‘It’ll be great for Lorcan to take you to the venue too, as he knows the place so well.’

‘You’re familiar with the castle, then?’ I tilted my head to meet Lorcan’s eyes.

Peyton let out a tinkly laugh. ‘Of course he is. It’s his—’

‘Friend’s. It’s my friend’s place.’

‘Oh, I see. That’s handy.’

Patrick nodded and Peyton did the same. ‘Very,’ she added. I thought there was the hint of a frown about her features but as she was obviously a Botox fan it was hard to tell.

‘So,’ I said, wrapping up our meeting, ‘it’s obviously less time than we usually have to plan a wedding—’

Peyton’s face fell and I automatically reached out, taking her hand. ‘But as we already have a venue secured and you have your dress, that’s two major items off the list. It will be fine. I promise, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about.’ Her bright smile returned and a perfectly manicured hand squeezed my less pampered one. Manicures had been one of the first things to go when money began getting tight.

Peyton turned her smile to Patrick and he took her free hand and kissed it. I smiled and glanced at Lorcan, who was just finishing another eye-roll at the sweet gesture. I narrowed my eyes at him briefly.

‘And I’m sure, as the best man, Lorcan will be going above and beyond to ensure things go perfectly.’ I gave him a big smile, topped with an innocent blink as all faces turned to his.

He gave a small, acknowledging tilt of his head and smiled. ‘Of course.’

The other two looked at each other, caught up in the excitement of the moment, giving Lorcan enough time to fix me with a look that said he knew exactly what I was doing. I returned it with one of wide-eyed innocence and he shook his head. He might not be a fan of the institution of marriage and that was his prerogative, but he was going to be on board with this one – even if I had to tie him to the rigging myself.

* * *

Two weeks later, I realised that my kitchen wall had more interest in this wedding than Lorcan O’Malley, but luckily I was used to working alone. Peyton’s suggestion that Lorcan and I plan the event together had admittedly horrified me so the fact I hadn’t seen or heard anything from him since the initial meeting suited me just fine.

‘So, we were talking about the theme and, although I know your basic theme is “Winter’s Fairy Tale”, are there any elements that you’d like to incorporate into the day that we haven’t yet spoken about?’