‘It was the last one, apparently. They’d had a cancellation an hour or two before I called. Otherwise we’d have been totally stuffed.’

‘Well, as long as the turkey has been too, I’m happy.’

Not long after, the others start to arrive. We arranged to meet in the bar half an hour before the table booking so we could have a drink while everyone arrives. Cath and Ben are the first, and we get a few minutes for Ben to meet Tom and introduce himself before the others turn up and we head to our table.

The food’s delicious — far better than I expected, and I wonder if we might have found ourselves a hidden gem. What’s more, the conversation is flowing and everyone seems to be getting on really well with Tom. It always amazes me how well he manages to turn on his charisma when he meets new people. It’s almost like he’s got a gift for it, and people are just naturally attracted to him as a person.

Tom and I are sat opposite each other, and Cath’s sitting next to him, Ben on the other side, with Cath regaling Tom with her horror stories about the wedding planning, while I talk to Gareth and a couple of our other friends at the other end of the table. For the most part, I tune out of what Tom and Cath are saying. They seem to be getting on really well, and in any case I’ve heard it all before about how draining it is planning a wedding, how everyone interferes, how sometimes she wishes she’d never bothered. Ben catches my eye every now and again and gives me a knowing glance, and we both have a secret chuckle. A little while later, Tom says something which catches my attention.

‘I just think you should go easy on her, especially considering the whole Matt thing,’ are the words I hear.

I realise it’s probably not something I was meant to pick up, but now I’ve heard it I can’t help but tune in. It’s almost as if everything else is silenced and my brain can focus only on what Tom and Cath are saying. I try desperately to listen to Gareth, Ben and the others, and I nod and smile along as they talk, but I don’t hear a word of it. There’s only one conversation I’m focused on.

‘That was ages ago. And anyway, you don’t know anything about it. You weren’t even there.’

‘No, but I’ve heard. It hurt her a lot, obviously, and has been really frustrating for her.’

‘Yeah, well I’ve been under a lot of pressure myself recently, thank you very much.’

‘Yeah, I know. She mentioned you’d been a complete and utter Bridezilla.’

As I hear those words, my heart lurches. My breath catches in my throat and I feel a cold shiver run down my spine. Cath looks over at me. She can see I’m a deer caught in the headlights, and in that moment I can see she knows immediately that what Tom’s said is true. She doesn’t say anything, though. She just looks at me, a picture of sadness and disappointment on her face.