The Bridesmaid's Baby. Barbara Hannay

cheeks grew warm again. ‘Thanks. Mattie chose our dresses. She has very feminine tastes.’

      He let her self-effacing comment pass.

      ‘It’s been a perfect wedding,’ she said to make amends, but then she was ambushed by an involuntary yawn. ‘But it seems to have worn me out.’

      ‘You’ve probably been working too hard.’

      She shook her head. ‘My work doesn’t very often make me tired. Weddings, on the other hand…’

      ‘Can be very draining.’

      ‘Yes.’

      He was watching her with a lopsided smile. ‘It’s not always easy to watch your friends tie the knot.’

      ‘I…’ Her mouth was suddenly dry and her tongue stuck to its roof. She shot Will a sharp glance, uncertain where this conversation was heading. She tried again. ‘I’m really happy for Mattie, aren’t you?’

      ‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘Marriage couldn’t have happened to a nicer girl.’

      Lucy nodded. A small silence limped by. ‘I suppose weddings are tiring because they involve lots of people.’ Hunting for a way to disguise the fact that Will’s presence at this wedding was her major problem, she made a sweeping gesture towards the crowded marquee. ‘I’m more used to animals these days. They’re so much quieter than humans.’

      ‘And I’m used to rocks.’

      Lucy laughed. ‘I dare say they’re quieter too.’

      ‘Silence is one of their better attributes.’ Will chuckled again. ‘Sounds like we’ve turned into a pair of old loners.’

      ‘Maybe,’ she said softly, but she knew it was hazardous for her to talk of such things with this man.

      Quietly, he said, ‘It’s happening all around us, Goose.’

      Goose…her old nickname.

      Only her father and Will had ever called her Goose, or Lucy Goose…and hearing the name now made her dangerously nostalgic.