He turns to look down at me and my heart starts galloping. Is this it? Am I imagining it or is he bending to kiss…? I reach up but he steps away and my kiss lands on the air instead of his lips.

He smiles, staring into the middle distance. “Ha,” he says. “Can you imagine Bella in some frilly bridesmaid’s dress?”

Yes. Yes, I can. She’ll look beautiful.

I can see he already knows. I’ve come to tell him myself so he doesn’t have to wait for his sons to tell him, but I can see by the way he’s slumped at the table that he knows. I back away. Should I leave him alone? I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Then he moves and I see Bella’s jacket chucked over the back of one of the kitchen chairs and I realize how he knows so quickly. She gave me that look when I asked if anyone had told him about the wedding, like I was stupid for even asking. Then the moment my back was turned, she comes rushing over to tell him herself.

I back farther away and manage to walk into the table, sending it scraping along the paving slabs. Greg looks up at the noise and catches my eye. He smiles and gets up.

“Hey, Tess,” he says, appearing at the back door. “Were you knocking? Sorry—I didn’t hear.”

“It’s okay,” I mutter. “I just wanted to…” My voice trails off.

“I heard,” he says, and I nod. “You just missed your sister. She came to tell me.”

There’s an awkward silence.

“Are you…are you okay?”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” he says with a smile. “But what about you? How do you feel about it?”

“It’s a bit of a shock. They’ve only been together a few months. But I guess if they’re happy…”

“You don’t sound exactly thrilled for them.” He pauses and steps outside. “Come on—the roses need pruning.”

We garden in silence for a few minutes while all my stupid feelings stew inside me.

“Why do boys always go for the obvious?” The words burst out and Greg smiles, handing me a pair of clippers.

“Ah. Max?”

My answer is in the way I duck my head at the mention of his name.

“Because they’re boys,” he says. “It takes age and experience to look past the obvious. Aren’t girls the same? Would you have fallen for Max if he were short and ugly?”