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‘Waiting for what?’

‘Mia’s wedding present for Aiden.’ Sylvie grinned and patted Amrita’s hand, before lowering her voice. ‘Was it worth keeping us waiting?’

‘Yeah,’ Amrita whispered back.

‘Is the cat really that well trained?’

Sylvie’s question reminded Amrita of the rules – the boundaries – of Hudsbury’s magic. ‘I think she’s as “trained” as any cat ever can be,’ she replied, as diplomatically as possible.

‘My what from Mia?’ Aiden asked, looking around.

‘My wedding gift to you.’ She grinned back and gave Jamie a none-too-gentle kick under the table.

‘Right, sorry. Excuse me a minute.’ He smiled at Amrita before retrieving the long, round case he’d stashed in a safe corner of the barn – behind all their carted-in equipment – and bringing it back to the table. ‘Can we clear some space please?’

Everyone made quick work of grabbing plates, glasses and bottles out of the way. Amrita quickly dusted a napkin over the table, clearing away any crumbs, while Mia took the heavy tube from Jamie. She unscrewed the end, pulled out the roll of papers, and offered them to Aiden.

‘Happy wedding day, hubby.’

‘What…? How…?’

‘We’ve been working on these for a while.’

‘We?’

‘Me, Sylvie, Jamie. Amrita.’

‘I feel bad… I didn’t have a chance to get your gift yet.’

‘If you like these and agree to them, that will be more than enough gift.’ Mia smiled and leaned forward to kiss him over the top of the papers.

‘What are they?’ He shook his head, confused.

‘Easiest way to find out is to open them,’ Ophelia pointed out.

‘Yeah, get on with it,’ Katie nagged. ‘We’ve been waiting to see these for ages.’

‘You know what’s in these too?’ Aiden asked.

‘Yup.’ Katie grinned. ‘You know Mimi tells me everything.’

‘Well, maybe not everything, everything.’ Mia smiled. ‘But she knows about this.’

‘And you’ve all been involved too?’ He looked around the table. ‘Scheming against me?’

‘Not guilty.’ Ophelia held up her hands in protest. ‘Though I might have some feng shui type suggestions that combine well with colour theory. And some crystal suggestions for building a net into the foundations—’ She stopped abruptly when Katie dragged her into a kiss that made the group laugh.

‘I love you, Phe, but you need to stop talking now. Before you wreck the surprise.’

‘Sorry.’ She giggled, drawing her fingers across her lips in promise of a secret. ‘Too much liquid joy today to be trusted.’ She turned her gaze on Aiden. ‘Hurry up and open that before I say something Mia and Katie will make me regret!’

‘Sorry.’ Aiden chuckled as he unrolled the papers across the table, taking up most of the space. A technical drawing was at the top, and he studied it briefly before turning to the next, and the next, a frown forming.

‘What do you think?’ Sylvie was almost bouncing with excitement.

‘I… don’t really know what to think. I’m not sure I totally understand what I’m looking at here.’

‘May I?’ Amrita leaned forward, reaching for the paperwork.