A Summer Bay Wedding
Chapter One
Roman was driving, he'd insisted on it because it was the most Alpha Male thing he would be able to do today and well it was his car. Ella and Nic were talking about dresses and maybe even, and this caused a shudder to run down his spine, look at top hat and tails for the men. Even get him to try some on and see how they looked. Miles had escaped into sleep as soon as the car started and now Roman was envying him.
It wasn't that he was grumpy, well actually he was. They had got up really early for the drive into the city and Nicole had overslept and then spent an hour in the shower. Then she had stolen his coffee and now they were lost. Which was also Nicole's fault. She was supposed to be giving them the directions to the Bridal stores she had looked up online and instead had left the maps in her room. Ella had declared that it was not a problem, Roman continued with his thoughts, she had just used her mobile phone to connect to the Internet and look up the shops. But no it wasn't just that the directions had been left behind, he thought savagely, it was Nicole shouting out 'Stop!' and making them drive off down this road he was now trying to get off from. She had seen a shoe shop and made them park while she went in.
Thinking that maybe she had seen a pair of shoes for the wedding he didn't mind, following her in the store but oh no, it was a pair of high heeled black and silver Jimmy Choos...whatever they were! And he still didn't know just quite how his credit card had come out of his wallet to pay for them. And then he'd stood at the till with an over-excited Nicole, who couldn't seem to stop talking, to glance at Ella looking at designer baby shoes. Baby Shoes! In PINK! He had a vision of doing this father of the bride thing in 18 years [i](no make that at least 30 years because there was no way he was going to let another daughter marry young if at all!) [/i] and felt his heart start thumping hard in his chest. As in having a mini heart attack.
And El, well she just smiled that secret little smile of hers she had taken to using lately.
That last thought caught him up short. He slammed the brakes on and stopped the car in the middle of the road. Luckily there was no traffic immediately behind them.
"Hell no!" he exclaimed.
"Dad! What...?" Nic started to say.
Pulling himself together and making a mental note to speak to Ella later he put the car in gear and set them back in motion.
"Sorry!" he muttered. "I thought I saw something in the road." his eyes met with El's gaze in the rear view mirror.
'What's wrong?" she mouthed silently.
He shook his head to indicate nothing.
She smiled at him and damn if it wasn't that secretive smile all over again, he thought smiling back.
Miles opened one eye.
"Are we there yet?" he asked, having slept though the sojourn at the shoe shop.
"No!" came back a chorus of three voices!
The rest of the drive was silent apart from the occasional snore from Miles who had fallen back asleep. He pulled up the car in front of what he was told was an exclusive boutique. It had cream blinds in the windows and aside from the fancy gold lettering across the windows, there was nothing to say what the shop was, however from the excited girlish chatter it appeared that they were at a bridal boutique!
"We're here. " he said to Miles who immediately opened his eyes.
They climbed out of the car and Nicole smoothed down her hair and dress as if she was nervous. She and Ella went in first and he waited patiently for Miles, wondering if they could make a break for it while the girls were distracted. He looked up to see Ella holding open the door for him with a smile on her face. She shook her head at him, and like any good well trained solider he squared his shoulders and walked inside to meet his fate. Miles followed behind, dragging his feet.
A person who introduced himself as Maurice greeted them as they entered. Now he knew why Nicole had asked him to wear a suit today, although both he and Miles were dressed in the standard of smart casual; black trousers and white shirt. He'd actually been surprised that Miles owned anything without a pattern or some logo emblazoned upon it, and quite frankly, he'd never seen the other man look so smart.
They were offered a glass of champagne and he brightened until he saw Ella turn it down for a glass of Orange Juice instead and then remind him he was driving so he couldn't have any either. He only just controlled his scowl when he shook Maurice's hand as he was introduced as Father of the Bride. He smiled though when Miles caught hold of said Maurices hand and pumped it vigorously telling him he was just a friend of the father of the bride, and asking if there was any more champagne.
They were shown to a set of French inspired furniture in white with gilt gold edging and invited to sit down. Miles chose the sofa, with Ella sitting next to him, which left him and Nicole on the spindly-legged chairs. His creaked alarmingly when he sat in it causing Maurice to glare at him.
"Dad!" Nicole hissed at him when Maurice was out of earshot. "We are very lucky to be here you normally have to wait months to get an appointment with this boutique."
He rolled his eyes at her and was about to say something when a warning shake of Ella's head stopped him.
Who in their right minds got an appointment to look at dresses? He thought grumpily, resting his elbow on the chair arm causing it to creak again.
Nicole glared at him.
Maurice walked back into the room with a clothes rail pushed behind him.
"This is Marianne." He introduced that woman who had pushed the clothes rail. "She is going to help you with the dresses. I will be back shortly after you have had a chance to look at our first selection."
Roman and Miles' heads shot up at the first selection comment.
'Please god!' He thought, 'Let her like the very first dress she tries on and I'll start going to church, feed the poor and give up swearing!' But he knew with a sinking heart that his daughter would be trying on all the dresses.