“Look at you! Now you really look like a Polynesian surfer!” Rachel exclaimed.

“That’s rad!” Colin replied as he gave the bride-to-be a kiss on the cheek. Araminta, who stood out from the crowd in her vintage Yves Saint Laurent safari jacket and gold leather caged thigh-high Gianvito Rossi sandals, was next to greet Rachel with a double-cheek kiss.

“That’s the heiress whose wedding Rachel went to where all the trouble started,” Auntie Jin murmured under her breath to Ray Chu.

“Who’s the fellow beside her in the torn jeans and flip-flops?”

“That’s her husband. I heard he’s a billionaire too,” Kerry Chu whispered back.

“It’s like all my patients these days—I never know whether the kid in my dental chair is homeless or owns Google,” Ray said gruffly.

After everyone in the wedding party had been introduced to one another and Jason Chu had snapped enough pictures of himself with the supermodel and Nick’s hottie cousin Astrid—who he swore had to be that babe from House of Flying Daggers—Samantha began corralling everyone into position for the procession up the aisle.

“Okay, after Mehmet has made sure all the guests have taken their seats, the procession can begin. Jase—you need to escort Aunt Kerry up the aisle first, before you come back for Mom. Once you get Mom to her seat, you’re done and you can take the seat next to her. Now, I need Alistair Cheng. Where are you?” Alistair identified himself as Samantha checked the chart on her iPad. “Okay, you’ll be escorting Astrid Leong up the aisle, since she is representing Nick’s family. That’s Astrid over there. Will you remember her tomorrow?”

“I think so. She’s my cousin,” Alistair said in his usual laconic manner.

“My bad—I didn’t realize you were a cousin too!” Samantha giggled.

Nick’s phone started buzzing again, and he dug into his jeans pocket in annoyance. It was from the same number, but this time it was a text message. Nick scrolled to the text, which read:

Sorry—tried everything I could to stop Mum. Love, Dad.

Nick stared at the text again. What on earth could his father mean?

Samantha began barking out new orders. “Okay, now it’s time for the groom and his best man to enter. Nick and Colin—both of you will be at the staging area to the left of the pavilion while all the guests are being seated. When you hear the cello solo begin, that’s your cue to walk down the path toward—”

“ ’Scuse me for one sec,” Nick said, dashing away from the arch. He stood at the back corner of the forecourt, frantically trying to call his father. This time, it went straight to voice mail: “I’m sorry, but the person you called has a voice-mail box that has not been set up yet. Please try your call again later.”

Damn. Nick tried calling his father’s regular Sydney number, an avalanche of dread suddenly beginning to engulf him.

Colin came up to check on him. “Everything okay?”