«No, no, and absolutely not!» Emily threw her hands up in despair. «I cant possibly go to this wedding, Sophie! You know James has had this fishing trip with Dave planned for ages. Theyve been prepping for weeksI cant cancel at the last minute.»
«But its Lucys wedding!» Sophie slammed her teacup down indignantly. «Your uni bestie! Shell never forgive you if you dont show. What fishing trip could possibly be more important?»
«James treats it like a sacred ritual,» Emily sighed. «He barely gets time away from me as it is. Hes been yammering on about it all springnew tackle, tents, the lot. I cant let him down.»
«But its fine to let Lucy down?» Sophie raised an eyebrow. «She literally picked the date so you could come up from Manchester. Your seats are paid for, and youre both on the guest list!»
Emily tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, chewing her lip. This dilemma had been gnawing at her for days. On one hand: Lucys wedding, her closest friend since freshers week. On the other: Jamess precious lads weekend. And of course, theyd landed on the same bloody weekend.
«Maybe Ill go alone?» she offered weakly. «Explain the situation. Lucyll understand.»
«Oh, shell understand alright,» Sophie snorted. «And sulk about it till shes eighty. Remember how she ghosted you for a month when you forgot her birthday three years ago?»
«That was different!» Emily protested. «Genuine forgetfulness versus a legit conflict.»
«Ah yes, the sacred art of sitting in a boat,» Sophie drawled. «Fine, suit yourself. But dont say I didnt warn you.»
The conversation left Emily stewing all the way home. Maybe she should talk to James again? Explain how much the wedding meant? But hed been so chuffed about this trip, counting down the days Itd be selfish to ask him to bail.
James greeted her in the hallway, helping her out of her coat. He smelled faintly of aftershave and something delicious from the kitchen.
«Dinners ready,» he announced with a grin. «Your favouriteprawn linguine. How was your day?»
«Alright,» Emily pecked him on the cheek. «Caught up with Sophie. She says hi.»
Over dinner, the weekend plans inevitably came up.
«Youre sure you dont mind me going fishing?» James studied her face. «If the weddings that important, I can stay.»
«No, no, you go,» Emily said quickly. «You and the lads have been planning this forever. I get it.»
«Positive?» He still looked uneasy. «Dave says signals patchy out there, so calls might drop. But Ill text when I can.»
«Its fine,» she assured him. «Have fun, catch loads. Ill pop by Lucys solocant let her down. Ill just explain youre off pretending to be Bear Grylls.»
James nodded, but something flickered in his eyesrelief? Emily chalked it up to excitement for his getaway.
Friday morning was chaos. James triple-checked his gear, phoning Dave every five minutes about bait or beer quotas.
«Dont forget the tackle, Captain Ahab,» Emily teased as he frantically hunted for his torch. «And mind the fish dont laugh at your knots.»
«Cheers, love.» He pulled her into a bear hug. «Be good. Send Lucy my congrats.»
«Will do.» She buried her face in his neck, breathing in his familiar scent. «Though it wont be half as fun without you.»
«Youll have a blast,» he kissed her head. «Right, Im off. Daves double-parked downstairs.»
«Bring me back a whopper?» she called as he headed out.
«Obviously!» He winked. «Well feast like kings!»
The flat felt oddly hollow once hed gone. Three whole days apartthey rarely did separate trips. Still, the weekend would fly by, especially with the wedding to distract her.
That evening, Lucy was surprisingly understanding.
«Just glad youre coming,» she said. «Wouldnt be the same without you. James is practically a ghost at these things anyway.»
«See you tomorrow, bridezilla,» Emily laughed. «And congrats again. Youll be stunning!»
Saturday was a whirlwind of primpingdress steamed, nails done, hair curled. Emily checked her reflection: navy wrap dress, smoky eye, just the right side of glam. Not bad.
A text from James pinged early: «Made it to the lake. Signals dodgy. Love youhave fun!» She replied with a heart and a fishing emoji.
The wedding was at a swanky London restaurant. Emily arrived slightly latetypical Tube delaysto find the ceremony over and guests milling with champagne.
«Em!» Lucy, radiant in ivory lace, nearly toppled her with a hug. «You came! I was starting to think youd bailed too!»
«Wild horses couldnt keep me away,» Emily squeezed her. «You look unreal! Toms a lucky man.»
«Cheers, darling.» Lucy beamed. «Shame about James, but blokes and their fishing»
«He sends his apologies,» Emily said. «And promises to make it up to you.»
Lucy steered her to a table of uni palsSophie and her husband, Gemma and her fiancé, Ollie with his new girlfriend. The reunion almost made up for Jamess absence. Toasts flowed, jokes flewthe mood was warm and tipsy.
«Wheres your better half?» Ollie leaned in. «Not skipping the social, surely?»
«Fishing with the boys,» Emily said. «Planned for agescouldnt back out.»
«Fishing? In March?» Ollie frowned. «Bit early, isnt it?»
«Is it?» Emily shrugged. «James reckons springs prime time. Not that Id know.»
«Suppose the fish are the experts,» Ollie smirked, but his look was odd.
The evening rolled on. After dinner, a band struck up, and Emily, pleasantly buzzed, was mid-laugh when she noticed a crowd huddled around someones phone.
«Livestream for Instagram!» Sophie tugged her over. «Wave at the peasants who couldnt make it!»
Emily obliged, smiling awkwardly at the camera.
«Show them the room!» The phone panned across dancing guests, the cake-cuttingthen paused. «Wait, is that James?!»
Emily followed the gaze. Near the bar, a man who looked suspiciously like her husband was dancing. Same broad shoulders, same sandy hair, same bloody shirt hed worn to their anniversary last year.
«Thats not James,» she said faintly. «Hes fishing. Miles from here.»
«Nah, thats definitely him!» The phone zoomed inundeniable: her supposedly piscatorial husband, grinning at some brunette.
Emilys stomach dropped. This had to be a mistake. A doppelgänger. A hallucination from the prosecco.
«James?!» Her voice cracked.
He turned. Their eyes locked. His face went sheet-white. Muttering to the woman, he bolted for the exit.
Emily followed in a daze, ignoring Sophies shouts.
«I can explain,» he gasped in the corridor.
«Explain WHAT? That you lied? That youre HERE when you were supposed to be»
«Its not what you think!» He ran a hand through his hair. «Can we talk somewhere quiet?»
«Talk HERE.» Her hands shook. «Whos that woman? Why the bloody fishing charade?»
James glanced around. «Fine. There was no fishing trip. I lied, but not not how it looks.»
«Enlighten me.»
He took a deep breath. «I was planning a surprise. For our anniversary next month.»
«A surprise.» She stared. «At my best friends wedding?»
«Exactly!» He brightened slightly. «Lucy and Tom were in on it. That womans a vocal coachIve been learning to sing our first dance song. Tonight was supposed to be a practice run in front of people before I performed for you.»
Emilys anger wavered. «You lied about fishing to serenade me?»
«Knew youd suspect if I said I was coming here without you,» he admitted. «Then Lucy told me you were coming solo, and I panickeddo I cancel? Hide in the loo?»
«And the Instagram live? The mystery woman?»
«Christ, that was bad luck.» He groaned. «Maggies just helping with harmonies. Im pants at singing, but I wanted to you know. Do something proper romantic.»
Emily exhaled sharply. Part of her wanted to throttle him. The other part was weirdly touched.
Just then, Lucy burst in. «There you are! James, weve got soundcheck inoh. You told her?»
«You were IN on this?» Emily whirled on her.
«Guilty.» Lucy grinned. «But isnt it sweet? Hes been sneaking off to rehearsals for weeks!»
Emily looked between them. Jamess expression was equal parts sheepish and hopeful.
«I dont know whether to kiss you or shove you into the Thames,» she said finally.
«How about both? After the song?» He gestured to the hall. «Might as well perform now the cats out.»
Half an hour later, a scarlet-faced James stood mic-in-hand beside Maggie. The opening notes of their wedding song beganand despite his shaky pitch and forgotten lyrics, the dopey, devoted look he gave Emily melted her completely.
The room erupted in applause as he finished. Emily strode over and pulled him into a tight hug.
«Youre ridiculous,» she whispered. «And I adore you.»
«Even after the lying fisherman act?»
«Especially after.»
Later, in their Uber, James still looked contrite. «I truly thought I was being romantic.»
«And now weve got a story to tell at dinner parties,» Emily laughed. «That time my husband fake-fished his way into a wedding scandal.»
«Sounds like a tabloid headline,» he groaned. «No more secrets, I swear.»
«Oh, keep the surprises,» she said. «Just pick better alibis. Fishing in March? Even Ollie saw through that.»
«Noted,» he chuckled. «Though we could still go on a real fishing trip? Daves invited us both.»
«On one condition.» Emily grinned. «You sing by the campfire. No professionals this time.»
James winced but nodded. «Anything for my wife. Even if I scare off every fish in the lake.»
And as they laughed, Emily realizedsomehow, this ludicrous mess had made her love him even more.
