Mary can't deny it looks stunning with Greer's straight blonde hair and she can just imagine the other women in this dress.
Greer nervously sees Mary's gaze intent on her. "Well?"
Mary breaks into a smile. "This is an option."
"Oh, thank God!" Greer cries out.
"We've got one in the bag," Kenna says, nodding her own approval. "Let's wait until the others come out."
...
They narrow it down to one and Mary's relieved they chose Greer's dress. She wants to get everything done and dusted before she's busy with work and Francis is busy with his own career and she needs to account for when the production of Tomas's movie.
Suits, done. Bridesmaid dresses, done. Cakes, done. Wedding theme, done.
They've still got a lot to do and Mary and Francis bid Kenna and Bash off on their honeymoon after dropping them off at the airport, going back to England themselves.
"I'll miss you," Kenna says, pressing a long kiss on Mary's cheek as they squeeze each other, their men hugging each other tightly too as they say something under their breath to each other. "Make sure Francis can't enough of you."
Mary cackles. "I have an idea," she says, winking at Kenna as they pull apart. "We'll look after Orion, don't worry."
"We're not," Bash says, coming to hug her as well as Kenna latches herself onto Francis, almost making him stumble back. "Thanks for fixing our wedding."
Mary blushes, patting his back. "You're welcome. Did you like it?"
Bash nods, pulling away to see Kenna and Francis animatedly talking to each other about something they don't know about. He laughs to himself, staring at his wife in disbelief. "I loved it. She wanted to make it all about me, riding down the aisle on horseback, incorporating my French origins and all and... she still surprises me every day." He then pulls her to the side a little. "Hey, I know you'll probably be embarrassed by this, considering my father and I more or less said the same thing at that dinner back in LA."
"Yeah...?"
"You may not realise it now, but you really did save my brother's life and I'm grateful for that," Bash tells her. "Francis is what you call a... well, he's an introvert but lately, he's been a lot more outgoing. Less problematic and more at peace." He laughs wryly, digging into his pocket and handing her an envelope. "Francis probably told you when he first started, he got some lyrics from a friend whose vocals went bust?"
Mary nods, fingering the envelope delicately. "Yeah..."
"He lied. I wrote his lyrics, especially his ballads and well, before the wedding, Francis wrote this for you to understand him. He kept it with me for safekeeping and I stumbled across it when I was getting dressed for the wedding and thought you'd like it."
Mary's brows raise in surprise and she smiles warmly. "Such a good brother, you know? He loves you like mad and that's so sweet," she says, releasing a deep breath as she bites her lip and stares down at the unopened letter.
"Enjoy your love letter, Mary," Bash says before winking at her and going over to grab Kenna's hand as she waves at the couple happily.
Mary goes to stand beside Francis and they laugh when Kenna squeals as Bash lifts her into his arms, kisses her and spins them around before they board the jet.
"What did Bash give you...?" Francis's eyes widen and he blushes furiously. "You don't have to read it."
Mary turns to him. "Do you want me to read it?"
Francis bows his head with a shrug. "I don't know."
"How about when you're ready, we'll read it together?" She suggests tenderly.
Francis's eyes water and he nods, kissing her softly before the pilot of their own jet comes over to gently coax them to board. They are on a deadline to pick the dogs up from the doggy hotel. And they've got work.
"Are you okay?" Mary asks as they do their belts and feel the plane start to move down the runway.
Francis looks away from the window and turns to her. "I am," he breathes out, pulling her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss on it. "I love you."
"I love you too," Mary tells him with a smile.