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‘I’m OK,’ she said because the fussing was only making things worse.

‘Oh dear, your father’s joining in now,’ her mum said, seeing the posse around the hotel wedding planner and manager. ‘I must go try and calm things down.’

‘Oh my love,’ Roo said, pouring Zennor a glass of iced water that Zennor could only stare at in shock.

‘Trev n-never mentioned he’d arranged for s-singers,’ Zennor stammered.

‘It was meant to be a surprise. His mother told me but he’d no idea Matt was going to join in. None of us did. Kane must have asked him at the last minute for some reason. Does Trev know you and Matt were a thing back in the day?’

‘I – He knows we dated before I went to uni and he’s met him once at the Surf Club – not that Trev thought much of him.’ ‘Dated’ was such a pale word for the youthful fling that Zennor and Matt had enjoyed. It had all started to go wrong after she’d left for uni, and she’d thought Matt had moved on without a second thought. God knew, even with so many new faces and experiences, it had taken Zennor many months to accept that her future wouldn’t have him in it.

‘Did you know Matt still felt this way about you?’ Roo asked while Zennor sipped her iced water.

‘No. I mean, I knew he was back from travelling and I’d seen him from a distance at the Surf Club, but I’ve been so busy with the wedding we didn’t have any real contact. There’s been no reason to,’ she said. She’d thought about Matt, though, even while she’d been engaged to Trev. Who wouldn’t look back a little, for a moment, when they were embarking on a huge life journey with their partner? She loved Trev. They were in love and he was her husband.

‘Well, he’s obviously still carrying a torch for you, poor guy. He’s really lost the plot tonight though. It was disgusting but he was always a bit of a maverick, wasn’t he?’

A maverick? A free spirit; a joker. Yet she and Matt had once been inseparable on those long summer days and nights. Somehow, she’d always envisaged him being in her life, although she now realised that had been a pipe dream. She’d thrown herself into her new student life, graduated, then started teaching and eventually met Trev.

He was older, confident, and made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world and he’d do anything for her. She saw him remonstrating with the hotel manager and shuddered.

‘You don’t think …’ she murmured, feeling sick even as she said it, ‘… that there really was a waitress and Matt was …’

‘No!’ Roo shook her head. ‘Don’t you take any notice. Matt’s had too much to drink and probably already regrets what he’s said. I’m sure Trev would never do anything like that, especially today. Ignore him! Look, here’s Trev now.’

Breathing a little heavily, Trev sank to the floor at her feet and took her hands in his. ‘Zennor, Jesus. Are you OK? I’m so sorry, what a bunch of arseholes that group are. They were recommended by the hotel but that loser was never supposed to be part of the bloody line-up. I’ve no idea how he got in, the useless waster. He was probably on something as well as drunk.’

‘It’s not your fault …’ Zennor murmured, wanting to rip off her dress and dive into the familiar chill of the sea.

Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead. ‘I’ve read the riot act to the hotel manager and they’re giving us a discount, but that doesn’t matter. I am devastated you had to witness that debacle. But we’re not going to let it spoil our day. I bloody refuse to! Let’s forget it happened and get on with the party. OK?’

Zennor nodded. What else could she do?

Trev rose up and banged on the table to address the room, his voice still shaky with shock and anger.

‘I am so sorry you had to see that performance, friends. One of our singing waiters has clearly helped himself to too much of the free Bolly. That’s what you get when you hire a bunch of amateurs.’ His joke was met with laughter as faint and fake as his own. ‘Let’s get on with the celebrations.’ He glared at the MC. ‘Please can someone start the bloody disco now?’

A few moments later, Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ blared out of the speakers so loudly that Zennor could hardly hear what Roo and her mum were saying to her. The disco lights pulsated and her head thumped.

‘Zennor, lovely. Are you OK?’ Roo asked, fanning her.

‘Yes but – it’s so hot in here. The laces on my dress—’

‘I knew it was too bloody tight …’ her dad declared.

‘That’s not helpful, Hayden,’ her mum said. ‘Come on, let’s get you somewhere quiet and cool down. Why don’t we go out to the terrace for some air?’

Zennor found herself being helped out of the room by a protective cordon of Roo and her mum. Even though she felt light-headed, she was fully aware of the eyes burning into her and the shakes of the head and the pity – and suspicion.

She knew that forever after, her wedding day would only be remembered for Matt Veryan telling her she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.

CHAPTER THREE

Five years later: Present day

‘It’s Zennor … No, not Senna. Zennor. As in the place, the village in Cornwall … You haven’t heard of it? Oh, well, it is quite famous. It’s the one with the mermaid … Yeah, it’s unusual … Yeah, no one can spell it … My surname? It’s Smith … Yes, the ordinary, normal, boring spelling. Right, thanks. Bye.’

Zennor switched off her mobile and tossed it on her desk.