‘Patrick!’ Peyton’s voice cracked. ‘But you’re not supposed to see me the day of the wedding. It’s bad luck.’

He was already hurrying past us to her side, taking her hands in his. ‘I wasn’t sure if there was even going to be a wedding, and, right now, I don’t care about superstitions. I just had to see you.’

‘I wanted to see you too.’ Peyton smiled, tears beginning to flow.

‘Peyton, my darling. If you’re not ready for this, that’s OK. If you don’t want to marry me, that’s OK too.’

Her perfectly sculpted brows shot up as far as the Botox would allow.

‘Now, don’t interpret that as meaning that I don’t want to marry you. I’ve wanted that from about a week after I met you, but if you’ve changed your mind, then I would never try and force you. This has to be your choice and your choice alone. If you want to wait, I will wait for you. If you don’t want to be…’ he swallowed audibly ‘… us any more, then I will accept that but—’

‘I do want us!’ Peyton broke in, almost wailing. ‘I do, I do, I promise. I just got all confused and overwhelmed and then Vance…’ She looked up through her wet lashes, cheeks flaring.

Patrick’s jaw hardened. ‘Yes, Lorcan filled me in about Vance. Don’t worry. Although, assuming you want to go ahead…’

‘I do! More than anything!’ Her voice had shot up several octaves and there was a hint of panic in it now as the tears began once more in full flow as she clung onto him.

‘OK, darlin’. It’s OK,’ he said, his voice gentle as he stroked her hair. ‘God, I love you.’

‘I love you too!’ she wailed. Lorcan winced and, over at the stove, Maria chuckled to herself at his reaction.

‘Well, that all works out well now, doesn’t it?’

‘I can’t guarantee I’m going to want to smile for the photos with this Vance bloke the other side of the camera, though,’ Patrick commented.

‘Not a problem,’ I interjected. ‘Back-up is on the way. She’ll be here within the next half an hour.’

‘Really?’ Patrick and Peyton’s heads both swivelled towards me.

‘Yes. I hope that was OK. She’s excellent. I’ve worked with her a lot and… well, Vance wasn’t really being terribly co-operative so I pulled in a favour and had Ellise on standby.’

‘What about Vance?’ Peyton asked.

‘If you want to use him still, then that’s up to you.’