I put my arms around his neck and kissed him. And for just one moment it wasn’t Bridget’s day—it was mine, and his, and ours.

Then the sleeplessness and the rushing around and the fatigue caught up with me all over again, and I sagged against him, and Oliver, being Oliver, led me to a free table at the side of the room without having to ask what was wrong or what I needed.

I was pretty sure I only put my head on Oliver’s shoulder for a moment or two, but when I opened my eyes again, it was full dark, and Tom and Bridge were saying their final round of goodbyes. Which meant that it was no longer a dereliction of duty for me to sneak off as well.

So Oliver guided me around one final time, taking me through all the people I had to hug and wave at and say good night to before he could finally, mercifully, take me back to the car and drive me home.

When we got in, he let me lean on him as I staggered upstairs and helped me undress before I flopped into bed. Then he lay with his arms around me while I murmured whatever came into my head.

“Maybe we shouldn’t get married,” I suggested to the night in general. “It’s sooo much work and it makes you sooo sleepy.”

Oliver pressed a kiss to the back of my head. “Whatever you want. But rest. You deserve it.”

I wasn’t sure I did. But I was too exhausted to protest. I shut my eyes and let the cotton-wool darkness swallow me.

Part Two

Chapter 12

"WHAT," I ASKED ALEX TWADDLE, “do you call a deer with no eyes?”

Alex blinked. “I don’t know,” he said gamely. “What do you call a deer with no eyes?”

“No-eye deer.”

“Oh.” Alex blinked again. “That’s disappointing. I thought it was a joke.” He opened Bing. “Shall we Google it?”

Fuck me. “No, Alex. It’s a joke. The joke is ‘no-eye deer.’ Because it’s a deer with no eyes.”

“Yes, I know it’s a deer with no eyes, and I know you’ve no idea what it’s called, but you’ve got me wondering now.”

“Alex, it’s called a no—”

“I say,” cried Alex, with fatal enthusiasm, “Rhys? You wouldn’t know what the technical term for a deer with no eyes is, would you?”

Rhys influencer-walked into the office, with his phone at the optimum streaming angle. “Not sure that’s really the kind of thing there’s a technical term for, Luc.”

“I don’t want to know what the technical term is,” I yelled. “I just said, ‘What do you call a deer with no eyes? No idea.’”