A Groom With a View by Sophie Ranald Read Free Book Online

over and invite loads of distant relatives I’ve never met. Speaking of which. . .”
    Although Nick doesn’t have brothers or sisters apart from Suze, who’s married and lives in Melbourne, Erica, his mum, is one of eleven siblings. Consequently Nick has an absolute plague of cousins, and they all have wives and husbands and children and even grandchildren, and their name is legion. Seriously, if you ever find yourself in need of a cousin or twelve, Nick’s your man. He’ll never get through them all.
    “We’re going to have to talk about who we’re going to invite, at some stage,” I said. “I mean, I don’t want to rush into asking people but if we at least have an idea of who we want to be there. . .”
    “I’m on it,” said Nick. “Remember, I did a spreadsheet?” He took out his iPad and tapped away at the screen for a bit. “Here’s where I got to. There are three hundred names so far. I’ve put them in categories to make it easier: friends, family, work people, other.”
    “What’s ‘other’?” I said. “Why on earth do we want anyone at our wedding who isn’t a friend, family or a colleague?”
    “Won’t your parents want to invite some of their friends?”
    “Er. . . no, I don’t think so. And if they did I’d tell them they couldn’t. Why would we want their friends at our wedding? And why would their friends want to come when they haven’t even seen me since I was sixteen? Or distant relatives, for that matter. Not that I have any of those, thank God.”
    “I have no idea, Pippa. But apparently people do invite their whole family and their parents’ friends as well. Mum says. . .”
    I started to feel all prickly and defensive, the way I get whenever Nick mentions Erica. “She says what?”
    “Hold on, I’ll find her email,” said Nick. “She sent it the other day. Here you go, just that paragraph there.” He pushed the iPad across the narrow train table towards me.
    “You’re in my thoughts and in my meditation all the time,” I read. “And in all the excitement of planning this important day, there is something I would like you to keep in your thoughts, too. A wedding is about more than the frock and the flowers – although I know Pippa will have exciting plans for those.”
    “I haven’t even thought about the fucking flowers,” I snapped at Nick. “What did you tell her?”
    He laughed. “Steady on, Pip, I didn’t tell her anything. She’s just making assumptions. You know what she’s like.”
    “Right,” I said. “Still, though, it’s a bloody cheek that she thinks. . .” I caught Nick’s eye and shut up. I hate slagging off his mother, and I know he hates me doing it, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. “Sorry.”
    I carried on reading. “A wedding is, first and foremost, about the wider community. One day, if Pippa is not too focused on her career to give you children, you will understand that it takes a village to raise a child; for now, please trust my wisdom in the matter. And remember, if you can, how special Susannah and Dylan’s wedding was: a true celebration of family love.”
    I remember Suze’s wedding well. Suze and her mother didn’t speak for weeks before it. Dylan was so stressed out by the whole thing that he started making plans to emigrate the minute they got back from honeymoon. And on the day, everywhere you looked, were dozens of cousins.
    “If she thinks we’re going to have her entire bloody family. . .” I stopped myself and took a breath. “I’m honestly not sure it would work to have that many people at the wedding, Nick. Three hundred is loads. I haven’t even met all your cousins and it’s not like you ever really see them.”
    “I wouldn’t mind a cup of tea,” Nick said. “Would you like anything? Diet Coke?”
    Nick can be maddeningly evasive when we’re arguing, especially, I’ve noticed, if I’m in the right. But I did need to calm down a bit and I was still suffering from