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‘I would. And, when we have more time, I think there’s a lot we should talk about.’

Jamie nodded, not entirely sure if the butterflies in his stomach were more excited or nervous.

‘But for now’ – she held out a hand that he squeezed gratefully, hopefully – ‘we’ve got a wedding to get ready for. Another one.’

‘Any chance you’ll dance with me at this one too?’

‘Maybe.’ She tightened her own fingers around his.

When Aiden came back, he was grinning. ‘Everything’s on the way. Jamie, any chance you can help me grab the jars? There’s something I want to ask you.’

‘Of course.’ He reluctantly released Amrita’s fingers and followed. ‘What’s up?’

Aiden cleared his throat, suddenly seeming a bit nervous. ‘I know you’ve been friends with Mia for so long that you’re more like family at this point, and that I’m relatively new in all of this… so I won’t be offended if you feel this isn’t appropriate… but I think it kind of would be and that she’d like it and… But if you say no, I just won’t tell her, so there’s no pressure on you…’

‘No pressure on me to what?’

‘Would you stand with me? When we handfast?’

‘Like a best man?’

‘Exactly. Only you don’t really have to do anything because there’s no time for a stag do – not that I’d have had much of one – and you’re already helping set up anyway. Just stand there, help with anything last minute, and hold the rings. Assuming one of the spells, or Mist and Lunar, find them in time. Like I said, no pressure⁠—’

‘Mate.’ Jamie cut him off. ‘I’d be honoured.’

14

As much as Amrita would have liked to have Jamie sat beside her, there were benefits to him becoming the last-minute best man – like the fact that she was supposed to be looking towards the front, where he now stood next to an increasingly nervous-looking groom. But it did mean she could steal glances at Jamie – in another well-cut suit – without it being too obvious that she was watching him… or how much she’d missed him.

‘He looks good,’ Sylvie murmured next to her.

‘You have a very handsome son,’ Amrita replied.

‘Oh, I know Aiden looks good.’ She grinned. ‘But I meant your Jamie.’

‘Oh, he’s not my Jamie…’ Amrita started to argue, until he looked at her, his eyes drawn as though he had no choice in the matter, and their gazes locked. Within seconds, Amrita could feel the heat creeping into her cheeks and forced herself to look away, to look around the beautiful setting.

‘Sure. If you say so.’ Sylvie chuckled and took a few more pictures.

The setting really was beautiful. They’d just hit the golden hour, so the light was perfect as it flooded through the grove where the chairs had been arranged into a makeshift aisle decorated with swathes of pale fabric and even more flowers. It led to the flower-laden pergola where Aiden and Jamie waited – if not patiently, then certainly eagerly. Rayenne and Ophelia stood nearby, flicking through the pages of a book that looked old enough to fall apart, murmuring to each other – apparently squabbling slightly. The light made the cherry blossoms – so thick and heavy that they bowed the branches – look even brighter, while soft music drifted towards them from the inn.

Above them, amongst the cherry blossoms, sparrows chattered excitedly. And, when Amrita squinted, she kept thinking she could see tiny lights that flickered amongst the fluttering flowers, but whenever she tried to focus on them, they winked out.

Then the music changed, and everyone stood, seemingly understanding the unspoken cue. Quickly, Amrita put down her bag and stood too, turning to stare in the direction of the arch that two of the trees had formed. Katie appeared within a couple of seconds, looked back and said something to someone Amrita couldn’t see – briefly wagging her finger like she was telling someone off or reminding them of their manners, then serenely walked down the aisle, her summery yellow dress flowing behind her. She paused at the end of the aisle, quickly hugged Aiden and straightened his tie, then shot a cheeky wink at Ophelia, who mouthed something back to her. Katie gave her head a tiny shake, and Rayenne shrugged.

Seconds later, Amrita understood what Katie had been doing before she started her walk when two adorable little girls skipped down the aisle wearing pretty dresses tied with sashes that matched Katie’s yellow dress and jauntily swinging baskets from their hands.

A whistle pierced the romance of the moment, and everyone turned to see Katie making frantic motions. The girls froze, giggled, and ran back to the start of the aisle and began again – this time walking slowly and carefully scattering petals from their baskets.

Moments after they had finished, the music swelled, and Amrita locked her eyes on Aiden, who appeared to have forgotten how to breathe. She saw the moment he spotted Mia – a huge grin spread across his face and his mouth dropped open. Jamie nudged him in the ribs and he gasped, his eyes tracking behind Amrita’s head. She turned to see her friend – smiling just as brightly as she walked down the aisle.

Her dress was beautiful, and totally Mia. Even though Amrita had seen it in the store when she’d been dropping off her contributions, she hadn’t seen it looking like this and was, once again, reminded of what a positive thing magic could be. Because some serious magic had been worked in the last few hours. The bodice fitted Mia perfectly – she’d already expected that – and was tightly tied at the waist with a wide sash above a puffy skirt that Amrita wouldn’t have even guessed had been her shawl just this morning if she hadn’t dropped it off herself. It was now an elegant – but fun, because it was Mia – skirt that reached down to her shins, flaring out and swishing as she walked, shading from the same white as the bodice to sky blue at the hemline. As she moved, the pale pink blossoms danced and drifted over the skirts in a never-ending cascade.

Over it, her hair was arranged into pretty curls with a short veil that glistened and sparkled in the sunlight, and beneath it, she wore white, blossom-covered biker boots. When she reached the end of the aisle and took Aiden’s hand to climb the couple of steps into the pergola, Amrita was sure she saw a brief flash of black beneath the sticky-out skirts.

She smiled as Mia said something to Aiden that made him beam even brighter, and they wove their fingers together.

‘Thank you, everyone,’ Rayenne said, addressing the crowd, ‘for coming together today⁠—’