‘It's very pleasant,' repeated Elsa. She took a couple of large sips. Just as soon as she was finished she could leave. She'd stayed the polite amount of time, after all.

Just then the telephone rang again, and while Vanessa got up to answer it, Elsa finished her tea in one.

‘Can't talk now, darling, I've got a guest,' said Vanessa. 'I'll call you later.’

Feeling churlish for gulping her tea, Elsa got to her feet. 'It's been lovely, Mrs… um… thank you so much. You've been very kind,' she said quickly, in case she was interrupted.

Her hostess smiled warmly. 'It's been a pleasure, and I'll be on to you as soon as I've arranged for my friend to sort out your colours. Oh, by the way..

'Yes?' It was uncharacteristic of Vanessa to pause, which made it significant.

‘Laurence Gentle, the best man, asked me for your telephone number. I said I had to check with you that it was all right to give it to him.'

‘Oh.' Why on earth would he want her telephone number? Unless of course his sister wanted one of her dresses – if he had a sister that is. 'Yes, I suppose it's all right.'

‘He is a really nice man, I can assure you of that.’

‘Yes. He seemed nice.' He had.

‘By nice I mean decent, in the old-fashioned way. Bit set in his ways, of course, but he is a bachelor and that can happen.'

‘Can it?'

‘Of course. If men aren't gay and don't have partners they can get quite odd. But I'll give him your number then. Oh, and thank you for bringing back the dress. Not sure what I'll do with it.'

‘You could sell it on eBay,' suggested Elsa.

‘Oh, darling, I really don't think I could do that. No, I'll think of something.’

As Elsa drove away she decided that whatever else Vanessa did with the bridesmaid's dress, she wouldn't put it in a bag and hang it in a cupboard until it turned to dust.

When Sarah had woken that Sunday morning, she'd been instantly, uncomfortably aware that she had not slept well. She rarely did after a big event, and Ashlyn's wedding was definitely that. Her head tended to take a while to stop seeing table plans, floral arrangements and potentially inefficient staff. But this morning she had an extra reason to feel as if she'd been up all night – Hugo.

She'd gone off to sleep all right but then she'd kept waking up. It was nothing to do with the room. It might have been tiny, but it was a good hotel: the sheets were silky, the towels were fluffy and the mattress was just right. No, it was what nearly happened that disturbed her.

She really shouldn't have let Hugo kiss her. The drink and the dance were all right. That would have been fine. But it should have stopped there.

As it was still only seven o'clock when she woke, she turned on her back and considered why it had happened. She sighed. It didn't take much brainpower to work it out. Hugo was extremely attractive, and she had been tired, a tiny bit drunk and forgot to be her usual professional self. She and Hugo had worked so well together up until now, it would be an awful shame if she'd spoilt it by getting carried away by the moment.

She gave a shuddering sigh, forcing her mind away from those lovely kisses, hoping they weren't addictive and that she could go back to her everyday, sensible life without difficulty. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Of course she could! She wasn't in love with him, after all, and as long as she never let it happen again, she'd be fine.

Inevitably her mind went back to Bruce, the man she'd thought was the love of her life. She saw him at the first Freshers' do at university and thought he was the most attractive boy she had ever seen apart from on a movie screen. Somehow, magically, Bruce had seen her too and was attracted to the quieter, more sensible girl she was, rather than the giddy hordes of excited teenagers around her. They had become a couple almost immediately. She'd fallen head over heels in love with him and they'd planned their future together: where they'd live, how many children they'd have and how they'd be celebrating their Golden Wedding anniversary still very much in love. She'd trusted Bruce implicitly. And although every girl on campus fancied the pants off him, it was to Sarah's side he was glued.

Until he wasn't. Walking into his flat to find the love of her life in bed with another girl had knocked her so badly she had sworn she would never make herself a hostage to love again. It had felt as if her heart had been ripped out -a man she'd thought she would spend the rest of her life with had betrayed her, cruelly. It was not as if she hadn't had enough to cope with, either. Her mother had died shortly before she went to university, she needed to keep an eye out for her father, and, of course, there was Lily, her younger and very vulnerable sister. Working through heartbreak at the same time as doing her college work and supporting her grieving family had been utter hell. If it hadn't been for her family and her friends she didn't know how she would have survived. She had vowed to herself that she would never take that risk, ever again. Not even after all this time. After all, she had a business to run now,and Lily still needed her big sister. And she owed it to herself.

She shook herself out of her remembered pain. Kissing Hugo had been lovely, she had to admit, but she couldn't afford to let it go any further. Anyway, he probably hadn't given it another thought; she'd heard the odd rumour about him, after all. She resolved to put it firmly behind her. And at least they hadn't arranged to have breakfast together or anything ghastly like that, she thought as she picked up the phone and asked if she could have some toast in her room. Thanking goodness for posh hotels with high standards of room service, she was driving away within twenty minutes, keen to get home where life was ordinary and normal.

Not quite as normal as all that; her sister was sitting on the doorstep. Four years younger than Sarah, Lily had the air of a schoolgirl dressed in adult clothes, except that the clothes weren't all that adult, consisting of, in this instance, a baby-doll pyjama top over a pair of pink jeans studded with diamantè. Her blonde hair was caught up here and there with sparkly clips and more pink and diamond beads circled her neck and wrists. She could have been a tall six year-old at a dressing-up party. She looked, thought Sarah, divinely pretty and a little unhinged. Not for the first time, Sarah marvelled how two sisters could be so different.

Lily was clutching a carrier bag and looking sheepish and excited at the same time. She leapt to her feet when she saw her sister.

‘Sares! Why did you have your phone off? And where have you been? Not with a man, surely?'

‘Hello.' Fondly, Sarah enfolded her sister in her arms, thinking, as she always did, how tiny she was and choosing to ignore her teasing. 'What are you doing out of bed at this hour? A bit unheard-of, isn't it?’

'Sarah! I'm a grown-up now. Please let us in, I'm dying for the loo. And I've got such an ace plan!’

Sarah laughed. 'Keep your legs crossed while I unlock the door then. Here, you'd better take the flat key. I've got stuff to unload from the car.’

Sarah's flat was on the first floor of a very nice converted chapel. It had everything she needed: one big bedroom she used as an office; a smaller second bedroom where she slept; and a large living room with a kitchen at one end where she did everything else. The bathroom was small but for a single person it was more than adequate. Sarah loved it.

By the time she had unloaded the car, Lily had used the bathroom and was rummaging through Sarah's cupboards for breakfast cereal.

‘Sarah! You've got such healthy eating habits! Haven't you got anything here with any sugar in it?'